I happened upon this little book recipes by chance, and was drawn to so much about it.
Firstly, the format. ‘Recipes From The Past’ is a slim, landscape paperback with colour cover and endearing inner content, and has a style very much redolent of the Salmon Press cookery books. I own and treasure quite a few of the titles, including Romany recipes and traditional Northumbrian fare.
Secondly, as I turned to the recipe index, I realized that quite a few of my more traditional favourite meals were included: Queen of Puddings, Turkey Roast, Watercress Soup, Manchester Tart and Red Cabbage, amongst many others. Fancy food is all very well, but I know from experience that much of the time most of us prefer something simple, hearty and filling. These are precisely the type of recipe that this book provides.
Thirdly, the recipes are listed, not in categories such as Desserts, Starters, Vegetables etc, but instead are combined into 14 wonderful and well-balanced menus. I’ll include just one example here. Menu 6 incorporates Avocado Salad, Pork Fillet with Sherry, Baby Turnips Au Gratin, and Charlotte Russe, and is representative of the book’s effort-free menu planning which includes recipes to appeal to most people.
Each page includes a starter, a main course, a vegetable dish and a dessert, and this makes it perfect for easy and unpretentious entertaining.
This lovely little book is available from the Words are Life website.
Just search for ‘Recipes From The Past’.