Recipes from the Past
The Day After St. Patrick's. Nothing like a dinner of heavy food and Guinness to make you fully appreciate fresh salads and fruit smoothies with chia seeds. But those delicious leftovers are beckoning from the fridge! Corned beef hash embraces all of the necessary stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal qualities. High carb. High protein. Savory. Salty.... Continue Reading →
Irish pancake recipe from 1895. Only fry on one side! Stack them up and enjoy!
Quick and Savory Tomato Soup. Gluten Free Recipe from the 1920s. This tomato chowder recipe calls for fat, which makes for a savory soup worthy of the coldest February day. I threw all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and put it on high for 4 hours. Turned out great. Servings: 6 Prep Time:... Continue Reading →
Handwritten Potato Soup Recipe from the 1870s. Here's a gem! Discovering handwritten recipes from the past neatly tucked into cookbooks is like taking hold of one end of a silk ribbon, the other end traversing a winding path through time to the hand of the original author. And like that, we, dear reader, are connected... Continue Reading →
Victorian Era Vegetable Soup Recipe. Soup! Wonderful, nourishing soup! This week we celebrate National Soup Day (February 4). But it's February. And it's soup. So I'm posting a soup recipe for each day of the week! Source: In the Kitchen, 1875. More Fun Discoveries from Antique Cookbooks Carrot Soup ~1819 Camping Soup ~1910 Stock ~1855
Mulligatawny Soup Recipe. Soup! Wonderful, nourishing soup! This week we celebrate National Soup Day (February 4). But it's February. And it's soup. So I'm posting a soup recipe for each day of the week! Mulligatawny is an English soup recipe that probably crossed into British cuisine during the colonial period. It is a curry-style soup... Continue Reading →
Have you ever had leftover cake in the back of the fridge that's past its prime? Do not throw it out! This cabinet pudding recipe from 1886 uses stale cake for a novel boiled pudding. Easy to make and delicious.
Epic fail with a 1908 donut recipe. What happened?!?
This homemade approach turns something that's largely inedible - the end pieces of gluten free bread accumulating listlessly in the back of the freezer - into something that's needed: Breadcrumbs!
3 Classic Recipes for Puddings from the Georgian Era. Today we have three distinct pudding recipes. I'm adding them to the blog as a sort of indexed reminder as I would very much like to come back and try them. The lemons are in season here and I pass several trees tucked away in the... Continue Reading →
To Make Cyder. Apple cider is relatively simple to make. This recipe from 1744 is actually spot-on in terms of process. I started the batch above this past week (had to make room for the turkey!) and you'll note my bag is similar to the 'fine hair bag' mentioned. Also note the use of brimstone... Continue Reading →
Apple Tansey Recipe. This apple recipe is new for me. The interwebs has a surprising amount of information about the history of Apple Tansey, and informs us that the recipe was popular among colonists. Those recipes seem to call for flour, which is conspicuously absent from this present version. I would think that adding the flour... Continue Reading →
A Piece of Roast Beef and a Boiled Leg of Mutton Serve a Small Family for a Week. This particular selection is familiar to me. My go-to meat is a whole chicken, however, mutton being unavailable locally. The Convivial chicken menu looks something like the following: Sunday - Roast whole chicken with rice and peas... Continue Reading →
Victorian Scalloped Potato Recipe. Aunt Laura's Breakfast Potatoes - part recipe, part glimpse at another life in another era. These are some of my favorite discoveries. I sit contemplating whether Aunt Laura would have been happier born 100 years later, pursuing a high-powered managerial career, eating California fusion cuisine delivered by Blue Apron at the... Continue Reading →
6 Apple Recipes from the 1870s. Gearing up for apple season. The Girl and The Boy still enjoy going out to the orchards and doing u-pick apples. Something infinitely gratifying about harvesting your own food. Pulled out the dehydrator and making space in the freezer. Located the apple peeler/corer/slicer - ingenious invention. How about some... Continue Reading →
