I can’t believe I’ve gone so long without sharing a vintage cook book or disgusting vintage food photo.
This is a darling cook booklet from Mazola oil circa 1939.
The best thing about this booklet is the shape. It’s rounded on the bottom in the shape of the bowl, not squared like the photo looks. The recipes are, for the most part, refreshing and delicious. Some of the dressed salads are a bit heavy on the oil – 3/4 cup for a salad for 3! but otherwise quite tempting.
Every dish is pictured on a lovely plate or bowl that forms the bottom edge of the book. The recipe above doesn’t look half bad. A light tuna salad served in tomato cups with asparagus and devilled eggs. I’d eat it!
No vintage salad book is complete without an aspic! Isn’t it beautiful?
I know I shared this photo earlier this month but I love it so much I had to include it again. This is just about the cutest thing I’ve seen. This is Cranberry Heart Salad. Served with mayonnaise? (Hmm.)
Anyway, I might just serve this year’s Thanksgiving cranberry sauce this way. I don’t have heart molds but mini jell-o molds will suffice quite nicely.
All in all, this book impresses me. The ingredients are adventurous (ie curly endive), the salads are fresh, light and tempting. I would cook out of this and not have to alter much. How did the we go from this to iceberg lettuce and heavy, sauced, jellied foods of the 50’s?
Like this -
These are open-faced sandwiches glazed with gelatin. *shudder* No thank you! I think I’ll have the salad please.
