Orts & Reports: Spice, Spice Baby + Frangos!
A retro revival with all the vintage vibes
Small Bite #1: The Heat is On
July is always the hottest month here in Phoenix, but we’ve already hit 117◦ F and even microwaving a pizza makes me sweat. So, since my summer in Maine doesn’t officially begin until early July, I struck off on a daycation to Payson, a little town about an hour’s drive away. Nestled in the cool ponderosas, it’s the perfect spot for a morning hike. And if you pair that with breakfast at Noley’s Books, Art & Whatnot—a surprisingly cozy cafe, bookshop and gallery in a strip mall—you’ve got yourself a fine start to the day.
I bypassed the white chocolate cruffins and June drink specials (Huckleberry Cobbler cold brew; Cardamom Maple Latte) and went straight to the Spicy Desert Heat Cold Brew—Mexican chocolate, cinnamon and chili powder, topped with a pillow of soft vanilla cream—and a sourdough cranberry orange scone, a bit on the dry side but whoa: sourdough!
Try this SPICY MOCHA PROTEIN SHAKE, inspired by Noley’s spicy cold brew
1 11-ounce carton chocolate-flavored Premier Protein shake (or pre-made chocolate protein shake of choice)
1/3 cup coffee, chilled
½ an avocado
1 T. Valrhona cocoa powder
½ tsp. each cinnamon and chili powder
Crushed ice to fill bottom of blender
In blender or Vita-Mix, blend all ingredients together. Enjoy!
On the piano behind me, a dude rocking a man bun played everything from Chopin to Foo Fighters, and two women at the neighboring table played a rambunctious game of backgammon. “Did you know that originated in Maine?” I pointed to the gigantic German Chocolate whoopie pie on their plate. “And that there’s a Whoopie Pie Festival every summer?” They didn’t.
I worked through a bunch of edits to my book manuscript, then poked around the shop, a smorgasbord of vintage décor: victrolas, typewriters, old cookbooks from the ’60s, a pair of which I eagerly purchased. Pinned to the wall, a red vinyl 45 and the Mary Poppins album I had as a kid. It should come as no surprise that I still know all the words to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Small Bite #2: Recent Acquisitions
Before I headed back to the heat island, I nabbed a few more cookbooks from Payson’s stellar vintage shops. This brings my cookbook total haul for the month to a half dozen, thanks to reader Allie D, who was clearing out her dining room buffet and found a couple she knew I’d like.
This is the kind of offline culinary research I love: cookbooks as history lessons.
Study Notes
Found Objects: You know what’s even more fun than discovering that prune whip and liverwurst as a “pate” in a shimmery jacket of jellied consommé were trending in the ’60s? Finding a Superbowl XXIV Kraft Party Planner flyer with a recipe for First Down Dip starring Cheez Whiz, because of course, and a xeroxed pamphlet on the history of tea tucked in the pages.
Woman’s Day Cookie Cook Book: I’m no food stylist, I’ve said this before, but if the publisher of this 100-page booklet was attempting a film noir vibe with its stark black-and-white photos, it backfired. I don’t regret my purchase, though; I’ll try any molasses recipe (Frosted Molasses Bars, anyone?), but Prune Dainties get a pass. Bonus Question: why did prune recipes appear with such alarming frequency in the ‘60s?
Marshall Field’s Cookbook: Just touching this book made me crave the Frango mints Marshall Field’s Department Store became famous for, so imagine my delight in finding an entire section devoted to Frango recipes, ranging from hot chocolate to Rice Krispy treats, mint chocolate chip cookies, two chocolate cake recipes and the coup de grâce: Frango Chocolate Cheesecake. Interested? I’ll gladly send the recipes!
Frango Cheesecake & more weird '60s recipes with Jello as...frosting? Field’s may be gone, but the legend lives on, including a connection to the famed Palmer House Restaurant. Read more from our resident Chicago time traveler, :
Small Bite #3: Crowdsourcing the Suey
It all started with an email from subscriber Teresa C, asking if Cook & Tell had a recipe for American Chop Suey in the archives. “I can’t seem to find a good one online,” Teresa wrote.
The Cook & Tell “archives” are a bit like being in a library fifty years ago. They’re not digitized and exist only in paper form. All 320-some newsletters. Also, they’re 3,000 miles and two weeks away.
In the interim, my request to Instagram and Substack followers yielded interesting variations, yet still, no traditional tomato-and-macaroni based recipe for poor Teresa. How about it, readers?
Thanks for joining me in this culinary expedition!
Your pantry pal,
Amie
The Cook & Tell Library | Recipe Index | Owner’s Manual | Notes | the micromashup
I love this newsletter! What a fun day out you had. Thinking about the chop suey - you say that your traditional one is tomatoes and macaroni (and ground beef) which to me is a dish Mom called Roman Holiday Casserole. I've never honestly seen chop suey here on the prairies ever with tomatoes or macaroni or beef haha! All of our recipes attempted to replicate the chop suey from our local small-town Chinese restaurants. Travel tip for the Canadian prairies, every single small town has a good Chinese restaurant, many are still run by the descendants of the folks who started the restaurant almost a century ago. Thanks for writing!
Why prune recipes?
1) prunes keep you “regular,” a big deal back then.
2) raisins & prunes were dried fruit that could be kept in the pantry. & prune “stars” (a Scandinavian cookie/pastry) are a big deal in the upper midwest. Plums, from whence prunes come, are one of the few cold-hardy fruits you can grow there.