I am not sure that I want this to turn into an Oxfam-meets-cooking-blog, though maybe that would give it a niche following, but I have to say those two themes seem to be coinciding a lot.

And more to the point, the authors are mysterious.

So, here goes on cookery writer number 2.

Last week someone donated books from clearing out a family home – her mother’s, parents’, another relative – I am not sure. I was not on ‘duty’ just passing and having a chat with my colleague when she came in so I helped her in with her boxes of donations.

She pointed to a book and said, ‘You should look at the last recipe.’

I put the book aside to have a look at when I was next properly in the shop. ( And, luckily, it was still there when I did.)

And this is the last recipe:

And yes, I am not sure either whether children loved that teaspoonful and asked for more….

At this point, I should tell you, reader, this book is worth nothing in monetary terms.

It is not old enough to be valuable, it is not a ‘real’ recipe book, it is not written by anyone famous, it is a little bit of social history.

But it is interesting.

So, how come the ‘Recipe Book For Cooking’ ( and you do have query the possibility of a recipe book not for cooking, but moving on..) by Miss F Tharle dated 1935 has the first recipe dated 1934?

(Clearly, she was a jelly fan.)

In fact you have to go 15 pages to find a recipe dated 1935 and, by the way, except for two recipes – cheese soufflé and cheese straws –  the rest in those pages are all for sweet stuff.

We have Strawberry Soufflé, Coconut Cakes, Eclairs, Lemon Sponge, and more, before we get to Casseroled Chicken.

There are 68 pages before Miss F Tharle stops, and most of those are for anything you might fancy as a pudding, cake, dessert or just to satisfy your sweet tooth.

But what I can’t quite get is why a recipe ( Sponge Cake ) is dated 1935 on the page before one ( Brandy Trifle) dated 1934?

And the handwriting seems to be from different people. 

After Casseroled Chicken, the dating of the recipes stops, until Apricot Fancies on page 56 which is dated 1943, then Fruit Biscuits a few pages on, dated 1946, and much to my surprise, over the page, Lemon Cream, dated 1939.

Mind you, the Old Testament Cake on the previous page did catch my eye. No explanation of what to do – is that Biblical or what?

And the penultimate ingredient – 2 cups reduced to 2 teaspoonfuls of something I can’t make out.

So, from the book’s beginning in 1934/5 nowWorld War II has broken out, has been carrying on, and there are signs of it. 

(Personally potatoes are a big favourite, so points 1 to 4 are fine with me.)

Then the book has blank pages until at the back you come across another’s handwriting and interestingly, a conversion chart from American to British measurements.

And then the recipes are largely cut out from newspapers – ‘Recipes of Quality Collected by Lady Muriel Beckwith’ feature heavily.

Gone are the days of Chocolate and Vanilla Biscuits  and Apricot Fancies (1943), we are now looking at Game Hot-Pot and Canard Aux Olives.

Like all personal recipe books, there are a pile of bits and pieces shoved in at the back and interestingly, there are a number which are labelled NAAFI.

And reminders of the past, and that jelly is something to be enjoyed:

And even these paper doilies ( not a word I expected to be typing in 2019) are in the back – just put there by someone expecting to use them sometime soon…..

I have no idea who the author(s) of this little piece of culinary and social history are.

No doubt they are women. Were they related? How come the book has gone from one to the other?

Did all the people involved have a very sweet tooth?

Given that this book has come to us in Petersfield, not 50 miles from Brighton, and is a book of very largely, very sweet recipes, I do just wonder if Ruby Bran has anything to do with this book.

And I do just wonder whether the translation of American and British measurements meant at least one of our authors was a GI bride. If so, she left her cookery book behind and I am very grateful to have seen it.

PS Melting Moments: