Exploring the Past – A Year’s Worth of Dinners (1971!)
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At the ice cream shop down the street from our house, the walls are lined with books. For a mere 50 cents, you can take one home with you. Well, the other night I couldn’t resist leaving with this one. Its name? “Menus For a Whole Year of Dinners” – and it’s from Good Housekeeping in 1971. Sounded right up Foodwhirl’s alley! So I figured I’d do a little series, highlighting the goodies I found in the book.
It’s funny, because while some of the things in it made me just shudder, it does prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same. From the introduction:
Menus for a Whole Year of Dinners is for the woman –her name is legion– who welcomes help in the endless task of meal planning. To answer the universal cry “What shall I have for dinner tonight?”
… Each season’s meals are planned to take advantage of foods cheapest and most plentiful at that time. Each month’s menus include a few especially meant for entertaining. And the menus for each week are so planned that no food ever goes to waste. If a Sunday roast is expected to have leftovers, or a dessert uses the whites of eggs only, later dishes make use of the remainders…
Many dinners are especially easy on the pocketbook. Others can be put together in a hurry when it’s time that needs saving. Still others…cut way down on the work for the cook….
Heh, sounds familiar, huh? Well, let’s just say that their methods of solving the What’s For Dinner dilemma are somewhat …interesting! Although some of the menus and dinners sound like they could be from today, others are a tad more dated. Let’s just say I was so disappointed that their weren’t pictures of some of them, to share with you guys!
So stay tuned… I’ll be featuring some real gems — and maybe even some worthwhile recipes — from this blast from the past!
(Oh, and I’ll also be looking for a few brave souls who would like to TRY OUT a recipe from the book, and post about it!…)
Tags: 1970s, 1971 Cookbook, cookbook, past, weird
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Ooh! 70′s dinners are super-fun. I can’t wait to read more of this series you’re doing.
Please keep me in mind as a test family to try out some of the recipes – my boys and I cook dinner about six nights a week and love trying new dishes.
Please no liver and onions though *grin*
Very cool, Niki! I will definitely take you up on it :)
wow that sounds awesome! My mom doesnt cook, so she leaves it up to me. I have some of old cook books my self, but none use up the left overs of a meal, like yours does. It sounds so thrift smart! I would love to try one of those recipes too. Can you keep me in mind? I’ve been trying to teach my brother the importance of veggies with his meal. lol if it were up to my mom, he would be stuck with Top Ramen(shudder). lol so something with veggies. :)
so funny! i have a southern living (or maybe it’s actually good housekeeping) cookbook from the late 70s, and let me tell you, it has some interesting things in it. and the photos! evidently, aspics dotted with bits of meat and other assorted food-like items were quite popular back then.
this challenge should be fun:-)…
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