Vintage Recipes for Fall

A common meal during the depression and war years. Reminds us to be thankful for the variety and quality of food choices we have on our tables.

Dog (War Time) Soup,
Gilbert 1967
1 tablespoon butter,
margarine                                
5 fresh sage leaves
bacon drippings, lard or oil                                      
5 fresh green leaves
of rosemarie
1/3 onion chopped
1 ripe tomato                                                            
Salt & pepper to taste
Old bread, French
or Italian (pieces)
Fry onion in butter or oil with sage and rosemarie, until onion is golden. Mash in tomato and cook well for 10 minutes. Then add 2 quarts water and seasoning to taste and boil for 5-10 minutes. Put bread pieces in soup tureen and pour boiling soup over the bread and let simmer without further heating for 5 minutes and serve. (Very filling, non-fattening, winter evening meal).

Custardy Popovers
From a Lindsay newspaper clipping, 1981.
While Steve and Nance were here, Steve made his specialty Custardy Popovers. They are a wonderful “almost breakfast in one”. The ingredients call for:
1 cup flour,
1 cup milk
4 eggs
½ teaspoon of salt
2 tbsp of butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix eggs and milk, add dry ingredients. Grease custard cups with butter and preheat 5 minutes. Fill dishes 2/3 full Steve used my muffin tins and it made a dozen). Fill with jam, honey or whatever suits your fancy. They are delicious.

Cranberry Apple Relish,
1970’s
Nice substitute for the traditional cranberry sauce.
Grind 1 cup of raw apples, cored but unpeeled,
1 cup of raw cranberries
½ orange, unpeeled.
Stir in 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and ½ cup chopped walnuts. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator (Food processor works great). Good side with turkey or chicken.

Pumpkin Pies: I found a pumpkin pie with meringue recipe from the1950’s. It was time consuming to make and the outcome wasn’t exceptional. The baked meringue proved to be a good substitute for whipping cream. Also, put a layer of marshmallows in the bottom of a pumpkin pie, then add the filling. You will have a nice topping as marshmallow will come to the top.
Hints: Dip a new broom in hot salt water before using. This will toughen the bristles and make it last longer.

- Ann Marie Bezayiff is a local food columnist and published author who lives in Strathmore. She can be reached at ambolor@ocsnet.net. You can also find her column at www.annsrecycledrecipes.blogspot.com.
- This column is not a news article but the opinion of the writer and does not reflect the views of The Foothills Sun-Gazette newspaper.

Vintage Snacks...

Snacks in a hurry:
What could be better than bread and milk?
Or milk toast made golden with butter?
Or slices of nut bread spread with cream cheese.
Golden Book of Sour Cream Recipes, 1950

I found several snack recipes in my vintage recipe boxes. The first one is a basic Chex Mix recipe that was popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Variations of this recipe can be found on the back of Chex cereal boxes.
There’s something for every taste, but I like this basic one. I add extra nuts and sometimes pretzels.
Chex Party Mix
commercially printed
recipe, 1977
6 tbsp Margarine
(butter works too)
1 tsp McCormick/Schilling
Season All Seasoned Salt
(I could only find Morton’s)
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups Corn Chex cereal
2 cups Rice Chex cereal
2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
1 ½ cups mixed nuts
Melt the margarine in shallow pan over low heat. Stir in All Seasoned Salt and Worcestershire sauce. Add Chex and mixed nuts. Mix until all pieces are coated. Heat in 250 degree oven for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes. Spread out on absorbent paper to cool. Makes 7 ½ cups.

Mexican Layered Dip
Joyce 1970’s
I heated the refried beans before layering the other ingredients on top and added diced tomatoes with the olives. Serve with tortilla chips.
Omit or add your own ingredients as desired.
First Layer: Refried beans
Spread layer of salsa ranchero on top (choices were limited)
Layer of guacamole: 2 to 3 avocados, seasoning salt, minced onions and lemon juice
Layer of sour cream
Layer of grated yellow and white cheese (cheddar &jack)
Sliced olives on top.

