Souvenirs V:
Echoes from the Holler
by L. Joyce Mundy
In my grandparents' day, it was important to acquire good horses, and there was no room for a bad deal. The men knew how to look at a horse's teeth to estimate the age, and how to judge the soundness of the animal.... Anyone who dealt with horse traders had to have some knowledge or get skinned. Horse trading was a prime example of "Let the buyer beware."
A humorous story was told about an old neighbor who was a horse trader. In bragging about a horse he wanted to trade, he declared, "Gentlemen, over there stands the finest horse in the country." He paused and added, "But right next to him is one that's just a little bit better!"
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch salt
2 eggs
2 cups persimmon pulp
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 stick real butter
Whipped cream
Combine dry ingredients (except soda) and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Stir in pulp. Dissolve soda in buttermilk. In a 9 x 13 baking pan, melt butter. Mix dry ingredients into pulp mixture, a little at a time, alternating with buttermilk. Tilt baking pan to coat with melted butter, then pour butter into batter and mix well. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. For best topping, whip real cream and flavor with sugar and vanilla.