Recipe Box Adventure!

I have always been fascinated by old recipes. I collect antiques and am always scouring the shops looking for old recipe books. I always hunt for a recipe box which actually contains the recipes from the home cook. In all my travels, and all of the recipe boxes that I have looked at, I have never found one that had the recipes contained within. On a recent trip to Texas, I found such a box! It was made in Japan (has the sticker on it) but was sold to its owner in Bruners San Antonio Corpus for $1.00. There was a label in the box written by the shop keeper which said “Purchased in 1950”. It is jam packed with recipes and I decided that it would be fun to include you, my readers, as we explore this recipe box together.

I am also a home cook who has a passion for cooking, food and all things yummy. So, I thought, why not combine my love of cooking, old recipes and exploration in this blog that I could share with my friends?

I’m not sure how many recipes are actually contained in the box, but it could be a couple of hundred which will keep us entertained for many days to come.

Together we will pull one recipe at a time and I will attempt to cook it. I have to admit, I’m not much of a baker but will give it my very best effort. I hope that in exploring these recipes we can keep history alive and cookin’!

Saturday, March 29, 2014



Timex Watch Guarantee in Recipe Box

This was the next thing in the recipe box.  I think about the owner of this box every day and wonder what his or her life was like?  Why would you hide a Timex watch guarantee slip in a recipe box?

It was definitely hidden for a reason.  Why, I ask?  Of course my mind goes to the following:
1.  The person stole the watch (but why would you have the little guarantee card?)
2.  The person was given the watch by someone other than their spouse or partner
3.  The person was afraid of their spouse or partner and didn't want them to know that they had the watch
4.  The person bought the watch when he/she knew that they shouldn't have due to financial constraints

But, all those theories don't add up because how could he/she ever wear the watch???

Maybe the Guarantee was........

5.  Hidden for safe keeping?

Mysteries of this recipe box keep giving me qualms.  I'm not sure what to make of it?  I do know that people keep secrets and sometimes secrets end up in recipe box's.  I had never thought of that before. The other theory is that this person kept very important items in the recipe box because it was safe. Maybe the house was chaotic and the recipe box remained the respite safe and sound depository of all things important.

I hope you are enjoying exploring this recipe box as much as I am.  I don't know where we are headed but it it is so much fun along the journey.  Maybe that is the lesson?  The challenge of life is about letting go and enjoying everything that is surprising and new in the moment.

So...you all know my interest in history so I googled a little history on the wrist watch:

With the American entry into World War I there were new demands for timepiece design. Artillery gunners needed an easy way to calculate and read time while still being able to work the guns. The Waterbury Clock Company met this need by modifying the small Ingersoll ladies' Midget pocket watch to become military-issue wristwatches – lugs were added for a canvas strap, the crown was repositioned to 3 o'clock, hands and numbers were made luminescent for nighttime readability – thus making one of the first wrist watches!

Look at this!  The step in between pocket watch and wrist watch!

See you next recipe or secret!!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Recipe Box- Recipe  #10

Western Macaroons
This was a well used recipe!

1 egg white
1 cup Imperial Pure Cane Brown Sugar (couldn't find this brand)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of chopped pecans (or as many you want)

Whip egg white till stiff.  Gradually beat in Imperial Brown Sugar.  Add vanilla and fold in pecans.  Drop by teaspoon onto well greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until brown.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
The pecans laid an egg!

Hi there recipe box lovers!!  This was the next thing that I pulled from the box.  Western Macaroons.  I have certainly heard of, and eaten, macaroons but have never heard of Western Macaroons.  Right off the bat (as usual) I have a concern about the ingredient list being very sparse.  And, the "one egg white" concerns me.  BUT, alas I am not a baker so this all could be very correct! 

Lets do this!  loooooooooooookljjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, I know that the above is not proper blogging etiquette but my kitty named Lucy decided to get in on the act while I was mixing the egg white!  I wished I could have seen her doing it because she would have gotten in trouble!  But, I find it interesting how she was so focused on the plus sign.  It makes me think that she was looking at the screen while hitting the plus sign key!!  And, I swear she wrote the loooooook!  Too funny!
She is trying to impart knowledge!
I'm not sure what Lucy was trying to say but I'm sure it was important! 

