1970's food Archives - Page 17 of 20 - Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: 1970’s food

08
Dec
2013

Artichokes – Delicious Vegetable or WMD?

categories: 1970's food, Artichokes, Lamb, Salad, Walnuts

Artichokes didn’t feature on the menu when I was growing up. I’m also not overly fond of the ones you get in the deli which taste more of the vinegar they come in that anything else. So, I had actually never eaten a fresh artichoke until last year…I‘m not sure what prompted me to buy some because let’s face it, they’re not an attractive proposition.

I don’t mean the way they look, that’s awesome – the amazing colours, the gorgeous mix of purple and green and their sculptural shape…

They are almost like something that should be in should be in a bouquet rather than on your plate and, just to prove that point, here’s one I prepared earlier….

Gorgeous. And functional. If you get a little peckish…pull off a leaf and have a nibble. Win. Win.

So, when I say they are unattractive, what I really mean is that they are hard work.

Imagine trying to explain the artichoke to someone from another planet…

“Well you’ve got to trim off the leaf tops with scissors, then brush them with lemon so they don’t go brown”

Yeah but if you didn’t cut them, you wouldn’t have to…

“Never mind about that. Then you have to scrape out the choke…

Scrape out the what?

“The choke…it’s kind of a hairy bit at the bottom…”

It has a hairy bottom? And you EAT this?

Uh Huh.

Why’s it called a choke?

Not sure but if you don’t remove it all sometimes the fuzz can get caught in your throat and apparently it can be very painful.

Oh my God. This hairy bottom vegetable wants to kill you. You humans are bonkers. Anyone else would run a mile from this thing…There’s no way I”m eating that. Might come in handy as a weapon though…

Ok, so I”ll just dip these deliciious leaves in melted butter and eat them myself shall I?

What?

That’s a traditional way of eating them. You dip them in melted butter and then you drag ’em through your teeth…

Melted butter you say? Ok, I’m in.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/artichokes-parmesan-butter-sauce

Why aren’t more foods dipped in melted butter? As far as I can ascertain the only things that are regularly dipped in butter are artichokes and lobsters both which are pretty good anyway. Why aren’t we doing this with some of the revolting stuff (beetroot springs to mind) to make it taste better? I guarantee more people would like Brussels Sprouts if they came liberally doused in melted butter. Just saying.

Anyway I digress. You know what is also good? Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…but a few more of my favourite things are mayonnaise, lamb and capers.

And all of these delicious things can be found in the Nancy Spain recipe for Water Lily Lamb Salad. And this time, I really did prepare one earlier….

Apart from the cutest name ever, the Water Lily Lamb Salads are pretty damn good and would make a great starter for a springtime lunch. It’s such a lovely way to present the meal as well…albeit, I cooked my artichokes for the full 25 minutes as recommended by Nancy and they kind of fell apart, hence my slightly awry water lillies in the photos! Tasted great though. Still, I’ll cook them a lot less next time. You could sub in chicken for the lamb as an equally deliciious variant. Or an egg salad would be incredible…

And, if you needed any further incentive to eat artichokes, Marilyn Monroe was crowned the Artichoke Queen Of California in 1947. And look where it got her…

No, not dead of a barbiturate overdose at the tender age of 36…wow, you people are cynical…

Marilyn Monroe - Artichoke Queen — Marilyn Monroe – Artichoke Queen

I”m going to be spending my week hanging around greengrocers, waiting to be crowned queen of something.

Then again…why limit myself to produce when I can crown myself

It’s your week, may as well make it awesome.

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22
Nov
2013

Nancy Spain, Moving House, Welcome Back WordPress…

categories: 1970's food, Vintage Cookbooks

It seems like an awfully long time since I have done one of these but ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to, straight from the vaults of 1972, The Nancy Spain All Colour Cookery Book.

Don’tcha just love it when you open the first page of a book and just know you have found something to treasure. The All Colour Cookery Book opens with this…

Yep…a black and white photo.

I guess “all colour” meant something different back in 1972…

Then let’s mosey over to page 3 where Nancy gets her kit off…no, sorry to disappoint, it’s not that sort of page 3….although equally shocking for the folks of 1972 I would imagine is the following:

“That is because my partner’s “presentation sense” is very, very highly developed and she uses colour in “laying out” her Sunday or Saturday lunch as an artist would “lay out” his palette”

What? Did I read that right? Did Nancy Spain just out herself? Who knew there were lesbians back in 1972? Ok, no we all knew that…but I always assumed that those times were a lot more homophobic and that people were a lot less open about their sexuality….then again, it was the ’70’s…people were flinging car keys into fruit bowls with wild abandon…maybe being out and proud was nothing back then…as it should be now…. Anyway, you go girl!

