A Different Kind of Classic Cooking: A Bun in the Oven

I wasn't sure when--or if--to share this here because this blog is about cooking from old cookbooks not my personal story. Still, I decided I owed my readers an explanation of why I have not always been diligent about keeping up with posting here.

The picture above was made using the oldest recipe in the book.

And, yes, I never imagined I would be barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen, but that is precisely what I am most days. I am spending the summer working part-time from home, studying for comprehensive exams, and growing a baby.

Housekeeping: Classic v. Modern

I have long promised a ramble about the toilet section of the awesome cookbook by Maud C. Cooke called Three Meals a Day: Cooking, Table, Toilet, Health (1890's). Alas, the toilet section will sit unread because today it is time for spring cleaning.

Past the standard pudding and bread and preserve recipes, nestled between recipes for invalid cooking and advice for table etiquette, we find a chapter on housekeeping. Here we learn how to scald the brooms ("by dipping for a minute or two in boiling soap-suds"), why we should keep "wings of fowls" (of course! they can be used to dust furniture and clean the hearth), how to remove tar (butter or lard) and how to wash "fancy hose" (salt and water, and lots of running them through a wringer). Pressed in between the pages is a tiny piece of newspaper, about 3/4" by 1 1/2" that recommends making fabric resistant to fire by "soaking the material in a solution of five parts of boric acid, six parts of borax and 100 parts of water." Wow! Look kids, you can make your own stunt clothes and go running through fires!

Much of the advice is useful today, especially for those of us who try to minimize the use of chemicals in our cleaning. Maud tells us how to use borax and baking soda for cleaning, something I do on a regular basis. The advice for how to clean a closet includes considering all your clothing and distributing what you don't want "to the needs of others." And, of course, sort odds and ends into sacks or boxes just like "every thrifty housewife."

Now, for the modern version of housekeeping, check out the Kitchen Cure at Apartment Therapy. Hundreds of people have signed up for the Cure so we can share horrible before pictures of our kitchens and following weekly commandments on how to clean it up. First up, we got rid of old condiments and this week we chuck processed foods (but I'm totally keeping our Girl Scout cookies). I'll periodically update my pictures and a new, gloriously clean kitchen will appear. You can check out the before pictures here.


Floor Wax
From Three Meals a Day: Cooking, Table, Toilet, Health (1890's).

1 pint turpentine
1/4 pound beeswax

Combine and melt over a slow fire, no blaze because the mixture is explosive.* Apply to the floor with a piece of flannel. Polish and shine with more flannel.

*maybe the borax fireproofing solution would be helpful here?

Just So My Mom Can Say, "I Told You So"

You'll notice some changes to this site, most noticeably the ads on the side of the page and a button indicating that this blog is a Foodbuzz featured publisher. What does this mean?

First, it means my mom can say "I told you so," because from the beginning she was convinced that this blog was more than just me writing to my friends and family. When I was contacted by Foodbuzz a couple months ago about entering into an all official-like relationship I kept it quiet for awhile trying to figure out what it meant for me and this blog.

Basically, it means I have a chance to really give this thing a try, finding more readers for Classic Cookery. Foodbuzz has no editorial say and they don't care how much I post, which I was worried about because during finals or other hectic times I go underground and "cooking" means pouring soy milk on a bowl of cereal.

The ad thing we are still working out. This is a food site, not a political one, so I will keep my opinions to myself but I will say I want ads to reflect to the extent possible my choices as a consumer. I am trying to be realistic about this, knowing there won't be ads for my CSA or local farmer's market or anything; on the other hand, I can't in good conscience have ads from any businesses I boycott or am opposed to for other reasons. This may take some adjustment and renegotiating, so bear with me. The people at Foodbuzz have been great to work with and I'm looking forward to working with them.

Check out this and other food blogs, restaurant reviews and other food stuff at Foodbuzz.

Ode to Soy Nog

Soy to The World*

Soy to the world, Silk nog is here!
Now pour yourself a cup;
Let every fridge be stocked with nog,
Add some bourbon and drink up,
Add some bourbon and drink up,
Add some bourbon, add bourbon, and drink up!

Soy nog's healthy, no cholesterol,
Better than the real stuff!
A fifth the fat, half the calories
Drink it, it will make you buff,
Drink it, it will make you buff,
Drink it, oh drink it, it will make you buff!

*No chickens or cows were harmed in making this song, but three poor little cats had to hear me sing it to make sure it worked to the tune. It doesn't. Suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Recipes Listed by Cook Book

A periodically updated list of my cook books and the recipes that come from each one.