Anyway...back to the recipe.

It was so very easy!!  The egg white mixed up perfectly with stiff peaks. 
Use an electric mixer for this part.

Adding the brown sugar and then the pecans and my special vanilla!
Looking good!
Final product!

I laid down some parchment paper so they wouldn't stick and into the oven they go!
Easy easy!!

While the cookies are cookin' I wanted to give you an update on the Nine Day Slaw.
Too much liquid! 

This recipe definitely needs some tweaking.  There was too much dressing for the amount of cabbage so I ended up dumping some out on, I think, day 3.  Here is a photo from Day 8.  The flavors are really good and they do get better every day.  The sweetness of the dressing really comes out.  I would, for sure, make this 9 day coleslaw again but I would try to find a recipe that is more updated.  We have eaten the slaw with bbq meat and hamburgers and it was delicious with both!  It would be great to make this if you are having friends over for a casual dinner. 
Looks very pretty but still was oily- flavors were good other than that

Back to Macaroons or Macarons.  You say macaroon, I say macaron right?  Wrong! 
I researched these cookies and it turns out they are two different types of cookie.  A macaron is actually a meringue based cookie filled with fruit spread or buttercream.
They look like this
These look yummy too!

A macaroon is mostly known as a small confection using a egg white base with coconut usually thown in for good measure.  The coconut macaroon is frequently served during Passover because it doesn't contain any flour. 
These look like beautiful little jewels!

I couldn't find any recipe's for a Western Macaroon Cookies so maybe we are on to something new!  The reference to "Western" could be referring to the pecans.  There are a lot of nut farmers in California.  In fact, I used to live on a Walnut Ranch in Northern California.  For real!

Cookies are out of the oven.  I let them bake for 28 minutes.  Cooling now but they smell really delicious- very vanillaly (Not a real word). 
Delicious!

Oh my goodness!  If you like pecans you have to make these!!!  The first real winner of the recipe box!! The prize goes to Western Macaroon Cookies!!!  They are delicious and taste kind of like a light pecan pie. They aren't too sweet and the vanilla really shines through.  Hubbie also thought they were delicious and was happy to eat a few (and just asked for a few more)!  And, you don't have to be a baker to make them because they are so easy.  This would be the kind of recipe that people would ask you for!  

See you next recipe!  



Monday, March 17, 2014

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Will you be drinking some of this today?  Maybe it will be green?  Found this in the recipe box:

Ad for beer - add says 6- 12 oz cans of beer for 99 cents!  Wow!  This ad was from 1965.  Things were so much cheaper back then.  

Did you make a corned beef?  I made mine yesterday in the crock pot and I used beer (not green) as the cooking liquid. It really makes a delicious corned beef! 
What about a parade?  All things fun on St. Paddy's Day! Don't forget to wear your green!  


  1. “If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.” - Brendan Behan (famous Irish poet)
  2. Not to ruin your St. Patricks Day fun but, it is:  Day 1 of the 9-day slaw experiment!! Are you excited????  I am!!  Here is my report for Day 1:  Slaw tastes fantastic!  Love the flavors, not liking all the liquid.  Still lots of liquid in the bottom of the bowl.  I would suspect that the recipe is not right in its proportions.  I think I will look at other Nine Day Slaw recipes for reference.  
  3. I hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Recipe Box- Recipe  #9

Nine Day Slaw:

1 medium cabbage, shredded
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium onions, diced (I chose red onion)
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup sugar
1 cup salad oil
1 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
Pimentos

Combine cabbage, onion and green pepper.  Add 1 cup sugar and blend well.  Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Pour dressing over cabbage mixture immediately and allow it to cool.  Cover and store in refrigerator for at least one day before serving.  Serves 8-10; stays fresh and crisp for nine days.

Hello fellow recipe explorers!  This next recipe up from our well loved recipe box is for a coleslaw of sorts.  Nine day slaw to be exact.  I wonder why nine day?  Why not 7 day or 13 day?  My mind is free to ponder the 9 days.

It doesn't say where this is authored from but the actual recipe is very tattered (quite like a lot of them in this box).

