Often old organization and community cookbooks contain poems that describe cooking or foods. The poems sometimes are very dated, but they provide clues about what it was like to live years ago. For example, a 1923 Michigan Order of the Eastern Star cookbook had a poem near the beginning of the book which says that women who follow the recipes in the cookbook would be successful cooks and get lots of praise for their cooking.
It’s the time of year for rhubarb, and I’m enjoying various rhubarb dishes and desserts – Stewed Rhubarb, Rhubarb Pie, Baked Rhubarb with Orange, but I’m always looking for new recipes, so I was pleased to see a recipe for Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding in a hundred-year-old cookbook.
Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding is made using pearl tapioca which required soaking overnight, so this isn’t a quick recipe, but it turned out well. The tapioca is cooked until it is almost done, and then rhubarb pieces are stirred in. After I stirred the rhubarb pieces into the tapioca, I did not stir any more but cooked for another half hour or so using low heat. The result was tender rhubarb pieces embedded in the tapioca that maintained their shape. The old recipe suggested serving this with thin cream, so I served with half and half – though it would also be good with milk.
The Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding had an old-fashioned goodness. It had a nice balance of sweetness and tartness.
Here’s the original recipe:
The Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding was plenty sweet for me, so I did not add any additional sugar when I served it.
Here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:
2/3 cup pearl tapioca
water
1 1/4 cup boiling water
2/3 teaspoon salt
3 cups rhubarb, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 1/3 cup sugar
half and half or milk
Cover tapioca with water and soak overnight. Drain. Put tapioca and salt in a large saucepan with a heavy bottom (or use a double boiler if you have one), then add boiling water. Heat with medium heat until bubbles begin to form at side of pan, but it is not yet boiling; cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook until the water is absorbed (about 45 minutes to an hour).
In the meantime put rhubarb and sugar in a bowl. Stir to coat rhubarb with sugar.
Stir in the rhubarb pieces coated with sugar, and increase heat to medium for 1 minute. Cover and reduce to heat to very low. Cook until the rhubarb is tender and the tapioca translucent (about 1/2 hour).
Can be served hot or cold. Serve with half and half or milk.
I want some ice cream. What the old saying? –I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
I recently was in the mood for comfort foods, so decided to try a hundred-year-old recipe for Noodles and Cheese. The noodles were in a creamy cheese sauce that was made using American cheese. The recipe had an old-fashioned goodness that took me back to dishes served at family reunions and potluck dinners when I was a child. When I make cheesy pasta dishes, I tend to use cheddar cheese, but the American cheese in this dish is a nice variation.
Here the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
1/2 pound noodles
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound American cheese, grated or shredded
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Fill a large saucepan 2/3 full with water; add 1 teaspoon salt. Heat to boiling using high heat. Stir in the noodles, then reduce heat and simmer until the noodles are tender (about 8-10 minutes). Remove from the heat and drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again.
Put half of the noodles in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then dot with small pieces of the butter. Sprinkle with half of the flour. Then, using one-half of the cheese, add a layer of cheese. Put remaining noodles on top of the cheese layer, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dot with small pieces of butter, then sprinkle with the remaining flour. Top with a layer of the remaining cheese . Gently pour the milk over everything. Place in oven and heat until hot and bubbly (approximately 30-45 minutes).
Here’s what a hundred-year-old cookbook said about the value of eating economically:
E C O N O M Y ! !
I’ve asked the printer man to please let that word stand out just like that – boldly, defiantly, all by its little lone self!
Economy! If over-eating is a national trait, over-spending is certainly another. . . Extravagance with food is not clever, it is simply silly. Meal planning or preparing is no job to be slouched and hurried over as quickly and as extravagantly as possible. You do not need to use fussy, difficult recipes, either. It is no harder to cook a flank steak than a porter-house. It only take a little more skill.
Look on your marketing and cooking as a game. Take pleasure in seeing how cheaply you can set a healthful, delicious, and plentiful table.
The Calorie Cook Book (1923) by Mary Dickerson Donahey
I’m always looking for interesting ways to serve eggs, so was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Eggs a la Caracas. The recipe called for eggs, tomatoes, and cheese – as well as for a little cinnamon and cayenne (red pepper). I wasn’t quite sure about this spice mixture (and how it would taste with eggs), but I was pleasantly surprised. I definitely could taste the cinnamon, but it worked and added a nice flavor.
I’m not sure where to get onion juice, so I just used 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions. I also added the grated cheese last and removed from the heat when melted, since cheese tends to stick to my pan if I cook it very long.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
2 tablespoons butter
2 oz. dried or chipped beef, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup tomatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
dash of cinnamon
dash of cayenne (red) pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup cheese, grated (I used cheddar cheese.)
Melt butter in skillet using medium heat. Add dried/chipped beef, tomatoes, onions, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper; stir to combine. Continue heating until hot, then add eggs and cook same as scrambled eggs. As the eggs begin to thicken, stir to move the cooked layer from the bottom of the pan. When the eggs are almost set, stir in the cheese; melt and then remove from heat and serve.
A hundred years ago, it was recommended that adults drink 2 cups of milk per day, while current recommendations are 3 cups per day. For children, the recommendation back then was 3 cups of milk per day, while the recommended amount now is based on age, but less for small children than in 1923.
A 1923 home economics textbook said:
One pint [2 cups] of whole milk should be allowed for each adult, and one and one-half pints [3 cups] for each child over two years of age; the younger child may need more. In addition to the prescribed allowance of whole milk, skimmed milk may be used in cooking as a source of protein and mineral matter. Part of the milk allowance for the family may well be supplied in milk soups, custards, bread, rice, and other pudding, cocoa and chocolate and in white sauce with vegetables, eggs and meats.
Economics of the Family (1923) by C.W. Taber and Ruth A. Wardall
Current recommendations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate website, are:
