One hundred year-old cookbook tells all
I’m flipping gently through the pages of Tried and True Cook Book No. 2, published in 1907 by the Eisele Printing Co. in Cleveland, written by The Ladies of The Miles Avenue Christian Church and Their Friends. The recipes are all written in paragraph format, no ingredients list, most only a few sentences. The pages are peppered with advertisements for local businesses and I’m going to scan some of them in to share with you later, but for now let me share with you my favorite headline: Pianos That Are Trustworthy. I love that!
Here’s my favorite section of the book, the last few pages:
For The Invalid’s Tray
“Simple diet is best, for many dishes bring many diseases.” —Pliny
Toast Water: Toast slightly a piece of bread and add it to boiling water; if preferred, sweeten. It may be flavored with a lemon or orange peel. —R. DeL.
I have never heard of such a remedy for any kind of illness. When I was a kid, the sick bed beverage of both child and parental choice was flat Coca-Cola or ginger ale—Canada Dry preferred. The invalid’s dinner? Lipton’s or Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Now, of course, I make homemade—even for myself when I’m as sick as a dog and feeling like an invalid. A slow simmered, rich stock and plenty of vegetables is the answer to most ailments, and you can’t get that out of a can. But check this out…
An Invalid’s Dinner: Select a good chop from a loin of mutton and trim all the fat from the meat and put in a covered jar (a salt jar does very well for the purpose) with three tablespoonfuls of water; stand it in a moderately hot oven, steam it one-half hour and a few minutes, before serving add a pinch of salt. Serve very hot, with the gravy poured over it. Steak or chops cooked in this manner are very tender and easily digested by the weak and delicate. —Bertha.
In the confections section, there are six different recipes for something called Sunshine Cake. Some of them have no indication of baking time and require dry ingredients to be sifted five times. Others say bake in a slow oven until done, or in a slow oven for forty five minutes. The baker is directed in one “don’t open and shut the oven door unless necessary. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
I suspect these cakes all came out just scrumptious and that they were the pride of these women’s baking repertoire. I’m going to attempt one of them and see if I can surrender to the simplicity of the recipe. I imagine it will force me to pay closer attention as I bake—rather than relying on the detailed instructions I’m used to following, I’ll have to let a little more intuition shine through. I want more play in my life, more fun. And being in northeast Ohio in February—more Sunshine!
"Grass is the cheapest plant to install and the most expensive to maintain."
~Pat Howell
February 14th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I have a recipe for Indian Pudding that calls for a hot oven until it boils and then a slow oven for 8 hours. For slow I’ve used about 250 degrees. Here’s to more sunshine in Ohio in the winter!
February 14th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Priceless! So interesting to read these old remedies…some are great. I have a French cookbook from about 1900. My friend Gerald gave it to me. It was his Bible and he was the most amazing cook ever, French style. We’ve lost a lot of these old cooking tips. For one—to make boiled potatoes that are just that much more delicious add a bit of onion and parsley to the water. Funny how a little thing like that makes such a big difference. Not that boiled potates are that exciting…but they can be gooooooood.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:21 am
My grandmother, who died when she was 101, cooked that way. I remember asking her the recipe for one of her goodies. You used “as much as it takes” and baked it “as long as it takes” in an oven that was” as hot as it needed to be.” My sister once followed her with measuring cups and spoons to geet the recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatballs. She measured and carefully wrote it all down. Then she made the recipe. It was different and not nearly as good. Maybe she forgot to add the love.
Happy Valentine’s Day
February 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
In storage somewhere, I have a republished copy of The Searchlight Cookbook. My grandmother used the original, and I got my copy for my wedding. I love it. I’ve never actually been bold enough to cook anything out of it, though!
February 14th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
That cake sounds intriguing, but I think I’d take a pass on the toast soup!
February 14th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
What a cool find… I hope that sunshine cake turns out well. Does it have lemon or orange in it? (Just trying to imagine the flavor of “sunshine cake!”)
By the way, didn’t you have coke syrup? The local pharmacy carried coke syrup and we would take it by the spoonful out of the bottle for stomach aches… although in a pinch, coca-cola allowed to go flat would do as well.
February 15th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Darcy, I’ve always wanted to make Indian Pudding…
February 15th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Hey Cathy, I hate to say it but I think Betty Crocker took all the goodness and grace out of cooking, with Pillsbury hot on her heels. But you lose me at boiled potatoes.
February 15th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Debra, I love your story, and especially your last line…maybe she forgot to add the love. That can be so true!
February 15th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Kris, I have no idea what The Searchlight Cookbook is, but am off to google right now. It’s a great title.
you should make something from it!!
February 15th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Meg, the toast soup thing sounds revolting. I can’t imagine what the benefit would be…other than helping one gag.
February 15th, 2008 at 6:22 am
That’s right, Kim, wasn’t that called Syrup of Ipecac? We always had that on hand for the stomach ailments. We also drank Bendaryl out of a giant glass bottle when we had hives (I had those for a couple of years off and on).
No citrus in the cake, they look like a take on a sponge cake.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Hello Kelley;
Her Able Hands is super! I have to spend some more time as there’s so much to look at. All your food creations remind me of the work Joey Randall does on her blog, The Village Voice, http://joeyrandall.blogspot.com.
Cookbooks are a favorite of mine. The vintage ones are special. The very old White House Cookbook which has been reprinted is interesting. I collect lots of the little church/social group type local cookbooks because every once in a while you get a recipe that is special that you can’t find any place else.
My son, Alex is on the autism spectrum and he likes to cook with us. We are considering a cookbook with old fashioned recipes, good recipes, easy recipes where the plate is empty soon because the food is tasty. If we write it, we’re planning on some biographical sketches of the person we get the recipe from. Just an idea.
George Africa
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
February 17th, 2008 at 11:07 am
George, you were right, your comment landed in my spam filter…I brought it back out. Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing. My husband occasionally brings home a new to me, old cookbook or gardening book, and it’s fascinating to read the thoughts of the day from one hundred years ago. We may have more conveniences, but we’ve also complicated the heck out of a lot of things that could be and should be quite simple.
The cookbook idea is definitely a good one.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I love old cookbooks but I’m terrified to try recipes with so little direction.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
french recipe…
Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs were achieved by French scientists…
March 14th, 2008 at 4:06 am
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