Library Store Find #1 Candy The Sweet History

Candy The Sweet History, published in 2003.  While browsing for books at the local library, I was quite happy to see the store open, so I popped in to check out the shelves for any cookbooks to add to my collection. There were no titles that I found interesting, but I did come across two food related books (see the next post for book number 2).

Can I say this book is AMAZING? So many awesome vintage photos of candy through the years. I used to be a candy junkie, but have cut WAY back in recent years. Flipping through the pages brought back so many memories - most of my vivid recollections are usually triggered by music or food.

The book is a homage to the history of candy and includes a confectionery timeline of American candy makers beginning in 1868 when Cadbury introduced the first Valentine's Day box of chocolates. Several candy makers are profiled, including companies that are now defunct.  I was hoping to see a chapter on the chocolate maker located in my dad's hometown of Ponchatoula, Louisiana.  Elmer Chocolate started in 1855 in New Orleans and moved to its current location in 1963. During my college years, I lived the next town over and I was often tasked with procuring Elmer treats to send to my dad overseas. His (and my!) favorites were the Gold Brick egg followed by the Pecan egg then the Heavenly Hash  (all only sold during the Easter season).

Speaking of college, I once took a long bike ride around town and when I was recalling my trip with fellow dorm mates, one of my friends laughingly remarked that he knew that the best part of my journey was finding a new place to buy candy. Apparently, I was most animated and spoke at length about the WALL of candy at some store I stopped in to buy a drink.

Vintage Pay Day ad:

Vending company 1960 annual report (including cigarettes!)

Vintage Dubble Bubble Ad:

Vintage Reese's Cup ad: My candy Kryptonite :)

Squirrel Nut Caramels:

Vintage Charm's Pops ad (LOVED these when I was in middle school!)

Estate Sale - Indigo Drive ~ Church Cookbok: Notes for Good Cooking

Notes for Good Cooking, published in 1975. Recipes compiled by the Youth Choir of the First Baptist Church in Athens, Georgia. This is the first cookbook I have come across from one of the largest churches in my area. The book is filled with yummy, traditional Southern recipes.This particular church is VERY Southern Baptist so I was not surprised to see a few recipes attributed to a woman using her husband's name (i.e. Mrs. John Smith) as late as the mid 1970's.

Estate Sale - Indigo Drive ~ Vintage Cooking Pamphlets: Come & Get It and (Famous!) Florida

Come and Get It! (General Foods), published in 1942. I probably should have looked a little closer at this booklet - I briefly paged though it and saw recipes, so I put it my buy pile. When I got home and started to read it, I realized that the sailor and the BIG pot on the cover represented the theme of the booklet - it's a helpful guide for mess officers, camp dietitians and institutional managers.  Since the booklet was printed during the war years, I thought the cover was just a shout out to the troops! Anyways, if I ever need to make 23 pounds of plain muffins, 4 gallons of chocolate pudding or 8 gallons of vegetable chowder, I am good to go....

Famous Florida Recipes, published in 1954. Recipes from across the state of Florida, reflecting the various cultures and influences of the inhabitants in the area. The chapter on Tarpon Springs has Greek recipes for fish and a salad, while the recipes from Key West have a Spanish/Cuban vibe.

Page from Florida Recipes:

Page from Come & Get It:

Estate Sale - Indigo Drive ~ Vintage Cooking Pamphlets: Peter Pan Peanut Butter & PET (Dry) Milk

The Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cook Book, published in 1963. Peanut butter isn't just for sandwiches! Well, there are few sandwich recipes, but also recipes for appetizers, breads, cakes, cookies and a few sauces. In the quick trick section, under meats, it is suggested that adding peanut butter to a meatloaf will make it bit moister. Or smooth some creamy peanut butter  on chicken or corn when grilling out.

I am a big fan of peanut butter, but have to draw the line. I once made this soup
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44277869@N00/8455322620/in/photolist-9DaHUm-8bjVMk-dTaJQu-a5vL4Z-8S6NRh-8bjSmD-aA2Fq9  , but it was so horrible, I tossed it and started on a SECOND dinner.

New Recipes, Using Instant Pet Nonfat Dry Milk, published in 1955.  PET Milk started in 1885 and is still going strong today. All the recipes, which range from beverages, desserts, salads, vegetables and main dishes use PET milk in one form or another.

I grew up drinking powdered milk and on occasion some type of shelf stable canned milk. Living on an island, most if not all of our food came by tanker. As long as the milk had chilled for a couple of hours it was delicious.

Page from Peter Pan:

Page from PET:

Recipe Interlude - Fruit Cobbler (Southern Style)

This recipe was given to me by several people and is an old Southern standard. It's very simple and the result is delicious!


Fruit Cobbler

1 stick butter
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups fresh fruit - chopped if needed
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add stick of butter to ungreased 8x8 square dish and place in heated oven until butter is completely melted. While butter is melting, whisk together flour and milk until smooth. In a separate bowl stir together fruit and sugar until combined. Remove dish from oven, pour flour mixture over melted butter, then add fruit - DO NOT mix. Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. ENJOY!!

