Category: Recipes

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A Recipe Treasure

A few weeks ago, I was at my mom’s house, and she showed me a cookbook she had discovered in a box. She imagined it came from one of my relatives who had passed away, but my eyes got big when I saw this cookbook. It was a vintage lover’s dream.

It’s not even the cookbook itself that is exciting; do you see all the newspaper clippings hanging out the sides? This little book is STUFFED with all sorts of handwritten recipes and recipes cut out of various publications. (I see an article about bladder irritation is hanging out for your viewing pleasure. You’re welcome.).

This book is fragile, as are the pieces of paper, so I will take care to scan everything in as carefully as possible. In the meantime, enjoy this little nugget that was buried in the middle, all about the wonders of LARD.

Of course, working in and living near Chicago now, I notice when things are published in Chicago. This little pamphlet was published by the National Live Stock and Meat Board, which had offices in the Old Colony Building at 407 South Dearborn. This from Google Maps:

And a pic from the Old Colony Building in its heyday:

This article talks more about the buzz surrounding this building during its construction in 1893. This will be one I make sure to include on my lunch walking tour next time I am working downtown.

On the back of another recipe clipping, I found this funny little ad for Marvene soapless suds.

It’s not a full ad, of course, but I was intrigued by this soapless suds that I had never heard from. I found this from a Winona, MN newspaper:

And this from the 1944 Midland Reporter Telegram:

Google couldn’t provide an answer to when these “soapless suds” stopped being made, but the ads seem to dwindle shortly after the end of WWII.

Stay tuned for the fun scans that I will be sharing from this cookbook!

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MEAT POWER!

Lest you think I’ve lost my ever-lovin’ mind, let me assure you that I did not just blurt out this phrase without any inspiration. My inspiration was, in fact, a little booklet published by Swift — the meat company — with tips and tricks for holding different types of parties. The back of the booklet touts the “meat power” – and it’s a graphic that I’ve seen in various vintage groups. I mean, c’mon . . . it’s funny.

Here we have the usual selection of 1950s animatrons (I want to know what mom is thinking in that middle picture!) with everyone living their best life. They even have some spectacular ideas for holding a stag party. Forget those plans of visiting the strib clubs! Here ya go:

Decorations: Make a cigar centerpiece, using at least one cigar for each man present. Write humorous fortunes on narrow strips of paper and tie them on each cigar with ribbon bows. Guests helps themselves to cigars after dinner and read their fortunes aloud.

Games: At a stag party, men usually get together for games of their choice. For extra entertainment, have a soap box contest. The only thing needed is a soap box for the guests to stand on while they deliver a 3-minute talk on silly subjects that they draw out of a hat. Write the subjects on slips of paper for the guests to draw in turn. Sample subjects: “If the barter system is adopted, how much should. a good wife be worth?” and “An effective method of stopping snoring.”

Now doesn’t that sound like FUN?

It’s on page 5 if you need a complete menu for said stag party.

Smack dab in the middle of the booklet is a nice colored insert touting all of Swift’s new products, like square shaped turkey roasts (I wish I were joking). It also contains a nice little reference for how long to roast different types of meat and types of boneless oven roasts.

You can head over to the “Miscellaneous Catalogs and Cookbooks” section, or you can check it out directly here.

Whoever owned this cookbook must have used it quite a bit, for many pages wear the proof of various dishes being made, which you can see on the scanned pages. That’s how you know that the recipes must be fairly good.

And remember:

MEAT POWER.

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Lord Calvert’s Infinite Wisdom

I belong to an atomic living-themed group on the book of faces. A couple weeks ago, a lady posted a booklet that she had gotten handed down from her mother, published in 1960. If the cover alone doesn’t make a retro-junkie shiver, then I don’t know what will:

The lady who had this gem in her possession initially was just going to give it to whoever wanted it, but when the the post blew up and hundreds of people started clamoring for it, she decided that the most fair way to get this book to someone who would appreciate it would be to do a random drawing.

Guess who won?

I seldom win anything – in fact, I think the last cool thing I won was in 1988 when I was the 13th caller to a local radio station, winning a Kenny Loggins cassette (yes – CASSETTE) that I never picked up because that would require social interaction. Plus, I really couldn’t drive yet, so that was also a damper on collecting the winning goods.

Anyway, I was more than thrilled to receive this book and I knew that I wanted to share it with others who loved this stuff as much as I do. This book is an absolute gem – lots of drink recipes, party ideas, and goofy illustrations.

Just to make yourself feel REALLY old, turn to page 84 and see what Lord Calvert recommends to stock a $25, $50, and $100 bar. Let’s just say inflation has run rampant just a tad since 1960.

Click on the image below to view the book. Enjoy!

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The Best White Bread Recipe

When I was in my early twenties, I learned how to make bread.  Unfortunately, it was a “teach yourself” experiment, as my own mother was never a big bread maker and I was a petulant child who never listened anyway.  I started with quick breads and graduated to yeast breads, and once I experienced the magical process of creating a gluey mess that turns out to be an aromatic wonder of baked goodness, I never looked back.
Continue reading “The Best White Bread Recipe”

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