About Vintage Vertigo

Welcome!
We are passionate Etsy sellers of vintage and vintage inspired treasures. Our membership is over 500 strong! We encourage and support one another and welcome new members to join. Please follow our blog and visit often to see the latest from our Etsy shopkeepers!

The Vintage Vertigo Team ~ An Etsy Team Spirit Finalist

25 January 2015

Collecting Cookbooks



Our last post was about one of our favorite subjects on the Vintage Vertigo Team, Food! Several of us shared some of our special soup recipes, so what better segue than to go right to the source of more fabulous recipes and take a look at vintage cookbooks!




Vintage Electrolux Refrigerator Recipe Booklet 1930s Advertising


Icicle Garden

Capturing a snapshot in time! 
The humble cookbook has become a highly desirable item in the book collecting world. Especially the booklets produced as advertising for manufacturers like Betty Crocker, Jell-O, General Foods and appliance makers such as Oster, Electrolux and others.

Even if undated, simply looking at the clothing, hairstyles and verbiage will give you an idea of the decade it's from. These cookbooks not only have fabulous and interesting recipes, but some incredible vintage images and illustrations!



 The Electric Cook Book 1960 Cookbook Paperback Cookbook
  
The Electric Cook Book 1960

Dottie Digs Vintage


What's Popular
I did some poking around online and found out some of the latest trends. Subjects popular now are Jell-O, chocolate, and baking powder. Appliance manufacturers are strong too.


 Cookies Galore Cookbook ~ 1956 ~ General Foods Corp

   





 A Cookery Expert's New Recipes - 1920's Hershey Chocolate - Vintage Cookbook







Upward Trends
A new trend is towards children's cookbooks, power companies (gas, electric),and liquor companies. I can attest to this because all of my gas and power company cookbooks sold within the last three months!




  

1950's Cook Book for Children

Pink Neon Vintage



Best Value
Cookbooks from the 1930's - 1960's can be snapped up for just a few dollars. Many are out of print and quite sought after. A few highly collectible books may fetch upwards to $100. Once a book has gone out-of-print, it becomes increasingly difficult to find and its value increases as it becomes more collectible.




 Quick Dishes for the Woman in a Hurry - 332 Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less - Pub. 1972

Oblivion Books



Age and Condition
It must be nice and old!  Condition is the key factor. Look for a pristine copy that appears to have been lovingly read rather than frequently used with those tell-tale stains and smudges. Older out-of-print books are generally more sought after than newer ones. Other things to consider are whether the book has been signed by the author or is a first edition.






Cookbook Tour with Minute Tapioca published 1929





Look for Famous Illustrators
I find the illustrations in some of these cookbooks quite lovely.  Most illustrators in these booklet sized cookbooks, were not given any credit.  If you do find an illustrator credit, then they are probably well known in the trade, even if you don't recognize the name.  Here are a few more prominent names that did illustrations for food and appliance companies cookbooks....

Andy Warhol, Rose O'Neill (originator of the Kewpie doll)
Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell. Lesser known artists,
Laura Jean Allen, Frank Marcello, Harry O. Diamond.


Other Considerations
Look for the unusual, quirky, strange and funny!  Those are perfect descriptions of a good collectible cookbook!



20s Vintage Cookbook Yacht Club Manual of Salads Advertising Cookbook Printed in 1923 
Yacht Club Manual of Salads 1923

 Annes Accumulations


Preservation
Store recipe booklets flat in a cool, dry place or keep them in archival plastic sleeves out of UV light and always handle with clean hands.



                  Most of all Collect What You Love!

All the featured cookbooks above are from members of the Vintage Vertigo Team on Etsy. Click on the highlighted link below each image to find out more information about the item.
Thanks for visiting, come again soon!
~ Diane ~

14 January 2015

Soup It Up!




What better comfort food comes to mind during these chilly days and nights then SOUP?  The smell coming from the kitchen as a good hardy pot of soup is being cooked warms the senses.  Here for your cooking enjoyment are a few of our Vintage Vertigo teammate's wonderful soup recipes, and some Etsy friend favorite goods to help serve up what I hope will become some of your faved soup recipe's and addition's to your vintage serving collections.



Diane, from Etsy shop ....



shares with us this wonderful...

Easy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

If you live in Minnesota, you have to make some version of this soup!
It's a requirement!

4 cups water
1 box Rice-A-Roni Long Grain Wild Herb Rice - 4 oz.
1 cup carrot, chopped
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup chicken, cooked, cubed
1 cup half & half or milk
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup (or make your own cream sauce)
1 - 8 oz. container of Swiss Almond Spreadable Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions
In large 3 qt. saucepan, combine water, rice mix and seasoning packet. Stir in carrots and onion. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Stir in chicken, half and half, soup and cheese. If it's too thick add a bit of water or milk. Simmer on low (don't boil) about 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

Serve with crusty bread. Makes about 5-6 servings.






