
Tapioca pudding is one of those classic comfort foods, so I guess it should be no surprise that Minute Tapioca has been around for a least a hundred years.
Tapioca pudding is one of those classic comfort foods, so I guess it should be no surprise that Minute Tapioca has been around for a least a hundred years.
A full-page advertisement in a 1923 issue of Ladies Home Journal for Kraft Cheese piqued my interest. It contained a recipe for Spinach Timbales. From time to time I see timbale recipes in hundred-year-old magazines and cookbooks. Timbales back then were creamy vegetable or meat mixtures that were put into individual molds and baked.
The advertisement made the claim that Spinach Timbales were tasty and so nutritious they they could be considered a prescription. With a claim like that – and, an attention-grabbing image of the timbales – I decided this was a must-try recipe.
My Spinach Timbales didn’t look like the ones in the old advertisement, though I tend to think that they were more visually appealing than the ones in the old drawing (but I could be prejudiced since I made them). The Timbales were tasty, and reminded me a little of Spinach Souffle.
I used custard cups as the mold when I made this recipe since I don’t have timbale molds. I’m actually not even sure what a timbale mold is — though based on the drawing in the advertisement, I think that it may be narrower and higher than a custard cup.
I finely chopped the cheddar cheese when I made this recipe to try to get a similar look to the drawing – though the cheese melted when I baked the timbales and didn’t stay as small chunks, so shredded or grated cheese would work just fine.
The old recipe didn’t include a recipe for the cheese sauce, so to make it, I just made a white sauce and added cheese to it.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
2 cups cooked spinach, chopped (I used 2 cups frozen spinach that I briefly cooked.)
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoons salt
dash pepper
2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, shredded, grated, or cut fine
cheese sauce (see below)
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced
Preheat oven to 375° F. Put egg yolks, milk, butter, salt, and pepper into a mixing bowl; beat until combined. Stir in the cheddar cheese and spinach.
In the meantime, put the egg whites in another bowl and beat until soft peaks form.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the spinach and cheese mixture. Spoon into greased custard cups. Place the custard cups in a pan with hot water that comes to about an inch below the top of the cups. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in center of the mixture comes out clean.
Remove Spinach Timbales from custard cups after baking.
To serve: Spoon some of the cheese sauce onto plate. Set timbales in the cheese sauce. Top each timbale with an slice of the hard-boiled egg.
Cheese Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
In a saucepan , melt butter using medium heat; then stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly. Add cheese, and continue stirring until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens.
This hundred-year-old advertisement makes it sound very economical to make homemade root beer. I wonder how much a bottle of commercially manufactured root beer cost back then.
Sometimes hundred-year-old advertisements work for me; other times they don’t. I’m still trying to decide whether the phrase “Costs more – Worth it!” makes me want to buy Occident Flour.
Still look for Christmas gift ideas? Well . . . one idea in the December, 1922 issue of American Cookery was to give subscriptions to the magazine. And, the price was right at only $1.50 for a one-year subscription.
I think that Amour’s Oats are long gone, but I still enjoyed this advertisement so decided to share it with you.
Do you serve the traditional Thanksgiving foods that family and friends expect? . . . or do you “surprise them” with innovative, creative dishes? Even a hundred-year-ago people must have sometimes tired of the traditional Thanksgiving food, and enjoyed serving new dishes.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!