OP: 400 Salads
Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1944. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. First printing.
Salads: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, society expects us to eat them.
And this is not a new phenomenon. As Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer journalist Florence A. Cowles (1878–1958) quickly asserts in her introduction to 400 Salads (1944). “[A]ddressed to the women who must temper nutritional awareness with realism,” Cowles’ book speaks neither to esthetes who are satisfied only with plain salad greens in a simple dressing, nor to the “plushy folks” who look “at salads through a cloud of whipped cream.” She is far more reasonable, and so are you, her dear reader.
From fruit-based to meat-based, mayonnaise dressed to jellified, Cowles’ definition of “salad” is inclusive, leaving the door open to free-roaming culinary exploration. Sure, some of the ideas may feel outdated at first, but Cowles’ casual yet professional approach invites thoughtful reconsideration for revival.
Ours is a Near Fine stated first edition. The jacket is intact, though lightly shelfworn and discolored along the spine. Discoloration to the front endpapers and flap from a now long-gone, high acid scrap of paper.
