14 May 1957 “Magazine ‘Recipes’ For You To Try”

I use the term ‘recipe’ rather lightly here, but in many of my vintage magazines I often find these ads. They seem to always be at the outside end of a page. They are dispersed throughout the magazine and are always in bright full color. Even when the magazines own recipes are in black and white. Obviously, they were advertisement for the products used in the ‘recipes’. However, they are fun to look at and some may even wish to give them a try. READ MORE

4 May 1957 “Growing Chickens, Budding Fruit Trees, Stone Walls, and No-Rise Bread”

I haven’t shared any chicken news with any of you lately. If you recall, back in January I ordered a dozen fertile French Copper Maran eggs. You can see what a lovely chocolate brown they are. I put a few in my incubator and a few under my broody hen. What I learned is I should have put them ALL under the hen. The three I gave here all hatched, while only one in the incubator did so. Obviously Nature over Machine won out this time.
As I have also mentioned my dogs LOVE chicks. Here you can see my little Chi, Monty, happily snuggling with the little grey chick. She is one of my own chickens fertile eggs. A purebred Blue Orpington from my rooster. The sad tale with Monty’s love affair with the chicks, is once they become full sized hens, they no longer love him, often chase him and he runs squealing away. Yes, my chickens can beat up my dogs, what can one say? READ MORE

31 January 1956 “ Desk Set and Floating Island”

This year I am excited to re-watch (well for 1957 me it will be the ‘first viewing’) of the Tracy and Hepburn movie “The Desk Set”.
I adore this movie for many reasons. The first being the simple pairing of two of my favorite actors, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. The duo were a real life pair and I can truly see them together. The grounded ‘average man’ quality of Tracy just fits the New England Blue-blood eccentricities of Hepburn.
Secondly, this movie really touches a major issue, the computer. Though done in a very Hollywood comedy way, Amorak (the computer) is threatening to take over the lives of the research department of which Hepburn is the head. Throw in a fun love triangle and you have a wonderful movie.
The sad moment for me, when I watch this movie, is that the 21st century me always points out, “Well, it’s all fun and laughs, but honestly those jobs, that very department really won’t exist in a few decades. I can do as much research in 10 minutes on my computer as it would have taken those girls a week of reference material and phone calls”. But, what can one do, the computer certainly came and has not left us anytime soon.
This movie is definitely worth a watch and if you would like to watch it now, simply click on the “APRON TV” button on the side panel and it will take you to my YouTube channel. There click on classic movies, Desk set is there in its entirety. Enjoy.
Now, a very small inconsequential moment in this movie that I love is that in one scene Tracy and Hepburn eat a ‘Floating Island’. The first time I saw this movie I wondered, ‘what on earth is floating island’? Since then, of course, I have found countless versions of this recipe in my cookbooks and magazines.

Here is the section of the movie where they talk about the floating islands. It is at exactly 5:29 on the little counter if you want to forward ahead to the actual dessert. It has little to do with the plot, but I often find moments, such as the beginning of this clip when he is in the kitchen, fascinating. Because being a time traveler one wants to get things right, so to see a kitchen set up and used, it makes a Vintage Gal’s heart go pitter patter. I adore the copper saucepans on the wall and have my own small collection started back in 1955. They do not come cheap but are perfect for certain things. For example, a copper bowl is one of the best bowls to use to make stiff egg whites as one would need in a dessert like ‘floating island’. As to why a copper bowl is better and easier to use, I found this explanation helpful and scientific:

The bowl you use makes a difference when you are whipping egg whites. Copper bowls produce a yellowish, creamy foam that is harder to overbeat that the foam produced using glass or stainless steel bowls. When you whisk egg whites in a copper bowl, some copper ions migrate from the bowl into the egg whites. The copper ions form a yellow complex with one of the proteins in eggs, conalbumin. The conalbumin-copper complex is more stable than the conalbumin alone, so egg whites whipped in a copper bowl are less likely to denature (unfold).

