The Leaf in a Page

  Holy Jalapeno Cheese Bread This is such a soft tasty loaf of bread. It could be made as a cheese bread if jalapenos are not your thing. I come from a family of 10. Mom struggled every day trying to find ways to feed us and the only spices we had in the house were turkey dressing spices, cinammon, nutmeg and cloves. Of course we had salt and pepper seasoning which made all the meat, potatoes, macaroni or kraft dinner tasty. As an adult living in the Halifax/Dartmouth area I finally tried jalapeno peppers on a plate of nachos at the restaurant called "The Thirsty Duck" (no longer in existence). It was my nursing class, after exam, celebration spot to go. It took several tries before acquiring a taste for the peppers. Once you do enjoy the taste of jalapenos this loaf of bread will give you just another chance to enjoy and celebrate any ol' accomplishment you choose. I wish there was another photo to share but be assured you will not be disappointed. Makes 3 loaves Bre...

War Cake Big Raisins The first time I ever heard of War Cake was when dating David. His mom was making it around the holidays and it was Dec 1977. I asked why they called it war cake and his mom Edie, told me it was an easy, affordable cake with no dairy or eggs that people could send off to the men at war during war times. Edie also said the spices provide a way to preserve the cake so it will last for a while. I found more information at http://www.bcfoodhistory.ca/canadian-war-cake/ which has a very good write up about the history of war cake which agrees with Edie’s explanation.   Edie MacPherson circa 1978 The recipe I am sharing came from a cookbook she gave me so I could recreate the war cake for David. She changed it a bit and I made that version a few times but after reading a few others I noticed one with baking powder, whilst most of the originals have 1 or 2 tsp of baking soda only depending on the amount of flour the recipe called for. T...