Fat and Crafty.com

I’ve tried to keep my collecting to a minimum. I dont gravitate to the typical dust collectors. I don’t like Knick Knacks that have to be dusted and the only real things I keep around for "cuteness" factors are stuffed animals. I have a handful of them and plans to reduce their number to the ones that actually matter.

I’m much more susceptible to collecting printed matter, particulary magazines and cookbooks. While I’ve gotten better about weeding through my cookbooks I’m not great at it, and as you can see I’ve collected four of the exact same cookbook.

From left to right we have my 1936 edition, my new 1962 edition, my 1975 edition and my 1993 edition. I dont have the new 2006 edition yet. (Maybe for Christmas I’ll get it) I’m also hoping for a  1940′s edition with the war rationing information.

So why multiple copies of a cookbook?

First, this isnt just any cookbook. This is the Joy of Cooking. This is the book many people consider the cooking bible. Copies are given as wedding presents, when you go off to college, and at least one person is trying to cook all of it. (and I too have considered that task )When I need a basic basic recipe its the first one I grab for off of my shelf. Sometimes I grab the 1975 version, more often it’s the 1993 version.

It’s this cookbook that has given me

• Pancakes better then our favorite restaurant
• A good back up hollandaise
• A great biscuit recipe
• A tasty cobbler recipe
• A decent Veggie Soup
• A fantastic greek lemon rice soup
• A good pasta recipe
• a tasty pasta sauce
• my favorite "chocolate pudding" recipe (pots du creme are divine)

So why multiple copies?

Because the 1970′s version includes a picture of how to skin a squirrel. Because the 1960′s edition includes a recipe for a diet dressing "that doesnt taste good, but is good if you are reducing"  The 1936 edition assures you that things will be ok, if you just read the notes before you start. Because all of them use the work Cockaigne, which seems to mean "fancied" and then there are the menus.

The menus are a sight to behold.  With lists of what to make for a light tea, a hearty brunch or a special holiday.

For example, a supper menu in 1936 was

• Spinach Ring, with creamed sweetbreads
• Rice Muffins
• Jam
• A Beverage

A supper menu in 1962

• Cheese , Bread and Egg Dish
• Green Salad with Bacon
• Chives and catsup dressing
• Fresh Peaches
• Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies
• A beverage

A supper in 1975

• Liver Lyonnaise
• Shoestring Potatoes
• Sweet Sour Beans
• Blueberries and cream (and yes there is recipe for this)

A supper in 1993

• Creamed mushrooms with dried porcini over toast
• Satueed pork tenderloin medalions
• Roasted potatoes, beets and onions vinagrette
• Field Salad with fresh herbs
• Linzertorte

While I dont think I’ll ever cook my way through the Joy of Cooking I do think I might try sampling recipes of the same name from different editions to see if there are any differences,

While I dnt think I’ll ever cook my way through it I do think I might try some comparison recipes. Picking a recipe in one version and seeing if I can cook throuhg all the different

You are never going to believe what they put in cereal in Denmark.

Look close, can you see it.  Sweet satisfying chunks of bittersweet chocolate in with Special K Ceral. sure we do sweetened cereals here in the US, but  not in Special  K cereal. We dont advertise that you can eat cocopuffs for 2 weeks and lose weight. But thats what the box of my Special K with chocolate proclaims.  

The girl with the bikini and the headband in the lower left hand shows that you too can lose weight on the Special K diet. Of course Cereal was the ultimate diet food in the late  1800s

Anyway, I’m delighted to have this treat from my sweetie who brought it back from Doha for me. I’ve got another nifty food thing he brought me, and I’ll share more details about that one in another.

I was making up my menu a couple of weeks ago and polled the peanut gallery. "What do you want for dinner?"
"What about the roasted veggie thing, is it time yet?" came back the response.

Last winter as we were nearing the end of winter the beginning of spring I was feeling very seasonal. I was yearning for a dish that showed off winter at its very best. While I was already wistful for the fresh aspargus and light greens I was looking for a dish that made the best of the winter vegetables that  are often overlooked and were in their prime.

Thus we came up with the roasted veggie dinner.
It’s simple. Go shopping and purchase potatoes, parsnips, beets , squash, carrots, turnips, onions and any other root vegetable that strikes your interest. Different colors of beets are always nice.

Peel and wash the veggies as appropriate. Chop into vaguely similar shapes. Toss with a little oil, and salt. Place in  a very hot oven and cook until done.

Then the magic happens.   

In this very hot oven the veggies are transformed into soft melty sweet and savory. Carmelized edges poke out from savory turnips, and earthy rutabegas reveal a creamy sweetness.

Served with biscuits this is a simple dinner that  acknowledges the best that winter veggies can give us.

Definatly something I would reccomend to try at home. It even works on a weeknight for dinner if you’ve done your prep a day or so ahead.

With the changing of the weather and the changing of our family schedules, I’m resorting to some precooking. Last grocery trip I loaded up on chickens during the lobby show at Central Market in Shoreline. A lobby show is simply where they take an item like Pork, Chicken or Fish, and sell you a large cut and then do what you want with it. With the chicken my guess is that they split them  for you or perhaps boned them? I’m not sure as I got there too early. I still loaded up on Chickens though, filling my freezer with 8 birds.

Two got left out immediatly and were roasted. The meat was pulled from the bones and set aside. The bones were then placed in my stockpot with water, carrots onions and celery. Simmered for hours on end, it left us with golden chicken broth.

I poured it into a large lidded container and slid it into the fridge. During the week, the chicken meat became chicken quesidillas, chicken sandwiches and pesto chicken pasta. The broth was destined for a better use. Matzo ball soup.   We added carrots onions and garlic to the broth on the stove, simmering.  the remaining chicken  meat was tossed in as well.  then made the matzo ball mix. 15 minutes to chill the mix then spoonfuls dropped into the pot to be  simmered in the soup.  20 minutes later and we had soup for dinner. What could be better for a chilly Seattle evening?