250 Ways to Serve Vegetables

Mashed Turnips











Better Homes and Gardens: Recipes from Famous Places

Pumpkin Muffins









The Bisquick Cookbook, 1964

Apple Slump













Boston Cooking School Cook Book

Book Review
Chocolate Cake
Cranberry Sauce
Curried Green Tomatoes
Eggless Chocolate Cake
Fifty Basic Recipes
Mashed Potato Baskets
Orange Frosting
Peach Muffins
Rhubarb Filling
Sauteed Mushrooms and Green Beans
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Snow Cake
Southern Corn Pudding










Festive Foods: Wisconsin Gas Company

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Coconut Drops











Gourmet Cookery for a Low-Fat Diet, 1961

Casserole Potatoes












Just How: A Key to the Cook-Books

Tapioca Pudding












Kitchen Tested Recipes

Baking Powder Biscuits
Party Cookies
Quick Gingerbread













Purity Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Canadian Cooking

Tangy Mashed Sweet Potatoes












Putting Food By, 1974

Sun-Cooked Strawberry Jam














Rumford Complete Cookbook

Flaky Pastry
Oatmeal Crisps











Slenderella Cook Book
Book Review
Cucumber Salad
Onion Soup
Whole Wheat Bread











Three Meals a Day: Cooking, Table, Toilet, Health

Floor Wax
Frugal Graham Flour Muffins
Griddle Cakes












Weight Watchers Cook Book
Mushroom Puree









Recipe cards, new cook books and other miscellaneous recipes

Brown Sugar Cookies
Lebkuchen
Sweet Potato Pecan Burgers
Oven-Baked Brown Rice

Take-Out

I have not given up on cooking or caught a train to Clarksville or spontaneously combusted or [insert event here]. It is simply the end of the semester crunch time and I am living on oatmeal and take-out. Surely you understand.

I will be back soon.

From my home to yours, you will find a very special message here.

Food Hangover

Thanksgiving is over. The classic recipes were good. The new recipes were good. It's time for a long winter's nap.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

It's no surprise that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays: it's all about food. And I especially love when we host Thanksgiving, because I get to spend months thinking about the menu, and weeks planning the details, and days shopping, and scheduling, and, finally, cooking.

All this comes in the midst of my semester at school, a time when projects are being finished and papers are being written and research proposals are being submitted, making it a stressful time. But making Thanksgiving dinner gives me something to look forward to. It also gives me something to make lists for and organize and I love that. My day planner has had notes in it for months, my recipes and cookbooks are stacked in one place, and I have a fairly neatly organized plan including a shopping list and a schedule starting with things to prepare on Tuesday, and on Wednesday night, and a full list of what to do as the day progresses on Thursday. Yes, I may have an illness but don't worry, you can't catch it.

This year I will be making a mix of new and classic recipes. And I have no pictures (though I posted my shopping list in case you're nosy) because I haven't started cooking yet, but I didn't see why I would post Thanksgiving recipes after Thanksgiving so I wanted to share these now.

Breakfast:
Orange-Pecan French Toast Casserole

Appetizers:
Graham crackers with pumpkin cream cheese dip
Fresh veggies with spinach dip
A few kinds of cheese with honey and bread
Goat cheese and tomato on puff pastry
Lebkuchen

Dinner:
Scalloped sweet potatoes and apples (recipe below)
Corn pudding (recipe below)
Cranberry sauce (recipe below)
Brussels sprouts
Mushroom, fennel, and parmesan stuffing
Creamed pearl onions (my parents will bring these)
Mashed potatoes (chosen because they can be made ahead)
Rolls

Dessert:
Cranberry ginger upside down cake
Pumpkin something or other (my parents will bring this)

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Adapted from the Boston Cooking School Cook Book.

2 cups boiled sweet potatoes, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sour apples, sliced thin
4 Tbs butter
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Put half the potatoes in a buttered baking dish, cover with half the apples, sprinkle with half the sugar, dot with half the butter, sprinkle with half the salt. Repeat. Cover and bake 30 minutes in moderate oven (350). Uncover and bake until apples are soft and top is brown.

Southern Corn Pudding
Adapted from the Boston Cooking School Cook Book. I will note here that I have no idea how long it takes because I've never made it, and I will be cooking it at 350 because that seems to be what the oven will be set at. I will give it at least 45 minutes to cook, but will adjust it as necessary.

2 cups corn
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbs melted butter
2 cups scalded milk
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients. Bake in buttered dish in slow oven (325) until firm.

Cranberry Sauce
Adapted from the Boston Cooking School Cook Book.

