Full disclosure: I don’t often cook, so when I do it’s typically to document the moment on social media. I do enjoy collecting cookbooks, especially ones with a historical theme, as “art.” When thinking about the 4th of July this year I thought about all those cookbooks while debating how to spend my time for the holiday weekend. Since it was the Big America 2-5-0, I thought I should do something to commemorate beyond binge watching reality tv per a typical at home Saturday.
Also, someone at work had brought in some squash and the last time that happened a cooking project was born! I decided that if nobody else took the squash by the end of the day it was a sign that I needed to do another one. Well we know how that story ended based on the title of this post. A future cooking project was born and the timing was right for it be an America 250 project!
But just how over the the top would I go with this project was TBD. I had been to several concerts in June and had even more planned for July in addition to history adventures and was kind of in need of some down time to recharge so low key/the opposite of over the top would be happening. I do a lot of solo excursioning all year and just didn’t feel like living it up by going to see fireworks, etc. on the day itself. Annoying little kids? No thanks. Drunk rednecks shooting off fireworks? Hard pass.
I did purchase the Buc-ees version of an America 250 shirt and some other trinkets to go with it back in May. I kind of bought it as a joke because it was so *extra* and “game recognizes game,” y’all. I actually wore it a few days before because it wasn’t going to make the actual July 4th cut. I chose my Battle of Lexington 250 shirt for that.
I opted to celebrate America 250 by thinking about people of the past which is where I am mentally a lot of the time and had grand plans per usual, but a less *extra* version. Let’s talk about how the project really went. I knew I wanted to use my Rosie’s Riveting Recipes cookbook again. I also wanted to finally use the Cooking Behind the Fence book I bought in Oak Ridge along with my The First Ladies Cookbook. Those two purchases were inspired by Sarah Morgan who you can find as @cookingwiththecalutrongirls, formerly @cookingwiththefirstladies, on social media.
I kind of wanted do something to honor the Bicentennial because I am a Bicentennial Baby. This is where The First Ladies Cookbook comes in. It’s a 1980s era edition featuring recipes pre-dating recent events. I debated making a Teddy Roosevelt recipe because he’s my favorite president but none of the options sounded appetizing. There was a spice cake suggestion and I had actually previously made a spice cake for an unhinged cooking project and realized I prefer an apple flavor or pumpkin flavor with the spice. That was going to be a no go. I decided to find something else.
But first, here is a picture of the Teddy Roosevelt inspired spice cake I made the last time I did a random historical cookbook project. I used a recipe the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library had posted on Instagram.
Now back to the current project. I did peruse the entire cookbook for inspiration before going back to the Bicentennial Era idea. At the time, Gerald Ford was president. I was trying to do inexpensive-ish, using up ingredients I may have had on hand, and easy to prepare for my project while also having a balanced meal instead of like making 4 desserts and a side. I also have the palate of a toddler at times and realized I would not have made a great historical first lady because I didn’t like a great deal of the recipes. I didn’t see anything with squash that would work so I saved that idea for another cookbook. I decided to plan my other dishes first and then pick from this one.
I looked for a squash recipe just in case in Cooking Behind the Fence and didn’t see one that was easier than the Indian Squash from the Rosie book I had previously made. I had also really liked the cornbread recipe from that one as well. I decided to go with the Indian Squash. The first time I made it I tried to be authentic and bought ears of corn. This time I was not going to be that extra. Canned corn was the plan. A side and a bread, done! Rosie cookbook recipes were checked off!
I browsed all 3 cookbooks for dessert ideas but didn’t have materials on hand for a lot of things because I had purged that type of stuff when moving in February. I decided that the Cooking Behind the Fence cookbook would be a winner for desserts because it had a wide range of options. I am an experienced baker but I wanted to keep this project simple. I found a dump cake recipe, which I had never tried. Minimal ingredients and very easy to make! The recipe called for crushed pineapple in heavy syrup and I ended up buying crushed pineapple in its own juice. I don’t know if that would have made a difference in the recipe other than it being sweeter. I was fine with the result. Spoiler I actually really liked it!
Once I had a side, bread, and dessert I knew I had to plan an entree so I circled back to The First Ladies Cookbook. I don’t like grapefruit but I took one for the team and settled on the Gerald Ford chicken recipe for The Bicentennial nod I originally wanted. I modified the type of chicken to keep it simple and left out cloves but the spirit of the recipe remained intact!
I went to the grocery on the 4th of July itself (I know) and figured I was forgetting something so I planned to most likely make the recipes a few days later. I realized that it was vinegar I forgot because in the past before the moving purge I would have it on hand. I never buy buttermilk, I just use vinegar to “make” it. The cornbread recipe called for vinegar.
Let’s fast forward to the day I actually did the cooking!
Rosie’s Riveting Recipes
First up was the cornbread and squash recipe because I’d made them before and knew they would be easy and be able to be reheated. I love this cookbook because it came from the National WWII Museum, features war-time recipes, and has lots of phenomenal primary source photos!
Cooking Behind the Fence
I was really excited to use this one finally! I bought it during my first trip to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As a WWII nerd, I’ve really fallen in love with “The Secret City” because of the town’s homefront effort! I bought it at Oak Ridge History Museum and it’s filled with wonderful stories and memories of The Manhattan Project era. This recipe calls for yellow cake mix and Betty Crocker would have been available at the time, not Duncan Hines. However, it was a “BOGO” at Publix and I figured the ladies of the 1940s would have appreciated my frugalness using that brand instead of one authentic for the time period. This was very easy to make and really tasty! As mentioned above, I used pineapples in pineapple juice instead of heavy syrup. I really liked this recipe and would definitely make it again!
The First Ladies Cookbook
Last but not least bring the main course! If I were to like grapefruit, I would have loved this recipe! I feel like maybe I would have enjoyed it more with a different citrus, but I tried it somewhat as is. I did buy fresh chicken but made it easy on myself with it being diced. The tiny bit of cloves required weren’t worth the investment just for this project. That wouldn’t have changed me liking grapefruit anyways. I did find it tasty enough to make about 4 meals with it and the other recipes.
I’d say my America 250 Cooking Project was a success! I hope this inspires you to try a recipe or two from a historic cookbook!
