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When we think about the 60s, it’s easy to fantasize about the retro aprons and think about how people cooked back then. After all, a common mantra among real foodies is “if your grandma wouldn’t recognize it as food, don’t eat it.”

The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken blows that notion right out of the water. Originally published in 1960, this updated and revised edition includes a foreword by her daughter Jo.

Instead of the happy housewife, think a sophisticated woman who just wants to get the cooking over with so she can get to cocktail hour. Which makes me wonder . . . do people who live in big cities always go to cocktail hours and happy hours? It’s a fascinating concept to me. Working all day, then cooking, thinking about cleaning, does not make me want to get glammed up and go out for some drinks. But I digress . . .

The book is funny. Check out this excerpt:

Most of [the recipes in this book] are quick to fix. Actually, you can’t trust the word “quick” any more. Some cookbooks, when they say “quick,” mean that you needn’t grind your own flour. Others mean that you pour a can of tomato soup over a veal chop and call it Scallopini. We must face facts. If a recipe calls for eleven different chopped ingredients and cream sauce and a cheese-topped meringue, you don’t call it “quick” if you hate to cook. On the other hand, that tomato soup on the veal chop will taste remarkably like tomato soup on a veal chop, and you can’t call it Scallopini.

While it’s entertaining to read, what struck me the most was how much cooking has changed in the past 50 years or so. Well, for some of us. When I went on the Midwest missionary union tour a few years ago out in Iowa and South Dakota, I had many of these recipes; along with sweet pickles and Jello salad at every meal. So maybe it’s just MY cooking that has changed, as a result of this project of cooking through Simply in Season. Regardless, here are the things that stood out to me about this cookbook:

Emphasis on meat.

The majority of the main dishes are focused on meat. Large hunks of beef and lamb. Either meat was cheaper back then or they spent more of their budget on food. I tend to prefer my meat sprinkled throughout a stir fry, or accompanied by vegetables.

Liberal use of canned “cream of” soup.

My friend Holly and I used to joke that Midwest cooking requires a 9×13 pan and a can of cream of mushroom soup. That is certainly the case in this cookbook!

Not so liberal use of spices.

As the author states in the beginning, curry powder, chili powder, oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, and bay leaf are about it. I wonder what she would think about my cupboard full of spices? And that my biggest problem is running out of turmeric.

Vegetables as an afterthought.

Field staff and missionaries who have lived overseas are amazed when they come back to the U.S. and, in a lot of Midwest homes, find that dinner is a huge hunk o’meat and a tiny bowl of vegetables drowned in butter. What passes for enough vegetables for 4 is considered a single portion in most of the world, and vice versa for the meat. Likewise, most of the vegetable recipes in this cookbook call for butter.

The book also includes desserts, menus for special occasions, and household tips. Overall it’s a really fun read!

Disclosure: I received a free review copy. I was not obligated to do a review nor were my opinions influenced by the publisher.

Congratulations ky2here and Brit! They won the giveaway.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. cindy50.blogspot.com/

    I used to own this book! The old version, of course. Cause I’m a bit older than you!!! I remember how funny it was. I enjoyed it immensely, and I LOVE to cook! What a fun giveaway, but count me out, as I have already won twice:(
    Good seeing you yesterday!!! Looking forward to some blueberry recipes!

  2. Erin N.

    I’m going to buy this book if I don’t win it =) I often try to imagine myself as a 50’s housewife, and love humorous cookbooks.

  3. Kim A.

    I used to love to watch “Leave it to Beaver” and the like, and wondered how the heck June always looked so “put together” while she cooked, pearls and all that. Maybe the secret is in this book. 😉

  4. Suburban Prep

    The book seems interesting because is it a parody or is it a real help. I would love to know either way.

  5. AmyO

    This is such great timing! I just heard about this cookbook yesterday and would love a copy because I have a coworker who swears she can’t cook. We were going to get her this book because it reminded us of her and we want her to be able to feed her family something other than microwave meals!

  6. Lori

    I love the idea of this cookbook! I think of all the 50 and 60’s tv mom’s….and even maybe Alice, the Brady’s housekeeper, owned this book. haha. I always believed she was secretly evil underneath her prozac smile! haha. I love this era and I love cookbooks! This is an awesome give away!

    Lori

  7. TeacherPatti

    I love old cookbooks. My mom always used the 1960 Betty Crocker cookbook and so I bought it on eBay a few years ago. Just as awesome as I remember it! Full of helpful hints like how the “clever wife” meets her man at the door with a cool drink in the summer and a hot drink in the winter.

  8. Eco-Friendly and Frugal

    I don’t know why but this book appeals to me so much! It’s not that I hate cooking, I’m just not that good at it and not that creative. I have other cookbooks but they just don’t interest me. From what I understand, this book is both a great cookbook and a great read!

  12. Stephanie F

    Thanks for the chance to win! I’m interested in this cookbook because I simply love collecting cookbooks.

  13. Jessica

    This sounds amazing. I often make fun of myself because I find myself vacuuming in a dress on occasion, just like I picture the 60’s wife doing. (It only happens because I look at the rug, and see all the cat hair and happened to be wearing a dress that day, but it still makes me laugh when it happens). This sounds like it would be a hilarious read, and I would love to try some of the recipes in it.