Preparing for Pickling Season. When I think of a pickling recipe, I think of ingredients. These recipes do their civic duty, however, to warn about poisonous pickling practices. Oh my! Alas, I did not find a good recipe to pickle my green beans in this particular cookbook, so resorted to the WWW. Found this easy... Continue Reading →
Stuffed Tomato Recipe Why aren't there more stuffed tomato recipes? So many people have an aversion to stuffed peppers, maybe they unfairly get lumped into the same taste category? This stuffed tomato recipe is similar to the tomato and egg recipe (1900), but with a heartier twist that can make it a gluten free, vegetarian... Continue Reading →
Gluten Free Apple Fritters Recipe. New to fritters, here. Was inspired after watching a cooking show and found a simple apple fritter recipe in American domestic cookery, formed on principles of economy, for the use of private families, my current kitchen companion. Here's the pancake recipe. Fritter batter is supposed to be runnier than regular pancake... Continue Reading →
Early 1800s Strawberry Jam. Who doesn't love strawberry jam on Sunday morning waffles? Antique cookbooks can be curious reads - as much for of what they include as what they exclude. I went searching for a strawberry jam recipe hoping to preserve some strawberries for the winter months ahead. Most cookbooks will include a section... Continue Reading →
Rice Edging Recipe. Rice is a big staple in our home due to our strict gluten-free diets. Whenever a new rice recipe surfaces, I'm always interested! A side of rice is so blah. A rice edge? Kind of edgy... The next time I entertain, I am going to try making a rice edging for my... Continue Reading →
Gluten Free Spice Cake Recipe. When baking spice cake, the entire house feels as if it is wrapped in cinnamon love. Last week's spice cake lasted several days, and was the go-to food for kids rushing out the door for the bus. So, I decided to try a different version - similar, but different. Ingredients... Continue Reading →
Recipe for Onion Sauce. Onions are over-flowing in our farmer's market - both fresh green onions and dried onions. Thinking about giving this one a try - it would be pretty oniony. Not sure about the sugar. I could see this pairing well on top of roasted pork chops. Have you made an onion sauce... Continue Reading →
Spice Cake Recipe. This spice cake comes out something like a coffee cake. Not overly sweet and mild. Spice Cake No. 2 looks to be a bit spicier! The raisins are a nice touch. Big hit with The Daughter and The Son. Ingredients 3 cups gluten-free flour, sifted (regular flour if you're so inclined) 2... Continue Reading →
Eating Melon. The premise is thus: Not all melons are ripe when you cut them open, so to make them edible, first take out a small slice; next, pour in sherry, champagne, or brandy. Replace the slice, rotate the melon gently to make sure the liquor is evenly distributed. Chill. Serve. Cantaloup obviously has a... Continue Reading →
Catchup Recipe. How to make it in the best manner. Today's recipe does not make it into the 5 ingredients or less category. Lots of condiments get labeled as 'ketchup' in antique cookbooks. Chiefly, a mushroom concoction appears by the mid to late 1800s. The recipe below is the first I've seen that: (1) uses... Continue Reading →
Sunset Chili Recipe. Today's recipe comes from a fun cookbook, a 1938 Sunset Kitchen Cabinet Cook Book. All of the margins include cartoons detailing the steps in the recipe. Here's the one for chili: I always enjoy compilation cookbooks, where the contributors submit recipes and then sign off on the bottom - gives recipes a... Continue Reading →
Gluten Free Rice Muffin Recipe. Early 1900s Camping Recipe. Ever on the lookout for new rice recipes, this one caught my eye. It's a little skimpy on the specifics, so let's try to update, shall we? I'm adding the last 2 ingredients for a little flavor. It doesn't use baking powder, so I omitted as... Continue Reading →
Tomato Soup Recipe. Tomato Soup - Attempt #2. Here we have the second go with this recipe. The original turned out not so good. As you may recall, the tomato was hardly present and it was slightly sweet and just not very pleasant. We're going to go with the spirit of the recipe for this... Continue Reading →
