Dang! It's almost been 2 months since I last posted....shameful. But hey, it's been a busy time.
I figured I had better get started again somehow...so I decided I'd review the 'new' book I've been reading lately:
"Woman's Favorite Cookbook" by Mrs. Gregory and Friends.
Yep, published in 1902. I work at a Heritage Museum, and one of the volunteers that works there brought this book in one day. She wanted to donate it to our little mini library, to be used by staff for cooking for special events and such. Well, I started to read it at work, and I became so fascinated with it, I decided to take it home with me so I could really sink my teeth in.
On the inside, it says further:
"By Annie R. Gregory"- Assisted by one thousand homekeepers.
The publishing house is J.M.Mac Gregor Publishing Co., Vancouver, B.C.
As far as I can tell, it's a compendium of recipes by many, many people. 3 books in 1, as a matter of fact! Everything from 'Arranging the Table-Up to Date Methods', to 'Dinner Giving', and the 'Meaning of Foreign Words on Menu Cards'. Not to mention the 3000 recipes. You heard me correctly.
Of course, one of the most interesting things about it, is how strange and sexist some of the passages are. The kitchen is truly the domain of the woman, and not of the man. This is something we could very well argue, nowadays. In fact, I don't know too many people that still cook, period. Including lots of women. It's not a criticism at all. I just know that most people are waaay too busy to be able to properly learn the art of cooking. It takes time, and dedication just like anything else you want to be good at.
I was very lucky. As a girl, my mum cooked from scratch all the time, mainly due to the fact that it was more affordable than buying processed food (which generally still stands). I just happened to be obsessed with food, and soaked it up like a sponge. I cook to relax (for real), so I count myself as very lucky. Cooking and food doesn't scare me like others that I know. I'm grateful for this fluke of nature.
Another wonderful, if confusing thing about this book is that it is before measuring. That is to say, most people didn't know what a metric teaspoon was, they only knew to use an actual tea spoon. Recipes were quite vague, and simple. If your teacup happened to be a bit wider than your neighbors, well then, that's what went into your buttermilk biscuits. I'm sure they still turned out awesome. Here's an example:
"VELVET BREAKFAST CAKES: Put a pint of new milk on the fire; let it simmer a few minutes. Stir into it a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Add salt, and three spoonfuls of good yeast, with three well-beaten eggs. Mix with these sufficient flour to make a soft dough. Knead all well together and put the mixture in a warm place in a basin with a cloth over it for two hours. Then make it up into small cakes, lay them on a well-oiled tin, and bake in a quick oven."
Oh my god. Could you get any more vague?? Like, how much is 'sufficient flour'? What's a quick oven?? Anyways, it's a delight to read. Some of the recipes are strange and GROSS ("Cod Sounds and Tongues", "Broiled Frogs' Legs", "Forcement Balls"....), but most are mouth-watering. Good, old-fashioned comfort food. There was such thing as health food back then, but it wasn't hemp hearts, and micro-algae. It was "warm, meaty broths" and "milk toast". Now, THAT'S the kind of health food I'm talkin' about! Hehe......
Not to mention all the other good stuff. Here are some of my favorites: Apple Toast, Royal Creamed Eggs, Hot Dandelion Salad, Blackberry Pie, Whole Wheat Doughnuts, Chocolate Kisses, Peach Meringue, Watermelon Pickles, Crabapple Catsup. Phew!
In closing, here's a mouth-watering, if ridiculous recipe for Coffee Ice-Cream:
"One gallon of cream, yolks of thirty-five eggs, two pounds ten ounces of sugar, two quarts of very strong black coffee (made up). Stir well with an egg beater and when beginning to thicken without boiling strain the mixture; allow it to become cold and freeze."