3 cups cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water

Pick over and wash cranberries. Cook with sugar and water 10 minutes. Watch to prevent boiling over. Skim and cool.

Green Tomato Contest Update

I am not a winner, but it was an honor just to be nominated.

I'm a Finalist!

I can't believe it. I entered a green tomato recipe contest on one of my favorite sites: Apartment Therapy Kitchen. I'm a finalist. Wow! Check out my entry here.

Edited to add: Here's the link to the voting: http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/green-tomato-2007/green-tomato-contest-vote-now-036016

Yuppies Playing Farm

Our CSA had a harvest festival last weekend. The weather was perfect, we listened to live bluegrass, played soccer and frisbee, watched kids and dogs run around, shared a potluck lunch, learned more about the farm, talked biodiesel, walked through fields, bid on auction items and, as always, went home with a gorgeous array of fresh vegetables. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

There is part of me that feels a little fake, like we're yuppies playing farm and it's nice and fun and we feel good but there aren't any benefits to hanging out for on the farm for the day. But there is. We get to know the people growing the vegetables and learn about their other efforts to minimize their environmental impact. We meet like-minded people and here about other ways to eat locally and organically. We walk around the fields and become more connected and concerned about the drought and encroaching McMansion subdivisions leading to more and more deer and other animals being pushed onto the farm (this year it meant no sweet potatoes and no pumpkins and other failed or diminished crops).

Before joining the farm, I wasn't nearly as aware of fluctuating food prices based on weather and other conditions, except for the occasional note posted at a grocery store about early frost ruining orange groves in Florida or something like that. It also means from May to November most of our vegetables, a large part of our diet, aren't trucked in from across the country or flown in from halfway around the world which saves energy. It also means we get the freshest produce possible and it doesn't have to be grown from genetically altered seeds so the vegetables can withstand longer times between picking and eating, or that they have to be picked unripe and treated with chemicals, or anything else unnatural.

If you're interested in joining a CSA or buying more local food, you can find out more about it here. I highly recommend it.

Talk to Me

If you've been here before you've read my blabbering about this recipe or that cookbook, but I'm wondering what you think about all of this classic cookery stuff. Do you have a favorite classic recipe or cookbook? Are you not inclined to cook but would like me to try a recipe? Or do you just want to chat about food you remember eating at your grandparents house?

I've gotten all fancy-like and set up a new e-mail account just for this site so drop me a line sometime: classiccook@gmail.com. It's easier than using a party line!

What You Should Know!

You really need to get yourself a copy of the Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. I mean really. It's not just that it has a lot of recipes, it has a whole lot of practical advice about stocking your kitchen, basic cooking techniques, and approaching menu planning. Sure, things have changed since the 40's but I think the opening sentence that suggests you "buy high-grade pieces because they will decidedly outwear inferior articles" is still good advice. And wouldn't we all (especially GK) like menu making to "put gaiety into housekeeping?" Ok, I smirk a little as I say that last part. But it goes on to say "cooking may be as much a means of self-expression as any of the arts" and I like that very much, especially since I have the perspective that women should be valued more for fulfilling some of their traditional roles even though they shouldn't be limited to them but that's a whole different topic and probably a different blog altogether.

What does Fannie Farmer have to say about the basics of cooking? Well, let's start with the "Fifty Basic Recipes (FOR STUDENTS AND BEGINNERS)" that I mentioned briefly here. Have you mastered all of these? I sure haven't, even disregarding the ones that aren't vegetarian.

1. White Bread
2. Standard Rolls
3. Baking Powder Biscuits
4. Muffins
5. Griddlecakes
6. Waffles
7. Doughnuts
8. Canapes
9. Brown Stock
10. Plain Stuffing
11. White Sauce
12. Hollandaise
13. Broiled Steak
14. Roast Beef
15. Broiled Chicken
16. Fried Chicken
17. Roast Chicken
18. Chicken Stew
19. Chicken Timbales
20. Potato Croquettes
21. French Dressing
    
22. Mayonnaise
23. Green Salad
24. Molded Salads
25. Soft Custard
26. Steamed Puddings
27. French Souffle
28. Cottage Pudding
29. Shortcake
30. Fruit Fritters
31. Cream Puffs
32. Vanilla Ice Cream
33. Hard Sauce
34. Plain Pastry
35. Puff Paste
36. Chiffon Pie
37. True Sponge Cake
38. Butter Cake
39. Chocolate Cake
40. Dark Fruit Cake
41. Boiled Frosting
42. Butter Frosting
43. Cream Filling
44. Sugar Cookies
45. Meringues
46. Chocolate Fudge
47. Fruit Jelly
48. Fruit Jam
49. Canning Fruits and Vegetables
50. Freezing

The list seems quite heavy on desserts, but I ain't complaining. Number 49 is interesting, like, oh yeah, of course you should be able to can fruits and vegetables. I am even more afraid of canning than of the raw eggs in number 22 because I just know if I canned something everyone would get botulism. But I think canning gets at really important elements of food choices since a focus on locally produced foods would inevitably lead to some kind of preservation if we want to have access to out of season foods. For now, I'll stick to oven roasting tomatoes or making batches of sauce to freeze. Yes, I'm much more comfortable with number 50. How 'bout you?