Using Stale Bread. Okay - so bread isn't big in my list of household staples because we are gluten free. I do, however, keep a loaf in the fridge. I also keep a bag of heels in the fridge for various and sundry recipes. Stale bread typically finds a home in bread pudding or soup.... Continue Reading →
Homemade Tomato Soup. Attempt #1. CAUTION: Do not make this recipe as described below. Soup is big in our household, and I wanted to give this one a try. Canned tomato soup is fine, but what if you could make your own tomato soup? The fact that this recipe uses canned tomatoes is besides the... Continue Reading →
Vertical Style. Here's to a hors d'oeuvres conversation starter for! This recipe for deviled eggs calls for standing them up instead of having them lie sideways. I wonder when this style went out of vogue? The next time we make deviled eggs, will give it a go! Source: Motgomery Ward and Co's Common Sense Cookery, 1897. More... Continue Reading →
Sauce a tous Mets. One can never have enough sauce recipes! Here's one that requires some planning ahead (8 hours), but could probably work in a slow cooker. Ingredients: 1 pint stock 1 large glass white wine Pepper/salt A little thin lemon peel (guesses on amount?) Bay leave Dash of good vinegar Yum! More Fun... Continue Reading →
Potato Pudding Recipe. Note: 41 ounces is about 2.5 lbs. That's quite a bit of potato! Perfect for leftover mashed potatoes. 4 ounces of butter is 1 stick. Will post this with every intention of coming back to experiment. If it comes out edible, has potential as a gluten free dessert. I just finished watching... Continue Reading →
Gluten Free Rice Pudding with Strawberry Sauce. Time: 10 min. prep Bake: 40 min. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup milk 1 egg 4 T Sugar 1/4 t salt 1 t vanilla 1 Cup cooked rice 1 t butter (optional) 1/8 t nutmeg Bake at 350° for 40 min. Butter on the top didn't add anything to the... Continue Reading →
Classic Eggs on Gluten Free Toast Recipe. You regularly find recipes using hardboiled eggs in various ways in antique cookbooks. This Eggs a la Goldenrod recipe almost treats the eggs like a sausage substitute in a sausage and gravy over biscuits breakfast - but instead you have eggs and gravy over toast. Yum! Prep Time:... Continue Reading →
Rice and Cheese Pudding Recipe. This recipe offers a twist on the Rice and Cheese recipe from 1913. Had to read the recipe through a few times before jumping in - lots of little twists. Ingredients. 1 cup rice 3 eggs 1 cup milk 1 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. gluten free flour 1 tsp. baking... Continue Reading →
Gluten Free Lightning Tea Cake Recipe. This recipe hails from the famous 'A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband' cookbook, narrated by Bettina. The purpose of the book is to present cooking as accessible for the new housewife. Here we have a recipe for Lightning Tea Cakes - so named because they are quick... Continue Reading →
Recipe for Melted Butter. The great diplomatist, Talleyrand, used to say, that England had 120 religions, but only one sauce, and that melted butter. Melted butter is for the table of the simple artizan. Enjoyed some with artichokes the other evening. Source: Soyer's Shilling Cookery for the People, 1855. More Fun Discoveries from Antique Cookbooks... Continue Reading →
Recipe for Black Butter. Huh. I had to read and re-read this recipe about 4 times. Definitely a cliff-hanger of sorts here... What article would be suitable for this kind of sauce? Source: Soyer's Shilling Cookery for the People, 1855. More Fun Discoveries from Antique Cookbooks Hot Chocolate (American and French) ~1897 Fried Cauliflower ~1887... Continue Reading →
WWI Reference through Potato Recipe. We return again with Bettina and her unique cookbook A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband, c. 1917. The cookbook weaves a narrative of the life of a newly married couple and their social interactions with their neighbors, focusing on household management. Each chapter starts out with a dialog of... Continue Reading →
Thousand Island Salad Dressing Recipe. Salad dressing recipes are few and far between in the older cookbooks. This recipe for Thousand Island Salad Dressing comes from a slightly newer publication of 1917, and is both novel and familiar at the same time. A hard feat to pull off for a 101-year-old salad dressing! What I... Continue Reading →