Tonight I baked a cobbler with a mixture of mango and blueberries:

Thrifty Finds July (Week 4) #2 French Caribbean Desserts and New Zealand Cafes

Exotic Deserts from the French Caribbean, published in 1999.  Large coffee table size book with  beautiful photographs of many luscious desserts. Classic French patisserie offerings fused with  exotic fruit found in the Caribbean.

So far I have drooled over the Persimmon Cream Pie, the Grapefruit & Pomegranate Tart, the Lemon Passion Meringue, The Chocolate Mandarin Pie,  and the Mango Almond Tart.

The Cafe Cookbook, published in 1996. Small but jam packed with recipes from 12 restaurants in New Zealand reflecting the resurgence of the cafe style restaurant of the 1990's (per the blurb on the back cover). Each restaurant contributed 2-3 recipes. Many of the recipes are either seafood or lamb dishes.

Thrifty Finds July (Week 4) #1 Burke's Complete Cocktail and Tastybite Recipes

 Burke's Complete Cocktail and Tastybite Recipes, published in 1936. Super cute small ( 6.5" x 4") vintage cocktail book by "Barney" Burke. Mr. Burke was a bartender in Europe but returned to the United States after prohibition was repealed. The book starts with the recipes which include sandwiches, canapes, dips/sauces and rarebits, then the remaining two-thirds cover a myriad of cocktails, wines, cocktails of the world, tips for serving and equipment for home mixing. Mr. Burke firmly believed that appetizers should always be accompanied by a cocktail.

Page from book:

Thrifty Finds July (Week 3) - BBC Chef & American Royalty

Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express 2, published in 2002. Mr, Harriott was a chef and a presenter (fancy British way of saying host) of several BBC cooking shows which involved public participation. The recipes in this book are from his show of the same name.

The recipes reflect the diverse cultures in the United Kingdom with quite a few Indian and Asian dishes making an appearance. The former owner marked a few favorite recipes: Toasted Halloumi Cheese & Chorizo skewers,  Creamy Salmon spaghetti, Cumin Curried Chickpea & Spinach burgers and Red Wine Spaghetti Bolognese (AKA Spag Bog - a favorite of of many literary characters in British chick lit books!).

Cooking for Madam - Recipes and Reminiscences from the Home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, published in 1998. The author originally came to the Kennedy family in 1969 as a governess for Caroline and John, but stayed on after they left to help run the house. She spent a total of 25 years with Jackie. The nearly 100 recipes are family favorites including Caroline's favorite chocolate roll and Ted Kennedy's lobster salad.

Thrifty Finds - July (Week 2) Ripley HS Band and Ozark Recipes

What's Cooking in Ripley, Tennessee, published in 1983. Recipes contributed by the band members of Ripley High School and their families. The recipes range from new (for the time) to many treasured old family recipes.

There is a section titled "Men Only" that caught my eye. It contains lots of recipes for venison and something called "Molded Potato Salad". Yep, that's EXACTLY what it is - molded in Southern parlance means gelatin (jello) - so this guy took a perfectly fine potato salad and mixed it with jello, placed that on top of a thin veneer of pickle juice laced gelatin in a molded pan and chilled until firm. And here I thought the Pistachio Cloud my mom was always pushing on me was the worst "salad" I have encountered.

Aunt Ella's Ozark Recipes, published in 1993. Traditional family recipes from the author's aunt who lived her entire life in the Ozarks. Since Arkansas is considered the South, it's no surprise that many of the recipes are similar to those found in church cookbooks in my area. The best and largest chapter was Desserts, lots of yummy cake recipes to try!

Thrifty Finds - July (Week 1) #6 Dinner & A Movie Plus Dayton Hudson Celebrates

TBS Superstation Dinner & a Movie Cookbook, published in 2003. Another book which I previously owned and gave away to a neighbor only to find a replacement, albeit a few years later. Recipes are based on the movie shown during the program with one recipe per film. Many of the names are a play on the film's title &/or characters - i.e. Coal Miner's Daughter is represented by "Butcher Holler Ham Hocks & Collards".

There are probably close to 100 films and recipes total. The 80's are heavily represented along with a few "classics" from 1990's.  The show ran from 1995 to 2011 (which was a surprise to me since I really don't remember seeing the program after the early aughts) and I can admit that I did watch several episodes.

With Warmest Regards - A Celebration of Our Customers' Recipes and Traditions, published in 1995. Recipes were contributed by the customers of Dayton's, Marshall Field's and Hudson's department stores. The book was part of a fund raiser by the company with all proceeds going to United Way.

There are over 200 pages of recipes many with a mid-west vibe since the majority of the stores were in that region. As with many iconic department stores purchased by Macy's, all the remaining stores are re-branded with the Macy's name in 2005.