Whenever I read these old books, I can’t help imagine the personalities of the authors…In a really early post I spoke about my crush on Jules J Bond; Greta Anna Teplitzky is the cool girl in school I always wanted to be. And Nancy and I, would have just been besties…who wouldn’t be best friends with someone who takes photos of themselves holding oversized vegetables over their heads…

Or with oversized cookware…

Or who hold parties based on obscure Nationalities….

Or who begins a piece called “The Three Musts for Every Party” with the words:

“Drink is all important…”

She’s definitely a girl after my own heart!

She’s fun, she’s boozy, and a little bit kooky, and we’d never fall out because we both fancied the same boy! Why would we not be friends?

(Ps the other two musts are food and music).

So, this has just been the taster, we’ll have a closer look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the contents of the book over the next few weeks.

Oh, and welcome back WordPress followers…who knew you would all drop off when I moved platforms? Specifically because I was assured you wouldn’t drop off when I moved platforms…but you’re back now…I think, I hope…Let me know if you are.

Meantime, I’ll be moving house and planning my Liechtensteiner themed housewarming party….you can all come, but only if you wear the Liechtenstein National Dress and bring me something from there. Although I remember from a Year 8 geography project that their main produce is postage stamps… Wear this & bring booze…from anywhere. I’m not fussy….

I’ll handle the menu.

Wikipedia tells me popular Liechtensteiner foods include asparagus, bread, pastries, rosti, schnitzel, sandwiches and yoghurt. If I wasn’t already in the middle of moving house, I might up sticks to Liechtenstein…the cuisine sounds fab! And that national dress has a kind of cute raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Sound of Music vibe….

I’d love to say that I’ll be spending my week planning a holiday to Liechtenstein. However, the reality is packing and unpacking boxes….although my new house is going to be awesome…I”ve already set up the bar…

And cookbook corner is looking wicked good…

Still have an enormous amount to do so, best be doing it, instead of arseing about on the internet all night.

Have a great week whatever you do!

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10
Jul
2013

Retro Food For Modern Times – My Super Power…and a Tomato Consomme

categories: 1970's food, Gelatine, Tomatoes

I had a bit of a shock last week when I published the Pimms Post and a little message came up saying “You have published 50 Posts” Wow! Really? I completely forgot! Good thing it was a cocktail post, we can take as a celebration had. BTW, just between us, I discovered later in the week that if instead of ginger ale or lemonade, you happen to mix Pimms with some elderflower cordial and soda water the result is like heaven in a glass! So, so good.

Oh and less than a week after I posted about all things British and tennis, Andy Murray finally won Wimbledon….coincidence? I like to think not.

My ability to influence major sporting events is not actually my super power. No, mine is a lot spookier. I’m telling you this just so, when things happen over the next few weeks, you won’t be surprised. And here it is…whenever I go on holiday…famous people die. Seriously. Here are just some people who have shuffled off this mortal coil when I have been elsewhere:

Princess Diana (long weekend in Warnambool)

Kurt Cobain (Sydney)

Michael Jackson/ Farah Fawcett (Surfer’s Paradise)

Amy Winehouse (Malaysia)

There have been others, I just can’t remember them off the top of my head but really…that’s 4 of the big ones right there. Weird right?

I was also in Barcelona the day Lehman Brothers went down, signalling the start of the GFC….

I’m just about to go on holiday so I thought I would love and leave you with a classic retro recipe, the tomato consommé.

I was an unadventurous eater as a child. I took a vegemite sandwich to school every day for 4 years running. Mum still laughs that I was the only vegetarian who didn’t actually eat vegetables. So, last week when I not only whipped up a concoction made of tomato juice, chicken stock and gelatine but ate it without a second thought, it was a bit of a victory for me over my old habits.

So…if my life was a Hollywood movie this would be the bit where I bring a spoonful of the consommé to my lips…maybe I hesitate just to build some dramatic tension….then I would slurp that sucker down, give a sexy little wink to the camera and mouth the word “Delicious.” Next up there would be a montage of me finding new appreciation of all the other food I don’t like – boiled peas, boiled carrots, beetroot, pork chops, any mix of chocolate and orange, the list goes on. And on. And on.

To be honest though. It wasn’t that good.

