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I've always been fascinated by old cookbooks and the stories they tell of the way things used to be, both in the kitchen and life in general. Come along with me as I explore some of my collection and try out some new (old) recipes and techniques. Here's to not getting food poisoning!
I've always been fascinated by old cookbooks and the stories they tell of the way things used to be, both in the kitchen and life in general. Come along with me as I explore some of my collection and try out some new (old) recipes and techniques. Here's to not getting food poisoning!
A Beginning
We begin at the beginning and a somewhat strange little girl with an affinity for books, history, and food. Combine the three and this little girl (she would be me) was in absolute heaven!
The meals Laura Ingalls Wilder described in her classic "Little House" series may have been where it all started...or it may have been my grandmothers' collections of handwritten "receipts" that had them recalling relatives I'd never met and places I'd never been, leaving me with a longing to travel back in time to experience the 1920s and 30s as they had. (I need to note here that they never talked about how hard it was to live through those years, only about how much everyone helped each other and the great fun they had doing it. If I'd known how very hard it had actually been for them, I might not be writing this today.)
A collection of cookbooks has followed me through every moving of house, crisis, and celebration for the past 30 years; however, there was one book in particular that caught my imagination like no other and I've decided that is where I'll begin this new journey of culinary exploration. "The Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook" published in 1963 somehow made its way into my hands when I was ten years old. Part biography, part history lesson, and many parts cookbook, it ticked all my boxes. I read and re-read it like a novel, daydreaming of soups, stews, fricassees, cakes, and on and on. (I did mention I was a bit of a strange child, didn't I?) I loved the book so much, my mother gifted it to me when I finally flew the nest. And oddly enough, I've only ever prepared one recipe from it - Early American Sugar Cookies (page 172) - though I have made them many a time, starting at age ten. This is a situation that needs to be remedied, and it shall be forthwith!
After much deliberation, I've chosen to begin with Devil's-Food Cake (page 168) topped with Seven-Minute Vanilla Frosting (page 170). I considered starting with my stalwart sugar cookies, but I think the best adventures begin with chocolate (and my husband and son agree). Stay tuned...
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