(Excerpt transcribed from Crenshaw County News, Luverne, Alabama January 16, 1908)

GINGERBREAD

One-half cup butter, one-half cup sugar, one-half cup molasses, one-half cup sour milk or cold water, one and one-half cups flour, two eggs, not beaten;

One tablespoon ginger, one teaspoon soda.

Bake

The secret of having it light and tender is in beating the soda and molasses together thoroughly and in not beating the eggs.

Add molasses and soda before the flour.

See more vintage recipes in Vinegar of the Four Thieves: Recipes & Curious Tips from the Past 

Have you heard excessive brain labor causes baldness or the cure for wrinkles is a tepid bath in bran? 

Do you want to know Thomas Jefferson’s recipe for Vinegar of the Four Thieves or how to make Ox Tail Soup? 

Have you ever had ‘blueberry pickles’, ‘batallia pie’ or ‘snow birds’? You will learn all this and more in “Vinegar of the Four Thieves.”

Our ancestors had to be resilient when they faced obstacles in daily life, from dealing with pests, medical emergencies, caring for clothing, and cleaning shortcuts. Almost everything they used in daily life was homemade. Some ideas were great but some were very strange. 

This book is a collection of household tips, medical cures, clothing care, and old recipes from the 1800s and 1900s. Many of the tips, such as the household cleaners, cooking tips, and ways to control pests, still work and are helpful in today’s ‘green’ environment while others such as ‘how to cure a dog of eating eggs’ will make you laugh. Either way, this book will help you appreciate the difficult life your grandparents endured. 

With Bonus: First two chapters of novel RIBBON OF LOVE: (2nd edition) – A Novel of Colonial America (Book one in Tapestry of Love Series