IVY'S COOKERY BOOK

Good Morning to you,

I am pleased to say we had a beautiful, sunny day yesterday.  George and I went for a long walk and it was so lovely to feel the sun on our faces again.

Sorry to be so English, but you know how we always like to talk about the weather, it is a part of our make up I'm afraid.  When the sun shines and it feels so much warmer, it makes me feel  happy, and  people you pass on the street smile as well, so, I have to talk about it, as the sun might disappear tomorrow and not return for another fortnight.

On Friday I had a lovely surprise. Nowadays, most of the things which drop through my letter box, are either bills, brochures or circulars, or since I have passed 60 years of age, I receive a range of brochures informing me of what I am suddenly in need of......you know, things like chair lifts!!! but  I will not go into that.

It was not always that way, I used to write and receive lots of letters, but I will talk about that another time. So you can imagine how pleased I was to receive two lovely pieces of post. The first was, this lovely card.

Do you remember a little while ago I told you about Ivy's Cookery Book, well, I opened the envelope and what a surprise I received. It was a card depicting The New Radiation Cookery Book, circa 1933.

Look a little closer at the pinafore....isn't it gorgeous. I could not decide if the pinafore was smocked at the waist or if shirring elastic had been used. What do you think? Which ever was used, it certainly looks pretty.

Do you know, I don't think I ever saw Ivy without a pinafore, whether she was cooking, baking, washing or cleaning.  She always used a pinafore to cover her day clothes, so at the end of the day when she was ready to settle for the evening,  she would remove her pinafore....or pinny, as she called it, and her clothes were still neat and tidy.

Phyllis wore pinnies, but the ones she wore were half pinnies.  Phyllis said they were much more fashionable when she was a young married women and she would not have dreamt of wearing a full pinny as they were so old fashioned. What is it about us women and fashion! 

Do you see the egg slicer, on the right hand side. I am sure this style of egg slicer can still be bought nowadays.

I remember Ivy using one of these, they made the slicing of eggs so much easier, as they were cut in a uniform width. The sliced bread was buttered, thinly or as thickly as you could afford, then the sliced eggs were laid onto the bread, the second slice was then placed on top.  I know you all know how to make a sandwich, but I was describing the process, just to reach this point, as it brings back happy memories for me.  The next stage and most important stage to my mind,  (remember I was a little girl) was cutting the bread, not in half, oh no, but into small triangles. Which I loved! they looked so delicate on a tea plate and just right for little hands to pick up.

Looking at the ingredients on the table, I think this lady was preparing an egg salad.

Pyrex dishes were fashionable in the 1930's and I remember when I was married in 1970, I was given quite a few different sizes of Pyrex  dishes as wedding presents. Do you remember, you used to buy one large, one medium and one small casserole dish, with lids.  I used to stack them, one on top of the other, on my open kitchen shelves....this was before fitted kitchens became fashionable. I used the Pyrex dishes for many years, but with moving, slowly one by one, they chipped or broke, but I visited a Charity Shop before I went to India and found three in different sizes just like the one in the picture. I love them as they are so easy to clean, even the most stubborn stains are removed with a little soaking. 

Do you see the little jug with the stopper in the top.  This is how vinegar was decanted by Ivy. They were gorgeous little glass jugs, the only problem was, that as lovely as the jugs were, even if you were careful and only lifted the stopper slightly, nine times out of ten, there was always too much vinegar pouring out. Years later, I used my vinegar jugs for olive oil.

I thought I would remind you what Ivy's book looked like, a little dogeared now, but well used, and certainly well loved. 

I loved the words "A selection of proved recipes".
Now take a look at the next page showing the various editions of the book.

Do you see the sixteenth edition, February 1933? This is the date shown on the card.

Who would have thought. I had not seen anything to do with Radiation Cookers before, so to see this card was such a surprise and such a thoughtful gift. I have decided to buy a frame for the card and hang it in my sewing room where I can see it daily.

My second piece of post I will share with you later in the week.

Before I go, I think I should mention, that as cold as it has been in the North of England, nothing compares to what Debbie from Our Old Homestead

has had to cope with.....16 inches of snow.  Debbie said the snow started on Thursday morning and of Saturday morning it was still falling. It would be lovely if you could pop over and say hello, I can not imagine what it is like being snowed in like that.

This week I shall be joining,

Karen from Sew Many Ways
Claudia from Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Take care and I will see you later in the week.