sade080

The Victoria Sponge or Sandwich, as it is referred to here.  See the previous post for the Chocolate Layer Sponge, which relies on this recipe for the basic sponge recipe. The Victoria Sponge has a relatively unremarkable history , but it is the very notion of the British act of High Tea.  It is also a very difficult recipe to get truly perfect.

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  This recipe serves 8, and is originally made with a can of chopped tomatoes.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...

Last night I decided it would be a fantastic idea to take a photo of this recipe.  It was a fantastic idea, but, it didn't work as the photo came out far too small. So here it is again, but this time done properly. For a Honey Cheesecake you will need... 225g / 8oz Wholeweat Biscuits (digestives) crushed. 125g / 4oz melted butter 5ml / 1 teaspoon ground allspice 350g / 12oz cottage cheese 125g / 4oz clear honey 10ml / 2 teaspoons brown sugar  2 eggs pinch of salt 10ml / 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1. Mix the biscuits, butter and allspice together then press in to the bottom and sides of a well greased 23cm / 9 inch flan tin. 2. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. 3. Mix all the remaining ingredients, except the cinnamon, together.  Spoon into the biscuit crust and dust with cinnamon. 4. Put in to a pre-heated oven at 170C / 325F and bake for 40 minutes or until filling is set

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...

It looks like a burnt curry, and its the latest card from that massive cardex that I acquired a few weeks ago.  Florentine is the name given to any dish that is paired with spinach, in this case its not obvious that this is a fish dish, but it is. It has a cooking time of 1 hour, and will take 25 minutes to prepare.  Best to have an 8 inch ring tin handy and a sauce pan, and pre-heat your oven to 350f which is 180c.  Out of this recipe you'll get enough to serve three greedy gannets or six smallish portions. 2lb/1kg Fresh Spinach White Sauce: 2 oz/50g butter 2 oz/50g flour half a pint/275ml milk seasoning 3 egg yolks good pinch of nutmeg Filling:  1lb/0.5kg fish fillets half a pint/275ml milk 2 oz/50g butter 2 oz/50g flour 3-4 oz/75-100g grated cheese seasoning Garnish: 1oz/25g grated cheese and tomatos 1. Cook spinach in a very little salted water.  Drain well and chop. 2. Make a thick white sauce in the usual way. (not sure how to make white sauce? see  h...

Apples are my favourite fruit.  I am sorry but a banana doesn't hold it for me and there are so many varieties to choose from.  If you travel back fifty or sixty years ago however there were countless different varieties, even more than today but many have become extinct down to neglect and the commercial homogeneity of the cider industry in the eighties and nineties. About.com has a whole bunch of information about Apples as I am more interested in what you do with them once you get them. They feature quite heavily in vintage cooking given their ease of growth and availability. So what is an Apple Tansy? It is essentially a sweet omlette.  As with most things, there are many different takes on this recipe, but this take is provided by Farmhouse Fare being contributed by Kathleen Thomas. You will need: 3 large apples Sugar to taste 1 pint of milk 3 eggs A little mixed Spice 1 cupful of fine breadcrumbs 1. Peel and slice the apples, cook gently in a little butt...

This recipe might be a lot older than 1950s.  It sounds delicious, and is an old Scottish recipe.  It involves pushing pease through a sieve, so make sure its a metal one. The recipe comes from a book called The Scottish Cookery Book, by Elizabeth Craig.  Nowhere does it say to make them in to patties.  Do you cook it all in one or in small bits? What shape? Again a really nice recipe but let down by a badly written methodology.  I would recommend cooking them in patties, it'll help cook even all the way through. 2 cups cooked dried peas 1 teaspoon butter salt and pepper to taste 2 well-beaten eggs 1 cup milk 1/4 lb flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1. Rub peas while hot through a sieve.  Mix with the butter, salt pepper and eggs. 2. Beat well, stir in the flour sifted with baking powder. 3. Fry in rounds dropped from a jug into a frying pan containing enough hot fat to cover bottom of pan till bubbles form on top, then turn and fry on other side.  Serv...

This is one for beginners.  It makes a really nice alternative breakfast or a quick fix for a baking urge.  making shortcrust pastry is pretty easy and it gets even easier when you buy pre-made, pre-rolled stuff. So have a go at this classic recipe, it isn't a 'typical' sixties recipe as it still lives in today.  Flans are not exactly in fashion at the moment, but they're still pretty popular. 5 - 6 oz short crust pastry 4 - 6 oz bacon, diced. 3 to 4 eggs. seasoning. 1. Line the flan tin with pastry and bake for about 10 minutes to set, but not cook, the pastry. 2. Fry the diced bacon until just crisp. 3. Add this to the well-beaten and seasoned eggs. 4. Pour the mixture into the flan case. 5. Set a further 25 minutes in a moderately hot oven.

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.

Here is one to teach your kids. 4 - 5 Fresh Free Range Eggs Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp butter 2 tsp of chopped fresh parsley, chervil and chives 1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon 1. Beat the eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl until whites and yolks are combined. 2. Melt the butter in a suitable pan until it starts browning and bubbling 3. Pour in the eggs and stir them with the flat end of a fork igorously. 4. Lift the edge of the eggs tilting the edge of the pan at the same time so uncooked egg runs to the edges. 5. Sprinkle over the herbs, fold over the omlette, serve.

Here is some perfect sixties party food, and its chocolaty too :) There are two elements to the recipe, the cake and the icing. 2 heaped tablespoons cocoa 4 tablespoons hot water 8 oz. self-raising flour 8 oz. luxury margarine 10 oz. caster sugar 4 eggs 2 tablespoons milk For the icing 3 dessert spoons tangerine juice grated rind of two to three tangerines 8 oz icing sugar 3 oz luxury margarine 1. Sieve the cocoa and mix smoothly with the water.  Let it cool. 2. Sieve the flour then cream the margarine and sugar thoroughly together. 3. Beat the eggs in separately one at a time, adding a little sieved flour with each egg after the first. 4. Fold in the remaining flour and the milk.  Divide equally between two sandwich tins, (8 x 1.5 inches) lined with greaseproof paper and brushed inside with melted margarine. 5. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in a moderate oven on the middle shelf. 6. When cold, cut open and sandwich all the layers together with the tangerine icing attachi...

Keith describes this dish as a simple winter pudding that is inexpensive to make.  I'd agree with that. 1 pint (600ml) milk 1 oz (25g) butter Grated rind of half a lemon 3 eggs, separated. 7 oz (210g) caster sugar 3 oz (75g) fresh white breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons of good quality raspberry jam. 1. Warm the milk in a pan with the butter and lemon rind. 2. Lightly whisk the egg yolks with 1 oz of the sugar and pour in the milk stirring well. 3. Strain the custard over the breadcrumbs in a greased 2 pint (1 litre) ovenproof dish and leave to stand for 15 mintes. 4. Bake at 375 degrees F, (170 celsius) for 25 minutes until lightly set. 5. Remove from the oven and spread the top with the warmed jam. 6. Whisk the egg whites until it is stiff, add half the sugar and whisk again until thick and glossy. 7. Fold in the remaining sugar with a metal spoon.  Pile the meringue on top of the pudding and bake at gas mark 4 (350 ferenheit, 180 celsius) until meringue is lightly browned