Taryn Nicole, Author at Retro Food For Modern Times

Author: Taryn Nicole

07
Jan
2021

Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Asia, Chicken, Chicken & Poultry, World Cooking

Hello friends! Today I am sharing a recipe for Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup which comes from the Malaya, Siam and Indonesia chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). From the name, I thought this recipe was going to be for chicken in a spicy tomato sauce. Which would have been fine. This, however, was so much better! This. is ketchup, Jim but not as we know it!

This “ketchup” is made out of garlic, onions, sambal oelek (a chilli paste) soy sauce and lemon. Not a tomato in sight! Which lead me down a rabbit hole into the origins of ketchup. Turns out this may be closer to the original than what we commonly recognise today as ketchup or as we in Australia call it, tomato sauce. The tomato version has been around for a long time – just look at this ad from 1933!

And just to show that Heinz can patronise men as well as women, how about this ad for He-Ketchup.

The History of Ketchup

Fascinating as these ads are, let’s head even further back into the past to look at the history of ketchup. There are a few theories but ketchup most likely originated in Asia. The word either derives from the Hokkien word ke-tsiap or from the Malay word kecap. Kecap Manis is a Malysian sweet soy sauce which could be a distant relation to the original which was a fermented fish sauce. Possibly like the one still used in Vietnamese cooking.

And don’t let those ads from the 1930’s fool you. According to no less than history.com

The 18th century was a golden age for ketchup

Who knew? Anyway, the short version is the fermented fish sauce made its way to England. And the Brits went mad for all sorts of ketchups. Lemons, oysters, mushrooms, walnuts, fruit – you name it there was probably ketchup made out of it! And then in 1812 (somebody cue up that overture), James Mease from Philadelphia developed a recipe for tomato ketchup. And apart from a few artisan brands, all those other kinds of ketchup have gone the way of the dinosaur.

Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup – The Recipe

The Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup or to give it its non-English name Ajam Panggang Boemboe Ketjap was delicious and very easy to make! As you can see from the picture, I served it with plain boiled rice as the recipe suggested. If I was to add anything, I would have added a little tomato, red onion and coriander salad maybe with some fresh green chilli to add a fresh element but it was fine without. It would be very nice comfort food on a cold winter evening!

Also, I used chicken thighs for my recipe, not a whole chicken as suggested.

Have a wonderful week, friends, stay safe and look after yourselves and others!

02
Jan
2021

Evita – The Cocktail

categories: Cocktail, Midori, Name Plates, New Year, New Year's Resolutions, Vodka

Welcome to 2021 people of the internet! What will this year bring I wonder? I’m tempted to say that it can only be better than 2020, However, that seems a bit too much like waving a red flag in front of a particularly vindictive bull that tells me to hold it’s beer even as it is pawing the ground and getting ready to charge. So, let’s swiftly change the subject….hmmm…speaking of alcohol….this is the Evita!

The Evita was my cocktail of choice for NYE and a very good choice it was. It has the fruity sweet-sour flavour that I love. And the colours – acid lime green with a flash of orange from the garnish are like a neon version of the more traditional deep green and red of Christmas. Kind of festive edgy if you will. Or 1970’s chic if you won’t.

Evita – The Cocktail

The Evita cocktail contains vodka, melon liqueur, lime and orange juice. You can find the recipe here. There is another cocktail called the Eva Peron which has very different ingredients so make sure you get the right one if you want to make it. Which you should because it is a delightful little tipple!

Evita – The Woman

Truth be told until I started researching for this cocktail did not know all that much about Eva Peron aka Evita. This is what I knew:

She was the wife of the Argentinian president
There was a musical written about her which includes the song Don’t Cry for me Argentina
Madonna played her in the film version of the musical
She was very glamourous and wore gorgeous clothes
I cannot write the name Eva Peron without first writing the name Eva Person and having to correct it.

What I did not know:

María Eva Duarte met Colonel Juan Peron in 1944 and married him in 1945. He became President of Argentina in 1946
During his presidency, Eva, who became known commonly as Evita worked tirelessly to help the poor people of Argentina and to give women full suffrage.
She spoke publicly on labour rights and ran the Ministries for health and labour.
She set up a charitable foundation dedicated to social justice and helping sick and poor Argentinians
And set up an all-female political party.
In 1951 she announced her candidacy for the nomination of Vice President of Argentina, an act that was hugely popular with poor and working-class people.
She was forced to withdraw her nomination because of failing health.
Eva Peron died of cancer in 1952. She was 33 years old.

