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Sunday, June 6, 2010

"Any one can Bake!" -- Blue Monday


Today I'm linking up with Smiling Sally for Blue Monday! Visit her blog for more Blue Monday participants!

A couple months ago, my mom gave me a box of recipes and cookbooks that belonged to my great-grandmother, Annabelle. We are pretty sure that a good majority of them belonged to her mother, Tresa Baker. Tonight, while looking for something blue to share with you all, I spied this promotional cook book put out by the Royal Baking Powder Co. in 1927. Since Grammy Annabelle was only 12 years old then, I'm assuming this was my great-great grandmother's book.

The book is titled Any one can Bake and the cover features a picture of kitchen items and the words, "Price $2.00" at the bottom. It is in really nice shape with a tight binding and glossy pages---several of them are in color. OldCookbooks.com lists it to sell for $38.50 for an excellent copy and $14.50 for a super beat up copy.

Not only does it feature lots of great recipes, but it also has many, many tips and ideas for table setting, menu planning, entertaining and nutrition (page 42 is titled: "Cookies--Wholesome Sweets for Children").

In the section labeled "Menus and Menu Building", the following sentence is used: "Similar vegetables such as macaroni and white potatoes or macaroni and rice or potatoes and rice should not be served at the same meal." Now who can tell me what is wrong with that sentence? Ha! Also, the following are listed as "combinations to which we have become accustomed": corned beef and cabbage, pig's knuckles and sauerkraut, roast duck or goose and apples, roast pork and applesauce, roast veal and tomatoes, buckwheat cakes and sausage, fish and cucumbers. I can honestly tell you that if buckwheat cakes are what I think they are then that is the only of those combinations that I've heard of or eaten! However, even though I thought we had not one more meal in the house and were in desperate need of a grocery shopping trip, now that I know fish and cucumbers are an acceptable meal, I can unthaw those few salmon patties in my freezer and serve them with the handful of cucumbers I've got in the fridge!

A menu plan "that will interest the 16-Year-Old" on page 87 prefaces it's choices with the following: "Every young girl is anxious to give a party that is different and to be assured that her boy and girl friends are going to have as fine a time at her home as at any other. The kinds of cake or sandwiches or other dishes that the boys like will always be the ones decided upon." Ha! I won't write them all out now but I can say that most of them involve coffee and toast!

My favorite part of the book is the very last page, "Hints for Young Housewives". There were a couple of really great ideas, as well as some that I'd already had to learn from trial and error! I liked this idea for keeping a round, cut cake fresh: "cut the desired number of slices from center of cake. Push the two remaining pieces close together like a whole cake and it will keep moist and soft for several days." Duh...I can't believe I haven't thought of that yet!

All teasing aside, I really think this book will come in handy as I plan to invite the ladies of our church (all but a handful of them are great-grandmothers) over for a get-together now and then. I'm sure it will really bless them to have me make up some of these recipes that they probably remember having as a child or preparing as a young wife.

Enjoy your Blue Monday!

12 comments:

  1. Makes me wish I had my great grandmothers cookbook. I might have to buy this one. Her name was Anna Mae Willoghby and I loved her very much. My family if from Tennessee and Indiana so I can picture these recipes!

    Thanks for sharing. Have fun cooking. Bread is becoming my new love. :)

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  2. Sounds like a great book and coming from your grandma makes it very precious...Christine

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  3. Very interesting Blue Monday post.
    I have some recipe books too, but had to laugh yesterday when Hubby spotted me with my laptop open following a recipe.
    Blessings - Jan

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  4. What a treasure!

    I always have applesauce with roast pork.

    Happy Blue Monday.

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  5. i am collecting cookbook . you are lucky to have them from your grandma

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  6. What a fun book to look through! Isn't it interesting to see how the way we eat has changed over the years? Not always for the better, but in some cases definitely improved! Buckwheat cakes, those are pancakes,right? I remember my dad mentioning them a lot, remembering them fondly from his childhood. So the sausage would make sense with them. But the fish and cucumbers, hmmmm, can't figure that one out!
    Thanks for sharing this with us, I enjoyed i!
    XO
    Heidi - Heart and Home

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  7. Promise that you will print a recipe or two from the book, that would be so much fun. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. love old cookbooks my latest is a cook book that is both swedish and english

    check mine out at http://shopannies.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/5540/

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  9. Very interesting & funny ! I love old books, especially cook books.
    Blessings,
    ~Myrna

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  10. I love having some of my grandmothers things. I just let my granddaughter use my grandmothers beaded purse. Had a fun day shopping with her. Thanks for sharing and come by and visit. Debbie

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  11. Ohhhh, what great fun. I am a cookbook collector..and have no clue how many I have. I love the vintage ones..the older,the better. My earliest one is 1907 and I do treasure that book. I can read and enjoy cookbooks the smae way some read novels. You have some real treasures there.. Happy Blue Monday..

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  12. A great post... some things never change. But I am glad some do. Have a great time with the church ladies. They will have their own stories and combinations, I'm sure.
    ...Karen

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Mrs. Sarah Coller

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