This past “weekend” I started working on compiling the recipes I have from my great-grandmother into a cookbook. (This is a project that has been in the works for YEARS!) We called her Big Ami (pronounced like Emmy), which is Finnish for grandma. The ”big” was added once she became a great-grandma.
This woman was amazing. She came to the U.S. from Finland as a child and settled in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, in a brown house in Calumet. (The nickname ’brown house’ sticks to this day.) She was famous for her “treats.” Anytime anyone stopped over to chat or have coffee, there was always some type of dessert to sample. And watch out once the holidays came around. You weren’t leaving without a bag or box full of yummy baked goods.
Going to Big Ami’s was always a test of will power – She always made your favorite. Here’s a quick story from my mom: “I’ll never forget when we went to the brown house for a vacation (enroute to Hawaii I think or it could have been Christmas) and she kept asking what she could make/bake for us. Your dad finally told her prune tarts and when we arrived the kitchen table was full of prune tarts! There were over a hundred and then the whole time we were there, she kept telling him he wasn’t eating them FAST enough!!!!” 
You NEVER went hungry … and if you did, it was your own fault. (A philosophy that has continued in our family ever since.)
Some of these recipes made my mouth water … like homemade dill pickles, Finnish rye bread, pecan tarts, garlic potatoes, chocolate cherry cake, quick praline rolls, apple walnut cakes and one I still use today that I consider the BEST chocolate cake ever – 5-way chocolate cake.
Other recipes just intrigued me … like crumb dessert-banana split, cheese pillows, lemon crackle, liberace casserole, impossible pie, congo squares and aggression cake.
Here’s the recipe I tried first …
Oatmeal cookies
Simple and yummy. These cookies obviously got approval from the work crowd … they were gone in under an hour.
1 cup oleo (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup milk
1 cup raisins
Instructions:
1 Mix together. Boil raisins first 5 minutes then drain. Then mix into cookie batter.
2 Bake at 350 till golden brown.
I’m assuming she meant boiling the raisins in the milk, but I used water and then didn’t use the milk at all.
That’s one of the fun things about this project … the recipes aren’t always super detailed, so you have to experiment.
And I must say, I’m excited about experimenting … and I’m sure hubby will be, too.
