Here’s a date you will surely want to circle on your calendar.

That’s Saturday, August 6, and the event is the 2022 Wilshire Hospice Hoedown at the Hearst Ranch Dairy Barn. Guests are sure to “kick up some dust” and have some fun, helping Wilshire Hospice raise funds in order to continue providing end-of-life care for patients.

Hospice emphasizes life, choice, and dignity in partnership with patients, families, and the community.

Along with this annual event, the organization runs the Wilshire Hospice Hope Chest (thrift shop), located at 445 Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo. Proceeds from the Hope Chest help to support the cost of the care they offer.

For more details, call (805) 547-7025 or check out: wilshirehcs.org/hoedownSpeaking of raising money, Quota of Atascadero held their annual Bunco Night last week and were delighted with the turnout and the funds raised for the benefit of their philanthropic projects.

Don’t forget the Tuesdays in the Park BBQs from 5 to 8 p.m. At Atascadero Lake Park. The last two will be served by the Quota of Atascadero on July 26 and Atascadero Performing Arts Committee on August 2. The Atascadero Community Band will play from 7 to 8 p.m. on those evenings. 

I found this week’s recipes in an old Desk Diary dated 1965. The owner had used the diary to write down recipes that were given to her and to paste in clippings of recipes from newspapers or magazines.

I love finding these simple treasures, and this one is 57 years old. We were starting our family in the ’60s, and our youngest son, Dan, was born in 1964. So, just reading the recipes she collected brought back memories of how we cooked then, compared to today. Now, cooks just photo a recipe and enter it in their smartphone for keeping. Technology has changed things on many levels.

Recipes for this week are from newspaper clippings in the diary.

Fresh Orange Squares

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 cup flour

2/3 cup finely cut-up peeled orange (about 1 large)

1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts

Orange Glaze

Directions:

In a small mixer bowl beat sugar and egg on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in flour, orange and nuts. Spread in greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. While warm, spread with glaze. Cool and cut into 11⁄2-inch squares.

Orange Glaze

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 teaspoons water

Directions:

Combine ingredients and mix until smooth. 

A lady had written into the newspaper that she had no success making a “Dump” cake. The response was not to mix any of the ingredients together, which is not a traditional method of making a cake. So here’s the recipe that appeared in the paper.

Dump Cake

Ingredients:

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained

1 can cherry pie filling

1 package (18 1⁄2 ounces) white cake mix

1⁄2 cup (1 cube) butter or margarine

1⁄2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Dump undrained crushed pineapple into greased 9×13-inch pan; spread over bottom. Dump pie filling over pineapple, spreading it around until it is almost even. Next dump cake mix over pie filling, crumbling as you dump so it covers the entire filling. Cut butter in patties and place over mixture. Sprinkle nuts over top. (Do not mix ingredients.) Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or until lightly browned.