A floating island is basically meringues made from egg whites floating on a custard made with those eggs yolks. There are many varieties out there. My 1950’s Better Home and Gardens has a recipe for a Strawberry Floating Island.As does the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook. This also has the basic floating island recipe as well.
And just for fun, to share a vintage show you may not have heard of, “My Miss Brooks” that involves some cooking and kitchen antics. This show ran also as a radio program on CBS from 48 to 57. It was adapted for TV and in 1956 (last year) was made into a film of the same name.
Here is the first part of the episode. To watch the rest just go to the APRON TV under classic TV. Enjoy!

And here is the movie trailer for the 1956 Feature Film: 

Happy Homemaking.

29 January 1957 “Chicks, Chicken livers, and Mayonnaise…Oh My!”

The other day my first chicks began to hatch. If you may recall, I had ordered a dozen French Maran Eggs to hatch. I want to have a small flock of these hens as their eggs are much sought after by chefs and can command a higher price at our local Farmer’s markets and stores.
One of my hens had gone broody, so I gave her 4 of the eggs and put 8 in the incubator. I am no regretting that decision. As she has hatched out all four while only one in the incubator made it to a full chick.
To keep my hen broody while the eggs arrived by the post, I let her sit on eggs from my own hens. They were, most likely fertilized, as I have a wonderful Rooster (named Roostie).
Therefore the first picture you see is one of our eggs from my hens and rooster hatching. It hatched earlier, as the hen hat sat on them for three days before my Maran eggs arrived. So, I took those eggs and put them in the incubator. This allowed me to hold back the chicks until the eggs under my hen hatched.
A hen will often sit on her nest for three days while the eggs hatch. All eggs will not hatch at the same time, presumably as they would not all have been laid at the same time. So Mother Nature has put it into the Hen’s mind to ‘stay put’ for about three days. So, on the day her eggs were to hatch, I simply slipped the two chicks I had in the house under her. She clucked, felt them move and then accepted they had hatched under her.
Before they went to their new mother, they had two days with my little dog in the house. He LOVES anything tinyand living. He is the most gentle dog I have ever had. I have seen him sit completely still and walk very slow and cautiously around chicks ,so as not to disturb or hurt them.
Here he is with the first little guy. I am hoping she is a SHE as then she will join the ranks of my egg laying hens and not have to end up in the roasting pan.
I have to say, since my voyage back to the 1950’s, my animal husbandry skills  have greatly improved. Though the 1950’s middle class homemaker was often the first to take on the modern plastic world of grocery at the big Super market and to leave the ‘farm’ back in the 1940’s, I don’t think I would have.
As I have said, being an older wife, and certainly a war bride, the thrift and make do of the war years would be such a part of me that I don’t think I would want to let it all go, as I rather enjoy it.
One advantage to having fresh eggs, literally still warm from the hen, is the ability to make my own mayonnaise. Now, really, if you buy your eggs fresh enough, this is still a safe procedure, I would just try to get them as fresh as possible.
The more I have learned to make my own not only do I see how cheaper it can be, but the taste and quality is amazing. I also think Mayonnaise today gets a rather bad rap. It is often portrayed as the ‘poor mans’ condiment, slathered on white Wonder bread and adorned with Spam. But, we must remember that egg mayonnaise is an old condiment/dressing. Well before the 1950’s saw it packaged and in the lunchbox of every working man and child, it was often a staple both in the farmers diet as well as on the tables of the well to do. Many think it is of Spanish origin and brought to France. Other’s also believe that wherever oil and eggs existed their mixture was inevitable.
The mass marketed mayo in the USA started in NYC at Richard Hellmann's delicatessen. It was bottled and sold in 1912 as “Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise”.
Here is an interesting Mayonnaise recipe from 1916.
Yet, despite it being on grocery store shelves here in the 1950’s, many recipes existed as a normal part of cookbooks. Here is the page from Betty Crocker’s Picture cookbook. And it is of interest to note that mayo is being used in sweet as well as savory, as the ‘dainty pink dressing’ recipe shows us. Simply adding the juice of maraschino/glace’ cherries and whipping cream makes it suitable dressing for fruit.
