Cooking in the 1970s

We were so excited by Delia's programme. It made cooking interesting and accessible. The books came out in three volumes and we were so excited when they were published. Her all in one sponge was a game changer. I still use her recipes as I love so many of them. I occasionally cooked Indian, but no ready made sauces then so I had a collection of spices. Some were really hard to find. Chinese was very difficult from scratch which was the only way. It was easier to buy from the Chinese restaurant where lurid colours were used. Obviously there were no ready meals unless you count Frey Bentos tinned pies. We cooked pasta, but not pizza. I made steak and kidney pies and puddings. Steak, chops, gammon steaks and macaroni cheese. I didn't use herbs or garlic. I didn't eat a mushroom until I was an adult. There were no courgettes or aubergines available out of London. We were expected to be SAHMs so we had the time for shopping and cooking. I got my first freezer on the day my first baby was born. It arrived as I went into labour!

Meat might be relatively cheap now but it was very expensive in the 70s, especially chicken. That was a Christmas-only treat when I was a child. We did have meat but not at every meal.

And no, fancy foreign foods were rarely cooked at home. Hell, we rarely went to restaurants at all. I remember my first visit to a Chinese restaurant as a child, that’s what such a rare treat it was. Also etched into my mind was the first time I had fresh salmon, asparagus and avocado