Recipes from the Past
Watermelons, the Waldorf…
and some television trivia
By Frank Daniels
Watermelons probably originated in Africa, where they grew wild thousands of years ago. They were cultivated by the Egyptians and were enjoyed so much that King Tut (Tutankhamen) took watermelon seeds to the grave with him. After that, the cultivation of watermelons spread to warm, moist climates all around the world – including China and North America. More than 1,200 varieties of watermelons are known to exist today. The rind of a watermelon can be carved or pickled, and many recipes exist for the fruit itself. This brings us to Aug. 3: National Watermelon Day.
Our recipe is a simple one that anyone can master with a single effort.
Melon and Grape-Juice Appetizers
Scoop out little watermelon and cantaloupe balls with a vegetable scoop. Squeeze the juice of 1 orange and ½ lemon into a cup and fill the cup with red or white grape juice. Pour mixture over the melon balls, then put in refrigerator to chill. A little fresh mint, chopped fine and sprinkled over the top, adds a pleasing flavor. [Excerpt from Sunset All-Western Cook Book, by Genevieve A. Callahan, 1936, p. 81]
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Recipes from the Past - July 2010
Celebrating Hot Dog Month with Grape Catsup and Shredded Wheat Filled Franks
By Frank Daniels
 This July, as we celebrate Hot Dog Month once again, let’s look at those dogs from the vantage point of the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco). In 1950, they published what has to be one of the most unusual recipes since the hotdog was first invented.
The company’s story goes back all the way to 1792, when Pearson & Sons Bakery opened up in Newburyport, Mass. Their main product was pilot bread, a hard cracker that was similar to what was eaten by sailors on long sea voyages. Bent’s Cookie Factory opened up in 1801, offering a more diverse set of products. They modified the Pearson recipe to form what they thought was a better-tasting product. It was Bent who appears to have coined the word “cracker,” since he liked the cracking noise that they made when he bit into them. As the nineteenth century passed, cracker designs and flavors gradually improved, and in 1889 an enterprising attorney named William Henry Moore bought the two aforementioned bakers and merged them with six others to form the New York Biscuit Company. Nine years later, Moore’s company united with two other rivals to form the National Biscuit Company. The shortened form “Nabisco” appeared in about 1901 on tin boxes of sugar wafers.
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Recipes from the Past - June 2010
Celebrating National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month
By Frank Daniels
 Since June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, both of this month’s recipes will provide a helping of healthy food for the American diet. The federal government now recommends a number of vegetables for consumption. I recommend that you obtain fresh cabbage for our first recipe.
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Recipes from the Past - May 2010
On Asparagus & Lindbergh
By Frank Daniels
 May is Asparagus Month, and asparagus is a tasty vegetable that is easy to cook. Asparagus fans like me know that there are species of the plant indigenous to Europe, Asia and Africa. The oldest known cookbook contains a recipe for its preparation. But did you know that in Germany asparagus is covered in soil when it is grown, and that as a result it comes out white instead of green? This recipe, labeled as an alternate method of preparation, adds a bit of sauce to the liquid.
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Recipes from the Past - April 2010
Celebrating the bard’s birthday
By Frank Daniels
 The great bard, William Shakespeare, was born on approximately April 23, 1564 – the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. By the late 1580s, he was in London, where his great fame and legacy emerged in the years that followed. Shakespeare’s birthday is celebrated this month through his connections with food.
Cheese is referenced several times in the playwright’s works: sometimes for its pungency, sometimes for its use as a food, and in a few other manners. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, a life of bare necessities is summed up by Nim in this quote: “There’s the short and the long: My name is Corporal Nim: I speak, and I avouch; ‘tis true: my name is Nim: and Falstaffe loves your wife: adieu, I love not the humour of bread and cheese: adieu.” (Act II, scene i)
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Recipes from the Past - March 2010
Dolls, peach blossoms and pigs
By Frank Daniels
 March 3 is the day of the Doll Festival (a.k.a. Girls’ Day) in Japan. On this day, traditional families pray for their daughters’ happiness and prosperity. Both dolls and peach blossoms are displayed around the house for that purpose. Girls don their best kimonos and visit the houses of their friends. At one shrine, a doll is sent out floating in a wooden boat, representing the rescue of Empress Jinmu in the third century. Some believe participating in the ritual will take away any illness afflicting the doll’s owner. At home, the family celebrates with a meal of rice cakes and rice malt; some families eat scattered sushi. In honor of the nation of Japan, today we have a Japanese dish made with fish. The recipe was untitled in A World of Good Cooking – but that doesn’t make it any less tasty.
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Recipes from the Past - Feb. 2010
National Mend a Broken Heart Month
Two years ago, a foundation dedicated to helping abused and neglected children launched February as National Mend a Broken Heart Month. Earlier, the Bee Gees asked poignantly, “How can you mend a broken heart?”
While food may not mend a broken heart, those of you nursing yourselves (or someone else) back from Valentine’s Day blues might try these recipes:
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Recipes from the Past - Jan 2010
Off the wall…and into your kitchen
 We start the New Year off with a couple of slightly “off-the-wall” recipes. I didn’t know how many unusual fruit recipes were out there until I really started searching. My choice, Cream Orange, is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, you can see the economy of the recipe. Written during the Great Depression, the recipe contains optional sugar and very few ingredients. Making this would cost very little. Secondly, the ease at which any cook could make the drink is astounding. Put it all together, and drink it right away. This is something that you could make on a moment’s notice – or when friends drop in unannounced to celebrate a new decade!
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Recipes from the Past - Dec. 09
 Most people do not realize that December has many days of celebration associated with it, and not surprisingly, quite a few of them are connected with food. While we could choose to spotlight National Noodle Ring Day (Dec. 11), National Fritters Day (Dec. 2), or even National Oatmeal Muffin Day (Dec. 19), space restricts us from spotlighting them all.
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Recipes from the Past
Leftover Cake - Nov. 09
By Frank Daniels
Believe it or not, Nov. 15 is “National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.” Legend has it that Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day was designed so that there would be room in the fridge at Thanksgiving. Other sources claim that Whirlpool Appliances came up with the idea. No one really knows where the “holiday” came from, but there are plenty of things that you can do with stale breads and cakes. Here are few examples of what you can do with leftover cake:
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