   These are some of the recipes from my early 1950’s Cordon Bleu cook book by Dione Lucas, who was said to have influenced Julia child in her French Cookery.
The ingredients in any mayonnaise are easy enough: egg and oil with seasonings, usually mustard and an acid either or both lemon juice/vinegar. I have used combinations of all these and used various oils, as well.
The trick to mayonnaise is to emulsify. Emulsification is basically forcing two things that don’t want to blend, oil and water, to create a sort of bond. Certainly a mayonnaise can be made by hand with a whisk, but for me, I find it easy to use my blender. Many modern people would most likely use a food processor, but our version of ‘food processors’ here in 1957 are not the electrical versions of the modern kitchen. The blender, however, does a wonderful jobs at many things from dressings to soups.
This is my 1955 Osterizer. It is a beast. A heavy glass caraffe. Sturdy stainless steel base, this thing has lasted for years before I purchased it. To get a comparable version today would be hundreds of dollars, yet the vintage are easy enough to come by. As an aside, this little darling is wonderful to use at the bar and has seen many Grasshoppers blended in it!
For me the emulsification is easiest with the blender. Simply crack two eggs and put in one TBS lemon juice. I use fresh squeezed or sometimes in lieu of or in addition to I will also use vinegar. Turn it on low for about 3o seconds, just to blend.
Next take one cup of oil (Your choice, olive, sunflower, grape seed experiment with what you like) and this is the trick. While the blender is on low, very SLOWLY pour the liquid into the blender. I set the timer for 3 minutes and begin pouring the thinnest possible stream. If you do that and finish at about 3 minutes, you will have the PERFECT consistency. Then you can add the mustard, seasonings, garlic, what have you, and give a good mix.
Then I simply decant it in a canning jar and it is good for up to a week in the icebox. I usually make this once a week, so you can see we use it fairly often. It is great on salads, as the base for dressings, I even brush it with other seasonings on chicken when I bake them. This is NOT Miracle whip. AND it has no preservatives, dies or what have you. Look how wonderful that sheen and swirl is, you really need to try it. You will never buy mayonnaise again. Or, if you think you hate mayonnaise, make this and mix a bit with cold fish or last nights chicken and toss in salad greens, mmmmm wonderful!
Now, for me making my own dressings and condiments is both frugal and good for you. I think this frugality and ‘coin-purse wisdom’ can carry over to everything we eat.
For example, the chicken. We eat a lot of chicken in this country. It is, currently, very cheap mainly due to its horrid mass productions. But, I won’t get into that right now. My point will simply be that here in 1957 what we pay for a chicken, even at the Super Market, would be very similar to what a modern person would pay for a ‘free range’ bird, around 8-10 dollars. So, we do not simply have them in everything and waste as we do in the 21st century. That roast chicken for Sunday’s big meal is not simply tossed away. The bones are made into stock for soup. The leftover meat gets mixed with mayonnaise for father and children’s lunch.
But, there is another element of that bird that many modern people are often not aware of: The Offal. The guts of the bird, the heart, liver and gizzard and even the neck. These are simply seen as garbage and tossed either by the family, or else the big stores as they sell pre cut meat and all the ‘guts’ are garbage. This to me seems so wasteful. And, when we realize how we can use so much of the bird, then the choice to try and support a better bird, (better treated as well as not pumped full of hormones and antibiotics) will be more realistic. An 8 dollar chicken suddenly doesn’t seem so expensive when it becomes a dinner, a soup and lunches.
Now, ever so often I am able, when I don’t have a full chicken with the giblets/offal, to buy chicken hearts or livers. The other day, at my local grocery store, they had little containers of chicken livers VERY cheap. I snatched it up.
I adore chicken livers. They are much milder than a cow or pig liver. They have a wonderful mellow taste as well as being full of iron and vitamins. They are very high in protein and for a very low fat calorie count give you a lot of vitamins. In the below serving of 1 oz, you get the following: Vitamin A 96%,Vitamin C 1%, and Iron 8 %

