Recipes from a Greek Island w. White Bean Soup, Red Mullet in Grape Leaves, Pork w. Quince & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: Recipes from a Greek Island, Susie Jacobs

Publication Details: Simon & Schuster, 1991

The cookbook we are looking at today is like a love letter to Greece, Greek culture, the Greek islands and, of course, to Greek food. Written by Susie Jacobs, who moved to a Greek island and had been there for 15 years when she put the book together, it has over 100 recipes that reflect the cuisine and its ingredients and techniques that she loved so much.

There are also many breathtaking photographs of the truly stunning natural beauty of the setting. The book begins by looking at various seasonings and staples, then move to general sections like soups, fish and mains.


There are tips all along the way and many of the recipes are accompanied by colour photographs of the dishes.

One of those cookbooks that truly transports you to a place that it would be wonderful to visit...and perhaps even stay at for awhile.

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Bajan Cooking in a Nutshell w. Pepperpot, Pickled Green Bananas, Stewed Down Salt Fish & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: Bajan Cooking in a Nutshell, Sally Miller

Publication Details: Miller Publishing, 2010

Bajan Cooking in a Nutshell is a terrific small format cookbook that looks at the wonderful cuisine of Barbados. As any regular reader of The Left Chapter knows I am a huge fan of Caribbean and West Indian cooking and this book packs a lot of different, classic recipes into 80 pages.

It starts with some essentials like a Bajan seasoning blend and a fiery pepper sauce, and then looks at soups, street foods, seafood, mains etc. There are numerous photos and some history and anecdotes mixed in.

I have featured some of my favourite regional dishes such as Pepperpot and Bajan Patties as well as fun bites like Salt Fish Cakes and Pumpkin Fritters. This one was hard to edit as I would have loved to include every recipe!

Definitely a cookbook worth seeking out.

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The Farmers' Almanac Cook Book w. Baked Flounder, Lamb Stew w. Okra, Squirrel w. Parsley & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: The Farmers' Almanac Cook Book

Publication Details: Pocket Books Inc., 1965 (Previously published as the Ohio Farmer Cook Book


Originally published as the Ohio Farmer Cook Book, the Farmers' Almanac Cook Book is nearly 400 pages of classic North American, rustic recipes from the mid-20th century. Like the Joy of Cooking this was meant to be an all-encompassing overview of techniques, tips and different styles of food. As a result there are the sections like "Handy Tips" and "Cooking Terms" and then 15 recipe groupings from "Appetizers" and "Soups" through to "Desserts" and "Breads".

Unlike many of the cookbooks from the period, the recipes here, by-and-large, hold up rather well. Where you do see a real difference is in some of the ingredients. There are, for example, squirrel recipes. Needless-to-say we have included one. We have also included the instructions for skinning a squirrel, which the book -- being dated and aimed as cookbooks were at the time primarily at women -- suggests leaving to men presumably because it is rather distasteful.


The Chicken-Liver Canapes are probably not terribly appealing to most now either.

We have included recipes from each section. This gives a really varied sampling with dishes like Cream of Onion Soup, Peppers Stuffed with Shrimps and Cranberry Mince Pie among others.

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(Below is a list of suggested cooking methods for different veal cuts)