Trail-Mix
1960’s
Invite friends over for a trail-mix party.
Everyone brings trail mix items to share and swap. Chocolate items are missing, probably because of melting. You’ll need plastic bags for storage. Great after school snacks or for a work break.  Extra bags can be handed out to the homeless.
These are ingredients listed on the recipe card: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, coconut, dates, cranberries, tropical medley, fruit bits.

Frozen Banana Salad
Helen 1960’s
Scope up like ice cream right from the freezer, freeze and serve in individual cupcake wrappers, or whirl in a blender for a smoothie. Great banana taste.
2 cups sour cream
¾ cup sugar
1 8oz can crushed pineapple
4 bananas, smashed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 8oz jar maraschino cherries,
quartered.
½ cup nuts, chopped
Mix all above ingredients well. Pour into 9x9 inch pan. Freeze. Serves 9.
Freezing tips: Run overripe banana through a sieve or mash them, add a little lemon juice and freeze. Perfect for later use in cakes and breads. Brown sugar will not harden if stored in the freezer. Freeze fish in milk cartons full of water.
Best of Helpful Hints, 1980

Cool Recipes for Aug. heat...

When temperatures soar and I’m weak from the heat, there’s one consolation, I still love to eat.
Our Favorite Italian Recipes, Central Coast Italian Catholic Federation 1974. This light peach recipe can be made in the early morning hours before the heat of the day and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Choose a variety of peach with easily removed pits.

Pesci Piemontese, Baked Peaches:
Mary 1974
7 medium peaches
1 ¼ tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
5 crushed macaroons
½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Cut 6 peaches into halves. Remove pits and scoop out a little of the pulp. Remove all pulp from the extra peach. Mash the pulp and add the sugar, butter, egg, macaroons and vanilla flavoring. Blend well and fill each peach half with the mixture. Place in a well-buttered baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve hot or cold. This will make six servings.

Tropical Fruit Float:
Marilyn, 1972
Combine into a bowl the following fruits:
2 cans (11 oz. size)
mandarin organs
1 can (1 lb. 4 oz.)
pineapple chunks or tidbits
1 can (about 1 lb.) papaya
or mango or fresh fruit
1 to 1 ½ cups
fresh orange juice
Mix together and chill well.
At serving time ladle fruit mixture into individual bowls. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and pass toasted coconut.
Toasted coconut as follows:
Place 1 ½ cups shredded or flaked coconut in a shallow pan. Set in 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. Stir or shake coconut to toast evenly.

Pickled Zucchini:
Donna & Marie from
Healthy Hearts.
8 cups of thinly sliced green
or yellow zucchini
or combination of both
2 large sweet onions,
sliced or chopped
1 green, red
or yellow bell pepper,
sliced or chopped
Mix all together in a large bowl, sprinkle with one tablespoon salt, toss well, & set aside.
Mix in a large sauce pan:
1 cup vinegar
1 ¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon mustard seed
May substitute celery salt or dry mustard.
Bring to a boil & remove from heat.
Pour zucchini mix into hot liquid & stir well.
Return to heat & bring to a boil, remove immediately from heat.
Pour into large bowl & refrigerate until well chilled.
For a small group, this recipe can be divided in half.
Clothes line Hints: After washing cotton or silk gloves, rinse them by holding them under the cold water faucet so the fingers are inflated with water. Then let them drip dry on the same line and they will dry without twisted fingers… Insert a teaspoon in the toe of your nylons when hanging them on the line to prevent blowing and snagging. Our Favorite Italian Recipes, 1974

Cool Recipes for Aug. heat....

When temperatures soar and I’m weak from the heat, there’s one consolation, I still love to eat.
Our Favorite Italian Recipes, Central Coast Italian Catholic Federation 1974. This light peach recipe can be made in the early morning hours before the heat of the day and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Choose a variety of peach with easily removed pits.

Pesci Piemontese, Baked Peaches:
Mary 1974
7 medium peaches
1 ¼ tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
5 crushed macaroons
½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Cut 6 peaches into halves. Remove pits and scoop out a little of the pulp. Remove all pulp from the extra peach. Mash the pulp and add the sugar, butter, egg, macaroons and vanilla flavoring. Blend well and fill each peach half with the mixture. Place in a well-buttered baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve hot or cold. This will make six servings.

