"Blast from the past" cooking challenge

[Mrs Sparkles]

Looking for some ideas about how to use millet, I decided to go back to my books rather than searching the Internet. I remembered millet being something of a "favourite" of Sarah Brown and pulled out "Sarah Brown's Vegetarian Cookbook" (published 1984 and on my shelves since 1989-1990).

Just a quick flip through those pages transported me to another life, long ago and far away. Funny how 20 years later I find myself once again enjoying some of the same foods.

I thought it might make a good challenge for the Chefs, Meals and Recipes community: cook something from one of your old cookbooks and share the experience here.

Anyone up for it?

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Who else had Moosewood Cookbook? Mine is back in the States, do they even publish it anymore? Talk about a blast from the past! IIRC, they had a fabulous quiche recipe that I could totally go for! Good soups too!

[lumines]

In the good old days, when milkmen delivered milk to your front door in bottles (I’m talking about the UK in 1983!) they often had special offers, so if you ordered an extra pint for a few days, you qualified for a special offer of some sort.

I drank lots of extra pints and bought The Dairy Book of Family Cookery – it was only the second cookbook I owned and I loved it to pieces (lots of pictures of farmhouses and cows and green fields) – and I still make the Onion Quiche from it today!

Just flipping through it now, it’s stood the test of time quite well really. Not sure I fancy the Sprout and Macaroni Bake though!

[auld wifie]

Sitting on my kitchen shelf next to my copy of Sarah Brown's book (have you managed to make millet taste of anything at all? Some nice bakes and salads though) is my Madhur Jaffrey's Indian cook book from the same era, which I still use regularly. Love the dry spicy potatoes, chicken and lentil recipe, i'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

[K1]

I have a very very old Edmonds Cook Book - all the kiwis will know - anyway I inherited it from my late mother (and I am NOT young) and it has a recipe in it for swan - yes SWAN.  I would be willing to give it a go if anyone can tell me where to buy a swan ...

[g.alert]

I thought all swans belonged to the Queen!

Tucked away inside an ancient recipe book I discovered a printed sheet enticingly called Easy Recipes for Textured Vegetable Protein.  Following is one of the recipes and I'm sorry Mrs S I refuse to try and cook it.

T.V.P. quick stroganoff

1 cup TVP chunks
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 dessertspoon soya sauce

Place the above in saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes then add

1 pkt French onion soup mix
1 x 8oz tin mushrooms
1 cup water

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mionutes.  When ready to serve add ¾ cup dairy sour cream.  Reheat but don’t boil.  Serve over hot noodle or rice.



Bon appetite.... 

[Harriet.]

Lili I used to have the Moosewood cookbook but it got given away during one of our moves. Sadly I don't think I ever used it but it was one of those 'have to buy' things, as a cool friend had it!

[Scummy Mummy]

K1: If you ever go into Cold Storage or to the wet market and ask for swan, can I come with you and watch 

[TV times]

My nan used to have a cook book with a recipe for Birds nest soup in it which we used to find bizarre when we were kids - living here now it seems kind of normal (I don't think I'd ever fancy trying it though)

Has anyone ever watched those cook shows with Julia Childs?  They had a spate of showing them on UK cable back in the 90s, and they looked ancient even then (I don't know when they were originally filmed), but Julia Childs has to be the first transvestite chef! 

[to lumines]

There are still parts of England where milk is delivered in glass bottlesl.  Stayed with our friends recently, and sure enough, every couple of days we had to remember to bring it in.  The milkman still has his float too.

[lumines]

There are still parts of England where milk is delivered in glass bottlesl.  Stayed with our friends recently, and sure enough, every couple of days we had to remember to bring it in.  The milkman still has his float too.

Really!! I didn't know that...I thought they'd all vanished long ago 

[vol-au-vent]

We stayed in a village in Derbyshire last year where they had the milk delivered.  It was nice to hear the milk float 'zooming' by the house (actually, I even saw it a couple of times before I'd got over my jetlag!)

I had one of those dairy home encyclopedia books once, full of all kinds of useful stuff.  My mum had an ancient copy of one from years ago and when I realised they were still making them, I bought one too (I don't know where it is, sadly I think it got misplaced when we moved here).

[Mrs Sparkles]

Enjoyed reading the various posts. Had to laugh when I saw TVP offered in Cold Storage but I resisted the temptation to cook g.alert's recipe. Mr S suggested we nick down to the Bot Gardens to pick up a swan but we thought better of the idea. And Lili, I'm pleased to say "Moosewood" is alive and well (you can find the quiche recipe on the Internet - seems to be quite a popular one). I was a bit worried about lumines only collecting the milk every couple of days. Our milkman came every day and we had to get it in early before birds pecked holes in the foil caps.

Finally, I decided on Millet and tofu patties as my "blast". Definitely not something I would have cooked from Sarah Brown's book in the past, because of my former distaste for tofu and an unwillingness to search for and stock certain "weird" ingredients.

As it was, I didn't have some of the required ingredients, but I just substituted where necessary. Here's my modified recipe:

1 tsp oil
75 g millet grains
425mL boiling water
150 g silken tofu (1/2 packet)
30mL shoyu
50 g almonds, chopped
50 g sourdough breadcrumbs
Poha (flattened rice) to coat

Toast the millet in the oil until golden. Remove from the heat. Pour on the boiling water (take care as it will boil up), cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the millet is soft. Drain excess water and leave until cold.

Put the millet, tofu and shoyu into the blender and blend to a thick paste. Scrape out into a bowl and beat in the almonds and breadcrumbs. Season to taste (I didn't add anything). Chill overnight in the fridge.

Divide into 6 pieces (Sarah Brown's recipe says 8 and I made 7 but felt they were still too small). Shape into flat patties. Handle carefully as they are quite soft. Pat poha onto each side of the patties. Replace in the fridge a couple of hours to help the rice stick on.

Shallow fry 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown. Resist the temptation to turn them early - the less they are handled the better.

My assessment: Better than expected. The texture was pleasant and the nuts contrasted well with the tofu. Cost to make was low (less than a dollar for the tofu and the breadcrumbs were made from the end of a loaf of bread).

Leftovers improved with keeping in the fridge and re-frying a couple of days later - the patties were firmer. We ate them with spicy noodles. I'll definitely use this method again, perhaps with cooked rice rather than millet (since we often have cooked rice leftover) and maybe I'll play around with the flavouring of the paste (perhaps adding curry powder).

[scoobydoo]

Does swan nipping qualify for diplomatic immunity?

[moosey]

I had - probably still have in storage - the Moosewood cookbook too! Didn't know it was a 'have to have' thing though -- it was a gift, as I recall  Too bad I don't have it here -- planning to make quiche tonight!