Food Friday: Clues from Module II
There's a truism that genealogy researchers don't always take into consideration. Most records we use were not created with the researcher in mind.
In 1940, the census taker wasn't thinking "I'll write everything clear and accurately so someone in 72 years can find their grandfather." (Boy, wouldn't that be nice).
So research requires a lot of patience and detective work. Any type of research.
Today's cookbook is a good example of that. It's titled Module II's Culinary Secrets and Surprises. There's no date of publication. The only clues to where it came from is the names of the editor, staff, and recipe contributors. One of the pages lists an employee with IV Therapy. But otherwise there is nothing else to indicate where this came from or what group put it together.
But there are clues. The first clue, though not the best, is that I purchased it in San Bernardino County, California. So my first hypothesis was that it was from that area and that it was put together by hospital staff.
My second clue was the type of recipes that made up the cookbook. Recipes provide great clues when analyzing a cookbook. They provide a hint as to the origin of the recipes and the contributors. Because I initially believed this cookbook was done by hospital staff, I figured the recipes would be more healthy than the average community cookbook and I was right. But there was another aspect that was important to learning the origin of this book. There was a lack of recipes involving alcohol and meat. In fact one of the recipes made it fairly obvious where the cookbook originated because it called for the ingredient "Loma Linda Sanita or Savorex" (a yeast extract). Another ingredient, Nuteena, is a canned luncheon meat substitute.
The last clue was the recipe contributors themselves. One of the contributors I recognized right away as the mother of a high school friend. Others I googled and found listed in newsletters for Loma Linda University Medical Center.
So Module II's cookbook is from staff at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. For those who are not aware of the history of the city of Loma Linda, it's population was largely Seventh-day Adventist. Seventh-day Adventists do not drink alcohol or eat meat. In fact they often live longer, healthier lives based on their religion's health habits. And although there is no date listed, my best guess is that it was printed about the mid to late 1990s.
Today's recipe is one I thought would be a fun to share with kids. We've all heard of the book that features this recipe and it's a creative one that can easily be adapted to what you have on hand or on your kid's imaginations.
The broth recommended in this recipe is a particular brand of vegetable bouillon. You can read about its interesting history here.
In 1940, the census taker wasn't thinking "I'll write everything clear and accurately so someone in 72 years can find their grandfather." (Boy, wouldn't that be nice).
So research requires a lot of patience and detective work. Any type of research.
 |
| From the collection of Gena Philibert-Ortega |
Today's cookbook is a good example of that. It's titled Module II's Culinary Secrets and Surprises. There's no date of publication. The only clues to where it came from is the names of the editor, staff, and recipe contributors. One of the pages lists an employee with IV Therapy. But otherwise there is nothing else to indicate where this came from or what group put it together.
But there are clues. The first clue, though not the best, is that I purchased it in San Bernardino County, California. So my first hypothesis was that it was from that area and that it was put together by hospital staff.
My second clue was the type of recipes that made up the cookbook. Recipes provide great clues when analyzing a cookbook. They provide a hint as to the origin of the recipes and the contributors. Because I initially believed this cookbook was done by hospital staff, I figured the recipes would be more healthy than the average community cookbook and I was right. But there was another aspect that was important to learning the origin of this book. There was a lack of recipes involving alcohol and meat. In fact one of the recipes made it fairly obvious where the cookbook originated because it called for the ingredient "Loma Linda Sanita or Savorex" (a yeast extract). Another ingredient, Nuteena, is a canned luncheon meat substitute.
 |
| From the collection of Gena Philibert-Ortega |
The last clue was the recipe contributors themselves. One of the contributors I recognized right away as the mother of a high school friend. Others I googled and found listed in newsletters for Loma Linda University Medical Center.
So Module II's cookbook is from staff at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. For those who are not aware of the history of the city of Loma Linda, it's population was largely Seventh-day Adventist. Seventh-day Adventists do not drink alcohol or eat meat. In fact they often live longer, healthier lives based on their religion's health habits. And although there is no date listed, my best guess is that it was printed about the mid to late 1990s.
Today's recipe is one I thought would be a fun to share with kids. We've all heard of the book that features this recipe and it's a creative one that can easily be adapted to what you have on hand or on your kid's imaginations.
 |
| From the collection of Gena Philibert-Ortega |
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