Chicken Liver:
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 oz
Calories % Daily Values
33 *
Calories from Fat 12
Total Fat 1.37g 2%
Saturated Fat 0.443g 2%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.232g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.354g
Cholesterol 98mg 33%
Sodium 20mg 1%
Potassium 65mg
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 0g
Protein 4.8g

My lunch the other day was chicken livers on toast, when of my favorite savories.To me, this looks lovely. But, even if you don’t like the look of it, they taste wonderful. Look at that wonderful texture.
I simply heated onions and garlic in oil and then lightly pan fried these with salt and pepper. Then tossed in salad greens and serve on toast. It is wonderful tasting. You can also add cream to a mixture such as this while it is in the pan, getting all the wonderful butter and onion drippings and it goes great on a large salad or as a Savory or appetizer before a larger meal.
You really should consider the ‘throwaway’ bits of the chicken and see how much good nutrition and good money value there is. My 1.50 container of livers gave me three lunches!
Happy Homemaking.

10 January 1957 “Gay Little Dots, Spritz Cookies, and The Art of the Book Continues”

I thought I would start today with this lovely ad from my 1956 Better Homes and Gardens. It is for an Armstrong floor. First of all, to some it might see a bit ‘icky’ perhaps like something someone grew up with and loathed. To me it has a very Doris Day movie set feel.
There are two things I love about this ad: First I really adore that floor! A lovely 50’s Grey (not the bland darkened sad sea gray we see so often today. I believe Pam at Retrorenovation.com calls it Graige-which it is!) I am sure this is that grey I often see if fabrics, lampshades, upholstery on vintage items, somewhere between a fine men’s flannel suiting (think The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit) and a soft bunny. Now add to this good background pink and blue and white dots and you are in heaven. Well, at least I would be in Heaven. I was thinking how lovely this would be with robins egg blue (as pictured) but still punctuated with Reds and Butter yellows. It could be a dream. And those swirly brackets might seem rather Three’s company (decade’s away) I think they are rather fun. If we decorate with things that might not seem ‘in’ but are joyous to us, then we never have to change them or feel we aren’t quite ‘keeping up’. There is much to be said about consistency and constancy. Particularly in today’s rapid changing world where even our phones are not expected to live out the year!
Now, the second think I love about this ad is the word ‘gay’. I have tried, here and there, to incorporate more 50’s words into daily usage. My favorite is the word, “fine”. If you pay attention to speech in movies from the 30’s to the 50’s you will often hear things such as:“Well, fine, just fine” for something being good, or alright or ‘cool’.
Therefore, the use of the word ‘Gay’ to mean fun, happy, darling I am trying to bring back. When I was young the term “Gay” meant two things, one being a person with that life choice OR mostly to young kids, dumb or stupid. Such as, “Those pink legwarmers are so Gay, you should get the neon green” or some such. You get the idea.
Now when I read in my books, magazines or see on my TV (which is no tv at all but simply old shows sometimes played or old commercials) the word “gay” it means the polar opposite. It is fun, wonderful.
“What a lovely gay print that fabric is, won’t it make darling curtains?” And so on.
So, to all you vintage lovers out there, why not try to re-introduce the word for its original meaning and see how many people join you after awhile.
These don’t look that amazing, but they were rather good. Yesterday I used one of my Christmas gifts, my cookie press, and made some spritz cookies. I love these cookies and always have. My own mother used to make these in every concievable shape and style and had them dipped in chocolate or coated in bright sugars. They were the perfect tea cookie for bridge parties, teas and holidays. I recall getting to help turn the dial on the press when I was young. Of course, I never learned to make the cookies, as I never learned any Homemaking skills. I believe my mother just thought it was a different time (the 80’s) and I didn’t need to know. So, I never bothered.
I am glad to say they are rather easy to make and a joy to create. My head is spinning with the ideas of ways to make these cookies. There is a thin and ridged disc that makes long thin cookies great for dipping or for halves to sandwich cream frosting in between. I imagine gay little pistachio flavored green cookies (ah ha, see ‘gay’ meaning darling, I told you…)and robins egg blue half dipped in dark chocolate. Oh, the cookies I shall make.
Here is the Recipe I used from my Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book.
Now, as you may or may not know, a big part of this year for me is Art & Craft. This month and next I have set myself the task to create, write, and illustrate a children’s book. I showed a few sketches before. This is a sample page. It is not done, by any means, but you can see the various layers. The little girl, Imogen, needs more layers as does the background. This scene will have flowers, fence, building and of course, the Hen, Buttons. I was excited to find the font I would like to use, as you can see here in the sample text, as it is a very classic children’s book text.
I cannot help but be influenced by the art and children’s illustrations of the 1950’s. In fact, I want to be, my only fear is that I am so immersed into it, it will only seem derivative of that time rather than original work. We shall see what we shall see. But, I really enjoy the process and style and I love working with colors. So, all round for me, it is fun but VERY challenging. There is much that goes into a book such as this, but since I have made sure that some part of each day goes to it, I hope to follow through with this first big Art & Craft task.
Again, let me know what you think. This is not a finished page by any means. It needs many more layers but I know some of you have wanted to see the process of build up of how I work, so there you go.
I hope all are having a lovely day and Happy Homemaking.

