1970's recipes - Retro Food For Modern Times

30
Mar
2015

New (Old) Book – The A-Z of Cooking (1976)

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Bad Retro Food

As much as I have loved Salad’s For All Seasons and there are many, many recipes still to cook from there I felt I was due for a change. There are only so many salads a girl can take.

A little dig through my pile of vintage cook books revealed this gem – The A-Z of Cooking from Octopus Books, 1976.

Just the cover sent my retro food antenna twitching that this was going to be gold. Because right from the get-go, there were some mad quirks. It’s called the A-Z of cooking. And yet….only Appetizers to Wine are listed. What, no zucchini, zabaglione or…wait for it, my new favourite food name….zuurkoolstamppot. ( I don’t care what’s in Z…trust me, we’re eating zuurkoolstampot that week!).

The inside cover of The A-Z of cooking tells me:

This is the compulsive “look up and learn’ book, where every cook, because of the original approach of the book, will find something new. More helpful than a standard cookery book, more enjoyable than a cookery encyclopedia, the book is packed with 190 recipes which have been specially grouped to give the ideas and situations when you are needing them”

Does anyone else think English may not have been that writer’s first language?

I’m not going to go into the special groupings yet. We’ll get to them in due course.

I did however just want to spend this post pointing out a few of the maddest bits of The A-Z of Cooking right from the get go.

Let’s start with page 13. I have never actually screamed with fright when viewing a retro food photo before.

Until this.

Welcome To My Nightmare

Oh. My. God. This thing looks like it wants to kill you. Don’t be fooled by its supposedly fun little parsley toupé. This nasty little fucker has got a backbone of prawns and it wants you, and your family, dead. In the most painful way possible.

Mango Mousse…Or Is It?

Moving very swiftly away from the psycho-killer trout, we come to page 30 of The A-Z of cooking and a Mango Mousse.

Maybe.

Anyone care to address the elephant in the room?

Who knew that back in 1976 mangoes and passionfruit were actually the same thing?

Little known fact* for you all. It was only in 1977, as his first piece of business as newly elected President, that Jimmy Carter deemed that henceforth they would be distinct pieces of tropical fruit.

*I swear on a stack of wikipedias that this so-called fact is not something I just made up.

Good Health…Good Grief!!!

Who remembers the great cucumber shortage of 1976? No, me either but it is surely the only explanation for this picture of Burghul Salad on p 31. Even worse when you read the recipe and it says it feeds 8. I’m sure everyone enjoyed their half a piece of cucumber. I just hope that fisticuffs didn’t break out over which half of the family got a black olive.

And also….I hate to bring things down to the level of the toilet. But are little black ovoid shapes really the best garnish for a salad that already looks like kitty litter?

Expecting The Unexpected

I’ll leave you with possibly the worse recipe in the book. Filed under U for “Unexpected Guest” this Chilled Ten Minute Potato Soup sounds utterly revolting. Although, maybe there is a method to this madness. Maybe it’s actually a warning. Do not turn up unexpected to the anonymous writer’s house and want a meal. Because you’ll be given some disgusting concoction made from instant mash and dehydrated onions. And it will be cold to boot.

Kind of makes the kitty litter salad seem not so bad.

I think the A-Z of Cooking is going to be a hoot! Coming soon…Adventurous Appetizers!

Have a great week!

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02
Mar
2015

Jane Grigson’s Watercress and Orange Salad

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Cookbook Guru, Feta, Olives, Orange, Salad, Walnuts, Watercress

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter,
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here

Ok, so not exactly true for Melbourne, although it has been a fairly shitty summer. But certainly for my friends in the States, it must feel like that. But hopefully, this Watercress and Orange Salad will bring you some virtual sunshine.

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it’s all right

This is a very cool salad from Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book.. I think it looks like a big, beautiful sunflower. And not only is it pretty; it is super tasty too. How could it not be – peppery watercress, tangy sweet orange, earthy toasted walnuts and salty olives. And it looks so 70’s. I think it’s the combination of green and orange….

Here is the original recipe from Jane Grigson:

And here is the original version:

Jane Grigson's Watercress Salad — Jane Grigson’s Watercress Salad

This is very simple to put together. Line your plate with watercress and start piling in your ingredients. The worst bit if you do it in the circle is stripping all those watercress leaves.

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel…

Never ending or begining on an ever spinning wheel….