  16. Kristen

    I wouldn’t say I hate to cook, but I’m more than happy to leave it to my husband, who loves to cook. So, a cookbook with humor is right up my alley!

  20. amwernz

    Hello! This cookbook sounds interesting to me because I love to cook but hardly have time to do it being newly married and involved with youth at our church. I also have few cookbooks and would LOVE to start a collection 🙂
    I do follow you on twitter and i already am subscribed 😉

    Thanks!
    Grace & Peace,
    Andrea M

  21. Brit

    I kind of have the same feeling some days about cooking, it’d be nice to see someone else who feels the same way.

  23. IslandEAT

    Thanks for the chance to win this fun book! I enjoy vintage cookbooks, particularly of the 1950s and 1960s from the US. These are usually kitschy and unintentionally hilarious during the watershed period between authentic home cooking and the return to “real food” plus international and fusion cuisine.

    Dan

  26. Teslaca

    Sounds like an interesting book to read and also a good lesson on how our meals have changed over time.

  27. Lynnette Moore

    This book looks like a riot! I love cook books and would love to read this one. Also, I am going to get my step daughter a copy of this book because she doesn’t know how to cook, actually my son in law is a fabulous cook, so she stays out of the kitchen.

  28. ky2here

    This reminds me of the scene in Pleasantville when the kids have their first 50’s breakfast and the stepford mom puts about 4000 calories of fatty and sugary breakfast food in front of them before school.

  31. Ellen Ring

    I’m such a disorganized cook & never know what to make. This would be a great help to me & my family would be thrilled if I won.

  33. Pat

    Always loved Peg Bracken so don’t know how I missed this book. I’d like to read it now to get motivated
    around the kitchen by an “old friend”.

  35. Lisa

    This cookbook sounds interesting to me because I have a sister that does not know how to cook and needs simple recipes.

  37. shaleybeste

    I loved this cookbook when I was a little girl. Once I went off to college, I “borrowed” my mom’s. I loved the stroganoff and follwed the recipe down to the “light a cigarette…” I kicked the smoking habit, but my cookbook habit has increased through the years. My mom’s copy disintgrated a long time ago. Now my daughter is moving into her own apartment, and I have been searching for an original copy in all the used book stores every where I go. I had NO idea that a new version was coming out. While I’d still like to find an original (wish I had the ones with Mom’s notes), I’d love to give my daughter her own copy. (Maybe I won’t have to count my own cookbooks after she moves out!)

  38. Jennifer @ The Mommy Mambo

    Get the meal over and done with so I can get on to dessert!
    I love to make dessert so the faster I can get the “WORK” over with, the better!
    Must feed 4 men in a timely manner daily…….I NEED THIS BOOK, I think!

  40. RITA MARTIN MIDDLETON

    I remember my mother’s copy of the ‘I Hate To Cook Book.’ Several recipes became family favorites. I would love to have a copy of the 50th anniversary edition….

  42. Richard T.

    Unfortunately, I don’t like to cook and think this may have the least complicated recipes that even a dummy like me can follow for perfect meals.

  43. Rory Kaphing

    even though I like to cook, this would make an interesting addition to my small collection of cook books!

  44. Shelley Mitchell

    I’m not a fan of cooking! My husband is a much better cook than me. I would love to try this cook book. It sounds like it was made for me! Thanks!

  45. Janice Wright

    Well I’m not all that fond of cooking, so I would say this book is for me. Although I suppose I don’t actually hate to cook.

  46. Jenn S.

    I love cookbooks and would love to add this one to my collection. 🙂 I also need quick fun recipes and tips to lessen the chaos in the kitchen in the evenings.

  50. Sarah Lofsness

    While I may not hate to cook in the true meaning of the phrase, I can honestly say that I am not a great fan of it. Chopping, dicing, and making a mess of my kitchen is not the way I want to spend my evenings after I have been on my feet working since 5am while my two children (under the age of two) are running around the house. Personally I would rather be running around the house with them and not glued to the stove. While that is the case, I also know that I cannot (without feeling immense guilt) feed them buttered noodles and frozen pizza for the rest of their lives. I think that the best compromise between home made and premade is the Semi-home-made cuisine. Pat Bracken was way ahead of her time when she wrote this book that seems ideal for the working mother.

  51. loni

    I would like to read this book because I abolutely love to cook. I also love to read recipe books to get new ideas.

  52. Becky

    I’m interested in this book because I’m just the opposite…I love cooking! I’m intrigued by these recipes : )

  55. Rhonda Struthers

    I would like to learn some new quick healthy recepies that i can make when I get home from work.

    rhondastruthers atyahoo.ca

  57. Kathryn Zebrowski

    This book sounds great because it sounds humorous and seems well written plus I will learn some great tips!

  59. Michelle

    I am a subscriber. I left my reason why I would like this in the same comment as telling you I am a subscriber first time around.

  61. Mary D

    LOL I really would love this book because I also hate to cook, but I
    LOVE recipes for when I do 😀

  62. Trina Coleman

    Although I enjoy cooking there are nights I am just to tired or just plain don’t feel like it and I think this would be great to pull out on one of those days.

  63. Melissa W.

    The fact that it was originally published in 1960 interests me. I do like to cook. It would be fun to see the recipes.

  73. Betty C

    I’d love to have this because I need some new ideas. It seems like I just do the same things over and over.