Savouring Memories

Six years ago I wrote a post here about my collection of recipes handed down, shared and cooked by my grandparents, parents, friends, relatives  and colleagues - all with their own unique memories. My sister Helen came up with an idea a few years later about writing a book about recipes from the past.  Well it sounded a good idea at the time and my sisters and I got excited at the prospect of possibly publishing a book that could be handed down to future generations, but it didn't happen - life often gets in the way of good ideas and so it was forgotten about, abandoned.

However, it has always been there in the background for me and as a maker of Journals over the years I decided to turn this idea into a Journal for myself not only about the recipes but incorporating  kitchens of the past and the gadgets, utensils and kitchen paraphernalia that housewives have used over the years, me included (I have always been a sucker for new gadgets which often lay at the back of a cupboard for years before they see the light of day again).

So, armed with all my old recipes and cooking ephemera and a huge amount of research I set about making the Journal. The cover was from an old hardback book that I gutted (sorry book lovers but it was found in a charity shop and destined for book heaven anyway). I covered the front and back covers and then joined it together with rings.  I generally make my own signatures and sew them into a cover but for this purpose it was easier using rings as I was, and am still able to add other items as I go along.

I found photos of old cooking utensils and copied lots of my old cookery books and food advertising that go back for 70 plus years, to the time of my grandmothers' kitchens.

I've been busy making tucks and pockets, banners and labels in order to facilitate all my ephemera. 

Inside the actual journal I am adding a further three mini journals/signature that I have made, to cater for the many scraps of paper/recipes that I have collected since I married 48 year ago. This has evoked so many happy memories - like the shoe shop receipt for my daughter's first pair of Clarke's shoes aged 4 year old in 1977 - with a recipe hastily written on the reverse. The shoes by the way cost a mere £4.49!

Then there's memories of the Peanut butter and other cookies and jotted down on an American friend's scribble pad. I only knew her for 18 month before she returned home to the USA and now sadly lost touch.

This has been such an exciting venture for me and evoked so many happy memories. Each scrap of paper/recipe/photo has a story to tell. It certainly kept me busy during the dark dreary winter months and delighted I have something to show for it. I'll be hand-writing and using my old vintage typewriter on occasions for making my Journal entries.

And who remembers the days of Hostess trollies, fondue sets and pressure cookers let alone the electric carving knife, wall can openers, choppers, mandolin slicers  - to name but a few, although I'm sure many of these are still found in households today. And then of course there was the introduction of the deep freezer into our homes in the late 1960s which then was a revolution but one we couldn't be without today!

So, the adventure carries on. This is definitely a work-in-progress and each day I'm finding and adding new ideas all the time. Whilst I can't take credit for Helen's original idea, it certainly gave me food for thought (no pun intended!)

Be back again soon P x

A blast from the past

Yesterday I wanted to make a meat loaf with some pork mince I had in the freezer, so started to look for a recipe. I normally make one with beef so I roughly knew the ingredients but knew I had a recipe somewhere. Well, I was now on a mission to find one and an hour later with nothing found I went to a cupboard out in the garage and there in the deep dark depths of a long forgotten drawer FULL to capacity with old recipe books - I found this one covered in dust and in a very sorry state, dating back to 1980.

does anyone remember these M&S cook books? I used to collect them on a regular basis back in the day.

I served it with mustard mash (as all the tv cooks seem to do it this way) and fresh runner beans and gravy, as opposed to the barbecue sauce.  Mmmm it really was nice but I forgot to take a picture. So today we had the cold leftovers sliced with salad and this was equally as good.

Now my hubster is a serious hoarder, he won't throw anything away - storing stuff in the garage, loft space, boxes, cupboards - you name it, its there (although he hasn't realised yet that I am apt to sneak stuff out of the house in the direction of the local charity shop from time to time) - but that's neither here nor there. So bringing in this cook book was no mean feat I can tell you. I mean it was a case of Pot calling the kettle black! Anyway this book has got so many lovely recipes that I haven't cooked in years that I haven't the heart to put it outside again and it's now going to take pride of place on my kitchen shelf. 

I was going to type the recipe out but I guess if you tap on the picture it should enlarge. Enjoy.

Bye for nowx

Leftovers

I normally cook a Sunday roast most weekends and very often use the leftovers to make either a Shepherds/Cottage pie, depending on whether its lamb or beef. Chicken is normally turned into a pasta and chicken bake or something similar. Today however, I've made some Rissoles. I haven't made these for a long time. In fact I used to have a Jimmy Young Cook book back in the 70s which was very popular at the time, all the recipes coming from members of the public and cobbled together to produce a selection of everyday meals - my rissoles being one of them. This book hasn't been around for years and like many other obsolete items in our house is probably in the dark depths of my loft - another story.

By courtesy of Google

My sisters and I are in the throes of putting together a cook book of all the meals we can remember from our childhood that our mum used to make us as well as our own favourite recipes we've cooked or baked over the years. This, we intend passing onto our own children, to be passed on and on and on. More about this another time when finally published/printed.........

Anyway my sister happened to still have her Jimmy Young book and I was delighted to find the old recipe for rissoles and I took a photo of the recipe on my phone.

So here it is...

