Recipe for Sleep

Episode 22: Fall Asleep to the Lost History of Angel Food Cake

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. Tonight, we’re returning to The American Pastry Cook, published in 1894, and finally, after two episodes worth of intro, we get to the meat of the book: the recipes.
Our author Jessup Whitehead does not lose his salt once the recipes begin. He peppers random history and color commentary throughout the cookbook, throwing all the 1800’s shade at women who bake cakes for their church fairs, and gossiping about the inventor of angel food cake. If someone were to ask what I love about making this podcast, I’ll tell them the angel food cake story. It’s towards the beginning, so hopefully you won’t fall asleep before, but if you do, I encourage you to pick it up where you left off tomorrow night.
Links:
Erin’s Substack
The original text for tonight’s episode

Episode 21: Another Lullaby of Pastry Making

In this cozy return to a listener favorite, we’re back with Jessup Whitehead’s 1894 edition notes from The American Pastry Cook. Still lingering in the preface, we read his curious and sometimes salty responses to letters he received from readers. It’s a warm, sleepy dive into culinary history—perfect for drifting off.
 If the rhythm of recipes is what normally sends you into a peaceful slumber, don’t worry—there are plenty of episodes in our back catalogue filled with them, including our last episode, Episode 20, Fall Asleep to Recipes Read Aloud Like Little Poems. But tonight, we slow things down with advice, reflection, and the gentle hum of another era.
So, settle in and prepare for a soothing journey to rest. Put away all that you’ve been doing, close the cupboards of yesterday and tomorrow, and let the words of this vintage cookbook guide you into sleep.
And if you'd like to read some of Chef Erin's own recipes and stories, visit her sub stack, linked below.
Links:
Erin’s Substack
The original text for tonight’s episode

Episode 20: Fall Asleep to Recipes Read Aloud Like Little Poems

From your host Erin Brindley, a Chef & Storyteller: For our 20th episode, we return to one of the cookbooks that inspired this podcast, The A.A. Cookbook of 1895. It is the simplest version, where I simply guide you through a brief meditation to help you get your busy mind ready for sleep, and then read you dozens of short and sweet recipes. From Orange Baskets to Sweet Apple Pudding, you’ll drift off to the land of sugar-plum fairies to the rhythm of old-fashioned narrative recipes.
To read the original text, visit here. The AA Cookbook.
If this podcast is helping you fall asleep, consider chipping in to keep it ad free by visiting Buy Me a Coffee.
And if you’re interested in reading my stories and recipes, visit my Substack.

Episode 19_Sleepy Advice for the Pastry Chef, Part I

Welcome to Recipe for Sleep, the cozy podcast where old cookbooks are your lullaby. I’m your host, Erin Brindley, chef and storyteller, guiding you to dreamland with the comforting rhythm of culinary history. Tonight, we’r e straying from the sweet world of 365 desserts and diving into something a bit more unique.
In this episode, we’re exploring the seventh edition of The American Pastry Cook from 1894, a delightful and dense cookbook written by Jessup Whitehead, a chef with a passion for large-scale cooking. While we won’t be delving into any recipes tonight, we’ll be savoring the charming and sometimes hilarious annotations, including Whitehead's passionate defense of the word "receipt" over "recipe" (the "aristocratic trisyllable," as he calls it), and his gentle wisdom for the home cook—like this gem: “An attempt to do too much is very apt to end in weariness.”
If the rhythm of recipes is what normally sends you into a peaceful slumber, don’t worry—there are plenty of episodes in our back catalogue filled with them. But tonight, we slow things down with advice, reflection, and the gentle hum of another era.
So, settle in and prepare for a soothing journey to rest. Put away all that you’ve been doing, close the cupboards of yesterday and tomorrow, and let the words of this vintage cookbook guide you into sleep.
Links:
Erin’s Substack
The original text for tonight’s episode

Episode 18: More Cozy Dessert Recipes to Drift Off To

Recipe for Sleep is a sleep and meditation podcast for those who love a warm and cozy kitchen. Put away anything you were doing, and snuggle deep into your sweet covers. It’s time once again to open up the butter-stained pages of 365 Desserts, and let Erin Brindley read each recipe to you, softly and sweetly, until you fall asleep. This cookbook from 1900 is full of whipped meringues and sherry-soaked sultanas, a perfect place to gently rest your mind if you find baking, or just thinking about baking, soothing.
 
If this podcast is helping you fall asleep, consider chipping in to keep it ad free by visiting Buy Me a Coffee.
 
And if you’re interested in reading Erin’s stories and recipes, visit her Substack.