I found the best way to get the orange slices as thin as possible was to cut them with the skin still on, then cut the peel and pith away with a pair of kitchen scissors.

Then just add your walnuts and / or olives.

Before serving, a grind of pepper and a splash of vinaigrette made with some sherry vinegar and voila!!! Or should I say “Velado!” because this really has a Spanish feel to it.

I had this with some grilled salmon the first time I made it and it was delicious!!! The second time I had it with some prawns and it was, again super. I would love to try it with duck as per Jane’s suggestion.

And I made it a third time but this time tweaked the recipe a bit – I added some feta cheese and a teeny bit of red onion. This time, I had it with a lovely sourdough baguette for a light lunch and it was perfection!!! And yes, I made this three times in about ten days. It’s that good.

So far, Jane Grigson’s recipes are turning out to be amazing. I am a little disappointed that it is now March and we have another book to focus on at The Cookbook Guru. But wow!!! What a book!!! I am super excited about stepping across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco for my next venture with The Cookbook Guru!!!

And, if you are struggling through a long cold and lonely winter either physically or mentally, here is a little anecdote that may help.

Back in 1969, there was not much joy camp Beatle – there were personality clashes, legal battles, business disputes….things were going to hell in a handbasket. But in the midst of all the problems, all the trouble and strife, George Harrison (by far my favourite Beatle) walked into Eric Clapton’s garden with an acoustic guitar and wrote, to my mind anyway, one of the most beautiful, hopeful songs ever written. In the midst of adversity and all that…

And just to tie it all in together, here is George singing that song with some Spanish subtitles.

All together now

Sol, sol, sol
Ahí viene

Have a great week. I hope all your clouds have silver linings.

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19
Feb
2015

Locket’s Savoury & Pimped Up Locket’s Savoury (GF)

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Blue Cheese, Bread, Cookbook Guru, Gluten Free, Pears, Watercress

One of the best things about 2014 was connecting with other cooks and bloggers and cooking from the same books. I love doing it in person at the Tasty Reads bookclub but it was also so much fun doing the Joan Crawford inspired dinner for Jenny’s book launch.

So, I was super excited to find this blog:

https://thecookbookguru.wordpress.com/what-is-the-cookbook-guru/

Which is pretty much all cook-a-longs. They choose a new book every two months and anyone can cook from the book and post on their own site. Then, Leah shares what everyone posts on The Cookbook Guru. What a great idea!!!

The book for January and February is Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. First published in 1978, this has become a classic. And very auspicious that I get to start with a book full of retro recipes.

I was even more excited that there were a whole heap of artichoke recipes because the local continental deli had been having a sale and I bought about a ton of artichokes because they were something insane like 50 cents a can.

Then I read Jane’s advice on

How to choose canned artichokes.

“Don’t”

Huh….Jane apparently doesn’t mince words. I like her already. But anyway I hightailed it out of artichokes and landed at the very other end of the book at watercress and found this lovely recipe for a very fancy grilled cheese called Locket’s Savoury.

I did have a little giggle when I read the name of this dish. Back in the day, we used to have a footballer by the name of Lockett nicknamed Plugger because….I have no idea why and have sufficient lack of interest in football to be arsed to Google it. Anyway, some time before the Grand Final one year (the equiv of the Super Bowl or the FA Cup Final), Plugger hurt his groin. And I swear for an inordinately long amount of time, it seemed like if you picked up a newspaper, turned on the radio or the tv, all you heard about, all people seemed to care about was Plugger’s Groin. Strangers would approach you on the street and say “So, do you think it will be good for the Granny?”

“What?”

“Plugger’s groin.”

Not since David Beckham made those underwear ads has an entire nation been so obsessed by the state of a football player’s nether regions. And yes, by the way…we do nickname our Super Bowl/FA Cup etc The Granny. As in a little old lady. That’s Australia for you.

So, all that was Lockett’s Unsavoury, let’s turn to the matter at hand – Locket’s Savoury

So simple. So delicious, and just 4 ingredients.

Bread

The original recipe called for white bread. I used this beautiful seeded ciabatta. Jane’s recipe called for the crusts to be cut off. I left mine on because I love the taste of the toasted seeds!

Watercress

One of my favourite greens. I love the peppery taste of it!

Pears

Are probably my least favourite fruit. Will this recipe redeem them in my mind?

Locket's Savoury - Pear — Locket’s Savoury – Pear

Stilton.

Mmmmmm…blue cheese. Happy days….

Stilton is apparently the king of cheeses. Who knew cheese had a royalty. Who’s the queen? And more importantly who is the red headed reprobate prince flashing it’s arse and donning a swastika for high jinks?

I’m betting it’s goats cheese.

This was awesome. It actually made me like pears. And that’s saying something!
There’s a few more totally awesome watercress recipes in this same book and I have a ton of it left so you may get a few more o’ these before the month is through. There is definitely one more I have to do.

Here is Jane Grigson’s recipe:

This was really good. Super tasty, super easy and I wouldn’t change a thing in Jane’s recipe.

Or would I?

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed very unfair that my gluten-free friends missed out on this delight.

So without further ado, meet the pimped up, gluten-free Locket’s Savoury

Basically, scrap the bread, use a slice of pear as the base. Add your watercress and Stilton. Throw in some chopped walnuts. Once done, sprinkle with some chives.

In some ways this was almost better. Those pears got all caramelised and…dare I say it, delicious!!!

I’m so looking forward to doing the Cookbook Guru Cook-a-longs. And you know what would be even better? If you all did it too…

If you did want to, you already know the book for the rest of Feb. March and April is The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert. My local library has a copy of this. Yours probably does too. I also got the Jane Grigson book from the library.

But PS..The Locket’s Savoury is the gift that keeps on giving. Those little bits of blue cheese that slide off as you grill the cheese and go kind of crunchy. So good to eat later!!!

Have a fabulous week!

And I would love to know your royal family of cheese!!!

[yumprint-recipe id=’24’]

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12
Feb
2015

Favourite Tomato Salad

categories: 1970's recipes, Blue Cheese, Salad, Salad Dressing, Sour Cream, Tomatoes

As we approach the day of ~~sickening oversentimentality~~ love, it seems fitting to devote a post to the love apple aka the tomato. And just to further add to my bah humbug disdain of the day, I thought I would share another one of my dating disasters from the good old days when I was single (and dinosaurs ruled the Earth). The first which I posted last Valentine’s day can be found here.

But first, tomatoes…..have to be one of my favorite foods. And as much as I love the fancy stuff – if you give me two slices of white bread, spread liberally with butter, some slices of tomato, preferably fresh from the garden some salt and pepper….right there you have a little bit of my idea of heaven.

And speaking of tomato heaven, this salad is one of the best things I have ever eaten. And it’s not just my favourite tomato salad, it is also a mash up of Rosemary Mayne Wilson’s Favourite Tomato Salad and her Superb Blue Cheese Dressing.

Just look at this and tell me it’s not one of the prettiest things you have ever seen? And just to gild that lily? The dressing contains a hefty dose of blue cheese. And a liberal splash of sherry for those of you who, much like myself, like to have a little bit o’ booze with….well pretty much anything.

So tasty and full of yummy deliciousness. But as we celebrate the love apple, let’s also take a step back into my dark, deep dating history for another disaster story.

So, a few years ago, I was dating a someone who…seemed pretty normal. Until.

STRIKE ONE

Best Tomato Salad2 — Favourite Tomato Salad2

We were due to meet my mum and her partner for dinner one night. And we had to park a little bit away from the restaurant. As we started walking through the car park, he went to spit on the ground.

Which, is pretty disgusting in, and of, itself. But then came

STRIKE TWO.

So. He goes to spit on the ground.

Only thing is…he misses.

Misses the ground that is How you ask? How can he miss the ground? Do you live in a land of anti-gravity?

No, He missed the ground because he spat all over his own shoe.

Feel free to insert massive eyeroll at will.

Bad enough, you’re going to spit on the ground. That’s uncouth. Do you need to add uncoordinated onto that as well?

So now we’re half way across the car park. He has a big gob of spit on his right shoe. Which needs to be gotten rid of pronto because we’re about to meet my parents.

And here comes

STRIKE THREE

He chose to get rid of that big gob of spit by lifting up his right leg and wiping it on the back of his jeans on his left leg.

Appalling, I know. But you haven’t even heard the worst.

Because even though I know that technically there’s no such thing as a

STRIKE FOUR

The worst thing?

Let’s just suppose I had accidentally spat on my own foot…it would never happen but you know…in the realms of absolute fantasy….

I would have hopped about shrieking like a banshee for….I don’t know, at least a good ten minutes…

“OMG, I’ve spat on my own shoe…what am I going to do? I need to get it off, how am I going to get it off…where’s the nearest shoe shop? I need to buy new shoes…” etc.

HE did not even break stride. It was like spit, shoe, wipe…all in one fluid motion. Which only meant one thing….

It wasn’t the first time he had done it.

He was a serial spitter and misser.

That relationship didn’t last the carpark….

This tomato salad should become an immediate part of your summer repertoire. It’s so damn good!!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!! Hope it’s fabulous whatever you do!

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19
Jan
2015

Surprise! Orange Chicken Salad

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Chicken, Jello Salad, Jelly, Orange

OMG. I was downloading some photos from my camera of the Ice Iced Vovo when I found all the photos I had taken of the Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad. I had totally forgotten about it. How, I do not know. I’m sure I didn’t drink THAT much over the holiday period. I’m equally sure you will agree that the Orange Chicken Surprise Salad should be unforgettable (in every way).

Given that I have named January the month of crazy, it seemed fitting to post it here. I totally had something else in mind to close out the month and we may yet get there. But this had to get a mention.

It looks quite pretty. Like a lovely orange jello dessert. But wait! A surprise lurks within.

Not much of a surprise as the name pretty much gives it away….(There must be some sort of term for that….is it a paradox? A tautology? Someone smarter than me please tell me….) But hiding under that innocent orange jello exterior is a chicken salad. A rather tasty chicken salad to boot.

The idea of mixing sweet jello and savoury items kind of freaks me out. It should not work. It freaks me out even more when, like this, the result is actually pretty tasty. Mind you, I loaded the jello with lemon juice so it was not as sweet as the original recipe dictated which may have helped make it a bit more palateable to my taste. The original recipe is below:

The hardest thing about this recipe is getting the layer of jelly on the top the right thickness. My cup sank way too deep the first few times, requiring some melting and resetting of the jelly. It was still a little bit thin in this version and it kind of fell into a heap when I cut into it.

But all up, this was a success. The jelly actually added a light tangy touch to the salad which was refreshing both on a hot day and after the heavy meals of Christmas.

My version, which includes cranberries and tarragon is below.

I’ll be spending this week working on my post to celebrate Australia Day….I’m venturing into the best left alone arena of “things people eat when drunk” and, believe me, whether I love it or hate it, it’s going to be a doozy!!!

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Orange & Chicken Surprise Salad

Print Recipe

Surprise! Hidden beneath the layers of tangy orange and lemon jelly is a super tasty chicken salad.

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For the Jello

2 packets orange jello
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup boiling water, just off boil

For The Salad

11/2 cups finely diced cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp chopped tarragon
1/2 tbsp chopped chives
1/4 cup (about a handful) of cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 stick of celery, diced
more lemon juice to bind, if needed
salt and pepper to taste

To Garnish

1 orange peeled and segmented
Mint leaves
Cranberries

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Combine the jello, fruit juices and boiling water, stirring until the jello melts. Place in fridge to set.
When about half set place a small bowl into the jello and weigh it down (baking beans are ideal if you have them, otherwise use rice or beans or anything else you have to hand).
Chill for several hours until very firm.
Meanwhile combine all the salad ingredients and season to taste.
When the jelly is set, take a sharp knife and dip it in hot water. Dry the knife then ease all around the small bowl. You may need to dip it in the water a couple of times.
Once the bowl is removed pack the chicken salad into the cavity. Put foil or a plate over it and chill until firm.
When ready to serve, place the mould in hot water to loosen the jelly, it only needs to be in there a short time. Then turn it out and garnish with the orange segments, cranberries and mint leaves.

Notes

If your cup sinks too low in your jelly mould like mine did, place the bottom of the mould in hot water. The jelly will melt. Keep the mould in the water until you get the level of jelly you desire then place back in the fridge to reset.

Uncle Bob’s Jell-O Salad

Tag: 1970’s recipes

Welcome To My Nightmare

Mango Mousse…Or Is It?

Good Health…Good Grief!!!

Expecting The Unexpected

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How to choose canned artichokes.

Bread

Watercress

Pears

Stilton.

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STRIKE ONE

STRIKE TWO.

STRIKE THREE

STRIKE FOUR

Orange & Chicken Surprise Salad

Ingredients

For the Jello

For The Salad

To Garnish

Instructions

Notes

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