Mrs. Dukin Goes to Cooking School

"We have heard that until a woman gets married, she doesn't even know how to boil water. Therefore, this first recipe is

FOR BRIDES ONLY: HOW TO BOIL WATER
Carefully place 2 cups of water in a pot, next place cover on pot and put on stove. Then stand by and watch until you see little bubbles in the water. Then remove."

That, oh so helpful "recipe" comes from my latest cookbook acquisition.


In doing some research I think this book comes from the early 1950's and it appears that the only place it was published was Florida. (With a title like "Welcome Stranger" I'm thoroughly shocked that this endeavor wasn't more successful!) Apparently it was modeled on the Welcome Wagon concept. When a new bride and groom moved into the neighborhood they were presented with this little book.

This particular copy went to Mrs. Clarence Dukin, 411 SW 9th Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida.


Each right hand page contains recipes while each left side page is an advertisement for a local business in the Palm Beach area. There's McArthur Jersey Farm Dairy who delivers "multi vitamin milk supplies;" Boca Raton Nursery where "free estimates are cheerfully given with no obligation;" The Royal Patrician Beauty Salon that offered "glamour shampoos and scalp treatments;" and my personal favorite – "Your choice of Any one of Four Free Gifts! Compliments of KIRBY CENTER of Delray Beach! No obligation! All we ask is return is a few minutes of your time to preview a new and amazing product for the home!"

The oddest recipe in the book is for "Filipino Swiss Steak."
1 lb. round steak, cut thick
2 carrots, diced
2 pieces celery, diced
1 small can mushrooms
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced

Flour steak and fry in a kitchen spoon of fat until browned. Fry onions, carrots and celery in fat until tender and add 1 tablespoon flour and let cook for 2 minutes. Then add tomato sauce and water. Salt and pepper to taste. Let the meat cook in gravy for 2 hours. Serve with rice.

Am I missing something here or is the only reason this recipe could possibly be associated with the Philippines be that you serve it over rice???



Another interesting recipe which has many, many variations is something I've heard of but never seen in a cookbook before:

SLUM GULLION
4 slices bacon
1 can tomatoes
1 medium onion
1/4 lb. cheese (diced)
1/2 lb. beef (cut in small pieces)

Brown bacon and onions together, add tomatoes and meat and cook until meat is tender. Add cheese and cook until cheese is melted. Serve on bread or toast.

According to this website "Slum gullion" or "slumgullion" or just "slum", is a term from the California gold rush. It meant the mud left in the sluice when panning for gold, and the miners also used it to refer to a thin, watery stew or soup made from leftovers. The term first appeared in print in 1850. Every recipe for slumgullion that I found had different ingredients, which is logical since it was originally made from leftovers." (Go to his website to see more recipes with many variations.)

How bout some Slum Gullion this weekend? With a name like that, how could you resist?

"Bird-Doo"

When I was a Girl Scout in Kentucky, one summer I went to day camp. It was on a big farm. I don't remember a whole lot about it. We made God's Eyes. I think we cooked things in tin foil that turned out to be inedible. We camped out in a tent one night, and of course it rained.

By far, the most vivid memory for me – a budding foodie, even then – was the final night of camp when we put on a program and invited our families to the farm for a cookout. I was fascinated as I found out that we were going to cook an authentic Kentucky recipe called Burgoo. As they came and set up the huge iron pots over outdoor fires I was speechless. There must have been four or five pots that held at least 100 gallons each. We watched as they poured, measured and stirred those pots all day long with us as their helpers. It smelled heavenly! All day long I smelled the rich stew and got more and more hungry and impatient for my parents to arrive so we could taste what had tormented us all day.

I remember standing in line with my styrofoam bowl, eager for the line to move faster. We each got a serving and sat down on blankets to share our meal together. I dipped my spoon into the stew and raised that first bite, my mouth watering in anticipation. The hot liquid hit my tongue and I don't think I've ever been more disappointed! It was truly, madly, horrible!

There were tastes that I couldn't identify. . .it felt greasy in my mouth. I went away that night, hungry and dissatisfied. My expectations had not been met and I was a cranky girl.

What I know now is that Burgoo is a stew that is composed of wild game. Live and learn. . .

