A book for tomatoes that are paste their prime....

I walked by a shop offering "pasteries" the other day, pointed it out to my walking companion, and then we spent several minutes of deep, meaningful conversation about the kinds of paste-related services such a place might offer. (Book repair? Wallpaper hanging? Help with first-grade craft projects?)

I never thought about food pastes (even though pastry is etymologically related to paste because dough is a type of paste). In any case, this is a super long-winded way of saying today's post is about Hunt's Tomato Paste Recipe Collection (1977).

And since my long-winded introduction mentioned pastries and pasteries, I'll start out with  a couple desserts the book offers (even if desserts are not listed along with more popular offerings like casseroles, pasta, and pizza on the front cover).

Yes, it has the obligatory tomato-paste-based cake, but I've become so accustomed to the tomato-soup-based cakes that I'm going for the cookies instead.

I couldn't decide on just one, so the first is Red Rover Jumbles, which are molasses, raisin, and spice cookies with the secret addition of a can of tomato paste. Yum!

Alternatively, here's a way to turn brownies into drop cookies made out of tomato paste:

Not sure why this would be a thing, but Hunt's had to find a way to put tomato paste into every aspect of a meal. (Sorry about the scan, but it's impossible to get this book to lay flat! It was either well-loved or it survived a flood. In either case, it is nearly as warped as I am.)

I was expecting heavily spiced tomato-based desserts, so I was a little more taken with the '70s photography and loose interpretations of culinary terms. I've got a real soft spot for all the ring-mold recipes, so I was excited to see this picture:

A glorious mountain of golden-brown bundt-baked cornbread overflowing with zucchini-fied cat barf! Awesome!

My impression that this is made out of cornbread would be contested by the recipe writer, though:

That's Polenta Ring-Around. The "polenta" just happens to be made out of corn muffin mix. Plus paprika and cheese, which are clearly ingredients the muffin  mix doesn't call for, so it's totally polenta!

This also fed my love of "crown roasts" made out of hot dogs.

This one looks like it features franks taking a dip in a bean bath, something Gene Belcher would approve of.

What is the white stuff in the middle, of the bean hot tub, though?

Apples! The apples aren't the only sweet and savory element to this "crown." Notice that the recipe calls for a pound-size can of Boston brown bread? That's because a loaf is chopped up and nestled into the bottoms of individual baking dishes to soak up the bean, apple, and hot dog juices. There is no escaping this hot dog day at the spa because everyone gets their own hot tub of terror with a soggy bread loofah on the bottom!

I'm just going to back away slowly at this point...