This is a fantastic book. ‘Tried Favourites Cookery Book’ by Mrs E.W. Kirk has so much in it for such an unassuming book. Very modern for the time, this edition is from 1942, with some classic old Scottish dishes. It feels very Scottish but has an influence from America and further afield too. There are countless recipes from sheep head broth and hare soup (and a vegetarian version!), to fish custard and chicken merinds (?) - a form of battered, crispy deep-fried chicken pieces.

This book will show you how to roast a goose, to prepare a ham, to make countless biscuits, cakes, and all sorts. But interestingly, it has a good section on laundry work and housekeeping with a good recipe ‘to promote the growth of the hair’ and what to do if your chimney is on fire!

My copy (which I can’t recall where I got it) has those wonderful hand-written entries inside, and pieces of paper with scribbled, hurried recipes: one for sponge and a one page of notes headed as suitable for war-time rationing. It’s an absolutely fascinating insight into what was going on in average kitchens at the time of the war. With the odd advert for Oxo and other ingredients, and a stove maker in Newhaven Road here in Edinburgh, it’s a really interesting book to flick through for inspiration and to delve into our past.