Mudpuppie

Ah yes -- whomp biscuits!

I love old cookbooks. They’re sort of like the next best thing to a time machine. There are some really interesting cultural clues in the old ones. The recipes from, say, the WWII era and the post-WWII era help those of us who weren’t around to understand what a lot of life was about. And the more adventurous old cookbooks are so cute. Despite our ideas of our americanized forebears being strictly meat-and-potatoes folk, some of the most interesting cookbooks encourage housewives to try new foods. My favorite old cookbooks (at least of those in my possession) are **Meatless Meals, 1943, geared at helping housewives deal with meat rationing. Its recipes include Sauerkraut Fritters, Succotash and Mushroom Thermidor, and Spaghetti Rarebit. **50 Dishes from Overseas, 1944. This one has dishes organized by country and by ingredient. Chapters include “Gooseberry Novelties from Brittany,” “New Zealand Beetroot Dishes,” “South African Ways with Steak,” and “Tennis Sundaes from Africa.” Every third recipe begins some sort of appeal to take the recipe seriously, like “veal tongue prepared in the Viennese way needs trying to be appreciated. It will be liked once tried.” **And the piece d’ resistance, The Housekeeper Cook Book, published in 1894 by the New England Furniture and Carpet Co. This large and decrepit book has many dozen pie recipes, at least 10 recipes for homemade root beer, a whole chapter on ginger breads, and detailed instructions for how to a) boil coffee and b) care for an invalid. It also has a three-meal menu for every day of the year. If you’re curious about what today’s menu would have been 109 years ago, here it is: Breakfast: Pancakes, maple syrup, fried potatoes, venison steak, celery. Dinner: Whitesoup [sic], baked trout, baked potatoes, stewed tomatoes, corn, blueberry pie, apples. Supper: Butter toast, dried beef, hot biscuit, honey. (Can’t wait until the 15th – breakfast is something called “California breakfast food”!) What is it about these old gems that’s so fascinating? Do you have a favorite cookbook, or recipe from an old cookbook? (edited for editing)

"No Salt" was the most palatable of all the salt substitutes we were subjected to in the 80s. (Emphasis on most, it all being relative.) I don't remember who made it. It was pretty bad -- had a really bitter, almost chemical flavor.

Google is my best friend.

I found this from a health website:

I have a friend who always got a tickle in his throat after eating honeydew melon. He finally found out, through a coincidental visit to an allergist, that it's a mild allergy. Maybe yours is too?

And about how they treat each other, too. I always have felt that grocer stores are the best place for gauging human kindness and courtesy, and lack thereof.

There was an industry poll today that said mad cow is only 3rd on the list of food things people are currently worrying about. I didn't post it because it seems so skewed to me, but it sort of reflects USA Today's results. I'd offer that neither is really a statistically sound poll. http://www.agriculture.com/default.sph/AgN...tml___51153___1

Ah yes, the hashbrown thing is an old standard. Maybe there should be another thread about potluck perrenials. (Or maybe there has been already.)

Hear hear! I'm a vegetarian. There. I said it. Whew.

My parents' philosophy, as yet never officially recorded, is "Why use the real thing when there is a pre-packaged substitute?" I never ate real whipped cream until I was an adult. I thought Cool Whip was real whipped cream. We had Real Lemon, all of the various butter substitutes that appeared in the 80s, Egg Beaters, No Salt, jarred garlic, dehydrated minced onions, and Stove Top on every holiday. Fortunately, dad had a garden and we ate real vegetables.

Sorry, I have to ask. Spaghetti and pizza allowed to free range? Joke, right? Or quirky labeling?

Okay, so you know how you dread potlucks, right? I mean, the masses' idea of food that will impress a crowd isn't exactly the same as your idea. So you think of something pretty impressive. Likely it's something that most people in the office have never had before, but you know they're going to love it when they try it. And when the do try it, that Chinese chicken salad and broccoli slaw and (if you're in Texas) Frito Salad is just going to be as appealing as, well, lunch lady food. But it's on the table. It's next to the cold cuts. (Some slacker brought cold cuts. Sheesh.) And your coworkers are -- -- they're bypassing it! You don't want to tip your hand. You don't want to nudge the person next to you and say, "Hey, I made that! It's really good! Why didn't you take any?" So you sit back and watch. The dopes, they don't know a good thing when they see it. They prefer the deviled eggs. They prefer the deviled eggs. They prefer the chicken casserole with water chestnuts and canned peas. Has this happened to you? Potluck envy is a personal achilles heel of mine. I don't participate anymore. Maybe I take it too personally, but.... The final straw was the Penne Puttanesca. It was really, really good. But I took the full Tupperware container home at the end of the day. Does anyone have any potluck stories? The things they wouldn't eat? The things they ate instead? Strategies for being the hit of the party? Do share.

Nooooooooooo! No, I hadn't heard. I moved to CA three years ago and haven't been back while school was in session. I figured their absence was just because of the winter break. How sad! Also, kind of funny. There were two families that ran two different cart businesses. (The one by the Littlefield fountain was my favorite.) Were they both into this? I'm shocked. Must go google....

Wow, I had no idea!

Forgive me, I grew up Methodist. What's all this about fish in the bathtub??

Hey, as for your thirst for rainwater: http://www.mybusinessmag.com/fullstory.php3?sid=920 Maybe this has already been mentioned around here. Apologies if so.

Funny, I would have thought the squeamishness was waning somewhat. I think people are generally getting more adventurous about trying new things. This is an unscientific theory -- I'm using my old-school parents, sushi, and the popularity of FoodTV as evidence. Maybe this doesn't apply to offal, but it seems to me that we are culturally and sociologically more accepting of new-to-us foods that we were in, say, the 70s or 80s. So maybe, slowly, with the help of people like Emeril (sorry), the squeamishness factor is being tempered?

That's why I keep it around. The adage of never cooking with wine you wouldn't drink is a good one, but it's not always affordable. I made some Two Buck Chuck mushrooms the other night and they were pretty good. If anything, they tasted wine-ier than when I use a better bottle.

Nope. Haggis is still at the bottom of the list.

It's possible that there is nothing I would less like to receive in the mail than haggis.

Maybe you could change the recipe then? The one I use only has a little oil and has no waste. Man, I certainly wouldn't use a cup! (But I'm glad you like it....) You could drizzle the oil over roasted potatoes, maybe. I dunno. The though is kind of weird. I can't really imagine potatoes infusing much flavor.

I try to be common sensical about it. Although not a health nut, I do want to be healthy and I think diet is one way I can, to some extent, take control of my health. I personally believe that most industries are happier with us not knowing about their respective harms, whether to the environment or our health or whatever. And to that end, they'll definitely disguise or hide the truth. So when scientists or watchdog groups come along and start a furor about the latest thing that's bad for me, I'm happy to have the information. That said, I also realize that the media is screwy and likes to get our dander up about stuff. So, I take the grain of salt, even though I'm watching my sodium. Even though we have to be skeptical of the media's presentation of and emphasis on certain stories, I'm glad that they publicize (and over publicize) these things. Someone needs to. The industry isn't going to. On thursday, Talk of the Nation (NPR) had a segment on the Surgeon General's original report on smoking, which was sort of the first of its kind, and people's reaction to it. It was an interesting show. Not food-related, but it certainly has parallels. You can find the archived show on their website.

I feel so validated!

The haggis/Robbie Burns party would be more authentic, but the haggis/George Burns would probably be more fun!