Monday, November 27, 2023

Reading a life through recipes


While browsing a local antique store the other day, I came across yet another of the vintage recipe boxes I love to collect (when they're cheap!), and this $3.50 cardboard model fit the bill. I prefer the old metal recipe boxes, but since the price was so good, I decided to add this one to my growing collection. I have so much fun poring through the old recipes and trying to conjure up the woman who once cherished them.


I wish sellers wouldn't tape their prices atop the graphics of old collectibles. I've had books and other items lose part of their image this way, but again, this time, I was interested in the old recipes more than the box itself, so the tape remains on this box's padded lid.


And this collection of recipes did not disappoint! I love seeing things like this old paella recipe from Burhop's Quality Seafood in Chicago. Typewritten, even!



This particular handwritten recipe made me smile because of the title. Check out the second ingredient and you'll understand where it got its name.


This cook even saved a Coco Lopez can label with recipes on the back, and I was delighted to find a date—1949.


This Family Circle magazine recipe card (did these once come inside the magazine?) is dated 1966, and I was happy to see that it was a treat said to be "just big enough for a teatime treat." This isn't the first time I've seen an old recipe calling for envelopes of "liquid chocolate," which I gather can be hard to find today.



Finally, this handwritten recipe for "Honolulu Cooler" is basically a pineapple-and-citrus punch recipe that includes tea! I haven't made it yet, as I don't have a need for a big batch of punch anytime soon, but I decided to share it here in case any of you are willing to give it a try. I love reading these old recipes, and I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of them too!

And a final note: If you missed Friday's post, please revisit it so you can enter to win a copy of The Vintage Christmas Cookbook for you or a friend. And please, please, please make sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner. I think the Blogger settings must have changed for some readers since I have so many entries from "Anonymous" this time! 


8 comments:

  1. That should be1976, not 1996!

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  2. Nancy in northeast IowaNovember 27, 2023 at 2:21 PM

    Family Circle magazine did indeed have recipe "cards" like that in almost every issue. Mom always picked it up at the grocery store and would save a lot of them. I think I might even have a few in my recipe box too. (yes, I'm OLD!!) LOL!!!
    And it isn't really clear, when you sign in here, exactly what you should do...the options are there, but not really clear.

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    1. Good point, Nancy! I will explain about the sign-in process. (I tend to assume everyone's been here for years, and that definitely isn't always the case!)

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  3. That vintage recipe box really does sound like fun! My mother had a plain green metal recipe box, but I don't remember any of the recipes in it. (We four daughters mostly got our recipes from the Fanny Farmer cookbook and the Betty Crocker one.)

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  4. Old recipes are the best! You'll have fun going through them. I've never heard of envelopes of "liquid chocolate." Do you know if it was similar to Hershey's syrup or was it something else?

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    1. Ginger, I'm not sure, but I did see that *this* is for sale today: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/nestle-toll-house-choco-bake-pre-melted-unsweetened-chocolate/98341

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    2. Thank you Angela, I've never seen that product before.

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  5. Than handwriting reminds me of the recipes I have in my box, written by my mother. They are treasures!

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