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One of the things I love about old recipes is the process of decoding them.  Whilst having a quick scour through Google Books, I came across a very authentic recipe for genuine American 1800's tomato ketchup straight from  Dr. Chase's recipes; or, Information for everybody; an invaluable collection of about eight hundred practical recipes The recipe is credited to Mrs Hardy of the American Hotel, Dresden Ohio and according to Dr Chase is 'The best catchup which I have ever tasted'. The history of ketchup is quite extensive so, as usual, go to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup  to get the background. The quantity is a tad large.  I did some research, mostly Google based, and the recipe calls for 1 'bushel' of tomatoes.  According to common law, that equates to 53 lbs which is by anyone's standards quite a bit.  So this recipe is quite ready for a little bit of adjustment. What do you need then? 1 bushel of tomatos, washed and clean. Salt to taste, 2...

So it has been a few months since I've posted a recipe, so I thought I would kick off with something really appetising. For Vinegar Cake you'll need... 1lb Flour 1/2 pound Sugar 1/2 pound butter and dripping 1/2 pound of currants 1/4 pound of stoned raisins 3 tablespoons of vinegar 1 teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda 1/4 pint of milk 1. Rub fat well into the flour add fruit and sugar. 2. Put the milk into a large jug and add the vinegar. 3. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with a little milk and pour it into the milk and vinegar quickly taking care to hold the jug over the cake mixture as it will froth up. 4. Stir into the flour, fruit etc and put in to a well greased tin and bake in a hot oven for the first half hour, then a cooler one until cooked.

There is a recipe for this on the BBC website that one of the Master Chef programmes, but the principles don't appear to have changed much.  Despite its name it is not Sea Weed and shouldn't be muddled up with Sea Kelp. Sea Kale isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but it goes really nicely with melted butter much the same way that melted butter goes with toast.  This dish would be perfect as an a partner with meat or even just on its own as a nutricious vegetarian meal.  Replace the butter with dairy free butter for a vegan alternative. Quarter of a pound of Butter 1 oz flour Half a teaspoon lemon juice Salt and White Pepper Three quarters of a pint of water 1. Wash and rinse the sea kale thoroughly to remove the grit.  Cut away any brown or discolored parts. 2. Tie the heads up into small bundles with tape and put them into a basin of cold water until wanted. 3. Have a saucepan of boiling salted water, sufficient to cover the Sea Kale well, and put t...

A chutney recipe from Farmhouse Fare. 4 lbs marrow 1/2 lb pickling onions 6 cloves 1.5 lbs of loaf sugar half ounce of tumeric 9 chillies 1.5 ounces ground ginger 1.5 ounces mustard 2 pints vinegar Salt. 1. Cut the marrow into small squares (half inch or so) 2. Lay on a dish and shake some salt over it leaving it overnight. 3. Drain it, then boil the other ingredients for 10 minutes 4. Now add the marrow and boil for half an hour, or until tender and put into jars. For more information about making Chutney visit allotment.org.uk Related articles Caramelised Red Onion Chutney (hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com) Pesto, Pickles, Chutney and Jam (lellenmellon.wordpress.com) Curried peach chutney (independent.co.uk)

Another dinner party favourite from the fifties.  This dish ripe for modification and some experimentation, try choosing different types of beer and vinegar to use. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"] [/caption] 3 lbs of Fish (carp, pike or bass) 1 tablespoon of vinegar 2 chopped onions 4 tablespoons of butter 2 tablespoons of flour 2 tablespoons of brown sugar 5 whole peppers 2 ground cloves 1 teaspoon of Worcester Sauce 1 pint of Dark Beer (locally produced craft beer/real ale/stout maybe?) 1. Prepare the fish by cleaning it and scaling cutting it in to three inch slices. 2. Brown the onion in the butter, adding the flour and cook for three minutes. 3.  Add the beer and all other ingredients except the vinegar. 4.  Boil the sauce to the thickness of single cream. 5. Add the fish slices to the sauce, and continue boiling until the fish is well done. 6.  Finally add the vinegar and continue boiling for ...

This recipe would work great with a pre-roasted chicken you get from the supermarket. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"] [/caption] 1 roasting chicken 2 tomatoes 2 tablespoons of oil 2 level tablespoons of honey quarter pint of stock 1 level tablespoon of cornflour 4 oz. dripping 2 onions 2 tablespoons of pickle 3 tablespoons soya sauce 2 tablespoons vinegar 4 tablespoons water 1. Melt the dripping, joint the chicken and fry gently until well cooked and golden brown. 2. Skin and chop the tomatoes and onions. 3. Heat oil and fry tomatoes, onion and pickle for 5 minutes. 4. Add stock, soy sauce , honey and vinegar and bring to the boil. 5. Simmer for 10 minutes.  Blend cornflour with the water and add to the sauce. 6. Bring to the boil stirring.  Serve the chicken and pour sauce around. Alternatively serve sauce and chicken separately using your fingers to eat chicken and dip with sauce.

Tired of the Heinz stuff?  Take this from Farmhouse Fare . 1 tablespoonful mustard (assuming this is English?) 1 tablespoonful of sugar 1 teaspoonful flour half a teaspoonful of salt 2 eggs three quarters of a breakfastcupful of vinegar Cream. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by FotoosVanRobin via Flickr"] [/caption] 1. Mix mustard, sugar, flour and salt together. 2. Add the eggs, then the vinegar. 3. Let it stand in boiling water and stir until mixture thickens. 4. Allow to get cold then add cream and a little milk if necessary until it is the required thickness.  Should keep for 12 months.   Related articles Easy healthy dinners : Everything salad with homemade dressing (kerrycooks.wordpress.com) Creamy Blue Cheese and Cucumber Salad (foodrecipes.wordpress.com) Christmas leftovers: Roast Beef Salad with Chipotle Rice Vinegar Salad Dressing (thismamacooks.com)