7 January 1957 “Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Chocolate Pie, Chocolate Eggs and Thought’s of Spring”

Last night, the 6th of January 1957, was Elvis’ third and final appearence on Ed Sullivan.
He did a number of songs including “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Too Much,” “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again,”

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but ended with this gospel favorite, “Peace in the Valley”:

I found this interesting little video on 1957. What we must remember, when we look at the prices they list, such as milk for $1, is that to make it equivalent to our time we have to multiply it by $7 dollars. So, though it sounds inexpensive, milk was actually $7.00 a gallon. Again, we see that small farms are still a part of the overall production of foods for our country and it is only 3 a gallon now because of the over production and corporate farming of today.
Also, the average home price they mention does not coincide with my findings, as 20,000 would make it about 140,000 for today. Still, a fun little video though. But, as with anything made for a quick browse, the details behind and the accuracy is going to be a little off.

I made a chocolate cream pie the other day for one of my desserts this week. It is really a rather simple pie to make, especially if you use the easy ‘mix in the pan pie crust’.

50’s gal Chocolate Cream Pie in Chocolate Crust

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions

1. cream egg yolks and sugar. Add in cornstarch, cocoa powder, salt, and milk, stirring gently.
2. cook over medium heat in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to boil. Then, remove from heat and stir in butter and extracts. Cool slightly before pouring  into pastry shell. Chill before serving.

Now, for the chocolate crust:
I use my Pat a Pan recipe for a single layer easy pie crust:

1 1/2 C Flour
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C  Salad Oil
2 Tbs milk

