St. John's Folk Choir Treasured Recipes w. Spanish Franks, Cranberry Cake, Molasses Pull Toffee & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: St. John's Folk Choir Treasured Recipes

Publication Details: Gateway Publishing, 1974

Published to raise money for the St. John the Apostle Anglican Church folk choir in Kingston, Ontario, this cookbook is similar in tone and layout to the last one we looked at on this feature Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital Women's Auxiliary Centennial Cook Book w. Fruit Cake, Captain's Casserole, Crabmeat Souffle & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT. The choir was made up of teenagers who, of course, performed at the church, but who also performed at festivals and even, apparently, a local penitentiary.

The cookbook was divided into the expected sections from "Salads, Vegetables and Soups" to "Meat, Fish and Poultry" to "Desserts", etc. It also includes a lot of advertising from local businesses including one from a Datsun dealership.

Remember Datsuns?

The recipes are very 70s. "Oscar's Onion Soup" uses cheats but looks pretty tasty. Many of the desserts, cakes and pies use classic techniques and ingredients that would stand up very well. There are mains that look quite good, even some of the very simple ones like the "Oven Barbecued Chicken". 

Others, sometimes on the same pages, look...well...they look like what you would expect recipes with names like "Spanish Franks" and "Hawaiian Supper" to look.

The book also had the expected pages of tips. We have posted a couple here including one about the many uses of vinegar!

(Click on scans to enlarge)

Bon Appetit Appleby 1977 with Carrot Bread & Easy-Life Stew -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: Bon Appetit Appleby , Appleby College Women's Association
Publication Details: Published by the college, 1977

There was (and, though sadly to a much lesser degree still is) a whole class of community cookbook that was centered around an institution of some type or another; be they schools, associations, clubs, etc...

These cookbooks were usually put together by a volunteer(s) editor with contributions from people who had ties to the institution and they were sold as a way to raise money. 

The one we are looking at today is Bon Appetit Appleby which was put together by the Appleby College Women's Association in 1977. Appleby College is a private school in Oakville, Ontario and presumably this cookbook was made to raise funds.

The cookbook was also, rather touchingly, dedicated to a Hilda Chattaway, who was the school cook and had been for 48 years! There is a tribute to her at the beginning.

The cookbook begins with a set of recipes from the school kitchen staff themselves and then proceeds through rather standard sections like Appetizers, Breads, Desserts, Mains Etc. This particular one is heavier on the baked goods than some.

The recipes are a terrific assortment of standards, through to a handful of what are really "faux" Japanese or Chinese recipes, to some fascinating traditional ones, such as a recipe for making Gravlaks. Many, as did a lot of recipes in community cookbooks in the 1970's, incorporate multiple canned elements and are meant to be tasty and easy, with names like Hamburger Pie and Frank and Bean Sandwich.

We are sharing two today, and, as always, they appear exactly as they did in the original. The second one, especially typifies a very 70's "home cooking". It is also really good!

Carrot Bread (submitted by Bonnie Peart)

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup dried currants (optional)
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated raw carrot
3 eggs

Mix dry ingredients together. Add currants, coconut and nuts. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into 9 X 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Easy-Life Stew (submitted by Annemarie Hodge)

3 lb. lean stewing beef, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. dehydrated onion soup mix
1/2 cup dry red wine
mushrooms or potatoes (optional)

Mix meat, soup, onion soup mix and wine. Cook in covered casserole in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours. One may add mushrooms for the last half hour of cooking time or peeled, whole potatoes after the first hour. Serves 6-8