Also, you will note the jar of roasted red peppers again.  I am going to use them in place of the pimentos again. 

I don't know about you all but we love coleslaw in our home!  I have several recipes that are really delicious (one that uses a boiled dressing like this one) but we are not opposed to just picking up a bag of coleslaw mix and using dressing out of bottle!  I especially love coleslaw with bbq meats. 

Here we go!

Problem, right off the bat.  Recipe says to combine cabbage, onion and green pepper.  What about the celery?  What about the pimentos?  It later says to "Combine remaining ingredients".  Does this include the celery and pimentos?  What to do...what to do?

Executive decision needed here.  I am deciding to add the celery and red peppers to the cabbage mixture as I think the "dressing" should just be the liquid ingredients.  That can be the problem with vintage recipes but also the fun because you get to make 'executive decisions'.  Also, the recipe doesn't give a qty for the pimentos.  Or, are they a garnish?
I chopped up about 2 tbsp and added them to the cabbage mixture (another exec decision).

If you are going to try this one- make sure that you have a REALLY big bowl.  The bowl I used was too small and it was hard to mix the sugar into the cabbage mixture.  I was thinking of the end result when all of the cabbage will shrink as the slaw matures.
 

Everything was very easy to do.   I guess we have to wait a day to eat it but I will sneak a taste as soon as it cools down.

OK, at first taste it is yummy, yummy!  I can't wait to keep trying it during the 9 day slaw adventure!  I am a little concerned because there is so much dressing in the bowl but I will have faith in this recipe and will keep you up to date on what is happening with it.  I might also add a little black pepper along the way.

Because we try to link a little history with these recipe's- here is a link to an interesting site where I read all about the history of cabbage.  I was trying to research the 9 day thing but didn't really find anything.  I wonder if it's origins came from someone who kept eating the slaw on days 1-9 and then on the 10th day said "Yuck, this slaw has gone bad"!
Hence 9 day slaw instead of 10!!



Sunday, March 9, 2014

Recipe Box- Recipe  #8

Party Sandwich Filling:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
3/4 cup chopped California walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used red onion)
3 Tbsp chopped pimiento
1 Tbsp catsup
3 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
3/4 tsp salt
Dash pepper

Combine all ingredients.  Use as a filling between lightly buttered slices of sandwich bread.  Trim crusts, if desired.  Cut each sandwich diagonally in 4 triangles.  Makes 2 1/3 cups filling.

Hello recipe box readers!!  This next recipe comes to us via the Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I don't know if it ever was in the cookbook but its torn edges say "Add these pages to your Better Homes and Gardens cookbook" and file under bread.  The date of this one is April, 1959.  I was researching these cookbooks,as I don't have one, and they seem to still be very popular.

BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS NEW COOKBOOK 5 RING BINDER 1962 EDITION
Saw this one on Ebay!


Roasted red pepper substitute for pimientos

This was so easy to make!  The only thing I would say is to really make sure your cream cheese is very soft.  Mine wasn't completely soft and it was a little hard to mix it thoroughly.  It didn't specify what kind of bread to use so you could use any kind of bread that you like.


I did trim the crusts as mentioned in the recipe! 
Very dainty and adorable!

These little sandwiches were really delicious and they disappeared in a hurry!  The filling is also very colorful they would be great on a buffet table or for an afternoon tea party. A real recipe box winner!!!
There are some other sandwich recipes included with this one and I'll be letting you know about those on another day!  It's going to be near 60 degrees today so I'll be going outside to enjoy the heat wave!!
See you next recipe!




Monday, March 3, 2014

SPRING IS COMING!  HOLD TIGHT!!

I'm just adding this post because I know everyone who lives in cold country is so tired of this winter. But, I had to share this with you because there is hope.  Hope is all there is!

Look at these beauties!!  They showed up at a near by grocery store and I had to buy them (and cook them!)

I love, love, love beets.  I know that I have offended people by saying that but I cannot tell a lie.  I love them.  They are so sweet and versatile in their application.
Look at these beauties!
 These are baby beets of different colors.  I felt like I found gold when I saw these!

