We're two sisters who are craft book publishers and found ourselves in the midst of an avocado grove. We bought this house where we planned to conduct our publishing business and in the deal got 4 acres of avocado trees thrown in. Now we're not only publishers but ranchers as well! This blog is all about avocados and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Sepia Saturday #129 Tea with Ida





Here's Ida Bailey Allen showing us how to put on the perfect tea party. I've written about Ida previously, but want to add more of her history, because she truly is the original domestic goddess.



And what better time to introduce her again, than tea time (the prompt for this week's Sepia Saturday). Ida wrote and published more than 50 cookbooks including this gorgeous one all about luncheons and tasty teas:


During the 1920s and 30s she wrote for magazines and newspapers as well as her cookbooks. It's said that one in three households owned a copy of one her books.



She even had a radio show called The National Radio Homemakers Club in which she advised women about nutrition, diet and other housekeeping tips.

 
During both WWI and II she taught women about wartime cooking. This is one of her wartime recipes (before packaged Jello was available and using only 1/2 cup of precious sugar).
Coffee Gelatin
3 cups strong coffee
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp plain granulated gelatin
1/4 cup additional cold coffee
Heat the coffee and sugar to the boiling point. Add the vanilla. Let the gelatin stand in the cold coffee for 5 minutes. Stir the cold coffee into the the boiling coffee. When dissolved, transfer to a mold which has been rinsed with cold water. Chill until firm, about 6 hours. Serve with custard, cream or whipped cream.

Ida was a widow who, along with all of her activities, successfully raised two children. She preceeded Betty Crocker (who wasn't a real person) and Martha Stewart (who is).  She died at 88.

Sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy other stories on Sepia Saturday.


20 comments:

  1. Oh yes, I do enjoy a perfect tea party! What an amazing recipe too! Between coffee and tea and all that jazz it ought to be a pretty tasty Sepia Saturday this week!

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    1. Yes, this is a really fun theme. Can't wait to see what everyone writes about.

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  2. Ida Allen Bailey must have been a very interesting person who led an interesting life. But coffee gelatin? I love coffee ice cream, but I'm having a hard time imagining enjoying coffee gelatin, sorry to say.

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    1. I'm going to try the recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out.

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  3. I've never heard of Ida before. Now I will be on the lookout for her cookbooks. I just might try this recipe and smother the top with whipped cream. Thanks for the great post, Nancy!

    Kathy M.

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    1. Yes, I'm going to try it too. I think it would be fun made in one of those pretty molds (except I don't think I have one - will have to hit some garage sales)!

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  4. I really like the colorful cover of Luscious Luncheons and Tasty Teas. I am surprised I have never heard of her or her cookbooks.

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    1. No, I had never heard of her either. I bought one of her books at a flea market. Then I started doing the research. She was pretty amazing for the times.

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  5. I will be waiting to hear how that coffee gelatin turns out. Can't quite imagine the taste.

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  6. My husband likes anything coffee flavoured. I think he would enjoy Coffee Gelatin with ice cream so have written down the recipe to give it a try. Thank you for sharing it.

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  7. You see, this is what I really love about this Sepia Saturday of ours. You start with a theme - but the theme doesn't really matter. It is just a starting point for a journey, and it is the journey (in this case your post) which is fascinating and informative.

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  8. What I want to know is whether you can use instant coffee in the recipe. I have vague recollections of wartime coffee made form coffee essence. That's why I always drink tea although I've learnt today that it tans your bowels.

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  9. She sounds the ideal person to visit for a tasty tea. 50 cookbooks is a prodigious amount.

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  10. She looks an attractive woman but these cookbooks are delightful with such mouthwatering names. Ida appears to be your equivalent of our .Marguerite Patten.

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  11. That "Luscious Luncheons" book cover is a masterpiece!
    Barbara

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  12. Thank you for this introduction to Ida Bailey Allen. The domestic arts were a serious business back when women did so much from scratch. I love coffee ice cream, and that gelatin dessert sounds like something I would like. Never thought of coffee flavored gelatin, hmmm...

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  13. Oh my!!
    Coffee gelatin?!?
    I think I need to try that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  14. Coffee gelatin - count me in if there's whipped cream on top!

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  15. She sounds like a great lady and so forward for the time. By the way i never knew tha Betty Crocker never existed. You learn something new each day.

    Gill

    http://apostcardfromthepast.wordpress.com/

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