But to it, I added 3 TBS unsweetened bakers powdered chocolate. and one extra tablespoon (making 3 total) oil. This makes a nice chocolaty pie crust as well.
These arrived in the mail yesterday. They are the latest addition to my little ‘suburban farm’ life. They are called chocolate eggs because of the beautiful rich deep brown shade. The are the eggs of a French breed of chickens known as Black Copper Maran’s. This close up still doesn’t really do the color and pigmentation and speckles justice, they are just a beautiful egg. To see how dark they are compared to a traditional brown egg, look at this: Here you can see what my Ameracauna’s blue eggs look like, then the copper maran and then a traditional brown, such as my Orpingtons and Cochins lay. Though this is not a picture of my eggs, it shows the variance.
Here is what a rooster and hens look like. They are a currently very sought after breed and their eggs are suppose to be delicacy. Many French chef’s pay through the nose for these deep brown eggs. I hope to get enough laying hens to supply our local farm for some pin money and to help pay the cost of keeping the chickens for myself.
Although I love our current rooster, I am hoping to keep a maran rooster so I can get pure bred eggs, as the fertilized eggs sell for as much as 50 dollars a dozen on ebay!
I purchased one dozen (though I did not pay that much) and I placed 4 under a broody hen in my chicken house and the other 8 our in an incubator in my little sitting room.
A broody hen, for those that don’t know, is a hen which wants to sit and hatch her eggs. Many modern production breeds have had this bred out of them, but heritage breeds and older breeds like I have, such as the chochin and Orpington, often will go broody. This is what I wanted, as this is a more natural way to hatch out your chickens. And the joy of watching a hen with chicks is wonderful.
This is the first time my hen has gone broody, so I hope she will continue to sit. The plan is she will stay on the eggs and when they hatch in the incubator, you quietly introduce them to her under her and she accepts them as if she has hatched them and then raises them for you. I have a special broody pen inside the chicken house, so she is still with all her hen friends, but they cannot get to her or knock her off the nest. Or, when the chicks hatch, attack the little babies. If it all works there will be pictures to share, of course.
 HERE is a site about the breed, if anyone is interested. Their eggs are highly sought after and they are a great dual purpose bird. This means they are great egg layers as well as meat birds. I have been trying to decide, since last year’s hatching, what breed to have as a possible meat bird. These may do the trick, we shall see. And, hatching them now means I will have laying hens by June or July.
Since the very first of January I have had the “Spring Bug” of wanting to hatch chicks, order eggs, sketch out this year’s garden ideas. I really honestly love all four of the seasons, and just when I think I love one season, then next arrives and I get excited for that one. Though, Spring has to be a favorite. The potential and the hope it brings. The joy of setting the seeds, planning, dreaming of the summer bounty. I am not sure if I would enjoy Summer as much if I lived in a climate that was warm year round. But, then again, I would be able to grow more things more often, so I can’t really guess unless I did it.
I did save seeds from some of my veg last year, as I made sure to order heritage old plants. IT is really imporatant, for any of you gardeners out there, to try and order and save as many ‘old plants’ as possible. One hates to be a doom sayer, but if Peak oil ever becomes true and we are in a place where we aren’t mass producing, then the majority of the seeds of what we eat at the grocery store are made to only grow either one season or only when reacted with certain chemicals. There are MANY people selling heritage and old strain plants, so look for them online when ordering.
THIS SITE HERE is the company where I ordered my fertilized Maran Chicken eggs. They also grow, harvest, and sell heritage seeds. I might order from them this year and they sell on eBay as well. I have not ordered seeds from them before, so I cannot say how good they are.
I also have many heritage seeds in THE CORNER STORE as well. I actually ordered a lot of my seeds through my Amazon store last year, through smaller dealers. I think I listed all the seeds under the various plant, tomato, cucumber etc.
I am also excited to use my growing compost this year for my garden. Since this will be our second summer back here in this house, I feel I can build on what I did last year and improve upon it.
Are many of you excited about gardening? Any of you interested in keeping chickens? There is also the joy of wearing lovely Spring colors and lighter fabrics again as well. Ah…Spring.
Well, enjoy your day and as always Happy Homemaking.

