Alternate title: Would you care for some gruel with your toast-water?
My grandmother has moved in with my parents, and so now our house if filled with Grandma's stuff. Included in her things is a cookbook that was originally published in 1905, the Blue Ribbon Cookbook, for everyday use in Canadian homes. This book is sheer gold (we read aloud from it during our family Christmas).
Here are some family favourites:
"Calf's Heart -- Wash, remove veins, arteries, and clotted blood. Stuff and sew. Sprinkle with salt and Blue Ribbon pepper, roll in flour, and brown in hot fat. Place in small, deep baking pan, half cover it with boiling water, cover closely, and bake slowly 2 hours, basting every 15 minutes. Thicken the liquid, season with salt and pepper, and pour around the heart before serving." [QWoP Note: browning in hot fat! That's what was missing when I cooked calves' hearts.]
"Imitation Maple Syrup -- Boil clean corn cobs in water; then remove the cobs, add brown sugar, and boil to a nice, thick syrup. One can hardly tell it from genuine maple syrup. The cobs give the maple flavor."
Oatmeal Drink (served iced, and flavoured with lemon)
My personal favourites can be found in the section "Invalid Cookery":
"Toast is valuable for invalids, because by toasting, part of the starch is turned into dextrin, which is easily digested. Cut the bread thin. Serve it dry, or buttered lightly or with hot water or milk poured on it."
"Toast Water -- Cut 2 slices of bread thin, toast. Break into pieces, pour over them 1 cup boiling water, cool and strain. It may be flavored with a little lemon juice."
"Egg and Lemon Juice -- Take 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 cup of water, juice of 1/2 lemon, or less. Add the white of 1 egg and shake in a shaker or fruit jar. Strain."
There is also a complete section on gruel, including "Cracker Gruel" and "Cereal Jelly."
Sandwich fillings: "Orange marmelade and nuts, salad dressing;" "Nasturtium leaves and salad dressing. The flower is sometimes added;" "Dates and bananas combined;" "Blue ribbon peanut butter and bacon."
I think this book will revolutionise my cooking. Chris won't know what hit him.
4 comments:
Dude, I totally thought that Elvis Presley made up peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. That's crazy.
Also, that stuff about toast for invalids TOTALLY reminds me of Austen's Sanditon.
Ewww. I'm sure that cookbook is probably responsible for your family-related allergies. I'd be allergic to food if I had to eat some of that stuff!!! YUCK!
Actually Elvis' favorite food was a grilled peanit butter and banana sandwich. However he often used bacon fat to grill it in.
From http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/main_pbsand.html
Elvis Presley's Grilled Peanut Butter
and Banana Sandwich
* 2 slices of white bread
* 2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
* 1 small ripe banana mashed
* 2 tablespoons butter
Spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread and the mashed banana on the other. Press the slices gently together. Melt the butter (or to be truly Elvis-like, melt bacon fat!), over low heat in a small frying pan. Place the sandwich in the pan and fry until golden brown on both sides. Eat it with a glass of buttermilk.
Please note: Elvis tended to eat 12-15 sandwiches a sitting! So belly up!
Don't worry, kristiface, we just read to laugh. I'm pretty sure I'd have an arm growing out of my forehead, if I ate some of those things.
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