The Old and the New
Everything Old is New Again
My mom recently passed along to me a few old cookbooks and it’s been interesting reading through them. The first thing that jumps out at me is the simplicity of the old books. Cookbooks have changed a lot since the 1960′s and 1980′s when these were published. Compared with these books, new books fall into two categories. Today’s books are either intended as eye candy or as mini cooking classes. These old books are strictly recipe collections like a home cook would pass along to another. There is little introduction or fanfare preceding the recipes, and very little direction on technique. Photography is limited.
Even more interesting are the recipes themselves, showing just how much our tastes have changed. Flipping through “The Czechoslovak Cookbook” you can find Liver Sauce, Larded Calves Liver and Tripe Soup. “The Russian Tea Room Cookbook”, shows what was special at this once-upon-a-time elegant institution in Manhattan, including Sweet and Sour Smelts. Finally, recipes from “The Great Hadassah Cookbook” range from the elegant Sweet and Sour Duck to the basic Crunchy Peanut Mallow Slice, the kind of recipe you’d find on the back of a jar.
The truth is, as much as I love my modern, step-by-detailed-step, beautiful cookbooks with photographs, these old books were perfectly adequate. If you were interested in exploring and cooking any of these specialty cuisines, the recipes will get the job done for you. In fact, these books may well point the way to future cooking trends. According to Ted Allen in the current “Food Network Magazine”, ingredients that have been out of favor for a while, that fall into the category called offal (like tripe, brains, tongue), are reappearing on the hottest menus in fine dining. So just like fashion, where every few decades styles make a comeback with small changes, food may be going through the same cycling where everything old is once again new.
Bento Box Mania
Last week both girls decided that they wanted bento box lunches. After poring through my bento box cookbook they each chose a different lunch. Louisa picked one that had cute (?) insect like shapes crawling on top of her lunch, and Annie selected one that had teddy bear rice shapes. Sadly, I didn’t have a teddy bear head rice mold (gee, I wonder how I could be so negligent?), so I substituted two valentine rice molds instead. They both decided to substitute the raccoon dog hard boiled egg for one of the elements in their box. Here are photos of the results:
Now, you’re probably thinking that this is a bit much. Joe certainly thought so as he watched me cooking and molding the rice, dyeing the eggs with the soy sauce, cooking and slicing the sausages for the tails and ears, assembling with the toothpicks, and adding the nori details. You’re all absolutely right. But this is absolutely nothing compared with the kind of bento box passion I’m finding on the internet. There are sites completely devoted to showcasing their daily bento boxes. There’s a collector with over 200 different boxes. There are bento lunches for adults as well as kids. It’s an art form that has been hidden from me until now.
I can understand that there are a few extremely passionate moms out there who lovingly prepare these boxes for their very lucky American children. But this art form originated in Japan, which explains the whole thing, in my mind. Japan is the land of ikebana, the art form devoted to simple, but perfect flower arranging. So why shouldn’t efforts also be turned to food.
My eyes have been opened. And if I had more time, I think this would be an art form I’d love to explore myself. But for now, I think my girls will have to be satisfied with bento lunches every once in a while when inspiration strikes.
If you’re interested in seeing bento lunches, far more beautiful than my feeble attempts, check out this gallery on flickr.
Quote of the Week – 2/17/10
“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”
- Jim Davis, Creator of Garfield