Lohimuhennos is a hearty salmon and potato stew from Finland. The name lohimuhennos is a simple compound word in Finnish. Lohi=salmon. Muhennos=stew. For a language that is largely impenetrable to non-native speakers, this is about as easy as it comes. The recipe comes to me by way of a 1939 cookbook: Recipes from “Round” the……
Ingredient: carrots
Sorrento Soup (adapted from Smart Shopper’s Cookbook, 1972)
Sorrento Soup is a hearty tomato-vegetable soup perfect for a crisp, autumn weeknight, one of a dozen or so excellent soups in Loyta Wooding’s 1972 Smart Shopper’s Cookbook. While ostensibly written for budget-conscious homemakers in the face of rising food prices, Mrs. Wooding’s background at Betty Crocker kitchens lends a sense of company-friendly sophistication to……
40 Carrots (Nebraska, 1987, adapted)
I’m a little bit embarrassed to publish this. 40 Carrots isn’t much of a recipe, and the end result isn’t really worth eating. Spoiler alert: it’s cooked carrots and Cheez Whiz. It tastes exactly like you’d imagine. My kids still talk about it months later. I won’t be making this one again. Why did I……
Sweet and Sour Pork with Carrots (adapted from A Taste of the Far East, 1993)
Sweet and Sour Pork with Carrots is a weeknight-friendly meal adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s brilliant 1993 cookbook A Taste of the Far East. This dish has been a staple in our family for two decades or so, since I first found A Taste of the Far East at a local library. The ingredient list is……
Mexican Chicken with Prunes and Bananas (adapted from Buen Provecho, 1995)
Mexican Chicken with Prunes and Bananas is adapted from Buen Provecho, a 1995 recipe collection compiled by the AT&T Hispanic Employee Group HISPA. I’ll admit that my first reaction was “hard pass” but was encouraged by the author’s note to take a second look: People may at first be a little startled by the combination……
Maple Apple Carrot Mélange (adapted from The Best of Beta Sigma Phi Cookbook, 1991)
Maple Apple Carrot Mélange is a quick and delicious side that seems to encapsulate the fancy dinner party spirit of The Best of Beta Sigma Phi Cookbook. It is colorful, flavorful, and the unique combination of carrots and apples will communicate your sophisticated tastes to whoever you are trying to impress. All kidding aside, what……
Mock Turkey (adapted from Mennonite Community Cookbook, 1950)
Many of my older cookbooks contain some variant of a “mock turkey” recipe. Despite what our twenty-first century sensibilities might suggest, mock turkey has nothing to do with tofu or seitan and it’s anything but vegetarian. Recipes vary but they usually agree on two core components: ground beef and poultry seasoning. From a health……
Hot Cucumber Soup (Indiana, 1984, adapted)
Whoever invented the phrase “cool as a cucumber” never partied with the St. Andrew’s Parish Bingo Committee. Hot Cucumber Soup is a straightforward weeknight recipe courtesy of a sixty-something parishioner. It’s a creamy vegetable soup thickened with white sauce and sour cream. The vegetable base includes the usual suspects, a mirepoix and some boiled potatoes,……
Lentil Soup (adapted from Home Cookin’ with Dave’s Mom, 1996)
Lentil Soup is far and away our family’s favorite recipe from Home Cookin’ with Dave’s Mom. The recipe comes to us by way of David Letterman’s sister Jan, without any backstory. Like any good cold weather soup it’s warm and rich and sticks to your ribs, but what makes it special is a healthy dose……