Pages

Saturday 10 March 2018

Frugal Books, Wartime Books, Books, Books and Books

On Monday it is my turn to provide the subject for discussion at our monthly 'Golden Oldies' meeting in the village hall.   




They have asked me to take along some books, of course! 

To be specific, my old recipe books.   

Which ones to take though?             People glaze over at mention of recipe books.      Perhaps they think  Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith and Gary Rhodes.





But there are many different strands to my collection. 
Some focus entirely on Lincolnshire recipes from days gone by. 
Specialities of the county - it's not all pork pies, stuffed chine, or Plum Loaf, though they almost always feature!
Many give lots of little details, country ways, country life and times long gone.






Many of my favourites are not much more than cheaply produced booklets, but it is what is inside that matters.




Recipes, hints and tips. 
Recipes are basic, instructions minimal,  you don't often get oven temperatures or the size of cake tins, so you do need a little basic cookery knowledge which makes it more challenging, but I enjoy that.




Many were produced during difficult times, war years, food scarcity or food rationing. 
There are no photographs, but there is a lot of social history contained within which makes them infinitely more special than any modern celebrity recipe book, no matter how beautifully staged the photographs.




Some of the covers are very attractive, although many of the recipes are simply weird for our modern tastes and way of eating.   

How about cake sandwiches - plum cake sandwiched between two slices of bread?   Apparently they should be cut into triangles and decorated with crystallised fruits.

Maybe you are more of a savoury person, so how about Mock Salmon sandwiches - very thin slices of fat smoked haddock, raw.  The secret is to spread the bread with mustard (Colman's of course)-butter and add a couple of drops of Worcestershire sauce.  A sandwich fit for a king, or so they say!




Books about frugality.
A whole topic in itself.
Perhaps I should add some Shirley Goode and Elizabeth West books to the pile, two women who really knew how to eat well on a budget.




Then there are lovely old books about flowers as food, and recipes with roses.    Each and every one of them a delight and packed with interesting recipes.




These farmhouse, wartime, and Gloucestershire WI recipe books all date from 1939/40.   They make brilliant reading and some provide useful recipes, but there are plenty of others I could select from the shelf.

These are most of the books which have made the cut, apart from my small collection of handwritten ones, they are going with me.

I think local, country, wartime and frugal will be of interest to everyone, especially given the age of most of the group members.     I'll also add a couple of the more extravagant ones, as a counterbalance.

If all else fails they will stir up some tales of make do and mend, wartime deprivation and village life and that always makes for good listening.

I could throw in a couple of beautifully and colourfully cartoon illustrated ones, or some on historic food,  old 'kitchen bibles' , or recipe books inspired by television series/books,    old English recipes,  or preserving and pickling, others which focus on one particular foodstuff - like honey, or quinces, foraging or foreign cookery.         The list is endless but the meeting only lasts for an hour and a half.


I think I should also provide cake!  😋


ps Most of these came from charity shops, car boot sales, auctions, charity book sales, online bargains - frugal finds!

12 comments:

  1. You collect old recipe books whereas I collect old housekeeping books (there are fewer of those, sadly!)
    Margaret P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Margaret, One of my handwritten recipe books had some pages of instructions for the housemaid and cook, tucked inside. They detail exactly what jobs should be done each day. I wonder whether they complied!

      Delete
  2. Just found your blog. I'm a Lincolnshire lass myself and my favourite local cook book is "Recipes from Wrawby" which belonged to my late mother. One has the feeling that most of the contributors were of the "splash of this handful of that" school. It's a WI fundraiser book (I think) with recipes from Women's Institutes from miles around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Frugally challenged, I've just been over to your blog, Lovely to meet a fellow Yellowbelly! I quite like a relaxed approach to cooking, the only trouble is that it is quite difficult to recreate that amazing dish which you just made. I regularly cook from my various books, but of course the trouble then is remembering which book the fabulous cake recipe came from, so now I have to write it all down in a notebook - galloping old age! Nice to know that your mother's book is where it should be, and still appreciated.

      Delete
  3. Should not be hard, take your favourite and talk about them and the recipes you like best

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trouble is that I can wax lyrical about so many of them. I must focus, be strict on numbers.

      Delete
  4. You have an amazing collection there. Are they all going to the British Museum or some library as your collection one day?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcia, knowing my family they will all be going to a charity shop! To be serious though, the special ones are marked as such and must be dealt with separately.

      Delete
  5. You have an amazing collection!!!!!!!

    For me, I'd want the ones, which "tell of life," when written. They must be delightful.

    Whatever you choose, do bring cake, too. :-)

    Are you allowed to take pictures?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the appeal of them, Luna. Each one tells a story, especially the handwritten ones.
      At one time there would be a dozen of us, recent months have seen the number dwindle to four regulars. I must prepare as though they will all be there - wouldn't want to run out of cake!!

      Delete
  6. Your collection is amazing - I especially love ones that incorporate the social history of the time into the books.
    I used to love reading Shirley Goode's blog - she was an amazing woman. I'm sure these will encourage a lot of discussion at your meeting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Margie, Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think I would end up collecting old recipe books and leaflets. I blame my late father, he gave me a beautifully bound, slim book of Victorian recipes and it gradually grew from there and i found that what I really like is the old, flimsy and tatty ones!

      Shirley Goode was wonderful, so was her blog. Ask her a question and she would always do her best to answer it in the most helpful way. I'm sure many of us still miss her.

      Delete

Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.