Old Recipes Galore

Pork Pickle, Cheapskate Cookies, Clara Kirby Molasses Cookies - these are some old time recipes that are in my grandmothers recipe box - pork pickle calls for 100 pounds of pork - can you imagine making that?    And - Clara Kirby's Molasses Cookies calls for 2/3 c. fat - does that sound like a cookie you might want to bite into? 

These old tin recipes boxes belonged to my Mom and my two Grandmothers - they're all full  of recipe cards and scraps of paper with writing on them that I remember so well.   I'd love to have one of my grandmother's molasses cookies right now or a Lottie's Special.....

I consider myself lucky to even have one of these boxes - I found my paternal grandmother's recipe box quite a few years ago at a collectible shop when I was home visiting Prince Edward Island. My eyes went right to the red plaid box because it was the same as Mom's - I opened it up and recognized the writing as my grandmother's - I would have bought that for any price. It had been sold at auction(that's a real long story) - and ended up in this little shop within walking distance of my home!!  It's funny the way things work out sometimes....

These old recipe books are also from Prince Edward Island - The Women's Institute Book cost 25 cents and has a wartime section - it tells ways of saving sugar, substitutes for sugar and just about two pages on fat - uses of fats and drippings, deflavorizing fat, fat substitutions - not something you would ever find in a modern cookbook!!  Thank goodness for that!! 

The other old cookbook is from Kings County  Hospital in Montague, Prince Edward Island - this belonged to my great aunt - she has written extra recipes all over the book, it must have been well used, it is tied together with twine  And - as a side note - I was born in this hospital!  It's a walk back in time to see some of the old local ads - not many of these local establishments are still operating today.

I'll treasure these boxes and books always!!