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From the British Royal Mint:
Bob – The subject of great debate, as the origins of this nickname are unclear although we do know that usage of bob for shilling dates back to the late 1700s. Brewer’s 1870 Dictionary of Phrase and Fable states that ‘bob’ could be derived from ‘Bawbee’, which was 16-19th century slang for a half-penny. ‘Bob’ was also used to refer to a set of changes rung on church bells, and this may have been the nickname’s origin as the word ‘shilling’ has its origins in the proto-Germanic word ‘skell’ which means ‘ring’.
Florin – The early florins took their name from coins first issued in Italy which became dominant trade coins across Western Europe. Edward III attempted to introduce a six shilling gold coin that would be suitable for trade with European super-powers of the time, but due to being underweight for their face value they were unsuitable as such and were quickly withdrawn.
see
Coin nicknames – the British fondness for change | The Royal Mint Blog
Bob – The subject of great debate, as the origins of this nickname are unclear although we do know that usage of bob for shilling dates back to the late 1700s. Brewer’s 1870 Dictionary of Phrase and Fable states that ‘bob’ could be derived from ‘Bawbee’, which was 16-19th century slang for a half-penny. ‘Bob’ was also used to refer to a set of changes rung on church bells, and this may have been the nickname’s origin as the word ‘shilling’ has its origins in the proto-Germanic word ‘skell’ which means ‘ring’.
Florin – The early florins took their name from coins first issued in Italy which became dominant trade coins across Western Europe. Edward III attempted to introduce a six shilling gold coin that would be suitable for trade with European super-powers of the time, but due to being underweight for their face value they were unsuitable as such and were quickly withdrawn.
see
Coin nicknames – the British fondness for change | The Royal Mint Blog
"Not Dirty Bad Bob, the New Mexican but the original Bad Bob, the mean one, the albino."
I got the title wrong, it's actually "A Grandfather's Lessons". I do have the one you cite above.
All of my sisters (4 of them) collect cookbooks -- an addiction I think -- but I like the really simple ones, and the ones you get from the PTA, Scouts etc.
I used to collect a lot of them from a local publishers remainder outlet. I liked the ones where nothing was adapted for what was available here (remember the days when virtually no supermarket carried cilantro?)
Simple recipe: Gather fresh morels in season saute and add a reduced quart of heavy cream, salt and pepper.
A friend of mine published a cookbook last year in cooperation with the Nova Scotia Archives. She found interesting old recipes from documents in the archives and had modern chefs prepare their version of the recipe, and in the book she showed the old and new side by side. In many cases the older, simpler recipes looked more interesting.
Nova Scotia Cookery, Then and Now: Modern Interpretations of Heritage Recipes: Nova Scotia Archives, Select Nova Scotia, Valerie Mansour, Len Wagg: 9781771085465: Amazon.com: Books
Nova Scotia Cookery, Then and Now: Modern Interpretations of Heritage Recipes: Nova Scotia Archives, Select Nova Scotia, Valerie Mansour, Len Wagg: 9781771085465: Amazon.com: Books
Very silly one, mine ranges from a 1st ed. Escoffier, 7 volumes of El Bulli 2005-2011 for $600, Le Cordon Bleu handbook, 20lb specimens on everything meat related, similar weight range one on various kitchen utensils and methods/techniques to sharpen kitchen knives, to 20-page handsize ones on making coffee.
Worst are restaurant anniversary editions, half photography, half recipees, collectible items that have to be bought.
Or I'm on the mailing list of restaurants, and they send me a notice that their latest anniversary edition is out, try to say not interested if you want to remain on a friendly basis with the proprietor and/or chef.
The built-in cupboard of our dining room can hold only the most frequent used few hundred. Another hundred sleep on the shelf in my workroom on the 1st floor. Which leaves several hundred more which are forced to hibernate in boxes in the attic*of the 4-car garage
(* 700sqft that houses even more kitchen item hamstering ; spare knives, large range of full size SS buffet chafing dishes, spare part SS door handles & hinges for the kitchen, replacement parts for the combisteamer and smeg burner cooking range, outdoor grills and wok burners, automatic bread machines, electric xxl rice cookers, 200pc silvery cutlery after I got weary of silver sulphide polishing)
The book I use most frequently, measures 4'' x 7.5'', still 90 pages, one favorite : slow-cooked Boston baked beans
How simple can something be and still a surprise every time
Attachments
I'm surprised that Indian pudding and rava kesari are independent creations.
I find most on the web a random collection of recipes without any background, history, or personal stories. I admit my faves are from a previous generation which has little connection to what is happening now. For instance Robert Courtine's "Feasts of a Militant Gastronome" has recipes but it is a book to read (you might have some trouble with his Le Pin tendencies).
My experience is the opposite. Far too many online recipes are burdened with too many graphics and long essays about somebody's grandmother. It takes forever to get to the actual recipe, and it turns out to be exactly the same as many other recipes. Maybe that just means that many recipes for the same dish converge on some lowest common denominator. OTOH outliers really stand out, and you find yourself thinking "Wow that's way too much salt!" or some such.
Having said all that if I want to cook a particular dish I can pretty quickly pull up several authoritative recipes online and get a sense of what I need to do then go do it my way.
I'm apologizing because it's going to be in French but... the best recipes websites I've found are maintained by cooking schools teachers and are as much about recipes than techniques:
Chef Simon, le plaisir de cuisiner. Cuisine, cours, techniques, partage de recettes, photos, videos. (it got more and more commercial over time but still good)
Le Sot L'y Laisse - Mon blog s'adresse a tout le monde, amateurs de cuisine debutants ou confirmes, mais egalement a mes eleves et etudiants. On y trouve a la fois des techniques culinaires comme des recettes, des conseils, des astuces... faut fouiller ! (this one would make Pepin proud, plenty of classical techniques explained at length)
As far as recipes books go, my go to book is :
- "Les meilleures recettes de Wallonie recueillies par zone verte", which is a collection of typical dishes from my region, collected in 1981 by the public radio among their listeners. Simple, to the point, day to day cooking. Many recipes in there are considered "too humble" to be on the web. Heavy at nearly 500 pages.
Fancier recipes, I get from the internet. Un dejeuner de soleil is absolutely great for Italian recipes (in French/Italian, sorry again) and Kenji Lopez-Alt is always an inspiring read (finally something in English).
And my guilty pleasure is watching Rie McClenny videos on Tasty... yeah I know, not very serious.
Chef Simon, le plaisir de cuisiner. Cuisine, cours, techniques, partage de recettes, photos, videos. (it got more and more commercial over time but still good)
Le Sot L'y Laisse - Mon blog s'adresse a tout le monde, amateurs de cuisine debutants ou confirmes, mais egalement a mes eleves et etudiants. On y trouve a la fois des techniques culinaires comme des recettes, des conseils, des astuces... faut fouiller ! (this one would make Pepin proud, plenty of classical techniques explained at length)
As far as recipes books go, my go to book is :
- "Les meilleures recettes de Wallonie recueillies par zone verte", which is a collection of typical dishes from my region, collected in 1981 by the public radio among their listeners. Simple, to the point, day to day cooking. Many recipes in there are considered "too humble" to be on the web. Heavy at nearly 500 pages.
Fancier recipes, I get from the internet. Un dejeuner de soleil is absolutely great for Italian recipes (in French/Italian, sorry again) and Kenji Lopez-Alt is always an inspiring read (finally something in English).
And my guilty pleasure is watching Rie McClenny videos on Tasty... yeah I know, not very serious.
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I like the second link, I can wade through it with the help of my dictionary. Google translate also misses some of the more uncommon ingredient names.