I had cause to open my recipe book the other day – not something I do often as I am not a big fan of cooking at the best of times, and a good dozen loose recipes fell out that I had tucked in the front that at some point I must have fancied having a go at (most didn’t get a second glance I might add).

The recipe book is as beaten up as if it is used at least every day, the cover is nearly hanging off and has been taped together so many times that some bits of the tape are yellow and brittle. I cautiously opened it, knowing there was all that loose stuff in it, and happened to notice the price written in pencil on the flyleaf – it was 2 shillings, which implied that the book pre-dates decimalisation in the UK (‘D’ Day was 15 February 1971 for those who are interested and is equal to 10 pence these days) - which by my reckoning makes it at least 53 years old.

Jumble Sale

Now, the book wasn’t new when I got hold of it. I remember buying it at a jumble sale, rummage sale or bring-and-buy sale (politely called a boot sale nowadays), where ladies in headscarves in those days tunnelled their way through heaps of second-hand clothes looking for a bargain before emerging red-faced and triumphant with a bundle of clothes that maybe they had bypassed on the last sale day, but looked more attractive on the second time round.

Second-hand books

Pre-loved books were usually a pile of popular novels that their owners knew they would never read again and were stacked up willy-nilly, although children’s ones were usually placed together, as were ‘do-it-yourself-books, or in my case, recipe books. In this day and age, this area would be awash with books by celebrity cooks, but not then. This is where I found my recipe book, and judging by the date, it was likely that I was about to get married and probably thought it was time I should get a handbook for the kitchen, and it was called a ‘Cooking Encyclopedia’.

I randomly flipped through it this week and came across ‘Jugged Hare’ (which incidentally I had always thought was ‘Juggled Hare’, and visions of them sprang to mind, where a top-hatted man threw 5 or 6 rabbits up in the air and expertly ‘juggled’ them). Even reading through the recipe I was still no wiser - ‘they should be hung without paunching (?), and there were some graphic details about skinning and drawing out the entrails, which was almost enough to turn me into a vegetarian.

Another item along was something called ‘Shaddock’ (sounds like a fish with a lisp), but it is a coarse and bitter citrus fruit with a thick rind that comes from Asia, where they are more widely grown than oranges. Well, you live and learn, don’t you? It is also called a Pomelo which apparently will grow here in Portugal – but I didn’t know that at the time.

Another entry was ‘Flageolet’ – it is actually a type of French bean, but is also the name of a woodwind instrument and a member of the family of flutes that includes recorders and tin whistles. I hurried past it, as I foolishly thought ‘flageolet’ meant to whip or scourge yourself. I got that wrong too.

Fat-Free Orange Cake

But as we are surrounded by oranges here in the Algarve, this much-handled recipe should be shared - Fat-Free Orange Cake. It takes 1 large orange (or 2 small ones), cut into chunks, skin on, then blitzed in the blender. Add 120ml of milk, 3 eggs, 300g of flour, 16g baking powder and 200g of caster sugar. Mix together, and add to a round baking pan and bake in a pre-heated oven for around 40 minutes 340/170. Dust with icing sugar before removing from the pan. Good luck!

Anyway, if you want to know how to make Cabinet Pudding, make Caudle, or want to know what Chitterlings are or what Mirepoix is, I have just the book.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan