Hungarian Goulash

 Today I'm still cooking in the 1930's but with Ida Bailey Allen.   Mrs. Ida Bailey Allen was the Betty Crocker of the Depression-Era.  She was a former Home Economics Editor of "Good Housekeeping," and was President and Founder of the National Radio Home-Makers Club.  Thousands of radio listeners tuned into to her radio show to learn about the latest developments in home-making and she had a staff of dieticians developing new recipes for the kitchen.

The cookbook I am using today is "The Service Cookbook."  This cookbook was published exclusively for F.W. Woolworth Co.  It was sold at the height of the Depression in 1933.  Although it never mentions the hard times once in the cookbook;  from this cookbook on, Ida Bailey Allen did publish some of the first cookbooks created for a budget.  Like the one shown on the right.

So the first recipe I picked out of this cookbook was Hungarian Goulash.  This recipe didn't make a stew like dish, it was all of the meat and veggies served on top of noodles.  My Grandmother used to make this dish and I remember how much I liked it.  I haven't had it for a long time.   The other thing I have to bring up about this dish is if you suffer from allergies; depending on what they are, you might be able to eat this.  Has anyone had Oral Allergy Syndrome?  I have had this for over a year now and it has been one rude awakening on what I can and can't eat.  Every week I hear how more and more people are diagnosed with allergies they have never had.  The reason is still out for debate if it is climate change, the way we grow our food, or the way we prepare our food but, whatever the reason it is making it harder and harder for people to eat without being sick and "old school" recipes like this are really poised to make a big comeback.  

*Note: I updated some of the cooking terms for 2012.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. of olive oil 

1 lb. of lean beef, any cut (I used ground chuck)

1 large onion diced

1/2 a green pepper, minced

3 sprigs of parsley

1 cup of stewed or canned tomatoes, diced

8 small peeled potatoes 

Salt

Paprika

Put the olive oil in skillet; add the onion and green pepper, and the meat which has been diced large; and fry until brown.  Add the parsley, chopped , the tomatoes and enough water to barely cover the meat.  Cover and cook over a moderate heat for forty minutes.  If you are using browned ground beef you can skip this step and add the potatoes now.  Lay the potatoes, thinly sliced on the goulash; and season with salt and paprika.  Cover and continue cooking for twenty minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Border with buttered and seasoned noodles; and serve on a heated platter.    

So, how did the family react to this old recipe?   It was a mixed reaction.  I was thrilled! About half way through cooking I took a little taste and realized I could eat this!!!  It had a lot of flavor to me.  My husband thought it was okay, he had seconds.  But, the kids whose taste have been brought up on processed foods weren't so sure they were fans.  They are so used to processed cheese-like products dripping off of everything they eat.  There wasn't many processed foods in the 1930's this was one of the reasons I also wanted to start cooking out of these cookbooks.  I wanted to start tasting real food again!:)

Enjoy!

Sherry

I will link this to: 

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Thriving on Thursdays  at Domesblissity

On the Menu Monday at Stonegable 

Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

A Pinteresting Party  at Tutus & Tea Parties

Thrifty Things Friday  at The Thrifty Groove