Cooking & Baking

(never got into Joy of Cooking). It's interesting to see recipes and cooking techniques come and go - one of my faves, cream of chestnut soup, disappears after the 1920s. My favorite is the 1918 edition, with a special section from Herbert Hoover on how to save food for our boys Over There with meatless dishes and alternatives to wheat.

Oysters were seasonal treats way back when. One of my favorite dishes is Hangtown Fry, and oyster omelet that supposedly was invented when a goldminer in California wanted the most expensive dish available in what is now Placerville: eggs, oysters, and bacon all had to be brought to the mountains from San Francisco.