The delightful little 1936 cookery book issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and produce by the National Mark is entitled a Calendar of Cooking. That is exactly what it is, taking ‘the housewife’ through the year, month by month, with recipes using what new fruit and vegetables, and also meat and fish, are in season.
At the front of each section is an introduction and then a list of what might be found in the shops or at market, or grown in the garden:
- apples
- black currants
- grapes
- pears
- plums
As for the vegetables, there is an extensive list:
- artichokes
- beans (broad, kidney and runner)
- beetroot
- Brussel sprouts
- cabbage
- carrots
- cauliflower
- celery
- cucumbers
- endive
- peas
- horseradish
- leeks
- lettuce
- marrow
- mushrooms
- mustard and cress
- onions
- parsnips
- radishes
- savoy cabbage
- spinach
- swede
- tomatoes
- turnips
- watercress
With all those ingredients there is plenty of choice of what to cook, but the little book also offers twelve of its own recipes!
Lois Elsden 