NEWER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER!

Now, I'd like to think of myself as a thoroughly modern girl but lately, I'm finding that I'm rebelling against the style overload we are being presented with throughout the media. Is it just me or does everything seem to be overstyled these days? Even Mac-bloody-donalds seems to be getting the groovy wand waved over its restaurants with those wooden slats and stainless steel, its all a bit "backyard blitz" for me......is the world now forever funkified? We seem to have evolved into a society that is all about looks, rather than substance and if you aren't stylish, or styled, or eating at stylish places, and wearing stylish clothes, with stylish accessories and stylish friends...well..you can find yourself feeling out of the race. I have to say, although I love beautiful things, I'm finding that everything is starting to look a bit "samey". Anyway, enough of my little rant, as part of my personal rebellion, I have been reverting to old fashioned things and have been perusing my collection of vintage cook books for a respite from the glossy overstyled cookbooks of late. Don't get me wrong, I love a new cookbook, and I love the pages of beautiful dishes, that I will probably never attempt to cook (too fiddly), but I won't be one of the millions of masterchef fans rushing to buy a copy of their new book even though I can appreciate what they did, and enjoyed watching them do it. Instead I will have my nose buried deep in my 1951 Emily Post Cookbook published by Funk & Wagnalls! Not for me, that complicated Zumbo cake. You couldn't PAY me to attempt that one. Well, the fact that there is no way that I would be able to get a few hours UNINTERRUPTED time to complete it is a big decider in this, but realistically, I have reverted to the more simple recipes of old, and am really enjoying cruising through these older recipes where there were fewer ingredients available, there was no fuss about food, and there wasn't a lot of variations on how you were to prepare it! Emily Post was a New York authority on manners and etiquette, and seemed to be a rather stern woman. She obviously extended her "rules" to the way ladies (as men didn't cook back in the 50's, too busy breadwinning for that sort of shenanigan) prepared food and presented it at dinner parties. The cook book itself is rather stylish, simple layout, simple colours, simple typeface, no colour pictures, but highly entertaining. I was also amused to see that she had written two other books (apart from ETIQUETTE and the COOKBOOK) "The Personality of a House" and the funniest of all..."Children are People"! I'd love to get my hands on that one. Emily died in the mid-60's, but some of her ideas are rock solid and I am happy to be enjoying at least some of her recipes today. The names of dishes are quite funny, I'd love to make the Chicken Bunty (which is nothing more than chicken in a tomato and white wine sauce) simply because the name amuses me (small pleasures, small minds!). The same applies to the Pensylvania Apple Pandowdy which is just an apple pie, but the name is so great, I've gotta make it. There were obviously some ingredients that were more readily available back then, such as Turtle? If I could just get my hands on 3 lbs of turtle meat, I'd be happy to try her Turtle Soup as she assures her readers that it is delicious! Also, Codfish Tongues, thats not one called for in many modern recipes, I'm sure. Emily's recipe starts with "comparitively few people know that codfish have tongues, and still fewer that these tongues are delicious to eat"...well dear Em, you're not wrong there! I had NO IDEA and I'm sure that many still don't! I do wonder what the goodness Salsify or Samp is? (a helpful translation saying "whole Hominy" is another name but that didn't help at all!). And, I never knew that turnips were once known as Rutabagas, I think from now on, that is how I'll refer to them, just for fun. Now, lets not make a fuss about the Smoked Ham Butt with Sauerkraut, no fancy pants names here. I just need to talk to my butcher about how to go about obtaining a 2 lb smoked ham butt. Hilarious! As I flick through the dusty pages, I find lots of practical advice and she is quite stern with her dinner party advice, on what should be served when, and if you are even considering serving duck. She warns "with ducks getting scarcer every year, do not invite guests to eat them who do not like them" (!?). It may seem like simple advice but you have been warned! The book ends with advice on what beverages are in style. She advises to stick with and "Old Fashioned", a "Daiquiri" or a "Manhattan". I quite like the sound of an Old Fashioned but I just need to buy a maraschino cherry WITH STEM, for its decoration before I imbibe. I'm tempted to have a '50's NY dinner party just to relive the time, I'd need a neat little suit, skirt not too short and sensible pumps in a nice safe pastel colour. Oh yeah, I can see it now! Next I move on to my 1955 English edition of Good Housekeeping's Cookery Book (first printed in 1944). Again, I find very helpful and no-fuss advice on all things cooking. Here I am amazed by what I see as very ugly cake decoration, and can't help but laugh at the comparison of this verses a modern Zumbo masterpiece. The