January 30, 2011

Vintage 365: Recipe request site stirs my passion for fascinating vintage foods

Day 30 of Vintage 365






Would you like to know something about me, my dear readers? You would? Splendid! :) I love - and I really do mean adore with a ceaseless passion - reading and learning about new (or more accurately, new to me) recipes. For as long as I can recall I've relished pouring overcook books the way that some folks lose themselves in mystery novels or harlequin romances. I can easily devote hours to cookbooks, reading them cover to glistening food photo adorned cover, and find myself daydreaming about diner parties, holiday suppers, and everyday meals as I consume the marriage of wordsmithery and culinary creation that is a well written and/or intriguing recipe.
In fact, my passion adoration for reading (and also cooking from said) recipes extends beyond just books and culinary magazines however, I'm also rather fond of perusing the virtually endless array of recipes that are to be found online. Perhaps not all that surprisingly, I have a major soft spot in my heart (and endless love) for yesteryear recipes. From the the food that was cooked by pioneer settlers of the nineteenth century to the cocktail party spreads of 1950s homemakers, I practically eat up any sort of vintage recipe I come across.
Recently while scouting around for some WW2 ration era recipes (budget stretching and resourcefulness never go out of style in my books - or at my house), I chanced upon a wonderfully entertaining site with the witty name of Ask Uncle Phaedrus, Consulting Detective and Finder of Lost Recipes. This delightful site is a collection, compiled over the past eleven years, of requests for recipes (and in many cases the sought after recipes themselves, as provided by Uncle Phaedrus) by readers from around the world who are seeking help in tracking down a vast array of modern and vintage recipes alike.
As one might imagine, there are some rather eyebrow raising requests (such as recent one for lasagna made with celery instead of pasta, for example), though, in my opinion, a lot of the queries (and recipes that have been provided) run the gamut from quirky-but-possibly-delicious to flat out mouth-watering sounding.
With over a decade's worth of achieved immensely diverse requests (a fair number of which are for older/classic/heritage foods) and recipes to sift through, this site is a treasure trove of culinary knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment for anyone who enjoys learning around a broad range of wonderfully different foods that have been enjoyed (by at least some portion of the population) at one time or another. And I for one, cannot wait to spend many a chilly winter's evening pouring over a great many of them! :)

3 comments:

  1. What a fabulous site to share! Thanks so much! I share your *thing* for cookbooks, too -- most of my friends think I'm crazy!

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  2. I love vintage cookbooks. Sunset Magazine has a nice collection. I have one cookbook from them that discusses entertaining and recipies from, I think, about the 1920's to the 70's. I'll get the info from the book and try to send it to you.

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  3. Fantastic! I am also obsessed with collecting and cooking vintage recipes! My poor husband eats more than his share of the gross (and good) results. :)

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