Everything Old Is New Again

Last fall, our friend, Lamar, was fixing to move. While boxing up his stuff, he came across some items of dubious origin. He knew they weren't his, but he didn't know were they came from. He didn't want to take them with him, but he didn't know who to return them to. So, of course, he thought of my husband and me.

We are notorious packrats. We have lived in our current home for about 10 years and still have boxes that we haven't unpacked. In fact, some of those boxes were initially packed 12 years ago for our trip from Chicago to California. I have to confess that it gets even worse.....some of the boxes are mine and they haven't been unpacked since my college days over, well a few years, ago.

If there was a Packrats Anonymous, we would have to be charter members. We don't know how to throw stuff out. I mean, we obviously don't need the stuff in the boxes. But, you can't just throw the boxes out. There must be treasures in there otherwise we wouldn't have packed them and carted them around all this time. So, that means unpacking each box. Yeah, right after I schedule my root canal.

Anyway, one of the treasures that Lamar found was a cookbook. A very old and rather unusual cookbook. It's title is "At The Sign of The Rolling Pin" and was printed in 1916. From the preface of the book, I learned that it contains the recipes of students and alumni of a college and was part of a fund raising activity that also included selling peppermints, roasted peanuts, and hot dogs "in the 'hungry hour' before bedtime". The purpose was to increase the college's endowment fund. What college? Vassar. Who would have thought that an "Ivy League" college would have to resort to "bake sales" to keep it alive. I thought that just happened to our local school districts.

I have to admit that the cookbook amused me. College students haven't changed much. The majority of the recipes were snacks and cookies. It also had me stymied in several places. For instance, they use some pretty strange measurements, ingredients and instructions - "1 good sized chicken", "butter size of a walnut", "1 coffee cup sweet milk", "bake in an oven not too hot", "heaping milk pan of apples", "a 5 cent box of macaroni", "put a small piece of butter in the spider", "1 gill of cream", etc.

I also took it as a challenge. Can I adapt these recipes to fit my tastes? The answer was "Yes". So, here are some of my favorite recipes from "At the Sign of The Rolling Pin" and my adaptation:

Cheese Dreams
Place thin layers of cheese between thin slices of buttered bread, as if making a sandwich. Fry brown in butter, and eat them hot. These are delicious and guaranteed to make you dream.
Isabel Mann, 1915 - New York.

My Version -
Crush a clove of garlic and cover with a tablespoon of olive oil. Let set for a couple of hours. Brush one side of 4 slices of bread with the garlic olive oil. Spread the other side lightly with a spicy mustard. Place 1 slice of Swiss cheese and one slice of cheddar cheese between the mustard sides of two bread slices. Place in a skillet and cook over medium/low heat until the cheese is melted and the bread toasted. Repeat with other two slices of bread.

Salad - When The Chicken is Scarce
1 large can of boneless chicken, chopped and marinated. Let stand for 1/2 hour. Cut rather fine 3 cups of crisp cabbage and 1/2 cup of celery, chopped. Season. Mix and stir in sufficient mayonnaise to make the salad firm. Serve on beds of crisp lettuce. More cabbage and celery may be added if more people are to be served.
Mary Brady, 1916 - Alaska.

My Version -
Generously season 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven until done (about 30 minutes). Cool, then hand shred into small pieces. Make a marinade by placing 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 2 green onions, 1 tablespoon fresh ground ginger or 1/8th teaspoon dried ground ginger into a blender and blending until smooth. Pour marinade over shredded chicken. Let set for 30 minutes. Shred 1/2 head of cabbage. Chop 1/2 cup of celery, 1/4 cup carrots and 1/3 cup of green pepper. Add chicken and marinade to shredded cabbage, celery, carrots, and green onions.

Popovers
1 cup of milk
1 cup of flour
1 egg
A pinch of salt

Beat egg slightly, mix lightly, bake quickly. Never fails
Una Backus, 1918 - Minnesota

My Version -

Beat one egg. Gently blend in 1 cup of milk. Gently whisk in 1 cup of flour. Gently mix in a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Pour batter into the well greased wells of a muffin tin filling each well about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Drop in 1/8 teaspoon of your favorite jam or jelly. Pop into a COLD oven. Turn on oven and set for 425 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Don't peak or you will be sorry.