Recipe for Sleep

Chef and Storyteller Erin Brindley lulls you into dreamland reading from old cookbooks. This one, Quick Cooking, A Book of Culinary Heresies from 1891 is a series of perfect little recipe gems, the ones that read like little poems. The is part three of the larger series that started with Episode 31. 

You can find the original text here.

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I'm Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller, and I'm going to read recipes to yo softly and sweetly, as you drift off to sleep.

Last episode we began 1891's “Quick Cooking: A Book of Culinary Heresies written by one of the heretics,” a very straightforward guide to simple cooking from the wonderful Flora Haines Loughead. If you didn’t catch episode 31, you might want to go back and listen to that just to hear about wonderful Flora, also known as the Opal Queen.

But tonight we’ll just sail right back into the middle of her lovely cookbook that savors simplicity over all other things. (Including in the way it is structured, you’ll notice this is all alphabetical and we’re starting with Cracked Wheat and Apricot Pudding and going right on through to the Lemon section. In between we’ll find Devilled Meat, Eggs, Scrambled, Fairy Butter, Graham Gems, Hash Puffs, Icing, Jelly Roll and Kidneys.

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. I was combing the shelves for an old cookbook that seemed appropriate for spooky season, and I came across “Quick Cooking: A Book of Culinary Heresies Written by One of the Heretics.” The concept of the cookbook is simple enough…it’s a precurser to Rachel Ray’s genre of quick meals for a busy Mom. But I love how the author, Flora Haines Loughead, frames simplifying complicated recipes as "Heresy" against the purveying idea that the more complicated the dish the more worthy a housewife. Then she goes on to suggest that, with the time you save by not making dinner complicated, you should rest. AMEN FLORA! Rest is resistance.

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. Tonight, I’m going to read to you, softly and sweetly, from Aunt Betty’s Cookbook by Betty Lippman published in 1918. What each of these books have in common, (besides a recipe for something called Tutti Fruitti,) is the recipes are simply a cozy place to put your busy brain while sleep finds you. So snuggle deep into your sweet covers, and let me read recipes to you until you drift off to sleep. 

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. Your host, chef and storyteller Erin Brindley, will read to you, softly and sweetly, from A Book of Beverages from 1904. Compiled by the Daughters of the American Revolution, you'll hear recipes for switchels, fruit vinegars, punches, and flips until you drift off to sleep.

You can find the original text here.

To read Erin's own recipes and writings, visit her Substack here.

A cooling balm for late summer, we've remixed our third episode to include the soothing sounds of summer rain, along with recipes from 365 Desserts.

Reading from the first section of 365 Desserts, published in 1900, you will drift to sleep to dream of tartlets, parfaits, pies and puddings. So many puddings. Chicago Pudding, Paradise Pudding, and Little Princess Pudding. But it was February’s Chocolate Soufflé recipe that inspired the recipe we’ve published at Thank Salt, a light as air and deeply rich dessert.

Published in 1900, the full text is available here: 365 Desserts

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. I’m going to read to you from an old cookbook full of recipes and stories, and hopefully it’s just interesting enough to keep your mind from ruminating, but just light enough that you can let it go when sleep arrives. Tonight, we are still deep in the pages of 1894’s The American Pastry Cook, a massive instructional tome written for hotel and steamboat cooks, and this section is as sweet as can be.

Like our own Great British Baking Show coach, Jessup Whitehead breaks down the basics on meringues and sponges, and we’ll dip our toe into Blanc Mange at the end.

Now it’s time to put away anything you were doing, and snuggle deep into your sweet covers.

You made it. To this cozy, quiet time of day, where there’s nothing to do but listen to me read old  recipes to you until you drift off to sleep.

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. I’m going to read to you from an old cookbook full of recipes and stories, and hopefully it’s just interesting enough to keep your mind from ruminating, but just light enough that you can let it go when sleep arrives. Tonight, we are still deep in the pages of 1894’s The American Pastry Cook, a massive instructional tome written for hotel and steamboat cooks. We’ve only gotten through the first hundred recipes, and tonight we will read 36 more recipes for ice creams, sherbets, and frozen punches. It is 91 degrees today where I am, so that feels right. If you'd like to read some of my own stories and recipes, like the one for Cherry Gazpacho I just published, visit Thank Salt on Substack.

For our 25th episode, cuddle up with the sounds of rain as our host Erin Brindley reads to you from The Magic Way, a cookbook published in 1924 featuring all of the ways to use Magic Baking Powder. This is a re-imagining of our fifth episode, this time with a bed of rain underneath. 

Please let us know if you like the rain, or the simplicity of the recipes read softly and sweetly without the ambient noise. We'll have a little poll going at our Recipe for Sleep Instagram, @recipeforsleep. 

Our rain sounds are from Zapsplat.

And to read Erin's own stories and recipes, visit her Substack: Thank Salt

Tonight on Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland, we once again visit The American Pastry Cook from 1894, a massive tome with hundreds of recipes and even more stories and advice for the professional hotel cook, steamboat owner, or, in tonight’s case, enterprising young person with an ice cream shop. Your host, Erin Brindley, will softly and sweetly read you delicious recipes for ice creams and frozen punches that will bring back summer memories, and inspire dreams of pinks and green scoops dripping onto the sidewalk. So put away anything you were doing, and snuggle deep into your sweet covers and listen to me read you old cookbooks until you fall asleep.