Alarm Clock - New Kitchen Invention. No microwave timer? No smartphone alarm? No problem! Check out this newest and most handiest of inventions, the alarum, or cooking clock. (Alarum is the British spelling) Note the N.B. - If the fire isn't the correct temperature, the alarm clock will not serve much of a purpose. Makes... Continue Reading →
Gluten Free Poached Eggs on Toast Recipe. When was the last time you made poached eggs? You see them on menus all of the time in restaurants, and they serve as a rich, creamy addition to simpler companion foods: grits, fried potatoes, and toast! Note: Buttering the saucepan prior to poaching the egg helps keep... Continue Reading →
Very Unique Mushroom Recipe. Alexis starts off in the typical style, with prose to Eloise...leading into the recipe proper for a mushroom sandwich, which is truly unique. If I understand correctly, the recipe came to Alexis through some divine intervention. Glass jars? Vapor? Check out that last sentence - I want to know what kind... Continue Reading →
Recipes for Omelettes. Just in time for Sunday brunch, the omelette round-up. "Where is the man or woman cook but says they know how to make an omelette, and that to perfection? But this is rarely the case..." Simple Omelette Recipe. Note: Adding milk makes the omelette puffy, and lighter. Giving it more bulk as... Continue Reading →
National French Cake Recipe. Today's excerpt is slightly longer, but offers us a glimpse into Parisian night-life in 1855. I love how Alexis uses extended preambles as a lead in to the actual recipes. You see this in celebrity cookbooks today. For readers who are theater-goers, this post is a special treat! Oh! The imagery... Continue Reading →
Background on Eggs. Historical footnote on Orpheus, Pythagoras and their eggs, which you may or may not have known already: And then we find this footnote about Egyptians slinging their eggs around. Is this true?!? Any other interesting tidbits on eggs out there? Source: Soyer's Shilling Cookery for the People, 1855. More Fun Discoveries... Continue Reading →
Recipe for Nettles. Nettles? Anyone? The health benefits of nettles are well known - something of a cure all and immune booster. I had them for the first time about a month ago at a local winery's celebrity chef cook-off. It was sautéed in yummy goodness and smothered in five spice dressing. Not what typically comes... Continue Reading →
Selecting Potatoes. If, on the contrary.... Wow. This is way more than I ever knew about selecting potatoes. I don't think that I realized there were gradients of flavor or texture. Huh. Learn something every day. Source: Soyer's Shilling Cookery for the People, 1855. More Fun Discoveries from Antique Cookbooks Ice Cream ~1866 Potato Puff... Continue Reading →
Potage de Croûte a la Purée. Prep. Time: 5 min Cook Time: 20 min Serves: 4 Ingredients: 2 cups lentils 6 - 10 cups broth 4 slices bread/ 2 cups bread crusts 1/2 cup meat drippings (chicken) Pre-heat oven 350°. Step 1: Place the drippings in the bottom of an oven-safe tureen. Put the bread... Continue Reading →
Caramels and Popcorn Recipe. Happy caramel popcorn day! To celebrate, here's an easy recipe for chocolate-covered popcorn. But wait, I hear you asserting: Chocolate covered popcorn isn't caramel popcorn! You're correct! Caramels was used a generic term to cover all things sweets. Finding this recipe was a challenge, and I didn't come across one until... Continue Reading →
Easy ketchup recipe - nope, sorry "tomato butter" recipe. 3 ingredients or less! Ingredients: 10 Lbs. tomatoes 4 Lbs. brown sugar 1 qt. vinegar More Fun Discoveries Fried Tomatoes ~ 1866 Cures: Teething, Scurvy, Rattlesnakes, Etc. ~1856 Zucchini! I Found You! ~1880
Ragout of Carrots - French Style Recipe. I've been wanting to try this recipe for several weeks, and haven't had the chance until recently. Prep. Time: 8 min. Total Time: 25 min. Servings: 4 Ingredients: 8 medium carrots - peeled, chopped into 2 inch pieces Water 2 cups broth (chicken) 2 cups dry white wine... Continue Reading →
Easy cabbage soup recipe circa 1825 Time to use up your St. Patty's cabbage! #Victorian #Soup #Food #Cook
