Chow-Chow Cha-Cha

If I ask you to combine cabbage, carrot, apple, peanut butter, and raisins, how does that sound? It sounded intriguing to me, so I followed the recipe on page 290 and threw together the Peanut Butter Chow Chow from The Passionate Palate for dinner one night not long ago. 'Twas a delicious thing.

I shredded the cabbage and carrot, diced up the apple, too. It wasn't an entire cabbage, carrot, or apple, just a bit of this and a bit of that. Think in terms of small amounts - one cup of cabbage, versus one entire cabbage.

 Then add raisins to taste, some peanut butter, and stir until combined. Use apple juice to make the mixing easier.

The book suggests serving the concoction on bread. I used a fork and some tortilla chips. While it doesn't keep well overnight, eaten fresh, the Peanut Butter Chow Chow is tasty, easy, and filling. Author Desiree Witkowski also says it's "low-calorie" and "provides fifty percent of the RDA for fiber." It's a keeper!

Thrift Store Folly

I was minding my own business on Saturday morning, sipping Jasmine tea and wandering through the latest Facebook updates while yawning copiously and contemplating what to eat for breakfast. One of the local thrift stores posted a picture of books and two words "...more cookbooks." You know I couldn't resist.

I got three of the Grand Diplome Cooking Course collection. The entire set has twenty books and I already had one, which I got a duplicate of on Saturday. It was a set of three or none; I opted for a duplicate. Perhaps the other 17 will show up at thrift stores in the future?

I also picked up a copy of the Golden Rule Cook Book by Mrs. Ida Cogswell Bailey Allen from 1921, the Ann Sather's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Cookbook, and the Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book.

There was an amazing amalgamation of pamphlets:

• Merry Meals Recipe Book from the Altoona Mirror
• Sauces & Relishes from Eatmor Cranberries company
• Cooking With Velveeta
• The Golden Spoon Guide to a richer way of cooking from the PET milk company
• Kraft's Main Dish Cook Book

I'm fond of the following pamphlet titles:

• June Frost's Recipe Book "Frozen Foods Are Better Foods" touting that's "It's More Patriotic to Use a Locker!" 
• Food Is Fun from the American Gas Association asserting that "Cooking is like Dancing!"
• Pies Men Like published for General Motors Men and Women by the Personnel and Employee Relations Staff. When was the last time your place of employment offered you cooking tips?  

I particularly am intrigued by the hand-written recipe that fell out as I paged through a pamphlet. The recipe is for Tomato Soup Cake that truly contains one can of tomato soup, and this blog tells the story of the depression era cake while offering a life-to-cake comparison. The cake baker in our family is my sister, so perhaps I'll send the recipe over to her to try it out on my nieces and nephew.

I can tell you that I walked away from several packages of additional pamphlets. summer's coming and I'm looking forward to receiving fresh produce on a weekly basis from the Swier Family Farm. But first? I'm going to take a look at The Passionate Palate and Cook & Tell - two cookbooks I've had forever, but rarely cook from. Should be tasty!