Awhile back I purchased at the local thrift store a cute, flower-print metal recipe box with collapsible “Recipe Rest” recipe holder. It was made in Japan c. early 1970s. It’s charming on its own, but the surprise finding inside is what got me really excited. The box still contained recipes written on cards that were custom-stamped with “From the Kitchen of Betty and Al G.” The joint name appearance reveals a shared love of cooking and recipe box between husband and wife. As my fingers flipped through the recipe cards, it was like taking a trip back in time. I also went noshing all over the ‘Net investigating references scribbled on the cards to piece together a story about what kind of diners Betty and Al were and what the cooking scene was like back then.
The box contains dividers for categories such as Souffles, Luncheon Dishes, and the Microwave (because it’s still considered “cooking,” right?). More intriguing are the separate Game and Meats categories. Filed away in the Main Dishes section is a recipe for Spaghetti Caruso which lists as one of its ingredients, re-constituted dried mushrooms without specifying which kind. One recipe, “White Bean/Tuna Salad (Italian Style)” was never completed.
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