Treasures Found in Mom's Cookbooks

I don't have copies of my mother's cookbooks, I don't think she had a big collection. I wonder if she had a file of clippings from newspapers and magazines.
   I'll bet her mother had quite a batch, that grand old gal was head of a high school cafeteria for years and she could sure put on a feed.
   Well, even if you don't have Mom's cookbooks you can pick up some vintage ones on the auction sites, and often you will find old recipe collections or scrapbooks offered. Here is a link to a fun story on the subject.

Come and Get It: Hawaiian, Irish and Mexican Delights

This beef, carrot and pineapple stew is from a Del Monte promotional booklet issued for its canned pineapple product. The title of the booklet: Luau Favorites and Island Recipes. I believe it dates to the 1970s.

One lb beef sirloin cut into thin strips

2T salad oil

½ cup diced onion

1 clove crushed garlic

1t salt

1/8t pepper

1 can pineapple chunks

1 cup beef bouillon

¾ cup sliced carrots

½ cup diced green pepper

½ cup reserved pineapple syrup

2T cornstarch

2T soy sauce

   Saute beef in hot oil, remove from pan. Add onion, garlic, salt and pepper, cook for two minutes. Drain pineapple, reserve syrup. Add pineapple, bouillon, carrots and green pepper, cook five minutes, add meat. Dissolve cornstarch in soy sauce and reserved syrup, add to meat and vegetables. Cook, stirring constantly, until

Nuts About Peanuts? Try This Stew

You can hear it a hundred times but somehow it just doesn’t sink in. Peanuts aren’t nuts. Peanuts grow underground and are a legume (in the family with beans and peas). Well, whatever, they are a good thing, a source of protein, minerals and vitamins.

   I’ve often seen peanuts as an ingredient in African stews and soups. Some concoctions are vegetarian, like this one, others feature chicken.

   This simplest of recipes comes from Prime Eats, a cookbook prepared by the booster club of the 355 Civil Engineer Squadron based in Tucson, AZ. The book was published in 1999. It appears the booster club is still active but has turned to golf rather than recipes as a fund raising effort for the worthy causes it supports.

   This recipe was contributed by