Tropical Fruit Float:
Marilyn, 1972
Combine into a bowl the following fruits:
2 cans (11 oz. size)
mandarin organs
1 can (1 lb. 4 oz.)
pineapple chunks or tidbits
1 can (about 1 lb.) papaya
or mango or fresh fruit
1 to 1 ½ cups
fresh orange juice
Mix together and chill well.
At serving time ladle fruit mixture into individual bowls. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and pass toasted coconut.
Toasted coconut as follows:
Place 1 ½ cups shredded or flaked coconut in a shallow pan. Set in 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. Stir or shake coconut to toast evenly.

Pickled Zucchini:
Donna & Marie from
Healthy Hearts.
8 cups of thinly sliced green
or yellow zucchini
or combination of both
2 large sweet onions,
sliced or chopped
1 green, red
or yellow bell pepper,
sliced or chopped
Mix all together in a large bowl, sprinkle with one tablespoon salt, toss well, & set aside.
Mix in a large sauce pan:
1 cup vinegar
1 ¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon mustard seed
May substitute celery salt or dry mustard.
Bring to a boil & remove from heat.
Pour zucchini mix into hot liquid & stir well.
Return to heat & bring to a boil, remove immediately from heat.
Pour into large bowl & refrigerate until well chilled.
For a small group, this recipe can be divided in half.
Clothes line Hints: After washing cotton or silk gloves, rinse them by holding them under the cold water faucet so the fingers are inflated with water. Then let them drip dry on the same line and they will dry without twisted fingers… Insert a teaspoon in the toe of your nylons when hanging them on the line to prevent blowing and snagging. Our Favorite Italian Recipes, 1974.

It’s Never Too Much Zucchini....

Zucchini plants are beginning their aggressive takeover of the garden. So I began a search for vintage Zucchini recipes. I selected just a few to share with you.

Zucchini Bread:
Shirley 1980
3 eggs                                                            
3 cups flour
1 cup cooking oil                                        
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar                                                  
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups grated, peeled zucchini                    
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla                                        
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
Beat eggs until foamy; add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and cinnamon; mix well, fold in nuts. Bake in two loaf pans (greased) or at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (A Bundt pan works too)
                                                         
Chocolate Zucchini Bread:
Very similar to zucchini bread but with more cake-like texture
3 eggs                                                            
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cooking oil                                        
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar                                                  
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups grated, peeled                                    
2 1/2 teas. baking powder      
zucchini                                                          
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla                                        
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup cocoa                                                  
Beat eggs, oil, and sugar; add zucchini and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients. Add alternately with milk to zucchini mixture. Blend well. Pour into greased loaf pans, Bundt pan or 10 inch tube. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Zucchini Casserole:
Enis
2-2 1/2 lbs. zucchini
1 cube butter-melted
1 cup bread crumbs
1 lb. shredded Jack Cheese
3 sm. cans diced Ortega chilies
4 beaten eggs
3Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Dash of garlic salt, parsley
Shred the zucchini – do not cook
½ cube of melted butter into the bottom of casserole dish
Sprinkle ½ cup of bread crumbs over melted butter
Mix Zucchini, cheese, chilies, eggs, flour, baking powder, garlic salt, parsley
Put mixture over bread crumbs
Use ½ cup of bread crumbs on top and drizzle rest of butter over the top
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

Zucchini Fritters
(Zucchini Frittelli): Mary 1970
Along with salt & pepper, add your own touch to this recipe with the addition of any combination of herbs or seasonings, spicy or mild.
2 cups grated zucchini                        1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs                                      salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon flour                               olive oil and butter
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Blend all ingredients well. Drop by tablespoons into hot oil and butter. Turn and cook until golden brown.
Corn-on-the-Cob: to remove cornsilk; Dampen a toothbrush, and brush downward on the cob of corn. Every strand should come off.
Carrots: Remember, remove the tops of carrots before storing. Tops drain the carrots of moisture, making them limp and dry. Best of Helpful Kitchen Hints, 1980

A Full Cooky Jar Makes a Home Homey

 Some of the sweetest memories of Home are bound up with Mother’s Cooky Jar. Long after the spicy fragrance of her ginger cookies baking has faded into the years….the thought of that ample cooky jar on the shelf will bring back vividly the old time-peace, comfort, and security of Home. Every Home should have a cooky jar.
- Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook, 1950

