Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Cookbook Wednesday: Family Cookbook

It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time to look at one of my cookbooks!  This one is a tried and true favorite.  You can see that from the condition of the spine.

This is actually the first NEW cookbook I ever bought, in the late 1970s - I wasn't even married yet.  I bought it at Kresge's, which was the older cousin of K-Mart.  This store was in Danbury, CT, and it was a marvelous, dingy home of cheap stuff.

There are recipes for all categories of food.  I can't say that I cook a lot of potatoes; it's just that this is where the book's spine chose to break after about 30 years.
 I like the fact that with each main dish recipe, they suggest a menu.  Plus, who ever knew there was Pot Roast and then there was Pennsylvania Pot Roast?  (Hold the gherkins in mine, please.)
 The Orange Sponge Cake recipe on the left page here is my go-to for Lemon Sponge Cake, my dearly beloved's favorite snack.  I just change it up a little.  All of the cakes and desserts I've tried have been really good!  (This is the book from which my Lemon Angel Tort comes.)
 Then there are frozen desserts.  I like that they put the calorie count on them, back in a time when that was not "in vogue" yet.

Obviously, this book contains only recipes, and none of the pretty pictures we see in cookbooks today.  That's OK, because the recipes are all straightforward and easy to follow.

This is my entry for Cookbook Wednesday with the charming Louise at Months of Edible Celebration!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!




Note that the price on the cover is not what I paid; I paid about $2.  I would never have paid $6.95 for a paperback book at a time when minimum wage was $1.01.

10 comments:

Two French Bulldogs said...

We think Grammy had that book
Lily & Edward

~~louise~~ said...

Those are the best kinds of books Marjie! Who needs pretty pictures when you have tried and true recipes. Pennsylvania Pot Roast is a new one to me also. I've never seen it before, not even in the Grange cookbooks! I'll pass on the gherkins too:)

I had no idea Kresge's was the older cousin of K-Mart. I'm assuming it was like a five and dime store like Woolworth's. I think we had something similar called Britts which later became J.J. Newberry's, lol...even the names of stores back then were so "retro" lol...

It's hard to believe the minimum wage was $1.01 in the late 70s. I do remember making about $2.00 an hour the Summer I graduated high school.

Thanks for joining us for Cookbook Wednesday Marjie AND the Cook Your Books reminder. All linked up! For some reason I thought Cook Your Books was on hiatus this month...

Debbie said...

I too, think these are the best kind of cookbooks. And now I'm hungry for some sponge cake!!

Anonymous said...

Wonder if the Penn. Pot Roast is a close relative of the Yankee Pot Roast.

pam said...

I have my first cookbook that I bought while I was in college. Oh my gosh, I remember Kresge's!

Lapdog Creations said...

It's funny you mention how the older cookbooks contain only recipes - no big, colorful photos. I've noticed that!

Lapdog Creations said...

It's funny you mention how the older cookbooks contain only recipes - no big, colorful photos. I've noticed that!

~ Nee ~ said...

Hi Marjie ,
The recipes sounds deliciously good .
I like to visit yard sales and thrift sores for books , especially cookbooks , you can tell almost instantly how much they was loved by the condition of the covers .
Thanks for your visit , I will be back :)

Pam said...

I admit that I always go for cookbooks with pictures.

This one looks like a great cookbook filled with tons of recipes.

Sue said...

I remember Kresge's and Woolworth's. When I was first on my own in the big city I'd stop after work on Friday, pick up a book and either some yarn or fabric, then I was ready for the weekend. Back when life was more simple!