Sunday, 5 January 2014

Dairy Diaries !






It's that time of year when some of you have probably started a new diary; that's

if you still enjoy keeping a diary and don't keep everything on your computer,

 what with the techno age we live in!


As I was browsing all that the Quay Antiques Centre, in Topsham,

had on offer, recently, I stumbled across some Dairy Diaries.

They were brand new; noone had even written in them.

£1 each.










Now, if you know Dairy Diaries, you will know that they are jam packed full

of the most useful information, recipes etc.


The first Dairy Diary that I ever owned was this one:







It was January 1982, my first year away from the classroom and I was rather lost. 

Pregnant and thrown into domestic bliss

(which was somewhat alien to me), my milkman

(yes, doorstep delivery for me in those days!) 

gave me details of the this diary.

 I think it was the first one published by the Milk Marketing Board.

In fact, thinking more about it, it might have even been free!

Whatever, I was delighted to have something at hand which taught me so much.

And I had 4 months to read it and inwardly digest before having

 my first baby in April 1982.







As I mentioned, it was packed full of useful information; not that I was likely to go 

climbing to dizzy heights in my state! But at least my Dairy Diary was at hand

should I need urgent advice about accidents! Not to mention

eating properly; stain removal ; food storage etc etc etc.






Better still, each page of the week included a recipe...nothing complicated

so nice 'n easy for a new stay at home mum. Boy did I need something like this

to start my climb up the ladder as a domestic goddess!!







I continued to look forward to my new Dairy Diary as each new year drew near

 and I have quite a selection from the 1980s and 1990s.

Far too good to throw away!

;-)
















6 comments:

  1. I too had the 1982 Dairy Diary. Still got it somewhere! I remember the recipes,remember making fish pie....went on for days, think the recipe was for six, there was only three of and one of us was only a year old!
    Julie xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a find! You may be surprised to know that the Dairy Diary is still going strong! Check out our weekly blog for more recipes and useful snippets of info and, of course, details of the 2014 Dairy Diary.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember those diaries...don't have them any more though which is a shame. I do have a dairy cookery book though which I must have had since the 1970s, and I still use it all the time!
    Margaret at A HomespunYearx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have just found you by doing a search 'Dairy Diary 1980s and after'. What a find you are!!! I too had the diaries but sadly mine have disappeared. My girlfriends and I were all pregnant at the same time and would choose a recipe to cook for each other. We are all still in contact. I wondered if you might have the recipe for the Lentil Lasagne? It used yogurt, egg and cheese for the topping instead of the conventional cheese sauce. If at all possible I would love a copy or advise as to where I may be able to find it? Thanking you soooooooo much Wendy wendy@alexpart.couk.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll take a look through them and see if it is in one of them. Any idea which year? Sal ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello, I am so happy to have found this blog! I have been searching for a recipe from a Dairy Diary sometime between 1989 and 1994ish. It is for an apple and almond pie - sweet pastry with ground almonds included and the pie filling made up of apples and almond paste. I wondered if you might have that recipe and if so would you share it with me please? Thankyou in anticipation.
    Sincerely, Paulin Loweth
    (paulineloweth@hotmail.com)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)