100 Years of Home Cooking

“It is not a waste to spend your money in . . . good things to eat when you are going to get good health from them.”

--Times-Index, 1891

This quotation from an early San Bernardino newspaper proves that folks in that town have long recognized the importance of good food.

The latest evidence is a collection of recipes assembled to honor the city library’s 100th anniversary.

Everyone from library staffers to book borrowers--even the mayor and the fire chief--had a hand in the “San Bernardino Public Library Centennial Cookbook,” which is illustrated with sketches of library sites and peppered with old newspaper quotes.

Many of the recipes are also historic: Stuffed tomatoes and a vegetable relish date back almost 100 years; a cookie recipe is more than 70 years old; nut bars come from a family that has lived in San Bernardino for five generations, and several recipes are attributed to California missions. In addition to its historical squibs, the Times-Index yielded an 1891 recipe for corn bread with “current” jelly.

One page reproduces a Christmas menu from the 1890s attributed to the Stewart Hotel. The lavish dinner, with an almost endless series of choices, cost only 75 cents. If you chose to have lunch instead, the price dropped to 50 cents.

There’s a lot of contemporary food in the book too, including some highly creative dishes from the city’s cultural supervisor, Norman W. Baffrey. The chapter on cakes and cookies starts with a reprint of Baffrey’s speech, “About Cakes,” delivered at the centennial kickoff last September.

A Melting Pot chapter reveals San Bernardino’s ethnic diversity. Recipes in this group include the fire chief’s chili con carne , the mayor’s “secret beans,” dishes from a now defunct Chinese restaurant, Persian stew, Polish noodles with cabbage, Vietnamese spring rolls, a couple of Mexican dishes made with nopales (cactus), and wonderful-sounding empanaditas (fried turnovers) filled with meat, mincemeat and pine nuts.

In the Citrus chapter you’ll find city librarian Robert Ewing’s wife’s recipe for lemon pie Hawaiian (in addition to lemon juice and lemon pudding mix, the pie contains canned crushed pineapple and coconut). There are also recipes from the National Orange Show, which is held each spring in San Bernardino.

The spiral-bound cookbook is on sale at all city libraries. Or send a check for $7.50 plus $1 for postage to San Bernardino Public Library, Administrative Office, 555 West 6th St., San Bernardino 92410. Write “cookbooks” on the check and make it payable to San Bernardino Public Library. For further information, call (714) 381-8215.

The following recipes include Baffrey’s Polish soup; a date confection that originated with a citrus rancher who once traded oranges for dates, and a recipe for chili beans from a woman whose family settled in San Bernardino more than 50 years ago.

POLISH SOUP IN 30 MINUTES

5 (14 1/2-ounce) cans beef consomme

5 soup cans water

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn

1 cup tawny Port

1 large red onion, coarsely chopped

1 kielbasa sausage, sliced

1 medium head cabbage, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 to 10 mushrooms, sliced

1 cup small elbow macaroni

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon creamed horseradish

Generous dash Worcestershire sauce

Generous dash hot pepper sauce

Generous dash freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine consomme, water, tomatoes, corn, Port, onion, sausage, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms, macaroni, mustard, horseradish, Worcestershire, hot pepper sauce, pepper and lemon juice in large soup pot.

Bring to boil, stirring. Lower heat to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot with buttered bread. Makes 20 servings.

OLD TIME CHILI BEANS

2 pounds pinto beans

1 ham hock

4 cloves garlic

2 pounds ground beef

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 green chiles, chopped

2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic salt

Garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Wash beans well. Place in large pot, add ham hock and cover with water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, add garlic cloves and cook, partially covered, 2 hours.

Combine ground beef, celery, green pepper, onion and green chiles in large saucepan. Add tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic salt, garlic powder to taste and thyme. Simmer 30 minutes. Add mixture to beans and simmer 1 hour. Makes 8 servings.

GRANDMA GEIB’S DATE DAINTIES

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup chopped dates, or more, if desired

1 cup chopped nuts

Powdered sugar

Beat eggs with sugar and vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to egg mixture and blend. Stir in dates and nuts. Spoon into greased 8-inch-square pan.

Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on rack. Cut into squares and roll in powdered sugar or shake with sugar in paper bag. Makes 20 to 25.