Savoury Rissoles

12 ozs leftover minced cooked meat
2 tomatoes
1 onion chopped (I blitzed the tomatoes and onions together in food processor to make them finer)
1 tablespoon dry sage and onion stuffing mix
2 standard eggs, separated
3ozs fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon gravy browning
salt and pepper

Method

Mix the minced meat with the tomatoes, onion, stuffing mix and gravy powder. If the mixture is too dry add a little water, then bind together with the two yolks and one egg white. Season to taste. Roll with floured hands into little sausage shapes then dip in the egg white and roll in the breadcrumbs. Fry in a little oil until golden brown. Serve with creamed potatoes and peas or mushrooms.

I halved the quantities for the two of us but I found the mixture very moist so added a bit of flour. I didn't have any gravy browning so that might have helped. Definitely wouldn't use all the egg and probably next time would add more stuffing mix. Trial and error comes to mind.

So here they are (not quite the sausage shapes intended) just about to go in the fridge to firm up before cooking tonight. 

See you soon x

Time for comfort food...

Well it's that time of the year again when the old stews and casseroles come to the fore and in these days (mine anyway) of rushing around - school runs, food shopping, coffee with friends and blogging as well as spending 15/20 hours a week studying, there's not a lot of time left for anything else.

So my trusty Slow Cooker comes to the rescue. I use it regularly, at least twice every week and it comes into its own with the casseroles. 

I don't really stick to a particular recipe but generally make my beef casseroles with the following:


500 g stewing steak - diced
A few carrots, sliced
Turnip, chopped
Some chopped swede
4/5 mushrooms sliced
Large onion, sliced
Bay Leaf
Mixed Herbs
Dash of Worcester sauce
Beef Stock Pot
Enough water to cover the meat and veg
Squeeze of tomato puree
Salt and pepper
Gravy granules to thicken at the end of cooking

Sometimes I squeeze in some HP Brown Sauce with Guinness - very tasty

I don't fry off the meat first but I throw it all in and add the boiling stock over the meat and this just browns it quickly. I normally switch on about 20 minutes beforehand and then turn up to High and there it stays for four or five hours - or more.  If I'm going to be out all day, then I leave it on Low. This recipe made enough for two good servings and then I froze the rest.

I bought these Soup/Stew freezer bags from Lakeland and they are excellent for fitting into a freezer if you haven't much room for a plastic or china dish. You just take them out to thaw and then re-heat in the microwave or tip into a saucepan.

Today we had Beef and vegetable pies for our dinner using bought puff pastry and the de-frosted casserole mix, served with mashed potato and Brussels sprouts and a touch of English mustard on the side..

A big welcome to my new followers Greenthumb, Macha, Karen and Tammy - it's lovely to have you on board.

Have a good weekend

 



Some foodie memories

Looking at some of my cookbooks over the weekend I came across my folder with recipes I've collected over the years - you know the kind, bits cut out of magazines, hastily written recipes from the tv, recipes passed on by others, and it occurred to me after yesterday's post that a lot of what I have saved have memories of their own, and I'd like to share them with you.

First of all there's a card index version of a quiche lorraine that I wrote down in 1969 just before my wedding. A colleague Jean whom I worked with passed it on to me. Being a very naive soon-to-be housewife I was trying to gather recipes together to impress my new husband. Jean and I became good friends and have kept in touch over the years. We had a reunion in London last year with another friend Grace where we re-lived our own workplace memories of the 60s.

Next there's a recipe hand-written for me by my late Mum. She used to work as a dinner lady at my primary school during the 1950s and one of our favourite 'afters' was chocolate crunch. After she left her job she spent many years trying to track down this recipe and the result is as close as you could get to the original. We girls loved it that our mum worked at our school and served our dinners. What memories this recipe evokes!

Then there's some recipes for chocolate chip cookes and peanut butter cookies given to me by a lovely friend Eileen. I was a young mum living in a new neighbourhood and didn't know anyone. An American couple with two children moved in temporarily a few doors away. Both being lonely we soon got to know each other and spent most mornings having a gossip and a coffee. We both enjoyed baking and hence she gave me these recipes written on her yellow scribble pad. We became such good friends as did our children but she had to return to her home in New Jersey.What a sad day that was. We kept in touch with letters for a time but sadly have now lost touch. That was in 1979, before the internet, e-mails and good phone connections.But who knows one day we might catch up again.

A recipe for an All Bran loaf was hastily written down from the tv on the back of a receipt for a pair of Clark's shoes bought for my 4 year old daughter in 1977 for the princely sum of £4.49, a lot of money then.

This BeRo book dates back to 1979 and was introduced to me by my friend Eileen. I have newer versions but somehow cannot throw this one out. Although the pages are splattered with fat, covered in flour, have ripped corners, stained and smudged print, it is has treasured memories of various cooking moments for occasions over the years.

A fruit cake recipe was given to me by my friend Ellen many years ago. We used to holiday in Eastbourne when the children were young as Mr M's parents lived that way. One holiday we met up with a lovely couple Ellen and Norman and their two children and spent every day on the beach with them as well as meeting up at the pub in the evening. On the final day we said our goodbyes and never thought we'd see them again. The following year, same two weeks, same spot on the beach by the pier we were both absolutely surprised and gobsmacked to be sitting next to them again! We have been firm friends ever since and still meet up on occasions. That was in 1983.

There are still many snippets to revisit but too many for now. Who'd have thought that my little recipe binder would have evoked so many memories.