Serve up some of Diane's tasty Easy Chicken Wild Rice Soup in this


that you'll find awaiting you in her Etsy shop.



Margaret over at...



know's exactly what to do with those turkey leftovers.  Here she offers her...


Leftover Turkey Soup

1) Bone the carcass and put the meat in a big soup pot
2) Add 2 chopped onions
3) Add chicken stock to cover
4) Add leftover turkey gravy
5) Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning

6) Let it simmer, at least until the kitchen smells wonderful. 
7) A few minutes before serving, add some water and a package of 
pasta or noodles and cook until pasta is tender.

8) Turn off the heat and add half and half until it looks creamy.
A can of cream of mushroom soup can be substituted for the half and half.

Canned or fresh mushrooms are a nice addition.
My family is divided about the optional package of frozen peas


Have Margaret's cute and whimsical vintage 


ready to fill up once the soup is done!







Dish up some comfort Yum in this lovely


found over at Gail's shop






and add her warm and savory...

Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 ham bone with meat on it 
4 cups chunky cut leftover ham
2 cups dry northern beans, soaked overnight or one large jar of precooked beans, Great Northern or a mix of soup beans
½ cup frozen black eyed peas
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 box chicken broth
EVOO or butter for sautéing 
Some crumbled bacon optional

Directions:

Prepare dried beans by soaking them in cold water for 8-10 hours, then drain and rinse (I do this the night before). Or use a large glass jar of precooked beans
Add chicken stock, ham bone and ham to a large pot and some extra water as needed. Add the beans, and black eyed peas. You could use any bean soup combo of beans. My mom taught me to add a little maybe ¼ t – ½ t of baking soda to release the gas after beans are tender.
Cook on the stove on medium heat until the meat gets very tender. Pull the ham bone out, cool, and remove the meat that’s still on it. Throw the bone away and put the meat back into the pot. Add in the sautéed vegetables and spinach.
Add pepper, and seasoning of choice to taste. I like Old Bay and a splash of Louisiana Hot Sauce.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the beans are very tender. Add more water as needed. You don’t need to cook it this long if the beans are precooked.

Chop up the large pieces of ham before serving.

Serve with corn bread or buttered French bread.


JP over at ...



has it going on with her own...

Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 large squash (3lbs) peel, remove seeds and strings, cut into chunks
2 cans coconut milk
2 cups chicken broth ( I make my own and have it canned) use store brand
bunch of green onions, chopped
3 Tlbs. minced garlic
1 Tlbs. brown sugar
1 Tlbs. honey
juice from one lime
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 T. butter 1T. olive oil

In stock pot add 1 T butter 1 T olive oil and saute green onions, add chicken broth, garlic,squash bring to a boil for about 10 minutes, reduce heat cook until squash is almost tender, add coconut milk, honey, brown sugar, lime juice, salt and pepper cook about 5 minutes longer.

Carefully puree the mixture in small batches, return to pot .....serve and garnish with a dollop of sour cream. Makes about 2 quarts and will serve 6 to 8 if served with a meal.

This freezes very well.......therefore you can enjoy when squash is out of season. 

Stack up high a pile of Fontina Cheese Crostini on JP's lovely



to finish off the meal!


Last but never least is a great recipe and another I'm eager to try during these cold days in Oregon.  Here I share a recipe from ....

Denise over at 



She's offered this wonderful

Zuppa Toscana Soup (Like Olive Garden)

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Italian sausage (I like mild sausage and use Johnsonville)
2 large russet baking potatoes, cut up into small cubes
1 onion, chopped or minced
1⁄4 cup bacon bits (I cook up 4 slices of bacon and crumble)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I use minced garlic in a jar, that can be found in the vegetables dept, 2 Tbsp) 
2 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped
2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I substitute half and half for this)

DIRECTIONS
* Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces. The Johnsonville Italian sausage comes in casings, so just remove from the casings and crumble up in pot. You will brown the sausage in your soup pot.
* After sausage is cooked, add the chicken broth and water to pot and stir.
* Next put in onions, potatoes, and garlic into the pot and cook all of this on medium heat until potatoes are done - about 30-40 minutes.
*Add bacon, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes.
*Turn to low heat and add the kale and cream.

Heat through (about another 15-20 minutes) and serve. 

This soup is great also as a left-over! Just refrigerate any leftovers. I think it's actually even better the second day as the flavors have combined even more.

Enjoy!!

You can find this great vintage 



over at Denise's shop to help cook up her tasty recipe and priced just right!




Click on "Cookin' it Up" at the top of the home page to find more recipe's.


Thanks to everyone who offered up a recipe to help make this post possible!!