Green Food

Today is blog action day, a day when bloggers write about environmental issues in a way that relates to their blog (or not).

We have to eat. Our choices can become a routine we don't think twice about. But every day we are given the opportunity to make choices that lessen our negative impact on the earth. There are many ways to do this, but here are a couple that anyone can do:

1. Eat locally. Now really, I don't eat everything locally and I don't even strive to. I think the 100 mile diet is a great idea in theory but not practical for me, though we can all learn from the principles. Food trucked in from hundreds or thousands of miles away uses fuel and other resources and encourages alterations to plants so they can make the long journey and still look good. Unfortunately, this food might look good but is often flavorless.

There are a lot of reasons to eat locally and a lot of ways you can make that change. Check out Local Harvest and Slow Food USA. Join a CSA, frequent your local farmers market, or just start paying attention to where your food is grown and produced. I'm still buying coffee and brown rice from all over the world but looking at the picture above showing just one weeks share from our CSA you can see eating locally isn't a sacrifice.

2. Go vegetarian. Yes, being vegetarian is about compassion for animals and that was the initial draw for me. But other reasons for committing to vegetarianism for life are the environmental benefits. Raising animals for meat is a very inefficient use of grain and water and other resources, and there are concerns about pollution associated with large animal farms (like run off from chicken farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed). Read more about environmental vegetarianism here and consider becoming vegetarian or at least committing to more vegetarian meals every week.

3. Carry reusable bags. Whether shopping at a farmers market or a supermarket we need something to haul our groceries home. If you haven't already, make the switch to reusable bags. You will be surprised at their strength and will probably regret not doing it earlier. My favorite canvas bags are these, but I also carry a couple of these for other purchases that come up.

Autumn Kickoff

Attending the Apple Butter Festival in Berkeley Springs, WV is a signal that fall has started. Unlike years past though the weather was decidedly un-fall like; we weren't able to enjoy the first taste of hot cider of the season and my mother-in-law ended up toting around a sweater she didn't need. Still, people seemed to enjoy attending the bubbling hot cauldrons of apple butter and we bought our autumn staples of apple and pumpkin butters. Despite wrong-feeling weather, it was still a nice, small festival and a great halfway point to meet some of our in-laws. Having a nephew and two nieces there made it more fun, too, because it's easy to get focused on the adult things (eating and listening to music) and forget about hanging out by the mineral springs which the town is known for.

I was happy to come across the Mountain State Honey Company table (no website), where I was able to sample six different West Virginia honeys and given an overview of each variety. Since reading Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking, I have become increasingly interested in getting away from white sugar and finding new sweeteners so this was great timing. I walked away with just two varieties--Basswood, a light almost minty honey which I'll use for sweetening tea and yogurt, and Knotweed, a very dark woodier tasting honey which I'll use for baking but mostly I think it will go well with cheese.


Finally, I couldn't resist spending time in some of the antique stores where I browsed cookbooks and found more than a few I wanted. I settled on just three and you will see recipes from those soon!

Testing, testing, is this thing on?

For the past couple years I have thought about starting a cooking blog but wasn't quite sure what to write about or if anyone would be interested in reading it (other than my mother--hi mom!). I spend a lot of time planning meals, reading cookbooks, cooking, browsing cooking sites and food blogs but haven't come across many that focus on classic cooking. There are some fun retro sites, including those listed in the sidebar, but I am really interested in making things that are classic and good and mostly made with whole foods.

I expect most of the people who look at this will be family and friends, but I also imagine there must be other people like me interested in the same kind of cooking. Since I'm new to this I'm not quite sure how to reach those people. So far, the best way I've found to connect to other people interested in cooking is to join the Foodie Blogroll. The "Leftover Queen" started the Foodie Blogroll as a way of connecting food blogs and bloggers. You can scroll through the sites, found in the sidebar or get more information here. I admit I haven't looked at all the sites listed yet, but I've already found some great ones including Cooking 4 The Week and Confections of a Foodie Bride.