I'm going to roast them.  I cut the tops off and washed them.  Then, added some olive oil, sea salt and a little butter.
Roasted at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes! Completely wrapped in foil.

My mother used to cook the beet tops (kind of like swiss chard, etc) and they are really good too.  But, I'm a beet purist and just love the dainty baby beet as is.
Sliced them thin and yes, that is a pat of butter on them!
So delicious...a taste of spring! It will be here soon!  See you next recipe!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Recipe Box- Recipe  #8

Custard Pie:

Pastry for 1 crust for 9 inch pie
3 Eggs
6 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 Cups hot milk
1 tsp vanilla
Nutmeg

Bake 40 minutes at 425 degrees

Hello Recipe Box lovers!!  Another snowy weekend which is a perfect time for blogging!
Will it ever end???  Nothing to do but resign myself to at least a few more days of winter.

This recipe came out of the box next.  Custard Pie.  I've never made a custard pie but have enjoyed eating them!  I love custard.  Any kind of custard, puddings, etc. 
Not much to this recipe.  Simple, easy, right??  Okay...here we go...
Included ceramic chicken, not sure why.

As you can see, I decided to change it up a bit this time and not use a frozen pie crust.  I'm going out on a limb and using a refrigerated pie crust dough.  Don't laugh.
Good old Pillsbury.  Gotta love it!  And, I actually found my glass pie dish.  Yes, I really do have a pie dish-
Explored and found my pyrex pie dish!!

I just never use it.  Baking not my thing, remember?  So, after dusting it off, I'm ready to go.
Easy as Pie!

Because there are no directions in this recipe, I'm going to have to wing it.  I guess I will mix all ingredients together with my mixer.  I also preheated my oven to 425.

I decided to first make the hot milk.  Again, directions would be helpful as winging it while baking isn't a great idea.  I put the milk into a sauce pan and am slowly heating it.  I would think one of the things to watch for is scalded milk, right?  We don't want scalded milk. 

I heated the milk on medium heat for approx 5 minutes.  Kept stirring it and testing to see how hot it was. 
Look for a ring of bubbles around the milk but keep stirring!

I'm mixing up all of the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl- using my hand mixer.  So happy to be able to use that good vanilla again.

I'm also adding the milk a little at a time to the egg mixture.  One thing that I do know, from other meals that I've made, that it is very important to add the milk slowly because other wise you will have scrambled eggs on your hands! 

Look at how foamy it is!  Is that what it is supposed to look like?  I'm getting nervous that I've done something wrong.

Poured it carefully into the pie crust.  Now, the trick is to get it into the oven without spilling it everywhere! 

Success!  It's now in the oven. 

So, while the custard pie is cooking, I decided to research custard origins.  As it turns out, custard has a wonderful history going back to ancient times.  Check out this cool food timeline for more information:

So interesting, isn't it??

Custards and puddings have had a long history in our country.  From the early settlers enjoying Persimmon Pudding to Plum Pudding, Pots de Creme and Creme Brulee.  I actually have a recipe which was used by Julien who was Thomas Jefferson's French cook in Washington.  It is for Creme Brulee and sounds tremendous!  There is a note which says that - before broilers (in ovens) came into general use, the crust was glazed by passing a hot shovel or salamander over it!  I'd be happy to share that recipe with you if you would like to challenge yourself! 

Also, refined white sugar was a scarce commodity during the Pioneer days, so custards were made using honey. (Yum, I bet that would be tasty!)

Time to check on the pie! 
Filling looks good- pie crust looks sad in parts!

Finished product!  I remembered to test it by sticking a knife in it.  If the knife comes back clean, then the custard is done.  AND, it was 40 minutes just like the recipe said.
I thought that this was the best recipe in the recipe box so far.  The custard was sublime.  Not too sweet and I could taste the vanilla and the nutmeg.  But, remember, I love custard.  Hubbie doesn't really like the texture of custard and really didn't care for it.  (Although, he politely ate the whole piece)
I would, for sure, make this again...maybe just for myself.  I will chastise myself, however, for not attempting a proper pie crust because this filling deserves a really good homemade crust.  Finally, a recipe box recipe which will be saved for keeps!  See you soon my friends as we keep exploring this recipe box together!.