Ada Nash's Recipes
These are the recipes of my great grandmother Ada Helen Nash (1887-1976) of London, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. She collected them in a narrow ledger book, or what might have been referred to as a "day book", which was commonly used in the previous century to track household accounts.
The now disintegrating ledger's earliest dated entry is from 1918 (though the book's origin is likely in the 1900s), when a running chicken/egg count was recorded in the back of the book for a period of several months. There is a newspaper article referencing the new release of the 1921 silent movie, The Sky Pilot, on the reverse side of a clipped recipe for “Tamale Pie.” More than one recipe has notes in the margin indicating the 1925 prices of ingredients. Additions were made to the book as late as 1963, when a dated Plum Pudding recipe was hand-written on white paper and tucked into the book. There was also a Certo jams and jellies recipe booklet from 1961 placed inside the book.
In addition to food recipes, there are entries for medical remedies and household concoctions, plus a one-page mid-book tally of expenses paid for lumber, cement, and labour (project unknown). The inside of the front and back covers are littered with many numerical additions; no context is provided for these figures, and there are no words are written among them—except for one phrase: “Ada used 200”.
Despite my best efforts, the book's cover and contents are rapidly becoming brittle and flaking away. This record is to preserve the recipes that meant so much to her everyday life and routines as first a spinster, then wife and mother--not to mention all-around kind and amazing woman. It is a loving glimpse into life during a very different time. I hope you enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: Recipes and/or ingredients below may not be safe for use, handling, mixing, or consumption. If you're hungry or in need of cleaner or medicine, please consult a modern professional.
Transcription Notes:
Recipes appear in the order in which they are recorded in the book. I have taken the liberty of correcting spelling errors, altering/adding abbreviations, and changing formatting when to do so was plain and obvious. In many cases text is smudged or scribbled out and pieces of pages are torn or flaking away. As a result, any missing/illegible text is noted with brackets I have included footnotes to help explain ingredients and practices that are not commonly known today. All recipes were hand-written by Ada, except in cases where I have specifically noted that they were from published clippings.
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