This time of year is Strawberry season for many parts of the world. My childhood memories of strawberries are of Mom making strawberry freezer jam and eating them raw with store-bought, yellow sponge cakes and whipped cream. Hoping to do better for my family by making shortcakes, I found this recipe in the Psi Iota... Continue Reading →
Recipe: Orange Sponge Cake
Lately, I’ve been on a citrus kick. It could be because my mother passed away in January and I’ve been thinking of happy times with her while growing up. I was blessed to be raised in a Christian family and have a loving family that attended church regularly. One particularly older memory I have is... Continue Reading →
Recipe: Ham and Potato Quiche
Here is an economical and yummy ‘meat and potatoes’ dish perfect for a Sunday brunch. It is economical because I decided to double it and yet kept to the same amount of meat. Yet, it is full of protein with cheese and lots of eggs! I found it in a cookbook recently purchased at a... Continue Reading →
Recipe: Eclipse Cookies, i.e. Moon Rocks
Confession: I looked for an actual recipe for Moon Rocks in my vintage cookbooks, but couldn't find any. Not surprising. What I did find was a recipe for Mexican Wedding Rings. Some of you may have made these decades ago when they were wildly popular and wonder about the correlation between Moon Rocks and Mexican... Continue Reading →
Recipe: Classic French Onion Soup
Some recipes intimidate me. Sourdough breads – let’s be honest, most yeast breads intimidate me, though yeast is on my shelf with every intention of seeing use in my kitchen. Pastry. Period. French Onion Soup. I always order French Onion Soup in a restaurant when it’s on the menu because I love it so much.... Continue Reading →
Recipe: Chocolate Malt Shoppe Cake
This recipe’s cookbook is one of the most ‘unofficial’ ones in my inventory. It has no cover and is simply held together by expandable brads. The front page is a typewritten page decorated with the title ‘Quick ‘n Easy’ and “Y.H.S. choir of 1987-1988.” I don't know what the Y.H.S. stands for -- I assume... Continue Reading →
Hollywood History: Charlotte d’Avocato Aux Sauce Asperges
It’s rare that a vintage recipe has Hollywood provenance. Charlotte d’ Avocato Aux Sauce Asperges (Avocado Charlotte with Asparagus Sauce) is one! The recipe came Catherine Grady Crabtree’s A La San Francisco Restaurant Recipes (Crabtree Publishing, 1979). As the book title states, the recipes originated from restaurants in San Francisco. This particular one came from... Continue Reading →
Irish Soda Bread + Bonus Recipe!
This recipe is so simple that I kept checking the wording to make sure I didn't miss a step. Nope! Start to finish before popping it into the oven took under 15 minutes with a minimum of clean up! That includes the 1 minute (yes, only 1 minute!) of kneading. This very basic loaf gets... Continue Reading →
Vintage Eats Recipe: Curried Chicken with Cream
My first experience cooking curry turned out great! We loved this recipe! It came from a 1960 ‘Ladies’ Home Journal Cookbook : New and Basic Recipes.’ The cover contains vintage dishes in full color. Even the font looks retro. It was hard to know which recipe to choose from the literally thousands included within the... Continue Reading →
Vintage Eats Recipe: Healthy, Easy-to-Make Fruit Salad
You may think people of the 21st century have been the only ones concerned about eating healthily. Not so. This vintage recipe from 1980 is as fresh and original as one you may find in today’s health/ recipe magazines. It is full of vitamins, fiber, and protein all in one easy-to-make dish that is yummy... Continue Reading →