Unfortunately, this will be Baker Bill’s final article in The Beltsville News—written by his children Steve, Wendy, and Jane. Baker Bill passed away on Thanksgiving morning from complications following a stroke. To honor his memory, his love for the Beltsville community, and the many followers of The Beltsville News, we are writing a final article to pay tribute to our dad. Baker Bill opened shop in Beltsville in 1964. The bakery was the first store open in the Chestnut Hills

To many of you, Baker Bill was the writer of “Stuff and Things” in The Beltsville News, but to me, he was just Bill. He was the only person in the world who would call me “Ricker.” I’ve known Bill for most of my life. He was a faithful member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church and a constant presence as I grew up in the congregation. When I heard of his passing on Thanksgiving, it made me think about all of the times I got to work with Bill and realize how much he taught me

As promised, this month it’s fruitcake! I had a good response to this last year. I lot of people wanted to make it but could not find the candied, diced fruit. One purchased the fruit on the web. I went over to Giant on the bus and talked to the produce manager. He assured me they would carry the one-pound carton of diced fruit. Let me tell you about the fruit. In the carton, it looks all shiny and sweet, but it is not. The manufacturer candies the fruit with a sulfur compoun

Yes, I write about Riderwood a lot. That's because I'm impressed. It’s not a nursing home but a place to retire to. I lost a leg about four years ago, and here I am not housebound. I work in the church and other programs, I go to the supermarket by a bus that can load me in my chair, and all my medical needs are here. Also, my children do not need to worry that I'll move in with them and be a burden. Last month, I wrote about the easiest pie ever: pour liquid into a shell fro

This month my recipe of the month is a simple one, pumpkin pie. Make note of this section because it is a list of what you will need to buy at the store. Pick up the following items: frozen, ready-made pie shells (in the frozen food section) a small can of solid-packed pumpkin (not the ready mix) eggs pumpkin pie spice (in the spice section) a large can of Pet milk. corn starch Let me explain about some of the ingredients. Making pie dough is hard to get right. If a crack dev

Most of you do not know that I'm a certified TV producer. Yes, I took a 2-year course with Montgomery County to become one. I was planning to produce my own baking videos, but it didn't work out. The one thing I learned is advertisements on TV are full of nontruths. When you fall for a product, buy it, and receive it, you'll find it doesn't do what advertisers claimed but close. Take that ceramic pan that you see on TV that claims it is “nonstick.” You may find the only way i

I just learned Raulin's Bakery has a new service, a drive-thru lane. No, not really: I just saw a picture of the front boarded up after a car jumped the curb into the glass. I hope no one was hurt. I guess by now things are back to normal. Well, I hope so. August is sports month. Baseball is going strong, then football will be starting, soccer is in finals, and even the Capitals are in camp. Wow, I hope the Nationals are not in a “srump” as usual this time of the year. No, I

As you know by now, I'm at Riderwood and have written about it some in the past. Well, today I'm going to write more. This place is well designed and built. All of the inside halls have no stairs other than the emergency-use ones, so I can roam far and wide here. The bus carries me to the ShopRite once a month in my power chair. If I need to go off campus to outside doctors, etc., transportation is great and reasonable. A fellow named Bob Porterfield runs a fine group of driv

I taught a baking class for over 15 years to about 100 ladies, some men, and some children. They know the fun of making bread. Kneading it, letting it rise, and enjoying the look of the family when you put it on the table. Nothing was more fun for me in class than making bread. But those days are over. Now, all I can do is write about it. If you would like to make bread, I can send you a complete recipe with easy-to-read instructions. You do need to buy the yeast. Then, all y

Man, it's hard to think I'm writing for May. It seems just yesterday it was February. Oh, well. I have had good mail in the past weeks about persons trying my recipes. Some good but not all. Fruitcake: two people said it was dry, but they admitted they overbaked it. Most comments were on the chocolate chip cookie. One said theirs rose high. We went over the recipe and found she used baking powder instead of baking soda. It’s easy to do. Many people think they are the same, b

Baking Powder Biscuits In a medium-size bowl, place 1 stick of butter (room temp) 1 1/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 full teaspoon baking powder Stir with spoon (wooden is best) until all is mixed well. Now, Stir in 1/2 cup cold milk and make it into a dough Mix it well Dump it on a floured table Knead like bread dough until smooth Cover and let it rest Prepare a small pan coated with butter so the biscuits won’t stick to the pan. This is the most important

The other day I had a special lunch. In the store here at Riderwood they sell convenience items like milk, bread, snacks, etc. I picked up two items, a small can of Armour Potted Meat and V8 juice, and made lunch out of them. It struck me well that both products are exactly the same as they were 70 years ago; they look the same and taste the same as I remember. There are a couple of others just off the top of my head: Campbell’s Tomato Soup and canned chili. You may think of

My readers are growing each month; not a day does not go by without someone stopping me in a hallway telling me how they liked my recipes. Many have tried some. I got good reports on the fruitcake, cookies, and others as well. My Beltsville readers know what my background is, but maybe my readers here in Riderwood don’t. I'm a professional retail baker. I owned and ran Raulin's Bakery in Beltsville for 20 years, and my son had it for 20 years. I have a master’s certificate in

Yea, a new year’s coming. I like the old saying "if I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself when I was younger!" We had a good Christmas; all my family was over Christmas Day and brought the meal. We reserved a room here at Riderwood to hold the gang, 14 in all. It was a fun afternoon. My second oldest granddaughter, Molly, graduated from the University of Maryland last December, and the college gave her a job that pays well to start wit