2 January 1957 “Q & A Sunday: Meal Planning and Marketing”

I often get asked about meals, meal planning, and shopping. How to make lists or plan meals. I think, in many ways, this needs to be a personal thing, based on availability, amount of budget, and the number of people for whom you have to shop/cook.
Some people have their meals planned out to the letter before going to the market. For me, as I like to ‘poke about’ and see what is out there, I simply have a skeleton list. I know that I need enough meat and veg and starch for 7 meals. I know that I need to maintain my pantry list ( a separate list) of things such as flour and spices. When one gets used to simply cooking most of your things in this basic way, it can be rather easy to shop.
For example, I do use frozen vegetables to augment fresh (except in Summer when we eat from the garden). I sometimes use canned things, such as whole plum tomatoes to make homemade spaghetti sauces or casseroles etc. But, for the most part I have found that cooking simple always seems to be the best and truest way to enjoy the food. I do like sauces and other adornment, but still a good pork roast simply glazed and served with roasted potatoes and a green salad is a wonderful meal and quite easy to prepare.
My list, then, will often be broken up into items such as meat and veg. As I will want to choose the best items once there and then the type of veg I might like with the meat I have chosen. By having a running pantry list at home for things such as spices, flours, baking powder, syrup, honey, tea and so on, the main staples of the week are easy to shop for.
We eat no prepared cereal (just steel cut oats and cornmeal) and rarely do I buy things like chips and we do not drink soda. Milk and cream are the only beverages I buy. We drink water with all our meals and usually have a cocktail or a glass of wine.
Here is a sample of the type of food we might eat. As I said, I don’t make the meal plan set in stone before I shop. I simply know to buy for 7 days. I usually use guides such as, I know we need about 4 oz of meat per meal for dinner, so that’s 56 oz or three and a half pounds of meat. This gives me a number when I am looking at meat at a price per pound. I will often buy a bit more than this when meat is well priced.
I honestly believe that simple ingredients cooked well with good seasoning, a pretty presentation, and fresh veg and a good dessert make an easy and happy meal.
Breakfast
Saturday:  Fried Eggs, Bacon (2 slices ea) toast (one each) Grapefruit half (each) Coffee with cream, Jam and butter.
Sunday: Waffles with fresh fruit (Or homemade jam), whipped cream, scrambled eggs, sausage links (one ea) coffee with cream, syrup.
Monday:Steel cut oatmeal (So wonderful-though it takes 30 minutes to prepare) with brown sugar and syrup and bananas. Whole wheat toast (one ea) with Jam and butter. Coffee with cream
Tuesday:Omelet made with leftover veg (or anything. Eggs are a great way to use leftovers, for dinner as well with quiche or soufflé) bacon (2 slices ea), 1 orange sectioned and one apple sliced divided for two. Coffee with cream.
Wednesday:Eggs Benedict on English muffin. sausage link (one ea) coffee with cream
Thursday: Fried Eggs (one ea), pancakes with syrup and fruit. Coffee with cream.
Friday:Corn meal made as hot cereal (simply take corn meal ratio of 1:2 with more liquid. I use milk as it makes it creamier. Let milk just simmer-that’s when it just starts to steam-and add corn meal. stir until thick, about 5 minutes.) Served with warm milk, syrup and fruit, usually bananas/apples and walnuts. Toast with Jam. Coffee with Cream. Friday is a good hot cereal day as it is marketing day for me. We have only one car now so I need to be ready to go and drive hubby in to have car for my marketing and errand day. Easy, good and filling.
Now, for lunch, I simply prepare a ‘third meal’ for hubby’s lunch the next day. So if I were making chops, I would make three and three portions of veg and so on. This way I have made and packed his lunch the night before and can pop it in the icebox for easy morning. For myself I usually eat light. I take an half hour or so and sit down with a pot of tea, a magazine and either tuna sandwich and cottage cheese. Or a salad with crabmeat. Sometimes I have egg salad. I usually have a little slice of whatever dessert I have going, but this I need to lessen so I can drop some pounds. But, not having a child at home and hubby at the office, I really have less cooking mid-day.
Dinner
Saturday:Pork Chops, asparagus with cheese sauce, carrot and celery spears (usually served in a glass with frayed ends. I saw this as a presentation in one of my vintage books and think it a fun way to showcase simple raw veg, so important in our diet) and dessert (usually a slice of cake or pie, or some cookies. We usually have tea in the evening with this and sometimes a bowl of nuts to accompany).
Sunday:Roast Chicken with stuffing, mashed potato and turnips with garlic, green salad with raw veg (carrots, tomatoes), steamed green beans. Dessert.
Monday:Leftover Pie made with Sunday dinner fixins (chicken, stuffing, etc) mixed with eggs and milk and baked in easy ‘pat a pie’ pastry.  The above recipe are the measurements I use for a one crust pie like this. The other is good for a two crust. This is a great way to whip up a fruit pie last minute. Simply mix fruit with some sugar and cinnamon and a bit of flour and pour in. Either top with crust or make a crumble of butter/brownsugar/and flour and sprinkle on top.

