I've recently become smitten with all things vintage. Especially cookbooks and aprons. To me, everything old is new again and I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!
It must be because I'm getting up there in age, but for whatever the reason I'm having a ball imagining myself in simpler times and then being able to transport myself there via my love of cooking and baking.
Food is the great equalizer that unites us all in time and space. It encompasses our true love of family, friends and culture.
That being said, the other day on twitter I had mentioned how I had recently discovered my new found passion for vintage cookbooks. Within mere seconds of me putting my original tweet out, Michele of @FunkyChunks tweeted me back asking me what my favorite time period was for my collection? Having just started collecting, I told her I had not yet discovered it and I was anxious to see where my collection would take me.
Michele had also told me that she's been collecting vintage cookbooks for many years, so I was thrilled to find out that we now have something new in common. We ended our tweet conversation and that was that. Or so I thought. To my surprise, look what had arrived at my door from Michele a few days later:
You could have knocked me over with a feather when I'd opened the box. I immediately contacted Michele to thank her for such generosity. What Michele had said was that she just wanted to help me get started with
my collection. Can you imagine such kindness? Along with the two awesome cookbooks (circa 1930's), Michele also included two of her most amazingly scented handcrafted soaps. She said it was to remove any musty smell that the books may have, but just think it was her extra kindness to add even more of a special personal touch to this most thoughtful of gifts.
If you don't know of Michele and her wonderful company Funky Chunks Soap Company, you certainly should. Her soap scents are the best I've ever smelled and they lather like crazy! If you like to lavish yourself if luxury and let the sweet and sensual aromas overtake your senses like no other, check out Michele's soaps. They make wonderful gifts and they last an amazingly long time. I'd say that her soaps are just about as terrific as Michelle herself and I can't recommend them highly enough!
So then, now that we've washed up, lets get cooking!
This is the first recipe I've chosen to blog about in my new "Vintage Series" of recipes. I took this from one of the books Michele sent me called "Everyday Foods" and I found it on page 518. It sounded simple, unusual and relatively quick and easy to make with a good combination of fall flavors. I thought would be a perfect choice for an autumn Sunday afternoon.
Of course with all of my recipes, old and new, you know I have to add my own touches to it. This is how I adapted this 1930's recipe to fit my own Kudos Kitchen:
OLD-FASHIONED GRATED SWEET POTATO PUDDING {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
-In a food processor (modern comforters, hehe), or use a box grater, grate the sweet potatoes.
-In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, molasses, milk, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
-Add the grated sweet potatoes to the egg mixture and stir to combine.
-Pour the mixture into a buttered casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or until the middle has completely set.
-Cool slightly before serving and top with a garnish of your choice, if desired.
I must admit, this isn't the most attractive recipe for my first time out of the vintage gate but the smell was pretty delicious as it was baking and caramelizing in the oven.
In the cookbook it suggests serving the pudding with whipped cream or lemon sauce. They both sound good but we opted for frozen vanilla yogurt instead. Thanks for stopping at the store on your way over Adam!
The reviews on this recipe were mixed. Here's Adam, doing his mom a favor and giving it a taste :)
We all decided that while the flavor was pleasant, much like a pumpkin pie, the texture and overall eye appeal left something to be desired. The frozen vanilla yogurt helped... a LOT, but you'd be hard pressed to eat an entire bowl of this pudding on its own.
Ah well, at least we tried and had fun doing it!!! Who knows, we may have even made a memory here :)
(if that's not the face of a memory in the making, I don't know what is! LOL) Better luck next time Adam!
I've found out that there are many, many of you out there that also have a love of vintage cookbooks! I am thrilled to be a part of this new (to me) community of collectors and hope that you'll share some of your thoughts and comments! I'd love to meet you so don't be shy about stopping to say hello.
So then, come back again won't you? I'll be paging through my new/old cookbooks again soon to find other vintage recipes to cook up for you in my Kudos Kitchen. I just can't wait!
Thanks again Michele!!!
Until we eat again,
Labels: caramelized, custard, desserts, molasses, pudding, retro recipes, sweet potatoes
