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A few notes with this recipe.  First off it needs gelatine, so make sure you inform any vegetarians who you might be offending.  Alternatively you could try using pectin, but the consistency might suffer if you do so it might need a bit of tweaking to make a vegetarian-friendly version. It requires lots of Ginger Biscuits, so by default I am in love with this recipe already just by reading it!

Another amazingly easy recipe from the hayday of the Beatles... This recipe is in anticipation that we might actually have a summer.  My mum always makes this recipe, and although the whole 'bread-as-pudding' concept is not one I can quite get my head around it is always enjoyable with lashings of custard.

Good old Marguerite Patten, she has a recipe for just about everything you can imagine.  And with Valentines Day looming over us like some heart shaped inevitable tsunami of soppyness and love, (read hatred and resentment for the single-and-proud types) the whole question about what to get your admired comes to mind. Image taken from candyhero.com, go forth and drool as its an amazing website! In my experience there is nothing better than a handmade token of love or gratitude, way above any bought chocolate.  So I give you a basic fudge recipe which is classed as 1960's as it comes from a book of that vintage, but its simply timeless.  Not only that but its also a damn bit cheaper. If you just want to make Rich Vanilla Fudge you can replace the brandy with water.  Try a variation and add Apricot Brandy? What about Disaronno  or even White Rum?  The possibilities are endless! You will need: 1lb granulated sugar 1/2 pint cream 2oz butter 3 tablespo...

This recipe is taken from Recipes Rare from Everywhere , published in 1930 by  Pauline  Quirin Peto which I haven't really looked at properly.  It is available on Amazon and contains a whole load of weird and classic recipes. It reminds me of the Peasants Revolt, cunningly I found a picture that depicted it, so here you go. Yeah, I know its an English thing, but you have to get in to the spirit! So what do you need to tell that the Peasants are revolting? Boom boom. Ingredients: 3  Pimentos 6 Tomatoes 4 Onions 2 Leeks The hearts of 3 small cabbages 3 teacupfuls of haricot beans Herbs The Haricot Beans need to have been cooked [boiled] the day before to the point of being nearly boiled enough but not quite. 1. Cut up all ingredients, not very fine (except the beans), add 3 or 4 spoonfuls of butter.  Let the mixture cook but not brown. 2. When the vegetables have begin to soften, pour 1 quart of any meat stock over them and let the mixture simmer for half an hour....

I am assuming that The Anerley Recipe Book from which I found this recipe is 1920s as I can't find an exact date! It was compiled by Mrs G Wilson with this recipe simply coming from someone called MD. Ingredients: 4ozs flour 2ozs sugar 4 ozs butter 2ozs ground rice Method: Cream the butter, add the rest of the ingredients and knead into a smooth paste. Roll out and cut into rounds about 1/4 inch thick, bake in a slow oven for half an hour. Slow oven? More than likely as around the 180 mark or even lower possibly.

This time of year is definitely tomato time.  We, like many households across the nation have lots of organically grown, home seeded tomatoes that we've been given by friends and family, and also ones we've grown ourselves.  The common thing is to put them in salads or make them in to chutney, but this eighties recipe from my favourite Tomato themed cookbook   published in 1987, shows you something a bit unique you can do with your Tomatoes. Melange means a blend or a mess, a cacophony, and this is very much the case.  For this recipe I would definitely recommend free-range organic eggs, as they have much more taste to them.  This recipe serves 8, and is originally made with a can of chopped tomatoes.  However it can easily be converted to use fresh ones. You need: 12 hard-boiled eggs, shelled. 810g can of tomato pieces (or lots and lots of tomatoes). 120g butter 1 onion, chopped 1 capsicum pepper, seeded and chopped. 1 cup chopped celery 2 tablespoons...

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...

I love butterscotch, it appeals to my sweet tooth and my general gluttonous side.  Wikipedia says that the origin of butterscotch is a bit of an unknown, read about it  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterscotch . So in my 1001 Recipe Cook Book: Recipes For All Occasions, I found Butterscotch Walnut Brownies. This doesn't appear to be a 'typical' 1970s recipe and if I was asked to write what dishes personified the 1970s I wouldn't necessarily say that this was really one of them.  However this includes two of my favourite ingredients so I can't really keep it to myself. You'll need: 125g/4oz Butter 125g/4oz brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 5ml/1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 75g/3oz self-raising flour, sifted. 50g/2oz chopped walnuts 1. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. 2. Beat in the eggs then the vanilla essence. 3. Fold in the flour, then the walnuts and mix well. 4. Spoon the batter into a well-greased 18cm/7 inch square baking tin and put into a preh...

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.

Strangely enough, these appear in the 1936 edition of 'Cookery Illustrated and Household Management'.  These make excellent party appetisers.  This will serve three to four people. 1 and a half cupfuls of grated cheese (Cheddar or Edam) 2 tablespoons of flour half a teaspoon of celery salt 2 egg whites Paprika 1. Beat the egg whites till light but not stiff, add the flour, cheese, paprika and celery salt. 2. Roll mixture into the size of marbles and fry till golden brown in deep fat at 373F. Serve on a hot dish lined with a lace paper d'oyley.

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.