Episode 17: Sleepy Sweet Recipes from 1900

Recipe for Sleep – A Sleepcast is a cozy place to put your thoughts when it’s time for your mind to rest. We’ve got a library full of very old cookbooks, 1850-1925, at our fingertips and we’re going to read each one to you, sweetly and slowly, one recipe at a time. Recipes are simultaneously full of beautiful imagery, (particularly for those of us who thrill in delicious food,) and soothingly dull. Host Erin Brindley’s gentle narration and the nostalgic allure of Victorian simplicity create a calming atmosphere that eases you into a restful sleep. A perfect way to quiet down your busy mind as sleep rises. Please use this podcast as a sleep podcast, or meditation podcast.
 
This week we read from the May and June Chapters of 365 Desserts: A Dessert for Every Day of the Year. The original text is here: 365 Desserts
 
If this podcast is helping you fall asleep, consider chipping in to keep it ad free by visiting Buy Me a Coffee.
 
And if you’re interested in reading Erin’s stories and recipes, visit her Substack.

Episode 16: Sleepy Spring Recipes from 365 Desserts

Tonight, Host Erin Brindley continues reading, softly and sweetly, from “365 Desserts: A Dessert for Every Day of the Year” from 1900. Each of these little narrative recipes reads like a little poem. Snuggle deep into your sweet covers. You’ve made it. To the cozy, quiet time of day, where all you have to do is listen to Erin read you old recipes until you fall asleep.
 
To read Erin’s own recipes and stories, (or listen to her read them in an audio version,) visit her Substack.
 
To support this sleepy podcast in staying ad-free, visit Erin’s Buy Me a Coffee.
 
You can find the original text here: 365 Desserts
 

Episode 15: Fall Asleep to Recipes that are like Little Poems

You’ve made it. To that cozy, quiet time of day, where there’s nothing to do but listen to Chef Erin Brindley read you old cookbooks until you fall asleep. Tonight, we jump back into 1887’s A Book of Cooking and Pastry. All you have to do is snuggle deep into your sweet covers, and listen to Erin read about Macroni in Crust Cups, Croquettes of Potatoes, and Fondus until you drift off to dreamland.
To read Erin’s own recipes and stories, (or listen to her read them in an audio version,) visit her Substack.
To support this sleepy podcast in staying ad-free, visit Buy Me a Coffee.
To find the original text of this cookbook, visit here.

Episode 14: A Book of Cooking and Pastry to Fall Asleep To

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. Tonight I’ll read from A Book of Cooking and Pastry from 1887. This is my favorite kind of old cookbook where the recipes are barely recipes at all, just tiny little narratives. It is written by C.F. Fau, a caterer and cooking teacher. It is a deeply practical, simple tome. I find this kind to be the most comforting.
The book is almost a hundred dense pages, so tonight we’ll get through his sections on butters, dumplings, sauces, and soups, as well as some general cooking advice. Next episode we’ll pick up where we left off, because I find this particular book so easy and delightful, and my motto for 2025 is the easy way is the way. (Which is certainly helping me sleep.) So I’ll read about half of A Book of Cooking and Pastry to you tonight, slowly and sweetly, with the hopes that your mind will have a place to settle and you can slip into dreamland.You can find the original text here.
You can find original recipes by Chef Erin Brindley here.
 

Episode 13: Bread Making and Bread Baking to fall asleep to.

This is Recipe for Sleep, a podcast where we dust off very old cookbooks and let them lull us into dreamland. Happy 2025, I’m so glad to be back in your ears after a short break for the holidays. I’m Erin Brindley, a chef and storyteller. If you’re new to the podcast, I read old cookbooks, mostly from the late 1800s and early 1900s, softly and sweetly until you fall asleep. I launched this drowsy little project in 2024, weekly, but in fits and starts.
We’re changing things a bit for 2025…we’ll have a new episode out every other Wednesday evening. This will give me more time to get more of my own recipes up on ThankSalt.com, and I’m brewing up another sleepy idea you’ll hear more about soon.
Meanwhile, I’m so excited to start this year with the humble and delightful Bread Making and Bread Baking by Minnie E. Brothers from 1915. This cookbook is perfect to fall asleep to…there are so many wonderful basic tips for baking, all perfectly practical for the home cook, cozy, and unsurprising.  She moves on to savory things, but I think tonight we’ll just get through her baking section. I feel like it’s been a bit since we just listened to baking recipes, and I find them the most soothing.
Here's the original text, which has some totally delightful graphics I encourage you to peek at when you’re not trying to sleep. For now, snuggle into your sweet covers and let the recipes of Minne E. Brothers send you to your dreams.