As we got in the car to go home after that terribly disappointing meal I informed my family that I had renamed the flagship food of the state of Kentucky. From that day forward it was no longer to be called Burgoo at our house. It's new name was Bird-Doo!

Just this weekend Ali and I went antiquing. I found this book that came home with me, to join the rest of the old Southern cookbooks in the collection.



It was published in 1936 by the Culinary Arts Press. The first recipe in the book is this:


Kentucky Burgoo
(This recipe makes 1200 gallons)

600 pounds meat
200 pounds fat hens
2000 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
200 pounds onions
5 bushels cabbage, chopped
60 10-pound cans tomatoes
24 ten-pound cans puree of tomatoes
24 ten-pound cans carrots
18 ten-pound cans corn
Red pepper and salt to taste
Season with Worcestershire, Tabasco or A1 Sauce

Mix the ingredients, a little at a time, and cook outdoors in huge iron kettles over wood fires from 15-20 hours. Use squirrels in season. . .one dozen squirrels to each 100 gallons.

In my humble opinion, you can fancy it up with squirrels, possom, Tabasco or whatever other stuff you can find.

It's still Bird-Doo to me.

Thimbles and Feminine Hygiene

On my way out of town yesterday I saw a garage sale that looked promising. Garage sales just have a "feel" about them. . .you can usually tell from the car whether it's your kind of junk or not. This one was sending off good vibes so I stopped.

It was a garage sale from heaven. Actually, it was more of an estate sale. I immediately found a jar of old buttons that I snapped up for $3. (They usually go from $10-$20 per quart!) Right next to it was a jar full of thimbles. It was marked $20. I don't know a THING about thimbles, but Ali and I have been looking for something small to collect. Half the fun of going to a flea market or an antique store is looking for something in particular. We don't have space or much money so we were thinking about marbles. I asked the lady running the garage sale if she had marbles but she didn't. On a whim, I asked her if she would take $15 for the jar of thimbles. She said yes and a new collection on Hurd Avenue was born.

As it turns out, we got 122 thimbles.


It's funny how there are complete worlds existing inside other worlds that you don't know a thing about. You don't even notice. Of course there's a whole world of thimble collectors. There are associations, clubs, newsletters and books. That world is obvious, even if it revolves completely outside your atmosphere. What's less obvious are the stories that each thimble might be able to tell.

Some of the thimbles are political. There's the "Vote for George Wallace" (1968) and the "George White for Governor" (1930). Some of them are advertisements. "Use Voight's Flour" came from Grand Rapids, Michigan in the 1930's. There is one from the Salvation Army with the phone number A-9452. This was probably the number for an old magneto crank telephone that connected to party lines in a rural area.


It's kind of fun googling the advertisements to figure out the history of the product being sold to women in the 1930's and 40's. By far, my favorite thimble story thus far is this one for Sterizol.



The thimble itself says, "Sterizol, for personal hygiene."

Upon research I came up with this advertisement, aimed at women:


In case you can't read it, here is the transcription:

FEMININE HYGIENE
There is more to feminine hygiene than most women know. Upon it depends to a large extent beauty and daintiness as well as health. It should demand the attention of every woman every day for her to feel as bright, fresh and clean as she desires.

You will find Sterizol antiseptic one of the most convenient and economical preparations made for feminine hygiene. It is extremely effective, yet absolutely harmless and non-poisonious. Prescribed by many physicians, it is splendid for eliminating odors of all kinds. The $1.00 jar of Sterizol powder makes 40 pints of antiseptic (you add the water). For sale at your druggist, FREE BOOKLET will be sent you upon request. Describes in detail the use of Sterizol antiseptic in feminine hygiene and many other uses.

THE STERIZOL CO., 152 Water St., Ossining, NY

The advertisement is from 1926. The Museum of Women's Health describes the ad and the product this way:

"Sterizol douche liquid, U.S.A., 1926
Sterizol contains in its name the condition it wanted to achieve, a sterilized vagina, just like a sterilized toilet seat, but which would help kill sperm. This ad appears on the page after the Marvel douche ad, and is from February 1926. Note that a woman can use Sterizol for other things, perhaps for cleaning the bathroom floor."

Who new so much information could come from a simple little thimble?