A little while ago Mom and I were book shopping at the local thrift store (my favorite book store), and found an old copy of "The Joy of Cooking: a compilation of reliable recipes with an occasional culinary chat" published in 1943. World War II for those who forgot their history. The "Occasional culinary chat" is quite entertaining. A whole column devoted to the story of how the king of France brought about the invention of puffed potatoes; he was late for dinner to make the story short. Also the section on the Calorie Chart, missing in the 75th anniversary edition. "A malediction on the first calorie counter (must have been a man)... It's fun to count other people's caloric intake. Make a game of it... Watch the calories mount. Yes, you may eat and grow thin. It isn't nearly as much fun as giving your appetite a free rein, but if you are inclined to take on soft, but unfortunately much-dated curves, a concentration on non-caloric food (with only an occasional indulgence) is advisable." And my favorite diet advice "Let your contours be your guide."
It was going to press about the time rationing started so some "emergency" chapters were tacked on: Sugar saving recipes for desserts, and Meat stretching and substitutes. And no cookbook could be complete without 'rules' on how to handle sweetbreads, brains, small birds (pigeon), frog legs, hare, and squirrel. As well as the new pressure cookers and varieties of baking powder. We did use one of the recipes for strawberry rhubarb pie which was the taste of spring in a pastry shell.
4 cups sliced strawberries and rhubarb
We used about 2 cups of each
1 cup sugar
9 Tablespoons flour
put in a 9 inch pie pan, with crust on top and bottom and cook at 350.
Simple, straight forward, and very good if you can find good strawberries. Should have taken a picture of that one. Very pretty too.
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