A Refreshing No-Cook Soup: Gazpacho

I just had this for dinner on a hot evening and loved it. Of course you can do it to taste.

Place in a huge glass bowl as you cut them:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small cucumber, cubed
about 1-1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 lime or 1/2 big lemon's juice freshly squeezed
a handful of parsley or cilantro, cut up with scissors if you like
1 tiny sweet onion or 1 or 2 shallots, diced
a small can of good corn, drained (such as Green Giant)
3 or more slices of jalepeno (jarred is fine)
a bit of garlic paste
a nice few grindings of black pepper

Shake the bowl to sort-of level out the ingredients, and then pour in:
enough of tomato juice to make it as soupy as you want (I needed about 3 cups)

Then stir.
Serve EACH serving with
a generous dollop of yogurt (I used about 1/2 cup for my own serving)
AND if you want this to be a main course soup (that's what I did) add to EACH serving
a big spoonful of cooked kidney beans

(I'm re-posting this from the previous version of this site, but in a month that's hot where I live now, instead of the late March of the old post.)

A wonderful posting about vintage desserts

From one of my all-time favorite bloggers: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2015/06/15-of-my-favourite-desserts-ever-with.html .

A restaurant custom from 1920s Great Britain

I never heard of this anywhere; have you?

from A.A. Milne's! 1929 Those Were the Days:

At most restaurants you can get a second help of anything for half-price, and that is technically called a 'follow.'

Here's a retro restaurant pix for you claiming to be British...sorry Pinterest didn't mention the illustrator.

Romesco Sauce

This is so amazing as a bread or vegetable topping or as a tiny side to mozzarella cheese and maybe olives. (Unfortunately I think it's quite bland on top of pasta though.) It's a quite inexpensive dish too, though tastes fancy.

Toast separately (if you wish in the same skillet one after the other, tossing them as each is done into a food processor):
1/4 cup almonds
1 slice plain bread (no strong flavors like cinnamon)
4 tomatoes
Toss all those plus the below into a food processor (tear up the bread first) and process until you get a thick sauce. I like some bits left rather than a very smooth sauce. If you don't want pretty big bits of almonds left, instead whir them first a bit by themselves.
about 1 tsp garlic paste or a big garlic clove
1 Tblsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Serve warmish or chilled.

(from the previous incarnation of this site, though moved from its "anniversary" date to a more appropriate one seasonality-wise for me)

The American Peoples Cookbook, 1956

I just finished reading through this...which I neglected to mention in my other post re it was not a part of the 70-plus collection I ordered, which didn't feature humongous books like this.

By humongous I really mean extremely packed with recipes, more than most cookbooks I know (though there are certainly some with even more recipes). This has interesting and helpful recipes such as Raisin-Cider Sauce (suggested for over French Toast, heaven; or over ham)...homemade chocolate syrups (various versions)...a peanut-y frosting without butter or similar...and a spice pastry for pie, which sounds like a great idea but which I've not encountered. As you can tell, there are a lot of desserts! but as the book itself points out, desserts can be a healthy as well as marvelous course of a meal.

The book closes with a chapter on pickles and other preserved foods. Their bread-and-butter pickles call for cassia buds, something I've never found in grocery shops...

Overall I'm valuing this book not only for the fun illustrations for which I bought it, but for its broad range of recipes. However, those illustrations, I found, could be disturbingly honest -- it's about "American peoples," after all -- they picture the horrid fact of slavery in our past...and also are much more open than I usually see about cruelties to animals such as calves and other cattle. Makes me consider more vegetarian meals...

I see someone else is selling a copy on Etsy today of this cookbook: https://www.etsy.com/listing/231445522/american-peoples-cookbook-vintage-1956 . Here's another drawing from this book that reminds me of a lovely party I attended the other day that came complete with fantastic musicians! I so love living in our new area!

Picnic advice, c1887

Just a little reminder about picnics from "Miss Parloa" in her Kitchen Companion:

It is well to distribute crackers and cheese among the party on first reaching the grounds, so as to relieve any feeling of faintness.

Hmm, makes me feel faint to see how that pasted in?!

Happy National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month!

That's what it is in America this month, cool!

Amazing Italian in an Historic Building -- in Singapore

This is from the old incarnation of this site, and much may have changed. However, it was one of the most beautiful meals I ever had...

A little 2015 update from the official website, where I learned there are now at least 3 restaurants in that complex: One (per http://legendsfortcanning.com/index.php/dining/tisettanta-lounge ) has "Seasonal snack platters...available for all-day grazing. Paired with varying genres of music throughout the day, Tisettanta is tipped to become the place for sophisticated chilling." Ahhh.