It tasted like slightly chickeny tomato juice. It wasn’t disgusting. Just not awesome. It LOOKED gorgeous. Which I guess is like saying that someone you’ve been on date with had a great personality. No, I’ll tell you exactly what it was like. I once read somewhere (let’s face this, this next…ahem…”fact” more than likely came from Cosmo or the Huff Post or another source of dubious reliability) that men fall in love with women because of who they are. And women fall in love with men for who they could be. That’s how I felt about this consommé. It was kind of a loser in its current state but given a little time and patience it could probably become something awesome.

As I ate my way through the massive amount of consommé the recipe produced, I found myself thinking…huh..what if I also made a basil jelly and made little cubes of the consommé and little cubes of basil jelly and made a really cute caprese? Or what if instead of the bitters (which added nothing) I subbed in some Worchestershire and Tabasco and made a Bloody Mary Consomme? What if I piped that jelly onto celery sticks? Or teeny cubes on oysters? What if I added more gelatine and spices and made it into something akin to a quince paste to have with cheese?

Tomato Consomme Recipe taken from Woman's Day All Colour Book of Cooking for Slimmers (1978) — Taken from Woman’s Day All Colour Book of Cooking for Slimmers (1978)

Tomato Consomme. Taken from Woman's Day All Colour Book of Cooking for Slimmers (1978) — Tomato Consomme.
Taken from Woman’s Day All Colour Book of Cooking for Slimmers (1978)

For the right girl (or boy) there is some real potential here to take this and turn it into something truly awesome. Not me though. I’ve been eating consommé for about a week. I’m consomméed out….and…I’m going on holiday!

I’m going to be spending the next 4 weeks in Vietnam and Thailand, two fab food hangouts. I booked a Street Food tour in Hanoi today and I am so excited about it! And there was a little Banh Xeo place I didn’t around to visiting last time we were in Saigon that I’m dying to try. I can’t wait to revisit the wonderful Morning Glory in Hoi An…and I’ll going to try to do a cooking class in Phuket…in between lounging by the pool sipping cocktails! So food will be high on my agenda and, when I get back, I’m sure I’ll have some stories to tell!

Enjoy your month whatever you get up to! I’ll be back mid August. And stay safe, even if you’re not a celebrity or an investment bank.

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17
Jun
2013

Let’s See How Far We’ve Come – Cheesy Meaty Goodness On a Stick – 1970’s vs 2010’s

categories: 1970's food, Books, Cheese, Finger Food, Olives, Serrano Ham, Starters

My favorite thing to eat is finger food. And it doesn’t have to be fancy – I’m just as happy with a mini-quiche or a party pie as with a teeny Peking duck pancake or a tempura prawn on a stick with wasabi mayo.

If I was ever going to open a restaurant, all it would serve would be tiny bites. And champagne. Cocktails of course. But the entire menu would be finger food. It would be a cocktail party restaurant. Anyone wishing to fund this establishment…you know where to find me.

Finger food has been on my mind recently as I have been drooling over the contents of Lydia France’s Party Bites which is like setting a child loose in a sweet shop – I want that one! And that one! And I REALLY want that one!

I was also not the only one who thought this book was looked delicious. Oscar’s been suffering from a little bit of separation anxiety since I have gone back to work and I came home one day to find the book, which I had left on the couch was not exactly how I had left it….

No so much dog eared.... — No so much dog eared….

I then had to go fess up to the library – the upside of which, after exchange of some financial compensation, the book, albeit slightly chewed now belongs to me!

There is a recipe in Party Bites which is a modern take on the old retro favourite of a cube of cheese on a stick with a bit of something. This is often to be had with pineapple in the fabulously kitschy Cheese and Pineapple Hedgehog:

Then there is the equally retro but less whimsical Aussie Staple of kabana and cheese….

No Australian barbeque of the 1970’s or 80’s would have been complete without a tray of this. Often, the kabana and cheese was topped with chunk of pineapple, a gaudily coloured cocktail onion or, if you were really classy, a stuffed olive.

The idea is actually sound. Who doesn’t love a meaty cheesy snack? And if topped with something sweet or sour or salty…well, so much the better. We here at Retro Food For Modern Times are not subscribers to the minimalist maxim that less is more. We believe that more is more. With a cherry on top!

The main problems with kabana and cheese is that kabana is kind of gross and although this combination might be tasty, it is drop dead boring. So, how do you give the ubiquitous kabana and cheese a modern twist whilst still retaining some of the kookiness of the cheese and pineapple hedgehog? Hello Lydia France’s Spanish Men…or should that be Hola los hombres españoles!

