Several of the old family stories are scattered with various references to favorite foods or activites involving cooking and preserving food.  I am trying to collect as many of these old recipes as possible.  These are the few that I have located so far.                                                                          

Aunt Julie's Apple Butter

My great aunt Julia Jane Killion Howerton, was born on October 16, 1897 near the town of Sharp, in Ozark County, Missouri.  She was a true Ozarks pioneer woman who raised and preserved all of her families food.  I have heard stories all my life about Aunt Julie's Apple Butter that she made outside in a big copper kettle. 

Great Grandma Counts Peach Pickles

20 medium size peaches            5 pieces stick cinnamon
2 c. vinegar                                   1 tsp. whole cloves
4 c. sugar

     Dip peaches quickly in hot water, then cold water and slip off skins.make a syrup of the vinegar and sugar and spices tied loosely in a thin white bag and boil 5 minutes.
     Place peaches in the syrup, a few at a time, and boil until they are clear and tender. let stand overnight.
     In the morning, remove spice bag.  Drain syrup from peaches and boil syrup rapidly until thickened. Pack peaches in hot jars and cover with hot syrup and seal

This was a recipe my mom remembers my great grandmother, Nora Ethel Henry Counts making every year, from the small "seedling" peaches that grew on the farm.