Cry Baby Cookies
From Dianne’s Family Recipe Box
They’re so good, if you give them to a crying child, they’ll stop crying. The name of this recipe caught my attention. It may have originated, in some form, with the Pennsylvania Dutch in early colonial times. The soft cake-like texture is also reminiscent of the South. California raisins were introduced in the early 1900’s.
Like so many handwritten recipes from this time period, instructions are often brief and incomplete. I’ve added a few details in parenthesis.
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons shortening
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1 cup sour milk
¼ teaspoon ginger
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
(Beat sugar and shortening together until mixture is smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add molasses and milk alternately with dry ingredients. Add raisins.)
Drop on cookie greased cookie sheet and bake (350 degrees for 10 minutes).
*For 1 cup sour milk:  Mix together 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup.
- Ethel, 1934
Mocha Frosting for Cry Baby Cookies, one of many variations
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons hot coffee  
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
Mix the ingredients until smooth and drizzle over hot cookies.
Latest on the cookie circuit: Make a batch of peanut butter cookie dough and shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in finely ground pretzels and bake.

Orange Rolls
This has the taste and consistency of scones. I used the food processor instead of a mixer. To prevent over mixing, use the pulse button. Roll out on lightly floured surface.
Sift together:
2 cups sifted flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
Work in ¼ cup shortening
(or butter)
Add 1 egg and ½ cup milk
or orange juice
Roll out about 1/4 inch thick.
(Make a 15x 9 rectangle)
Mix ½ cup sugar with the grated rind of ½ orange and spread over dough. (Melted butter, chopped pecans, or any combination of ingredients can be used.)
Roll like a jelly roll. Cut from each end.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18minutes
- Also from Dianne’s Family Recipe Box, 1930’s

Meat Casserole
A fast food version from the 1930’s.
Cook any meat you have a little, first.
Then fry onions, add a little water, some tomatoes, any leftover vegetables you might have.
Thicken mixture with browned flour darkened with a little coffee.
Season hotly.
Simmer in a bean pot. (Crockpot works!)
Helpful Hint: Try using a thread instead of a knife when a cake is to be cut while it is hot.
- Happiness is Italian
Cooking, Hanford, 1961

Elephants in the Kitchen

Elephant Stew
A recipe from the kitchen circuit, 1970’s.  It’s origin? I haven’t a clue.

1 medium elephants    2 small rabbits
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown elephant, place in large saucepan and simmer over low heat for two weeks. Salt and pepper to taste. This recipe will serve over 200. If more are expected, add the rabbits. This should be avoided, however, as most people don’t like hare in their stew.

Brownies
This cake-like brownie was a welcomed change to traditional brownies, which required expensive chocolate baking squares, and had to be melted in a double boiler. These cake-like brownies called for the more economical cocoa powder.

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
Sift ingredients above and add to the following:
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk    
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix well
Bring the following to a boil and mix with above.
2 tablespoon cocoa
2 cubes margarine
1 cup water
Grease pan, do not flour. Bake 400 degrees, 10-15 minutes.
Makes 2 large cake pans, 9x13.

Frosting
1 cube margarine
4 tablespoons cocoa
5 tablespoons buttermilk
1 lb. powdered sugar
Boil, add I cup nuts and 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread frosting on hot brownies.
  - Arlene, June 1971

Mandarin Salad
The earliest recipe I found was in the red cover, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1969, tenth printing. This was a great salad to serve during the winter months, when tomatoes and other fresh  vegetables weren’t readily available.

¼ cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon sugar
¼ head lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
¼ romaine, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 stalks of celery, about 1 cup
2 green onions, thinly sliced, about 2 Tablespoons
1 can (11 ounces, mandarin orange segments, drained)

Cook almonds and sugar over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and almonds are coated. Cool and break apart.
Place lettuce and romaine in plastic bag; add celery and onions. Pour Sweet-Sour dressing into bag; add orange segments. Close bag and shake until salad greens and orange segment are well coated. Add almonds and shake.

Sweet-Sour Dressing
¼ cup vegetable oil   2 Tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar   1 Tablespoon snipped parsley
½ teaspoon of salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of red pepper sauce
Shake all ingredients in tightly covered jar; refrigerate.


