A SMALL FORTUNE ON YOUR KITCHEN SHELF?

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The value of some collectible cookbooks can be quite surprising, such as the $4,000 and up tag for a first edition (1931) Irma Rombauer's "Joy of Cooking."
   That goes a bit beyond the usual ten or fifteen dollars per book. Sentiment plays a part, experts say, in prices for early Betty Crocker cookbooks. When writing about collectible cookbooks over 20 years ago, I recommended against viewing them as investment. So, why collect? To study an area of special interest, to connect with the past -- when our relationship with food was generally more direct, or perhaps as background for a favored cooking style.
 

The Mystery of "Bundu Friend" Cookbook, A Strange Little Book Now Selling for $45

Cooking Style in the Bundu

It’s a mystery what has become of Paxie Watson, author of an apparently rare little gem of a cook book from Zimbabwe, “Bundu Friend: The Democrats Cook Book.”

   Bundu means wilderness, the wilds. It seems that for most of her life Paxie lived without electricity and many other conveniences.

 

Old-Time Mountain Country (Appalachian) Cookery Updated

Naturally, a defender of the traditional kitchen would be drawn to a book titled “Mountain Country Cooking.” It’s the work of Mark F. Sohn. He has written a couple of books on Appalachian and Southern cooking. This book has been kind of scarce for a while but copies do turn up on Amazon and, no doubt, many other book outlets.

 

Kitchen Table Tidbits #5

1.   MIND YOUR MANNERS: Did you ever wonder how “good manners” came about? Not that it is much of a worry these days as they become extinct. But it appears to have to do with separation from animals. For so long, we shared the same roof, common folk didn’t have stables or cow sheds or chicken coops. We shared some similar habits. Both man and beast ate with the equipment God gave them. But along came knives and forks, and with them etiquette. Don’t lick your lips like a horse, don’t eat with your mouth open like a pig, and don’t guzzle like a swan. Only a cat would lick the bowl. You probably wouldn’t have had a wolf in the house unless you were Red Ridinghood’s grandma, but there’s another: Don’t wolf your food.

2.   FEDS TO CATCH MORE CATFISH: I’ve presented several notes on Vietnamese catfish (which under our protectionist federal law cannot be called catfish) and how tons of that fish get into our country without inspection, often mislabeled as a higher priced fish such as flounder, grouper, pollock, shark, sole etc. In addition to mislabeling, problems have also involved health violations. Until recently the feds have done a bang-up job of avoiding serious inspection of the imports. But over the past year federal inspectors did catch a fairly astonishing 273 tons of “adulterated or ineligible” catfish. That figure apparently shocked Congress and in the forthcoming budget for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, far stricter inspections are ordered. Consumers should feel well protected because inspection by the feds is over and above required self-inspection by suppliers. Though previously known as “swai” these catfish will be labeled “basa” or “tra,” basa being the best fish.

3.  YOU NEED THESE KNIVES: Elizabeth David may be our best food writer of all time, and her biographer (Artemis Cooper: Writing at the Kitchen Table) considers “Batterie de Cuisine,” an essay in David’s French Country Cooking, “one of the most useful that Elizabeth was ever to write, and holds as good today as it did in 1951.” The essay covers utensils needed for a proper kitchen. Regarding knives, I was pleased to find that I have instinctively collected those David recommends. That would include a “small vegetable knife, razor sharp, a medium one for trimming meat and fish (known as filleting knife), a large one for cutting up meat and poultry, and a long-thin-bladed ham knife for cold meat, and anything which has to be thinly sliced.” Add to that a good bread knife, and keep them all in a special place, tipped with corks. “Let it be understood by all members of the household that there will be serious trouble if your knives are borrowed for screw-driving, prising open packing-cases, cutting fuse wire or any other purpose for which they were not intended.”

Is Your Food Spending Normal? What is Average?

How much do you spend on food per month? More or less than everyone else? Is there some magic number for comparison?

   Of course there are lots of variables. And averages are just that, possibly meaningful but it all depends on your situation.

   

A Special Southwestern Treat: Pumpkin Corn Bread From an Out-of-Print Book

Now Out of Print

You could call Southwestern dishes sensuous because they are so often full of warm spicy flavor. Southwestern recipes seem influenced mainly by Spanish American and Native American cuisines. But the menu may well include Anglo American (chuck wagon) and African American (Southern) fare and – judging by entries in the Arizona Republic recipe contests – Asian American and even Pacific Islander influences.

   The special recipe presented here is from Savory Southwest, a grand collection of prize-winning regional recipes from the Republic contests. The book is unfortunately out of print. A few copies were spotted on Amazon.

 

Kitchen Table Tidbits #4

KITCHEN TABLE TIDBITS #4

1. OKAY TO EAT IT OFF THE FLOOR? THE FIVE SECOND RULE: Do you ever invoke the five-second rule? Anthony Hilton, described by Business Insider as “a germ expert from Aston University,’ says food dropped to the floor is usually safe to eat. He says there isn’t likely to be any problem -- though it is not entirely risk free. The article noted that a survey of 2000 people found 79 percent said they had eaten food from the floor. HealthDay News cites a Rutgers University study indicating that food in contact with a floor for one second can pick up bacteria. Food dropped on carpet fared better than food dropped on tile. Dry food and dry floor would be “ideal” conditions, the contaminants might be just stuff from the bottoms of peoples’ shoes (bacteria need wet environments and cling to wet surfaces like watermelon). A University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain study reported by WebMD found that people were more likely to eat cookies and candy off the floor than broccoli or cauliflower.

2. OPRAH’S FAVORITE?: The Smokehouse of New York uses Oprah Winfrey’s face on its much of its packaging because she included one of its products on her 2014 “My Favorite Things” list. But according to Food Safety News, a U.S. Attorney’s office is seeking to shut the company down until it solves problems with Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially deadly pathogen. Possibly fatal to the young, elderly and infirm, in healthy individuals the bug may spark only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The company's problems have been going on for a while. A variety of salmon, sturgeon and whitefish products were recalled in April. Those products had been sold in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Alabama, Minnesota, and Montana. The company has retail locations in New York and sells its products nationwide on the Internet.

3. WHERE’S THE BEEF? REPLACED BY MUSHROOMS: Some Sonic restaurants will be offering a Slinger in August, it is a beef burger that’s made partly with mushrooms. The burger is made with beef, 25-30 percent mushrooms, and seasonings, and served on a brioche bun with mayo, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and melted American cheese (another option comes with bacon, mayo, and cheese), according to the Fast Company site. Chefs say 20 to 30 percent mushroom in beef is about it to maintain beefy flavor. Advantages of the mix include cutting calories, fat and lowering costs. The idea isn’t new, but Sonic is the largest outlet to try it. It also seems to be catching on with school and corporate cafeterias. The Washington Post offers this recipe from reliable sources.