The Inspiration

What an amazing woman and what an absolute inspiration! Also, what great timing because this is the time of year when I, (and many other people around the world) are setting goals and making resolutions for the New Year.

Learning about this wonderful woman’s life really made me rethink the goals I had started to set – instead of the usual save more, spend less, drink less, exercise more goals maybe this year I will try to live with some of Eva’s grace and devotion to her cause and conviction. Why not make this the year of being strong, vocal and politically active for the causes I care about. And if I can also have all the glamour and wear some pretty dresses that is a bonus!

So, my friends, let’s all raise a toast to Eva Peron. May she inspire us to live our best lives in 2021!

Have a wonderful week and year ahead!

31
Dec
2020

18th Century Trifle

categories: Desserts, Trifle, Vintage Recipes

When you can’t find the music to get down and boogie, all you can do is step back in time. Ball of confusion when nothing is new and there’s nothing doing, step back in time

– Kylie Minogue, Step back in Time

I feel that ball of confusion is probably a polite way to describe 2020. Maybe in a subconscious desire to block out the present, I decided to step back in time with dessert on Christmas Day. And when I say step back, I mean step waaaayyyy back. We ate a dessert that could have sat on the table of poor old Mad King George – an 18th-century trifle! Fitting I think as so many of us came near to losing our sanity at least once over the last 365 days!

You will note that most of the pictures of my trifle have the dish adorned with some ivy leaves. I not only did this to up the Christmassy green and red of the recipe but when washing said dish before making the trifle I dropped it in the sink and broke a bit off the bottom. It still stood perfectly well but was not very sightly! It was way too late to go and buy another trifle dish so it had to be disguised!

The recipe called for Boudoir biscuits. I had never heard of them before. But, in my imagination they are a glamorously louche biscuit eaten by the French only in the privacy of their bedrooms. Turns out it is just the French name for what we here would call sponge fingers or savoiardi. It also turns out that pretty much every country has a different name for these sweet treats – my favourite being the name used in Uruguay and Venezula – “plantillas” meaning little plants!

So first thing we do it give our little plants a good old watering in some booze. I used marsala because I had some but the recipe suggests sherry. I also really like the label on the marsala bottle. It has a jaunty little horse, with what looks like a plant pot on its side, pulling a wagon containing what is presumably a keg of marsala. Is the plant meant to be a boronia plant? And is the plant the same thing that the little horse is wearing on his head?

Incidentally, marsala wine was first brought to England in the 18th century so using it is not entirely out of place!

I topped the soaked biscuits with custard and then topped the custard with the syllabub. The recipe asks for the trifle to syllabub be decorated with “blobs” of red currant jelly. I went to 3 supermarkets but I could not find red currant jelly for love or money! The shelves were piled high with all sorts of condiments containing cranberries. But no redcurrants in sight! I subbed in some raspberry jelly and fresh raspberries for my topping.

The trifle was delicious!! And proof that a step back in time can be a wonderful thing!

18th Century Trifle – The Recipe

This recipe comes from Sarah Edington’s excellent book Classic British Cooking.

This will be my last post for 2020 so, as ever thank you all for reading and commenting and being a part of this! I wish you and yours a fabtacular year ahead!

2021 here we come!

24
Dec
2020

Christmas Zucchini Rolls

categories: Starters, Vegetarian, Zucchini

Season’s greetings my friends! I’m going to say right from the get-go that making these zucchini rolls is a fiddly business. However, they look so Christmassy with the green and the red that I couldn’t resist. They will be part of our appetiser plate for Christmas lunch. Luckily for me, we are a very small group this year so it is definitely worth the pfaffing about in order to serve these delicious little morsels!

Zucchini are also in season here at the moment so this is also a seasonal treat! If you can’t get fresh Zucchini I’m sure you could make these with those char-grilled zucchini strips you can buy at the deli!

So, let’s get started. First, finely slice (I used a mandoline) your zucchini. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on the griddle pan. You want to cook your zucchini until the griddle marks show but it is still soft enough to roll.