Helpful Hints: To the Salad
To prevent soggy salads, place an inverted saucer in the bottom of the salad bowl. The excess liquid drains off under the saucer, and the salad stays fresh and crisp.
Do not add salt to a lettuce salad until just before serving. Salt wilts and toughens lettuce.
Combine all ingredients for an oil and vinegar dressing in a screw-top jar. Add an ice cube and shake. Discard the ice cube and your dressing will be extra smooth and well mixed.
To keep wooden salad bowls from becoming sticky, wash and dry bowl thoroughly, then rub well, inside and out, with a piece of wax paper. Best of the Helpful, 1980.

Marsh-mallows, lemon sours & Jell-O.....

This recipe was listed under desserts, in one of my recipe boxes. I borrowed a neighbor’s toddler to help with this marshmallow recipe.  He didn’t get beyond bathing the marshmallows in water, so I finished the recipe on my own.  I took a package of flavored Jell-O and poured it into a zip-lock bag for shaking.

Decorating
Marshmallows
From Katherine Kitchen, 1970
In addition to either large or miniature marshmallows, you will need some flavored gelatin and some food coloring. Add the coloring to the dry gelatin, a few drops at a time, mixing well to obtain the desired color. (A blender can be used for this step and it does the trick beautifully). Dip two or three marshmallows at a time in water. Drain, the excess moisture by shaking in paper toweling, then roll in the colored gelatin. Place on paper toweling and allow to dry thoroughly.  

Coconut Lemon Squares
1972
1 cup unsifted all-purpose
flour
½ cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed
light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup coconut
1/3 cup soft butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Combine flour, granulated sugar and salt in bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press in ungreased 8” or 9” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Mix remaining ingredients; spread over baked mixture. Bake 30 minutes longer. Loosen edges while warm. If desired, spread with lemon glaze, sprinkle with more coconut.  Cool in pan, cut into bars. Makes 20 bars.

Yummy Lemon Jell-O
1970s
Alice and Joyce shared this recipe with me last month; it’s a keeper.
1 small pack lemon Jell-O
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup hot water
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup 7-Up
¼ cup sugar
1 20 oz. can drained
pineapple (save the juice)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 bananas-chopped
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup small marshmallows
½ carton whipping cream
Grated cheddar cheese
Dissolve Jell-O in hot water, add 7-UP. When slightly thickened in fridge, (in 9x9 glass container) add pineapple, marshmallows & bananas. Gel until firm. Make a sauce with butter, flour, sugar, egg & pineapple juice. Cook until thick. Cool sauce & add whipped cream. Spread over Jell-O. Sprinkle  cheese over top.

Kitchen Hints
1980: Lemons: Submerge a lemon in hot water for 15 minutes before squeezing will yield almost twice the amount of juice.
Oranges: If you put oranges in a hot oven before peeling them, no white fibers will be left on them.
1967: Dip a new broom in hot salt water before using. This will toughen the bristles and make it last longer.
It is very difficult to state the correct amount of sweets needed daily by each person. The best form in which the body can receive sweets is through the addition of delicate, attractive desserts to the menu. From Gold Medal Flour recipe card, 1950s.

Chicken Recipes....

Meats and fish are of high nutritive value due to their large protein content. Also, when properly prepared, they furnish our bodies with valuable fats, vitamins and mineral salts.
My recipe boxes are full of chicken recipes. Here are two. I also included a Jell-O recipe for St. Patrick’s Day. Jell-O recipes are almost as numerous as the chicken ones. I haven’t made Jell-O in years.
Remember to clean all surfaces that come in contact with poultry.

Chicken Recipes
Yogurt Baked Chicken:
Aug. 16, 1980
Note on card: Good
1 frying chicken cut up
(3 to 4 pounds) cut-up
2 cartons plain yogurt
(8 ounces each)
1 ½ teaspoons coriander
(or cumin)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon pepper
Combine yogurt, lemon juice, soy sauce, coriander, curry powder and pepper in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Turn chicken in sauce to coat all sides. Cover and marinate several hours or overnight in refrigerator.
Bake chicken in *sauce uncovered at 375 degrees until tender, about 55 minutes. Baste frequently with sauce. Serve chicken pieces in yogurt mixture.
*Notes: To prevent contamination or illness, meats and poultry should never be cooked in marinade. For this recipe, breading the chicken lightly, before baking, will help keep the chicken moist.


Chicken Casserole from Iva: February 1982
6 whole chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Ortega chili peppers
(seeded & cut in half)
2 cans cream of mushroom
soup
½ teaspoon red chili powder
1 onion chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
½ - 1 cup milk
1 pound sharp
Tillamook cheese, grated
1 package corn tortillas
Wrap chicken in foil and bake for I hour at 400 degrees. Cool and cut into large chunks. Mix together soups, onion and milk for a sauce. In a 9x13 pan layer tortillas (cut into quarters) and overlapped. Layer chili strips, sauce, and cheese.
You will have 2 to 3 layers and on top of the last layer, add cheese. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 24 hours. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, with foil left on pan.

Jell-O St. Patrick
1 3oz. package lime Jell-O
1 cup of boiling water
1 large avocado, ripe but firm
1 tablespoon vinegar
½ cup chopped celery
½ chopped blanched almonds or other nuts ½ cup pineapple tidbits and juice from 20oz can
Mix water with Jell-O to dissolve. Add vinegar and pineapple juice.  Add other ingredients just before Jell-O hardens.

Kitchen Hints: Best of Helpful Kitchen Hints, 1980
Defrost chicken by soaking in cold water that has been heavily salted. Meat will be pure white and flavorful.
- Happiness is Italian Cooking, Hanford 1967
When cooking cabbage, place a small tin cup or can half full of vinegar on the stove near the cabbage, and it will absorb all odors from it.

Basic Home Ec. Pilaf....

Here are a few pilaf recipes I came across while searching through my recipe vintage boxes. I was hoping for a Valentine recipe, but didn’t find anything that caught my attention.  So I chose this comfort food instead.
Pilaf was the first recipe I copied onto an index card and filed in my personal recipe box. It was a favorite beginning recipe in those mandatory home economics, food preparation classes. My basic recipe has long been transformed and undergone a kitchen metamorphosis since those days. It continues to be one of our family favorites.
Notes: For my own version, I use butter, long grain white rice and the thicker coiled vermicelli. Generally 2 to 2 1/2 cups of liquid for each cup of rice works well.  You may want to try olive oil mixed in with the butter.

Pilaf Recipes
Carol’s recipe from 1980
2 cups rice
2 cans chicken broth and
1 cube butter        
2 bouillon cubes
2 coils vermicelli, broken salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter, add vermicelli and brown. Bring broth to a bubble. Put melted butter and browned vermicelli in a casserole; then add rice and hot both. Put lid on and bake 30 minutes (or until rice is done) in a 350 degree oven. This has lots of butter!

Katie’s recipe from 1977
3 Tablespoons of butter
2/3 cup water
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup broth (beef or chicken)
1 small can mushrooms
1 cup uncooked rice
Sauté onion, mushrooms and rice in butter. Cook until rice is slightly browned. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Lower fire and steam for 15 to 20 minutes or this can be put into a covered casserole dish. Put into a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.
Fresh mushrooms work too. I couldn’t bring myself to use canned mushrooms.

Gracie’s Recipe from 1980
1 cup Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 coil of angel hair
3 cups of water
½ cube margarine
salt to taste: 2 teaspoons
Garlic powder, optional
Brown angel hair and margarine. Be sure it’s dark brown. Add rice, water, salt, bouillon and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Simmer until water disappears. The only difficulty with this recipe was trying to open the box of rice without spilling it all over the kitchen.
Hints: Mushrooms and Shoe Laces. Never immerse mushrooms in water when cleaning. They will absorb too much liquid. For prime mushrooms, buy only those with closed caps. The gills should not be showing.
Mary Ellen’s Best of Helpful Hints, 1980 - To whiten laces, wash them in sour milk.
Happiness is Italian Cooking, 1967 - I found a recipe called Dog (War) Soup used during World War II. No, it doesn not call for a real dog. Do any of you have similar recipes?
- Ann Marie Bezayiff is a local food columnist and published author who lives in Strathmore. She can be reached at ambolor@ocsnet.net.