Friday, June 8, 2012

Weekend Cooking - Suds in Your Eye!


The "Suds Books," as we call them, have been in the family longer than I have. They were introduced to my mother by her grandmother. We call them the Suds Books because the first book is called "Suds in Your Eye." And, it is about how Mrs. Feeley, Miss Tinkham and Mrs. Rasmussen all came to live together in a house in San Diego called Noah's Ark.

This post was written as part of Weekend Cooking over at BethFishReads.com. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to head over to Beth Fish Reads, grab the button, and link up anytime over the weekend.  (The button is on your right...)


You can still find used copies of the series around the internet. There are more books than what I am showing here. All of the ones that I found on Amazon had five stars!

Here are what some Suds loyalists say on Amazon:

In 1956 I bought a used copy of this book in Colorado Springs. It wasn't a wonderful moment in my life and why I bought this little, worn book I cannot say. It might have taken me ninety minutes to read and the effect has held on for the last forty-four years and I expect it to retain its hold forever. Some years after that my Aunt played Mrs. Feeley in San Diego, and did so for several years. I was thrilled and she was amazed that I not only knew the character, but knew it better than she did. Read this book if you can get hold of it and be nourished, amused, amazed ( their brand of inventiveness is strangely missing today ) and wish you could pull up to the table and share a six-pack. Skoal!

AND



Mary Lasswell's 'Suds In Your Eye', is the comic tale of three lonely women, Mrs. Feely, the owner of the junkyard with a wall made of beer bottles, Miss. Tinkham, an unemployed teacher, and Mrs. Rasmussen, A Norwegian women who could make a wonderful meal with the simplest of ingrediants, who are united in the first of what became a very popular series during and after world war II. Miss Tinkham, a very shy spinster, and Mrs. Rasmeussen, who is abandoned by her children, come to room with Mrs. Feely in her Junk Yard called Noahs Ark, in San Diego before the War. They embark on several adventures and really become a family. The book illustrated by the late George Price, is a hilareous romp and is not afraid to be a bit racy for its time. The book had several sequels, including 'Tooner Trolly', was turned into a broadwya play and even inspired Mrs. Lasswell, A navy wife, to create a cookbook as written by Mrs. Rasmussen, 'Mrs, Rasmussen' Book of one Armed Cookery' -the other arm of course would be around a bottle of beer.


And, it is from "Mrs. Rasmussen's Book of One-Armed Cookery" that I bring you two recipes: Chicken Fried Steak and Zucchini Pancakes.

Chicken Fried Steak

1 lb. round steak, 1 in. thick
Pepper, salt
Flour
Lard or Crisco to fry

Cut the steak into portions of suitable size. Pound well with a wooden mallet. Sprinkle liberally with pepper and salt, then dip in flour. Let stand a few minutes while the fat is heating. The meat will be damp on the outside: dip again in flour and rub well into meat. When the fat is very hot, drop the steak in and fry carefully until a golden brown all over. Reduce heat and finish cooking to any stage desired; rare, medium, or well-done.



Zucchini Pancakes

1 recipe of your favorite pancake mixture
1 clove garlic, grated
2 c. unpeeled zucchini, grated on the large crescent shaped holes of grater
1 tb. parsley, chopped
2 tb. chives, chopped

Stir in the vegetables and cook as for regular pancakes, making them very small. Delicious with fried chicken.





Note: I used some of the food photography techniques that I wrote about last week in shooting these last two photos. The main things that I did differently were, shoot the food on the back porch(!) and zoom in more tightly on the food. All of the book photos come from Amazon.


26 comments:

  1. Thank you! I had forgotten these recipes, will incorporate them back into my meals.

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    1. This is food from our childhoods (or our parent's or grandparent's childhoods!).

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  2. Fun! I'd never heard of these books before, but they sound like something I want to look for. And your food photos look great. I missed last week...I'll go back and check out that post! =)

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    1. Oh, that's nice of you!

      The books can be had on Amazon. But, its also nice to have old books that you are looking for and find them the old fashioned way - by prowling around used book stores and garage sales!

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  3. I have never heard of these books-natural lights always makes food look better and you do have to do a tight photo.

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  4. Suds books? How charming. So glad you mentioned them. Must look for them now. The recipes and photos look delish. :)

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    1. Thanks Jama! If you ever come across any of these books - grab 'em! The three ladies are so spunky and fun!

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  5. Oh Libby, how I love seeing a recipe with LARD in it! So tired of 'kitchen police' and their low fat etc. mantra! Everything is low fat and we still have a weight problem in the U.S. because that's not the problem. But I digress, I have to find these books! Thanks for a great post!

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    1. Thanks, Peggy! My teens are really thin and they just wolf this stuff down! I am thin too and just eat a moderate amount.

      The books, themselves, are like comfort food in their own way :)

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  6. I have never heard of the Suds books, I love learning something new. I'm going to try your Zucchini Pancakes, they look yummy.

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    1. They are a fun, quick side dish to use instead of potatoes~

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  7. I love zucchini pancakes! They are so fresh!

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  8. The pancakes look very tasty. i had trouble with photos last week, the light was very weird, i had to take everything outside.

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    1. Seems like a weird thing to do with food, but the outside thing seems to be the way to go...

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  9. Never heard of these books, but would love to find them. I love chicken fried steak and zucchini!
    Here's My WC

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  10. Lovely recipes. Have a great week.

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  11. Oh yay you for trying the food photography tips. I can't wait to try them myself. I've never heard of these books either, so thanks for introducing them to me.

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    1. Thanks! They are really relaxing, fun reads. RE: the photography...I think the number one thing I take away from my reading is that taking the food outside makes a huge difference.

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  12. I am back and so happy to say that your SUDS post is the first thing I read. I adore the whole idea of these three women and am gonna have to find out more.
    Thanks Libby for missing me!

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  13. What cute little books, I love old finds like these. The zucchini pancakes look good and we always need something new here,gets boring. Now I'm going to search back for the food photo tips! Thanks Libby.

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  14. Interesting looking books, and I like the idea of incorporating zucchini (or courgettes as we call them) into pancakes.

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  15. How delightful - both the books and the recipes!

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