I only knew her through her cookbook

An unknown woman from Glasgow came free when I bought a 1949 recipe book by Elizabeth Craig.

In this post, I travel to post-war Britain in the company of three women.

Two are unknown, one is utterly famous.

Will you join me?

I don't know Mrs F. Douglas of 717 Anniesland Road, Glasgow. But somehow I feel like I do.

Her name and address appear on the front of this book.

I've seen where she lived (thanks to Google Maps).

And she even left a few recipes behind...

...such as this one for Bun Loaf.

And even half a Mother's day card next to ham recipes.

But the reason I'd bought this Elizabeth Craig book and got Mrs F. Douglas and her recipes for free was that Elizabeth Craig had appeared in this OTHER book:

It's a much old book by Mary Jewry dating on the inside to 1912 and owned by this woman, who worked as a servant in a big house:

Betty Mills collected Elizabeth Craig's recipes cut out from newspapers.

Betty also copied out recipes from newspapers onto bits of paper, tucked them into the book, wrote on blank pages and left intriguing notes.

Elizabeth Craig was a prolific cookery book writer, publishing books from the 1920s up to the 1980s.  Famously, on her deathbed in her late 90s, when hearing that her last book would be taken over by someone else, she called for the notes, finished the book and died.

All three women were alive, it would seem in the 1950s. So that's a Britain still in the thralls of rationing and ingenious food substitution.

Elizabeth Craig's book is entitled Cooking with Elizabeth Craig: A Cookery Book for the Housewife of Modest Income.

So, as many of our minds turn to frugality and thrift I thought I'd leave you with a Christmas 1950s recipe for a change. One that appeared in Betty's book.

If you make it do let me know.

And if you have memories or recipes to share, especially from the 1950s I'd love to hear from you.