While that is happening you can also blacken your chilli. I try to get them well and truly scorched all over. We are going to be removing the outer skin anyway. If you can’t tolerate the heat of chilli, get out of the kitchen…or use a red capsicum instead!

Then, add a dollop of goat’s cheese, a strip of chilli and half a mint leaf onto your grilled zucchini strip and roll it up. Tie it all up with a little chive. Note, tying the chives is really fiddly so feel free to chop them and sprinkle over the top if you can’t be bothered with the faffing about!

These are very nice to eat just as they are but I particularly like them on a cracker to add some crunch!

The recipe I use for these is based on this recipe from Serious Eats. I don’t use the arugula. Instead, I have my mint leaf sticking out the top to get some festive red and green.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

I hope you have a merry Christmas wherever and however you are celebrating. If you are in Corona lockdown, look on the brightside – there is more Christmas goodness for you. I’m not going to admit that I ate a whole plate of these by myself when I did a pre-Christmas trial run. But, if you were so inclined, a plate of these make a very good dinner with a couple of rolls leftover for breakfast.

All the best! I hope Santa brings you everything you want!

22
Dec
2020

Salami on a Sushi Platter?

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Fish, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Japan, Rice, Salami, World Cooking

Kon’nichiwa friends! Today we are making Sushi but not any old sushi. Today, I am using the recipe for O’Sushi contained in the Japanese chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). It’s mostly sushi as we know it with one notable exception. Yes, that is salami in the middle of the plate!

For this recipe, I wanted to put myself into the shoes of a housewife from 1972 who had never tasted or seen sushi before. So, for the purposes of this post, this is me, using my new-fangled microwave to zip up some delightful treats for the kids.

And later tonight when they are in bed I am going to make some fancy pants Japanese food for date night with the hubby because we like walking on the wild side. Just look at the massive pocket on my denim overalls dress. If that doesn’t scream living on the edge, I don’t know what does. Except for maybe my cork platform sandals.

O-Sushi The Recipe.

Boil some rice in the usual fashion. Prepare a sauce of vinegar, sugar and salt whilst it is cooking, using 2 tsps sugar to 1 tbsp vinegar.

How much salt Good Housekeeping? And what do you mean boil rice in the usual fashion? I’ve never boiled rice in my life. Good lord, step one and already I need to phone a friend?

Sheila? I’m making the sushi…su….shi…It’s Japanese. Only I don’t know how to boil rice or how much salt to add to the sauce? What do you mean my hair, face, clothes and kitchen seem different? I’m not interested in continuity I’m interested in salt and getting laid tonight! This is date night sushi Sheila so quit with the comments and help me with the rice…oh…ok…thanks.

The rice should be dried and cooled quickly and the juice is shaken over it whilst it cools.

WTF? Where am I supposed to get juice from? Oh…the vinegar sauce is the juice? Why did they suddenly decide to call it juice? And how quickly does this rice need to be dried and cooled? Maybe I’ll just pop it in the fridge and shake the juice / sauce over it from there? Will that work?

Ok, next step.

Form the rice into small flat rolls or cakes and garnish with any of the following: Boiled prawns

Smoked Salmon

Raw Fish

Tinned fish; Anchovy fillets; ham or any other cold meat thinly sliced;

A thin omelette seasoned with salt and sugar, edible seaweed, or any salad vegetable

Place the garnish on top of or around the rice cakes. Alternatively, cylindrical cakes can be made with a filling in the centre and and thin layer of egg, seaweed, etc around the outside.

Well, mercy sakes alive, it looks like I’ve just made proper some Japanese O’Sushi….I really hope hubby likes it!

The Following Day – The Sushi Wrap Up

Hello Sheila? I”m just calling to fill you in on date night last night. Yes, it went very well. The food was all very tasty but we both agree. Raw fish will never really catch on here…it’s just too out there for most people! The salami sushi though? That was the bomb! I can see people lining up in the streets for some of that! …. The sex? No, nothing, I caught a cold from standing in front of the open fridge for and hours and shaking juice on the rice and had to go to bed early.

Have a great week!

PS – For a real insight into the art of making sushi, watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi.