Italian paste

I never ate the paste in kindergarten. But I will admit that there was something about those squat little jars with the stick in the orange lid (that was actually worthless for spreading the paste) that always warranted a deep lingering sniff. I also love the smell of crayons. Perhaps my paste-eating compatriots were merely confused by growing up in a home with recipes like the following:

ITALIAN PASTES (from Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, 1918, vol 1)

To produce the Italian pastes, the wheat, from which the bran has been removed, is ground into flour. This flour is made into a stiff dough, which is rolled into sheets and forced over rods, usually of metal, or made into a mass and forced over rods, and allowed to dry in the air. When sufficiently dry, the rods are removed, leaving slender tubes, or sticks, that have holes through the center. Because of the manufacturing processes involved in the production of these foods for

market, they are higher in price than some cereals, but their value lies in the fact that they are practically imperishable and are easily prepared and digested.

MACARONI WITH EGGS.--Since macaroni is high in protein, it takes the place of meat in whatever form it is served, but when it is prepared with eggs it becomes an unusually good meat substitute. Therefore, when eggs are added as in the following recipe, no meat should be served in the same meal.

MACARONI WITH EGGS

(Sufficient to Serve Six)

1 c. macaroni

2 qt. boiling water

2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 c. milk

2 Tb. butter

2 Tb. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 hard-boiled eggs

1/4 c. crumbs

Break the macaroni into inch lengths, add it to the salted boiling water, and cook it until it is tender. To prepare the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, salt, and pepper, stir until smooth, and gradually add the milk, which must be hot, stirring rapidly so that no lumps form. Cook the cream sauce until it thickens. When the macaroni is tender, drain it and arrange a layer on the bottom of a baking dish, with a layer of sliced, hard-boiled eggs on top. Fill the dish with alternate layers of macaroni and eggs, pour the sauce over all, and sprinkle the crumbs over the top. Then place the dish in the oven and bake the food until the crumbs are brown. Serve hot.

My mother: "I think that in the past, food really didn't have much flavor."