one pictured was was destined for a wedding. How funny, I should send it to Sweet Art to see if they would like to use the design (not). The advertising in this book also cracks me up, I don't know what Bush were thinking of when they put the face of Phil Harben "the Television Cook" on it. He looks like a very humourless man and I wouldn't consider buying flavourings from him! Perhaps he was considered rather handsome in his day? If given the choice, I'd pick old Curtis Stone over ugly Phil any day! There is also very helpful sections on planning your kitchen and buying a range. I loved the picture of a perfect modern kitchen layout as it reminded me so much of my pad on Yoville. Actually, my unrenovated 1950's kitchen at home doesn't look much different, so I can vouch for this layout standing the test of time. Now into the 60's with my Woman's Own Cook Book printed in England in 1964. I found some very helpful diagrams on how to buy meat. It shows all the cuts you can buy and where they come from on the animal. You've seen them in the butchers, but it is nice to have a ready reckoner on your bookshelf as I only really have a vague idea about where each bit comes from. It is also good to see that some things never change, and there is a whole section on how to make good coffee. My mother must have taken this part seriously in the day, as I remember her having a Turkish coffee maker just like the one shown in the drawing when I was a kid. She was an avid cook and loved her books, I'm sure she had some of these ones in her bookshelf as well as her much loved Larousse Gastronomique in her day. A colourful page titled "Dinner is Served" gives valuable advice on how to seat guests at a dinner party, what the host's duties are, place settings and crockery choices. It takes the worry out of thinking for yourself I'd imagine? If you are anything like me, I get my self into a lather trying to get things on the table for guests, so not having to think, would be great. Once again, there is a glossy page showing the "all-on-a-level kitchen" which is green checked floor, dusty pink cupboard doors, and yellow walls...what WERE they thinking? Note the pristine white apron on the cook. Now I need one of those but it won't stay white, or pristine for long. A few pages later we find that Pots and Pans go Gay too? Well.. I'll be? Finally this bible of style gives me the most helpful advice about "putting on weight". Now, that I'm afraid to admit wasn't read by me as I have already unlocked the secret to this one without advice. Oh, the problems of the 60's! Still in the same decade, but the year of my birth 1966, I have happened upon the Gude for Young Homemakers by Good Housekeeping which is THE style guide of the time, I'm SURE. It gives great advice on cafe curtains (I had no idea there was so many choices), a very helpful guide on the calories burned whilst doing housework, and specific guidelines (read OH&S for the housewife) on how to move furniture safely, etc very handy indeed. Finally a very bamboozling table of drawings of bones, which once identified in your piece of meat apparently guide you on which cuts are more tender. Fine in theory, but I have not had much luck in my bone identification thus far. So, onwards we charge to 1978 and the colourful Australian Cook by Babette Hayes. This was much more familiar territory. Inside, as well as the recipes "of the era", I found colour photos of the table decorations and settings that seemed to be very elaborate (lots of candles used), and mostly with red as a feature. Not unlike some of the most up to the minute restaurants and bars we see now, Chambers Bar in Martin Place comes to mind. I LOVE my books and get a lot of enjoyment and laughs out of them. I find something new each time I flick through the pages. I had a Gaylord Hauser recipe book for a while and my mother cringed (what sort of name si Gaylord Hauser for goodness sake?). I think he was some sort of diet guru of the time, and wasn't much fun. I enjoyed it for a while and returned it to the 2nd hand book shop. I also still have my treasured Golden Wattle cook book which I think is similar to the Country Womens Association Cookbook. Each time I cook a recipe (and these are VERY simple) from this book, my husbands comments that it is just like his mothers home cooking. She is now 86, and is a very "meat and 3 veg" style of cook. Good old Australian basics with lots of puddings. I choose to take his comments as compliments, and love cooking from it. So, I guess what I'm saying in all of this is that new isn't necessarily better, and there is so much to be learned from looking back in time. In these harder times, when we are more environmentally friendly, going back to basics, more organic, and need to be more inventive in our cooking to save money, these types of recipes are very well suited and can help families really get back on track with solid wholesome, and not so expensive dinners on the table without compromising flavour. I still love the amazing meals of Tetsuya and Dietmar Sawyer, and will still save up to treat myself at Berowra Waters Inn, or Tets...but for every day, I'm very satisfied to be able to plonk most of these meals (not the cods tongues) on my family table. Happi Eating..and remember...new isn't always better!