Welcome to Favourite Things Friday. You know the drill. If you'd like to link up and show your Favourite Thing for Friday feel free to do so at the bottom of this post. Then everyone who participates will troop round to have a snoop at your Favourite Thing and leave you a comment. The whole idea behind FTF is to share something that you love , that makes you happy or something you want to share with the rest of Blogland.
I guess lots of you are full of Thanksgiving turkey and cheer as I post this on what is my Friday morning. Yes while you're all eating turkey with all the trimmings I'm eating vegemite on toast. That makes this post relevant and au courant because it's sort of about cooking. Marg posted a couple of weeks ago about her entire recipe book collection, which would probably rival the local library. I want to share a few of my favourites with you this week.
The big blue book is about 50 years old. My Mum had one when I was a kid. I loved looking at that book and seeing all the yummy things in glorious colour. When I moved out of home , I bought this copy at an op shop because it reminded me of home and my childhood. And then one day a few years ago, I bought Miss P a copy for when she moved out of home. Just so three generations of us Pyjama girls could have the same cookbook. Many of the recipes seemed so exotic to me when I was younger. I doubt you'd cook much out of it now, everything is cooked in lard and the main ingredient in everything is butter. No wonder that generation of people are dying of heart disease.
The other three books belonged to my Nan, who passed away two years ago. Last week would have been her 90th birthday. When she moved into the nursing home, and I sorted out her unit I kept them because they have her writing in them. It makes me feel closer to her and I like to think that somewhere she knows I'm cooking things she cooked. And every house in Australia has one of those green and gold cookbooks. It was first published in 1923. Amongst my Nanna's things I found one my mother used for her home economics class in high school, with Mum's writing in it. My Mum will kill me if I tell you what year that was. Let's just say microwaves hadn't been invented. Nanna had added to the book and kept it all those years. I passed that one along to my Mum.
What's your Favourite thing this week?
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ReplyDeleteHi Mrs P, don't know if I'll play along today tonight promises to be a bit full on, tomorrow is squids ballet concert which turns out to be an all day affair and I have volunteered as a dresser so I have costumes to fluff and fold and I have to take maestro to karate tonight as well (which I try to avoid like the plague). Well back to FTF. I have one of those G&G's, actually I have 2 one was my Nan's who died a few months before my Mum 19 years ago and the other one I got for my 21st. I use to use them a lot when i was younger now I usually fly by the seat of my pants for recipes or open when of the many womens weekly cook books (also my mum's though I have added to them since) for my big cooking extravaganza's .
ReplyDeleteAfter my "Nanny" (my great-grandma) died I rented her house from my grandparents while it was on the market. The family had gone through and taken all the "good" stuff but I was allowed to have all the stuff left in the cupboards and drawers and stuff- basically what others thought was junk, but ok for someone setting up house.
ReplyDeleteI still think of her every time I stir noodles in a pot with her old spoon with the melted spot on the back. I love that old melted spoon!!! I think that I was lucky- I didn't get the expensive china, but I do get to remember her almost every day when I stir stuff up. :0)
Mrs. P, thanks for thinking of all of us here in America while we are stuffing our faces! I have a few of my Grandmother's cook books and I love them. I don't cook from them much, most of the recipes are not written with measurements, just ingredients! She did make a good pie crust! I also got a book that she owned that was about raising a son, she had three. One chapter speaks of the evils of...well, shall we say The M Word! It cracks me up!
ReplyDeleteHope you all had a wonderful non-Thanksgiving!
Mrs P are you sure we live in the same country, I'm really having doubts. I've never seen any of those cookbooks. Considering I have enough cookbooks to fill more than a library, more like a specialist cookbook shop, I am really surprised I haven't seen them. I grew up with the CWA cookbook ( at least I think that is what is was called, as I don't have one,lol). I have been collating my mothers and grandmothers recipes so that we can have a family cookbook. It's been really nice reading through the recipes and remembering them.
ReplyDeleteI have to laugh at your comment about butter, as I seem to remember an awful lot of STT's have lots of butter slathered on top!
He He tricked you I joined in after all.
ReplyDeleteG & G I think is a south australian publications from memory.
ReplyDeleteIts lovely to have a reminder of your Nan. Thats a great idea for a FTF post, I still think about my nan all the time and miss her. I have some of her things to remind me as well :-)
ReplyDeleteWas just catching up on your last few posts and LOL!
ReplyDeleteI too have hot cross buns still in the freezer!! Does that make me slack?
Cheers for a great read everytime,
Anne
Sounds like you were very fond of your Nan so it is nice you have her cookbooks - a real link to her. My Grandmother was a terrific cook but I don't have any of her cookbooks - I suppose she had some? Must investigate that while I have the oldies here!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Helen
Grandmother's make the most marvelous stuff don't they? My favorite was my grandma's chocolate pudding pie with egg white meringue. It was what I always asked for as my birthday "cake". I have a few of grandma's recipes, but none of her cook books.
ReplyDeleteIn Canada, we had Five Roses Cookbook and Robin Hood Flour Cooking favourites!
ReplyDeleteI still use some of those and have over the years adapted them to our cooking styles of today.
You brought back many memories. I do have some written recipes in some of my books which I use.
I'm not a big cook, but Delia Smiths complete cookery course is the best ever. Nothing comes close to St Delia!
ReplyDeleteOh, your cookbooks are lovely favorite things. Useful and yet filled with so many wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's right. I'm linking my Housewives of Beverly Hills post. Because I love them. I do. And I love twitter. They are not on the same level as your lovely cookbooks, no, but sometimes it is the shallow things that get you through the day. That and Kendall Jackson.
ReplyDeleteI've not seen a Green and Gold cook book, we always had a CWA one at home. Sure is good to have reminders of Nan that are practical.
ReplyDeleteI got my Nan's last sewing machine - perfect.
Great memories! Thanks for sharing your wonderful cook books. I love that cooking is a multi-generational thing. My grandma was an excellent cook and my mom is an excellent cook and I've been told that I do a decent job. We all have to eat, so it might as well be enjoyable.
ReplyDeletexo -E
I know what you mean about feeling connected to your Nanna through her cookbooks. I feel the same with some of my mom's recipes. Also have many fond memories of perusing the cookbooks with pictures growing up. I love that you've got a 3-generation cookbook tradition going!
ReplyDeleteFor a second option about lard and butter, google "lipid hypothesis Sally Fallon and Weston Price."
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