The Fluffy Chicken by the Log Cabin and Other September Surprises

It's almost September, so it's time to check out the month's recipes from Modern Meal Maker (1935). My first impression was that Martha Meade must really have liked Labor Day. The fourth of July seemed barely more festive than any other Sunday (which is why I didn't mention its menu when I wrote about July), and the dessert at dinner was custard pie-- fine, I'm sure, but not anything one would think of as especially Independence Day-appropriate. Labor Day, on the other hand, features a specially decorated cake-- somewhat of a rarity in this book.

The Log Cabin cake has a peaked top to resemble a log cabin roof, plus...

The icing is supposed to be applied to kind of resemble actual logs! That's about as fancy as Martha Meade gets.

Plus, dinner on Labor Day is not a one-cake, but a TWO-cake affair, as this is the main course:

Good old Fluffy Chicken Shortcake....

September also sometimes seems like it's anticipating the foods modern fairgoers might try next to the Tilt-a-Whirl (at least, in years when there are such things as fairs).

Got to love the reminder that deep fried mac and cheese was a thing long before Cheetos or KFC or Sonic made them for a limited time only!

Of course, September has more down-home recipes, too. The family might want to warm up on one of the first chilly autumn evenings of the year with some dumplings.

Well, they might until they remember that dumplings are normally mushy, flavorless balls and learn that those wads of disappointment can also be gray-green and musty tasting. (Thanks, canned peas!)

I'll leave you with a recipe that probably sounds pretty sweet to the sweet potato lovers out there.

Not so sweet: The waffles were to serve as the bready base for a creamed tuna and waffles dinner! You probably could have lived an ever-so-slightly happier life without that final surprise, so I absolutely had to tell you. Happy September!