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!!
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