Vintage Recipes: A Blast from the Past - Prime Women | An Online Magazine (2024)

• ByTracey Lamont
• PublishedMarch 31, 2017

The Oldies are Goodies

As we prepared to relocate, I decided it was time to downsize. That seems like a great idea, right? It was, but next, decisions needed to be made. Ugh!

When we started going through the kitchen, the cookbooks presented quite the challenging task. Did they multiply? There were some I had collected over the years. I had many of my mothers’ cookbooks, and some that were gifts. Good grief! It was time to go through them and decide which ones remained and which would be donated. I kept several vintage cookbooks for future reference. They are classics. I doubt they’re even published any longer. I thought I’d sharea few of the vintage recipes from those cookbooks with you.

Recipes of Yesterday

I do find vintage recipes interesting. The times were so different. The food was real. No preservatives. No additives. This recipe is from November 1956. Several of the cookbooks do not have picture illustrations. Today, there would be a well photographed picture along with the recipe, and of course, there’s the Food Network!

Sweet Potato Balls

Coffee Date Nut Bread

Coffee side note: When making something with chocolate, adding a little espresso or strong coffee will enhance the flavor of the chocolate, making it richer in taste.

Here’s one from 1959! A favorite of mine is cucumber salad – and with spring and summer around the corner, this would be a refreshing appetizer or side dish served with lunch.

Cucumber Salad

Betty Crocker: Beverages

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I made sure to keep my first cookbook, Betty Crocker’s NEW Boys and Girls Cook Book. It was a gift from July 1967. I hope you enjoy these.

European Breakfast

It was the 80s when my mother and dad visited Europe. In Switzerland, there was a breakfast item that my mother really enjoyed, it seems. When she returned, she made it and shared the recipe. It’s very basic as far as ingredients, but they are healthy, it tastes good, and it starts the day out right. It’s also a good snack to get through the afternoon.

Buchermusli (Bircher muesli)

2 cups Oats

32 oz. Yogurt (Plain or flavored)

3 cups of your Favorite Fruit*

3 oz. Chopped Nuts (Pecans, Almonds or Walnuts)

Sugar, Honey, Maple Syrup to taste

Milk

First, cover the oats in a large bowl with milk and let stand for 20 minutes to soften the oats. Add yogurt, fruit and nuts. Stir and taste. Add a little honey, sugar or maple syrup if desired. The consistency will be like oatmeal. If it’s too thick, add milk to thin out the mixture. Refrigerate.

* I have used fresh, canned, and frozen peaches with pecans and walnuts. Blueberries, cherries, raspberries would be good, as well. I thought about dark chocolate shavings on the raspberries might be good, too.

Basic is Best

I have slowly been eliminating foods that aren’t beneficial to my body. It didn’t happen overnight. I still enjoy some pound cake, a cupcake, and a cheeseburger and fries on occasion. I listen to my body and have eliminated certain foods that I know don’t serve me well.

When I was diagnosed as hypothyroid and anemic, it made sense that my body was craving more nutritious foods and reacting poorly to certain other foods. Basic, simple foods that aren’t processed seemed to provide more energy. That’s one reason I kept the vintage cookbooks. They provided a source for basic recipes. I always had a healthy appetite, but I needed to fuel my body with foods that were vitamin rich and would enable me to function better. I was tired of feeling tired. That meant cutting out foods that wouldn’t provide value. I try to keep it simple and I feel better when I do. It’s a work in progress.

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