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Recipes from 1979 hospital ward cookbook with sausage and apple casserole.

vintage recipes, modern kitchen

FROM THE 1979 COOKBOOK

Recipes from 1979

I’m recreating recipes from a 1979 hospital ward cookbook to see whether they still deserve a place on the table today. Some are surprisingly good. Some are baffling. All of them are a story.

Overhead view of creamy Jiffy mussel chowder in a pale pink bowl, beside a saucepan and handwritten Hutt Hospital recipe book dated December 1979.
Very 1979 verdict.

THIS WEEK’S RECREATION

Jiffy Mussel Chowder

A speedy 1979 chowder made with packet soup, six mussels and mayonnaise.

Jiffy Mussell Chowder combines packet leek and potato soup with evaporated milk, canned peas and corn, and just six steamed mussels.

It is quick, economical and exactly the sort of confidently peculiar recipe that makes an old cookbook so much fun to explore.

ALL 1979 RECIPES

The 1979 Archive

Every recipe I’ve recreated from the Ward 9 cookbook, from surprisingly good casseroles to very 1979 desserts.

Overhead view of creamy Jiffy mussel chowder in a pale pink bowl, beside a saucepan and handwritten Hutt Hospital recipe book dated December 1979.
VIEW

VERY 1979

Jiffy Mussel Chowder

20 MINS

Banana Bran Muffins served warm with butter, recreated from a 1979 hospital ward cookbook.
VIEW

BETTER THAN EXPECTED

Banana Bran Muffins

25 MINS

Sherry biscuit dessert with whipped cream and chocolate chips, recreated from a 1979 hospital ward cookbook.
VIEW

SURPRISINGLY GOOD

Dessert

45 MINS

Golden Omelette Alsterblick filled with banana and chocolate beside the original 1979 cookbook
VIEW

SURPRISINGLY GOOD

Omelette Alsterblick

15 MINS

Sausage and Apple Casserole with onions, apple and brown sauce, recreated from a 1979 hospital ward cookbook.
VIEW

WORTH MAKING AGAIN

Sausage and Apple Casserole

1 HOUR

Mince casserole from a 1979 recipe, served in a shallow bowl with rice, peas, pineapple and bacon.
VIEW

VERY 1979

Mince Casserole

1 HOUR 20 MINS

Pizza Italian Style baked in a pie dish with cheese, bacon and mushrooms, recreated from a 1979 hospital ward cookbook.
VIEW

VERY 1979

Pizza Italian Style

40 MINS

Slice of kukuye sabzi served with yoghurt and salad leaves, with the remaining herb and egg bake in a blue pie dish.
VIEW

VERY 1979

Kukuye Sabzi

1 HOUR 25 MINS

Multi-Coloured Fudge Cake no-bake slice with Explorer lollies and coconut, recreated from a 1979 hospital ward cookbook.
VIEW

WORTH MAKING AGAIN

Multi-Coloured Fudge Cake

15 MINS + CHILL

THE 1979 TEST

Brilliant, baffling, or still worth making?

Every recipe gets a verdict.

I’m cooking my way through my grandmother’s 1979 hospital ward cookbook, testing each recipe with a modern City Slicker eye.

Together, we're seeing what still works, what feels very much of its time, and what deserves another turn on the table.

Recipes from 1979 verdict card reading surprisingly good.
Recipes from 1979 verdict card reading worth making again.
Recipes from 1979 verdict card reading better than expected.
Recipes from 1979 verdict card reading curious, but charming.
Recipes from 1979 verdict card reading very 1979.
Vintage table setting with amber glasses, flowers and olives for Recipes from 1979.

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See you in the kitchen, Samantha.
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