You Ate What? Archives - Awful Library Books

Meat for Dinner (Again!)

April 11, 2023 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 20 comments

Famous Brands
Meat Cookbook
Brand Name Publishing
1985

I don’t know how many more of these tasty recipes I can manage. They are everywhere on our site. The problem with hanging on to old cookbooks in a regular collection is that the photography or illustrations aren’t really helping the recipes.

Cookbooks and recipes go in and out of fashion. Vintage cookbooks are definitely an interesting collectable, but modern library collections really need to see if these items meet the library mission. If you have space and budget, you can hang onto a few of your oldies but goodies or maybe make a display. Pass your retro collections off to good homes.

Mormon Meat

December 5, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 16 comments

Favorite Mormon Recipes
Meats Edition Including Seafoods and Poultry
2000 Favorite Recipes
Montgomery Second Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
1966

Submitter: While weeding the cookbook section, I spied this sad spiral bound book being held together with a prayer. There is one thing I hate about cookbooks and that is a lack of pictures. In the case of this book- there were about 4 black and white photos in total for all 380+ pages. Incidentally there were no secret Jello recipes from Joseph Smith.

Holly: The Frankfurter-Kraut Noodle Ring, pictured below, reminds me of a dish my Polish family makes called haluski. We don’t Jello mold it, though. Missed opportunity.

Republican Cooking

November 7, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 10 comments

How to Eat Like a Republican: Or, Hold the Mayo, Muffy – I’m Feeling Miracle Whipped Tonight
Townsend
2014

Submitter: This book was just weeded at my public library. It was weeded for low checkouts and there’s a reason why. It’s trying too hard to be funny and the recipes don’t look good at all.

Holly: I bet if you replaced “Republican” with any other group of people, political or not, you’d get the same basic recipes submitted. It’s definitely tongue-in-cheek, and I bet there are libraries where this kind of thing circulates well. I agree that the recipes look kind of dumb. For me, that’s actually what makes it funny! Some of the reviews on GoodReads are pretty funny too.

Just No Gelatine!

June 2, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 20 comments

The Knox Gelatine Cookbook
Rutledge Books, Inc, Knox Gelatine, Inc
1977

Submitter: Just in time for those summer gelatine/Jello salads – who wouldn’t want calico corn relish, creamy cranberry relish, or a zesty seafood appetizer in gelatine? The pictures just make my…mouth water would not be the right phrase. This one is off to the sale cart.

Holly: That corn thing looks disgusting, and I’ll eat just about anything! What was the obsession with gelatine in the 70s?? Especially paired with weird things like fish.

Mary: Jell-o-type products should only be used with fruit cocktail and maybe some whipping cream, if you want to be fancy. Even reading a recipe of one of these “savories” makes me gag.

Food Stretcher

April 14, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 17 comments

The Family Cookbook
The American Woman’s Food Stretcher Cookbook
Make your Ration Points Go Twice As Far
Culinary Arts Institute
1943

Submitter: This cookbook has been on our shelf since 1943, which is both amazing that it survived public library use and yet dodged the weeding process. I think the only thing that can make a cookbook worse than having no images is one with black and white images like these. Someone will enjoy this one on the for-sale cart.

Holly: “Meat Roly Poly” with pickled peach/olive faces and “Noodle Cottage Cheese Casserole” are on my no thank you list…and I’ll eat just about anything.

Brace yourselves for Dairy

March 7, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 16 comments

300 Tasty, Healthful Dairy Dishes
Culinary Arts Institute
1940

Submitter: Hold onto your stomachs for this one. Just when you think you have found everyone of these items for the series, another mystery stained volume appears like a zombie crawling out of a hefty bag. I hope this won’t spoil anyone’s lunch!

Holly: Instant recognition after the an egg cookbook. Dairy is so 1940.

Mary: Thank God this is in black and white. I think if we saw the Green Pea Ring recipe all decked out in a pea color, it could cause some kind of trauma.

A real feast for your eyes!

February 8, 2022 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 14 comments

Garnishing
A Feast for Your Eyes
Lynch
1987

I know there is a whole bunch of people that like artistic looking food. I also know that food can be just another medium for the artist inside you. I am just one of those people who wants food to look like food. I shouldn’t have to guess what the food actually is.

This book has a few lovely decorations. See the first image after the break. The raspberry tart thing looks pretty. However, as we go through the book, it becomes more outrageous. A carrot curl or a sprig of parsley is actually a nice touch. But I am going to stop at the shaped potato salad. But wait there is more!

Microwave Miracles

June 10, 2021 Holly You Ate What? 14 comments

Microwave Miracles from Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
1974

Submitter: The smell of this book makes me think someone tried some of those fish soup recipes back in 1974. Unless that is what the 70’s smelled like?

Holly: Oh good, fish in the microwave. Your coworkers will love you when you heat up your leftovers for lunch.