Here’s Lydia’s Version:

Spanish Men - Lydia France — Spanish Men – Lydia France

And here are mine…my Spanish men look a little drunk and definitely more chunkier. I think my Spanish men may have been hitting the Rioja a little too hard….

Spanish Men - olives, quince paste, serrano ham and manchego cheese — My Spanish Men

Spanish Men Recipe

For all their wonkiness, I loved them. These were sooooo good! Serrano ham, where have you been all my life? If you weren’t so damn expensive I would be feasting on you non-stop.

The salty olive, the sweet quince paste, the meaty deliciousness of the serrano and the creaminess of the cheese combine to create a little piece of heaven on a stick!

Spanish Men I love you!

And you’re not bad either Mario Casas…

I’m going to be spending my week checking out Spanish cinema. Enjoy your week whatever you do!

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07
Jun
2013

Retro Food For Modern Times – 7 Days Of Eating For Love And Beauty… Part 1

categories: 1970's food, Bread, Eggs, Rhubarb, Salad, Vintage Cookbooks

I figured after the alcoholic debauchery of the last post, it was time for some restraint and a bit of detoxification. So, I spent the last week eating for Love and Beauty. Not exclusively mind you but at least one dish per day…and, it was pretty good. Actually, it was better than that – I felt great! I was full of energy, more alert, I was focussed, I steamed through tasks at work, I lost about a kilo in weight, my skin looked great, a cute boy held a door open and winked at me…seriously this shit worked! Imagine if I lived like this…I’d be invincible!

So, this is how the week went down.

Day 1 – Balinese Rice

I know this dish better as a Gado Gado and it is delicious. Mind you, peanut sauce is a bit like bacon…or cheese for me….you could drizzle it over a stick and I would not only eat it but ask for seconds…

I chose to keep my vegies and rice separate because I liked the way it looked on the plate, but you could choose to mix them as suggested by the Swami.

The colours in this are so pretty and fresh as well!

Balinese Rice Recipe

Day 2 – Vitality Bread
I baked bread!

No wait…

I. BAKED. BREAD.

You have no idea how happy this made me. It looked like bread, it tasted like bread, the entire house was filled with the delicious aroma of freshly baked..happy days!

You also have no idea how my heart sank when Mark said “Wow, this bread is great, you can bake a loaf every week.” That won’t be happening anytime in the foreseeable, but I will bake more bread…I really want to do a walnut loaf. But not every week. Life’s too short and yeast is a temperamental little fucker.

In the interests of full disclosure, there were two failed attempts before the loaf of success.

Here is how not to go wrong baking bread.

When they say mix the yeast with warm water…don’t use boiling. Yeast doesn’t like heat.

When they say leave for one and a half hours, don’t think “Well overnight will be even better” and go off to bed. Particularly, in winter. Yeast also doesn’t like cold.

See what I mean? Yeast. It’s the Goldilocks of food.

Vitality Bread Recipe

Day 3 – Chive Relish Sauce

I’m not sure what the original recipe for this would be like…minus any pictures from Eating for Love and Beauty, I didn’t really have a guide. Mine turned out like an Egg Salad. It tasted great with the Vitality Bread so I’m not complaining but I suspect it might have been meant to be a bit more mayonnaise-ish.

Chives Relish Sauce

Excuse the plastic wrap, I took this to work for lunch and took the picture at my desk whilst eating on the fly!

Day 4 – Lover’s Blush

It’s Rhubarb, fool!

Maiden's Blush - A Rhubarb Fool — Maiden’s Blush – A Rhubarb Fool

So much for my (bad) Mr T. impersonation…this is super delicious!

Mind you, in my mind, rhubarb belongs in the Pantheon of Foods That Can Do No Wrong (Bacon, Cheese, Peanut Sauce…) so there was more than likely not going to be a downside with this recipe. I did substitute some Amaretti’s for the wheaten biscuits though and added some orange zest for extra zing!

This was just lovely – tangy, sweet, creamy…and (relatively) healthy. And just look at that gorgeous colour!

Lover's Blush

I’m going to be spending the week doing more eating for Love and Beauty, I have some salads, an eggplant dish and another (jello) dessert! on the menu. In my spare time I’ll be planning how to use my newly bestowed Eating for Love and Beauty super powers ~~to take over the world~~, for good, not evil. Enjoy your week whatever you do!

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