The Golden Wattle Cookery Book

There is at least one of these in every family.  The raggedy old cook book that sits quietly on the bookshelf waiting in dormancy, waiting longingly for someone to pull it out, dust it off and find a use for it once more.

In my family this book is the The Golden Wattle Cookery Book; a symbol of resourcefulness, daintiness and domestic duty.  Peeling back it's yellowing pages that hold the splashes and splutters of nearly 40 years, I am faced with recipes that both warm the cockles of my heart and cause a very slight gagging reflex at the back of my throat.  Anzac Bicuits, Pavlova and Sponge Cake are examples of the former, while Fish Custard, Sheep's Tongues in Jelly and Brawn are examples of the latter.

The Pumpkin Scone was an Australian invention.  It was the result of early colonial English settlers and their love of the traditional Scone as well as the overabundant supply of pumpkin in their new home.

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients -

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup cold mashed pumpkin
2 cups self raising flour

Method -

1. Cream butter and sugar, add egg.
2. Add pumpkin.
3. Add sifted flour and mix well.
4. Put in tablespoon heaps on greased tin.
5. Bake in hot oven about 15 minutes.

It's a beautiful thing that we can almost transcend time and context through a recipe.  Just through the waft of these freshly baked Pumpkin Scones I can be transported to the kitchen of my Great Aunty Win.  I can almost hear her rustling around arranging the cups of tea and scooping out plum jam from her huge supply ready for afternoon tea.

What is your family's heirloom cookbook?  Are there any recipes that fill you with a warming sense of nostalgia?  I'd love to hear your thoughts so please write them below.  Recipes welcome!