Winnie-the-Pooh's Spinach & Bacon Salad Revisited -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Recently we took a look at The Pooh Cook Book, a charming cookbook from 1973 that has recipes inspired by the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

In among the recipes is one for a spinach and bacon salad that I thought worth revisiting and jazzing up a bit!

Spinach and bacon work really well together both in terms of flavour and texture. There are two versions in the book -- one hot and one cold. We are going to do a take on the cold one as I prefer cold spinach to hot.

But either way the dressing would be the same.

First you want to take your spinach leaves and wash, drain and dry them.

Then cook at minimum the 4 strips of bacon that the original calls for. I prefer more like 5 or 6...though of course it depends on how much spinach you are making as well.

Cook the bacon until very well done. You want it to be very crispy and to crumble easily. Do NOT give into "convenience" and use bacon bits...they are not at all the same as the real thing! Let the bacon cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile whisk together a dressing with the following ingredients using more-or-less depending on how much spinach you made and how dressed you want it.:

2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
The juice of one half lemon
Fresh black pepper to taste
1 finely minced clove of garlic or garlic powder to taste
A few dashes of Tabasco sauce (2-4 generally)

Toss the spinach with the dressing until coated evenly and then add the bacon, crumbled into whatever sizes you like, and toss again. I like the bacon in slightly bigger half slice pieces.

Given bacon's inherent saltiness, be sure to taste your salad before adding any more salt if needed.

This refreshing salad is terrific as a side or as a lunch.

Here it is pictured served with a Boneless Slow Roasted Pork Loin Roast with which it went well.

Enjoy

See also: Sardine Sandwich with Sauteed Spinach, Garlic & Jalapeno

See also: Spinach, Mushroom and Walnut Pie

The Pooh Cook Book w. Poohanpiglet Pancakes, Popovers for Piglet & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: The Pooh Cook Book, Virginia H. Ellison 

Publication Details: Dell Yearling Books, 1973

In a previous Vintage Cookbook post I took a look at Pooh's Fireside Recipes, a lovely little cookbook based around the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Today we are going to look at an earlier cookbook with the same theme. This one was larger, with more recipes and was a companion to The Pooh Party Book.

As with the later cookbook it is also full of very charming illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard as well as with little quotes from The House at Pooh Corner and Winnie-the-Pooh.

The recipes are separated into seven sections and are focused on real comfort foods. Unsurprisingly, many are centered around honey!

Today we look at a variety of terrific recipes -- with at least one from each section of the book.

Stay tuned for a look at a specific recipe down the road -- one for a Spinach and Bacon salad!

Breakfast:

Smackerels, Elevenses and Teas

Provisions for Picnics and Expotitions

Lunches and Suppers

Dessert and Party Recipes

Christmas Specialties

Honey Sauces

See also: Pooh's Fireside Recipes: Comfort food for kids of all ages with Potato Pancakes & Honey Cake

See also: Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook: A Dr. Seuss inspired romp through cooking!

Pooh's Fireside Recipes: Comfort food for kids of all ages with Potato Pancakes & Honey Cake

Vintage Cookbook: Pooh's Fireside Recipes, Katie Stewart
Publication Details: Methuen Children's Books, 1985

Inspired by A. A. Milne's classics Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner the truly charming cookbook, Pooh's Fireside Recipes was published in the UK in 1985.

A rather small book, at only 32 pages, it was aimed at children and getting them involved in and interested in cooking, but it is a joy for adults as well with 14 classic comfort food dishes as well as four ideas for making toast (i.e French toast or cinnamon toast). It is illustrated throughout with lovely little sketches of all the Pooh characters by Ernest H. Shepard and is appropriately shaped like an old fashioned honey jar. There was a companion volume, Pooh's Picnic Recipes that was published contemporaneously.

The author, Katie Stewart was the cooking editor for Woman's Journal at the time.

While technically not a seasonal cookbook, I have always associated it with fall, and its recipe for potato pancakes with bacon is one of my family's favourites for a cool October or November afternoon or evening.

As always we are sharing two recipes, as they originally appeared.

Potato pancakes with bacon

[Editor's note: When I have made these I like to serve them with sour cream for the pancakes, and I generally simply fry some good smoked bacon slices to accompany them as opposed to the grill method outlined below]





Serves 4

400 gr/ 1 lb. potatoes
1 onion
2 eggs
25g (2 oz. or two rounded tablespoons) plain flour
1 level teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper
8 bacon rashers
2-3 tablespoons oil for frying

Find a potato peeler a grater, a large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon for mixing and a tablespoon. Chose a large frying pan and find a pair of scissors for trimming the bacon rashers.


Peel the potatoes and the onion. Grate the potatoes and the onion, through the coarse side of a grater, into a large mixing basin.  Take care not to grate your fingers! Add the eggs, the flour, salt and pepper and using a wooden spoon mix the ingredients thoroughly. 

Using a pair of scissors, trim the rinds from the bacon rashers. Arrange the rashers neatly in the grill pan (remove the grid first). Place the fat part of each rasher overlapping the lean of the next and set aside ready for grilling.


Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the potato mixture in tablespoons at a time. Fry only 3-4 pancakes at a time as you spoon the mixture in flatten them slightly.

Fry the pancakes over a moderate heat until brown on the underside-it should take about 5 minutes. Then turn over and brown the second side.

As the pancakes are cooked, lift from the pan and place on a hot serving plate. Keep the prepared ones warm, while cooking the remainder. You should get about 12 pancakes.

When they are almost all ready, turn on the grill. Place the bacon rashers under the grill, about 7.5 cm (3") from the heat, and grill for about 3-5 minutes.

These are something to have when your friends come round for high tea. Get them to help you make them and serve straight away, together with the grilled bacon rashers.

Honey Cake

Makes 24 squares

175g (7 oz.) (or 7 rounded tablespoons) self raising flour
125g (5 oz.) butter or margarine
100g (4 oz.) (or 4 rounded tablespoons) soft brown sugar
150g (6 oz.) (or 6 rounded tablespoons) honey
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water

Find a sieve, a square of foil or greaseproof paper, a saucepan and a wooden spoon. Take an oblong cake tin of about 27.5 x 17.5 x 2.5 cm. (11"x7"x1") or a small roasting tin, grease the tin and line with a strip of greaseproof paper. Turn the oven heat on to moderate 180C (350F or Gas No. 4) and find a pair of oven gloves.

Sift the flour on to a square of greaseproof paper or foil and set aside.

Measure the butter or margarine and the sugar, honey and water into a saucepan. Place the pan over a low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the fat has melted. Do not allow to boil. Draw the pan off the heat and allow to cool for about ten minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, beat the eggs into the honey mixture one at a time. Tip in the flour mixture all at once. Stir until it has blended and then beat thoroughly.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and spread evenly. Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is well risen.

Remove the cake from the oven using oven gloves. Loosen the sides of the cake with a knife and turn out. Allow to cool and then cut in squares.

Honey cake keeps well in a tin so you can take a piece out anytime your tummy rumbles.