It's called The Olio Cookery Book, and it's by someone called L. Sykes; on the inside of the title page is the date of 1954 - the year wartime rationing came to an end.
The word olio is Spanish, apparently, and it means a mixture, medley or collection - and the book certainly is that.
Clearly compiled during the days of still-lingering deprivation and hardship, it encourages us to waste nothing and is full of little homilies to encourage us to virtue: things like "It is a sorry goose that will not baste herself" and "He that has no head deserves not a laced hat" and "Do as the lassies do, say no and tak' it".
Some of the recipes are as bemusing as these snippets of wisdom: I can't truthfully say I've ever heard of ray suds nor mock crab made from any old bit of white fish and served up on crab shells.
We are exhorted to make vegetarian stock by boiling up vegatable peelings - including potato, swede and onion skins.
As for making marzipan cakes by using mashed potato, sugar and powdered chocolate - the imagination boggles!
One or two recipies, though, I do like. Bible cake, for example:
½ lb. Judges V., verse 25 (last clause)
½ lb. Jeremiah VI., 20
½ lb. I Samuel XXX., 12
½ lb. Nahum III., 12 (chopped)
Season to taste with II Chronicles IX., 22
A pinch of Leviticus II., 13
½ lb. Jeremiah VI., 20
½ lb. I Samuel XXX., 12
½ lb. Nahum III., 12 (chopped)
Season to taste with II Chronicles IX., 22
A pinch of Leviticus II., 13
and so on...
The other recipe I'd like to quote in full. It's for Bridescake and it goes:
1 lb. of love
½ lb. of butter of youth
½ lb. good looks
1 lb. sweet temper
½ lb. of blunder of faults
1 lb. of self-forgetfulness
1 oz. pounded wit
1 oz. of dry humour
2 tablespoons of sweet argument
1 pint of rippling laughter
A wineglass and a half of common sense
Mix the love, looks and sweet temper into a well-furnished house, beat the butter to a cream, mix these ingredients well together with the blunder of faults and self-forgetfulness, stir the pounded wit and dry humour with the sweet argument, then add it to the above.
Pour in gently the rippling laughter and common sense, and thoroughly mix.
Bake well forever.
½ lb. of butter of youth
½ lb. good looks
1 lb. sweet temper
½ lb. of blunder of faults
1 lb. of self-forgetfulness
1 oz. pounded wit
1 oz. of dry humour
2 tablespoons of sweet argument
1 pint of rippling laughter
A wineglass and a half of common sense
Mix the love, looks and sweet temper into a well-furnished house, beat the butter to a cream, mix these ingredients well together with the blunder of faults and self-forgetfulness, stir the pounded wit and dry humour with the sweet argument, then add it to the above.
Pour in gently the rippling laughter and common sense, and thoroughly mix.
Bake well forever.
I'd like Delia to try this one on!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
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