By Marie Fagan Peart | marie@haldimandpress.com
Carol Taylor was born and raised in Haldimand County and has always had an interest in history. Her father did too, plus he was a great storyteller, so history came alive for Carol.
However, her chosen career path was nursing. She attended McMaster and while there met her future husband, Larry. He had a passion for antiques. They married and had many great adventures antiquing together. She said he was quite knowledgeable about antiques, while Carol always leaned into the personal stories associated with them. Together they had two children and one grandson.
It was sometime during the 1990s when Carol registered to participate in a Christmas workshop entitled 100 years of Christmas. It included activities at three major historical sites: Dundurn Castle, Whitehern Historic House, and Battlefield House Museum.
While at Battlefield, she happened to mention to the staff that she knew how to cane chairs.
They were very interested in that and asked if she would consider joining them to demonstrate that skill. Before she knew it, she was hired and remained there for eight years. She absolutely loved her experiences as a historic interpreter. She also cooked to help the visitors understand what life would have been like for the Gage family in the early 1800s.
The Gage family married into the Davis and Jones families, who were of Welsh descent. The Welsh cakes were an appropriate recipe to make and showed the visitors how to cook over a fire. They are traditionally served on March 1 to honour St. David, the patron saint of Wales. He was a monk who felt the little things in life were the most important, like sitting down to share a cup of tea and a cake.
Blueberry grunt got its name from the “grunting noise” it makes when this dish is steamed rather than baked. The crumbly peach pie was Carol’s mother’s recipe and she has continued to make it as it is a family favourite. Enjoy!
Welsh Cakes
2½ cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup butter
½ cup dried black currents
2 eggs, beaten
Blend together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in currants. Add eggs. Mix until a dough forms.
Roll out to ¼” thick on floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters into 2” or 3” circles.
Cook on a preheated griddle or greased fry pan over medium heat. You can also make over a fire – not too hot as they brown quickly. Turn when golden brown.
While warm, sprinkle with sugar. Serve warm with butter or homemade strawberry jam.
Blueberry Grunt
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup of butter
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups milk
1 egg
2 cups blueberries, lightly dusted with flour
Mix all the ingredients together, adding blueberries last.
Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or steam in a pudding mold for an hour or two, until cake is done. Serve with cream or whipped cream.
Crumbly Peach Pie
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
6-7 peaches, peeled & halved
¼ cup water
1 unbaked pie pastry shell
Mix sugar, flour, and nutmeg. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.
Sprinkle half the mixture on the bottom of pie shell. Place peach halves on top. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the peaches.
Pour water over the pie. Bake at 475°F for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350°F and bake for another 30 minutes.