Spinach Recipe. Any spinach fans out there? I thought this recipe outlined considerable effort on the part of the cook to make sure that the spinage (spinach) is sufficiently clean. Wash several times to clean Boil Form into balls, squeeze excess water Spread out onto table and check again for extraneous substances... That, my friends,... Continue Reading →
Fried Cauliflower Recipe. Servings: 4 Time: 25 min. Ingredients 1 small cauliflower 2 eggs, separated 2 Tbsp. flour Salt Oil for frying This was a fun recipe. It takes some work to get egg whites stiff - and then when you mix together with the yolk past everything just sort of combines (it almost seems... Continue Reading →
Rice Croquette Recipe. As a strictly gluten-free household blessed with 66% Celiacs, we go through a lot of rice. A lot. As such, I am always looking for new ways to reinvent rice (and potatoes, and corn tortillas, but I digress...). This search led me to rice croquettes. Here are two variations: Being the industrious... Continue Reading →
Yuban. Happy Monday! "The best coffee in the world" was that you made yourself out in Colorado. Smoky, somewhat grimy, but it sent you thirty merry miles in the saddle. Yuban Advertisement, 1921. Coffee Monday: Good Coffee 1880 A Little Cooking Humor ~1897 Nasturtium Sandwiches ~1913
Savory Rice and Cheese Recipe. Ingredients: 1 Cup milk 1 Cup cooked rice (brown) 1 Egg 1 Cup Cheese (shredded) 1 Tbsp. butter 1/4 tsp. paprika 1/2 tsp. salt Pre-heat oven 350°. Bake for 50 min. in a water bath. This savory dish comes out very rich. Could be a stand-alone entree with a green... Continue Reading →
Black Bean Soup Recipe. Black bean soup has that reputation for being a hearty, soul-filling soup. In our household, black bean soup usually comes in a can (slightly embarrassing confession for a blog about home cooking). This recipe comes from Fannie Farmer's famous Boston School of Cooking book, once again. My edition is circa 1924... Continue Reading →
Heinze 57 Advertisement. Everyone has heard of Heinz 57, but did you realize that there were originally 57 different varieties of Heinz? For some reason I thought the 57 referred to 1957. Stumbled across this fun advertisement from a 1904 newspaper. Check these out: Catsup (obvious) Enriched Figs India Relish Select Queen Olives Cherry Preserves... Continue Reading →
Seal Brand Coffee. Happy Monday! "Let's get acquainted all over again!" More Fun Discoveries Coffee Monday: Good Coffee 1880 A Little Cooking Humor ~1897 How Funny We Feel ~1831
Rain Water Pickle Recipe. Back in the late 1800s, the Chicago Tribune newspaper would run a page in every issue where women would write in questions asking readers for advice and recipes. For example, someone in one small town might write in asking what a good matching color would be to decorate a rose colored... Continue Reading →
By Antonia Isola Who's feeling in the mood for some old-fashioned, classic Italian home cooking? ME!!!! With a name like Antonia Isola, you know it's going to be good! This is a short text, about 60 pages, 5x8, but don't judge this book by its cover. Tucked inside are some amazing recipes packed with flavor!... Continue Reading →
Carrots and Peas Recipe. Confession time: Vegetables in my house are typically of the frozen varietal with some salt and pepper thrown on for good measure. Unexciting at best. Today's recipe for mint glazed carrots and peas comes from the famous Fannie Farmer Boston School of Cooking cookbook, which I picked up at a local... Continue Reading →
Bread Pudding Recipe What to do with those bread heels? (especially gluten free ones - which are on the edge of edible, if you know what I mean...) Save them until you have enough for bread pudding! This bread pudding recipe comes from Fannie Farmer's Boston School of Cooking cookbook. I did not pre-scald the... Continue Reading →
Nasturtium Sandwich Recipe 1913. Nasturtiums are abundant in my area. Usually when I'm out on a walk, I'll pick a few leaves and bring them in for the rabbit. Their seed pods can be used as a caper substitute, but I find the flavor a little too strong. The leaves are also edible - something... Continue Reading →
Hot Chocolate Recipes - American and French. Simple American and French Hot Chocolate recipes to warm your cold January day! Ingredients: Chocolate, milk, water, sugar. I might add a little salt. More Fun Discoveries Coffee Custard ~1905 Chocolate Cake – Grey Eyes~1905 Army Slap-Jacks ~1886
