Garrison Keillor has occasionally referenced the basement of a Lutheran church as well as a dinner entrée called a casserole (aka hotdish) during his successful, long-running radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. I was raised in a denomination, i.e., the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), which is similar to Lutheran (two sacraments: baptism and communion). I have dined in an ECC church basement many times. Years ago, at an estate sale, I bought an old cookbook published by Covenant Women– female members of North Park Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois– called Come Into Our Kitchens. The 240 page cookbook, published in 1967, was the 8th printing of that tome; the first was in 1943. This cookbook consistently referenced condensed soup in the casserole section (16 pages long), relies on bland spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, salt, and pepper (exactly zero wasabi). I’d like to share some of the more hilarious portions.
The table of contents includes 20 categories such “our Swedish Heritage”, cookies, cakes, casseroles, candy, salads, sauces, soups, pies, poultries, pickles (relishes and preserves), and, in the pre-microwave era, “convenience cooking.” Three recipes from the heritage section caught my eye. Ostkaka needs rennet, which I was unfamiliar with. Webster defines rennet as “the lining membrane of the fourth stomach of a calf or the stomach of certain other young animals.” Rennet can be used to curdle milk or make cheese. Korvkaka is Swedish for liver pudding. Korvkaka requires veal liver, salt pork, barley, raisins, water, and some spices served cold with butter. In order to preserve meatballs for weeks (!), layers of lard need to cover the meatballs.
A luncheon dish – an omelet with chicken livers – has an odd ratio. Add 1/2 pound of chicken liver to four eggs and garnish with parsley; no cheese in this recipe! A grand total of three recipes included Worcestershire sauce of which one was submitted by the EPB Admin’s aunt in her shrimp creole recipe. Probably the ultimate in blandness was an Italian spaghetti recipe that lacked basil, garlic, and oregano, which are the spices I include in my sauce. This particular recipe’s only spice was…well…it did not have any. It included carrots, an onion, celery, and “Italian cheese”, but did not specify what kind. The blandness scale rose with the addition of 1/2 can of tomato paste that got minimized by the inclusion of a can of tomato soup “with an equal amount of water” and two cans of tomatoes. I think you have to use a spoon to catch some sauce.
Tuna fish A La King contains tuna fish, asparagus, butter, and flour. Pimento can be added, if desired. Served on toast. In the Variety Meats section, there is a recipe for celery stuffed frankfurters. Spice up this blandness with a bacon strip wrapping the dog and toast in the broiler. “Sophisticated” baked beans include Worcestershire sauce and “lemon-lime carbonated drink.”
In the foreword is a list of, “Fruits that sink in jello salads” and those that “float.” The two lists are distinguishable between being “canned or frozen” that sink whereas “fresh” fruits float. Apricots, cherries (Maraschino, Bing, and Royal Ann), grapefruit, orange, grapes, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums (stewed), and raspberries all sink. Apricots, apples, bananas, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, oranges, peaches, pears, raspberries, and strawberries all float. These lists alone make me chuckle, knowing the amount of jello presented at the dinner table during my youth.
Amazon search for Come Into Our Kitchens
The video below has nothing to do with cooking or cookbooks, but it will give you a taste of life at North Park Covenant Church in 1965.
Comments
Mmmmmm. Red jello!