Happy National Whipped Cream Day! As a kid, did your parents ever give you a pint of cream and a whisk and say: "Mix this until it becomes whipped cream?" And you're mixing, and mixing, and mixing - and nothing happens. Then you think: Yeah right. They're making all this whipped cream stuff up. Then... Continue Reading →
Mid-1800s Cape Cod Clam Chowder Recipe. Whenever I make clam chowder, it always seems really involved. I love this recipe because you fry the salt pork, layer the ingredients, and then let it cook. Simple! Note the absence of cream/milk. Ingredients Salt pork (bacon or breakfast ham) Crackers (or Gluten free bread in my house)... Continue Reading →
Salted Almonds Recipe Need an appetizer? This looks AMAZING! I love the fact that these are served with olives and pickles. Very, very continental. More Fun Discoveries Golden Sunshine Cake – 1922 Meets 2017 Teen Pumpkin Soup ~1866 Corn Pudding ~1905
Chocolate Caramels Recipe Here is a recipe which is cheap, simple, and never fails! Love it! Ingredients 1 cup molasses 2 teacupfuls of white sugar 1 piece of butter the size of a small egg 1/4 lb. of grated chocolate - but you don't have to grate it, just break it up As someone who... Continue Reading →
Cream Peppermints Recipe Tis the season when cooks begin to break out their cookie and candy recipes for gift exchanges! This Cream Peppermint recipe is as straightforward as it gets. Ingredients 2 cups powder sugar 6 Tbsp. water 1/4 tsp. cream of targer 1/2 tsp. essence of peppermint More Fun Discoveries Risot a la Piemontaise... Continue Reading →
Here's to the end of October! This pumpkin soup recipe will look familiar for anyone who makes butternut squash soup. I actually have also found that adding a spoonful of sugar improves the overall flavor, but, as mentioned, is not entirely necessary. Recommend using a slow cooker instead of going to all the bother of... Continue Reading →
Recipe from 1922 Meets 2017 Teen. Big shout-out to the Pacific Grove High School Culinary One class! Students create a digital portfolio of recipes they make over the course of the year outside of class, which is a brilliant way to get them into the kitchen. This month my daughter chose a yellow cake recipe... Continue Reading →
I kid you not. A diet drink of pumpkin seeds from 1885. Let's unpack this: Dried pumpkin seeds Boiled water Used for strangury and kindred complaints Strangury is kidney or bladder stones - ouch! Check out the full description of Strangury here. More Fun Discoveries How to Boil Potatoes ~1856 Coffee Custard ~1905 Eating an... Continue Reading →
This mashed pumpkin recipe is similar to any mashed potato recipe. I would typically roast the pumpkin and then scoop out the insides and mash. Here you pare first and then boil and mash. Happy Fall! More Fun Discoveries All Displays of Violence Are in Very Bad Taste ~1856 Cream Custard ~1866 Frowzy Wives and... Continue Reading →
Apple Jam Recipe Ingredients: Brown sugar Sour apples (pared, cored, chopped fine) Grated rind of 2 lemons White ginger Note: The ginger is essential to its peculiar excellence (which I think is a unique taste twist!) More Fun Discoveries Rich Baked Apple Pudding ~1890 Apples Prepared for Nice Pies ~1851 Coffee Monday: French Coffee and... Continue Reading →
This is a simple pseudo apple pie recipe, if there is such a thing. Only the border of the dish has crust, which means you're not rolling out dough and trying to gently place it in the pan - or you could use this recipe to finish off that little bit of pie crust that... Continue Reading →
Ah, spring is finely here! We passed a yard the other day and it was covered with dandelions. Inspiration struck! We gathered our paring knives and headed out to the yard for a mini foraging expedition. Dandelion recipes are found in just about every circa 1800s cookbook I've ever read. Most common are the boiled... Continue Reading →
What a perfect celery pyramid! Originally from the Mediterranean region, humans have cultivated celery for thousands of years. Here in the U.S., we typically only eat the stalks and leaves. I had never thought of cooking and serving the ends of celery (wait, they're called the 'heads'...). Typically the ends go to our pet rabbits... Continue Reading →