1 1/2 C Flour
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C  Salad Oil
2 Tbs milk

Tuesday:Chicken soup (made with bones and unused portion of innards of chicken for stock), warm bread and butter, rice with mixed vegetables stir fry. Dessert.
Wednesday:Pork Roast with apples and apple glaze. Potatoes and carrots cooked with roast. Celery stalks and radish and olive dish (fresh veg), gravy. Dessert
Thursday:Fried Chicken thighs (often the cheapest cut),Biscuits, creamed onions, fresh salad, Dessert.
Friday:Either I put the slow cooker on before I leave the house for marketing or errands so it is ready for me when I come home and have time to prepare. Or I might take Thursday’s leftovers and make for example creamed mushrooms on toast with the leftover fried chicken warmed, de-boned and sprinkled on. Veg and Dessert.
I am not sure if this is of any help to any of you. I would be curious to know how you plan your meals and what you like to cook. I will sometimes pull out my Cordon Blue Dione Lucas French cookbook and make Bouillabaisse or other fun things, but often I find these type of things also easy in that you are simply using good ingredients in an easy and pure way. Once you begin eating your own foods and realize how easy it is to cook simple and delicious meals, you will toss away those pre-packaged dinners and meals.
Happy Homemaking.

7 November 1956 “Q & A Sunday: The Coffee Cake”

I actually received a few questions about my coffee cake. Two people, overseas readers, asked how I made the recipe without yeast and letting it rise. So, I thought this lovely breakfast or tea-time cake deserved some good answers.
First lets address the old fashioned recipe which does include yeast and a rise time. This recipe also makes lovely buns, very like cinnamon buns. This is the recipe I use from my Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School book from 1955. (note for this recipe, when it refers to yeast cake on pg 67, it is merely telling you to dissolve your yeast in 1/4 warm water.)

This is really a rather easy recipe, but the wait time and messing about with yeast can be an issue for some or for any new bakers. I know I first approached yeast with some trepidation and fear, wondering if mad scientists or movie-type explosions would result.
There are ‘easier’ or no yeast versions of both Coffee Cakes and Kuchen in my other cookbooks. In fact Kaffee Kuchen shows up most times on the same page as Coffee Cake in most of my vintage cookbooks as well as various magazines of the time. They all are about the same. The difference with a Kuchen versus the Cake, is in the kuchen the yolks are added separately and then the whites are beaten stiff and folded in. My recipe in my Better Homes also includes a ‘Topper’ which is the usual brown sugar, flour, butter made into a crumble. However I have also seen Kuchen recipes that simply have you add a well beaten egg, not separating the whites. But, by and large, the Kuchen tends to use the beaten egg whites.
The basic Coffee Cake recipe I use is basically either of these two. One is from Better Homes and Gardens the other from Betty Crocker. They are basically identical. I, however, use melted better rather than oil or shortening or margarine.
You can see they are basically the same recipe. I usually make the Streusel filled coffee cake found on the Quick Breads page. This mixes the streusel in the middle and on top, quite yummy.
This is very easy to mix up and does not require your mixer. Just some bowls and a wooden spoon is all I use.
Here is the sugar, melted butter ( I use stove but you could easily pop butter in the microwave to melt it, even in the same bowl-less clean up), and egg. See what a lovely color it is.
Here it is after the dry ingredients have been added. I don’t even sift my drys for this, I merely measure it straight in and stir away. A coffee cake is very forgiving. You can see the crumble made up in the bowl next it. Those are my fresh chicken’s eggs, they started laying on my birthday!
Here you see I have put in half the batter (you can spread this batter with a spoon, it is not runny like a traditional cake, making it rather easy to manipulate). And here it is before baking with remainder of the batter and the rest of the crumble.
And, finally, fresh from the oven: And straight to the breakfast or tea-time table. Look at those delicious bits of crumble and warm golden cake, mmm…
So you can see, it is rather easy and sets up nicely. It is a nice cake to have about for a quick snack and it packs wonderfully.
Coffee cake is also a good tea cake. It has the firmness that allows one to eat it with their fingers while holding cups of tea, much like an English Sponge. In fact, I find that an English Sponge, a Victoria sponge and so on, are rather similar to our Coffee cake.
Now a coffee cake can also mean, quite literally, a cake which contains coffee. Today that usually means instant coffee, but I am sure using fresh brewed could work but you would need to adjust it to your liquid ingredients.
The sponge (sponge cake) served with English tea can be a Coffee Sponge. Thus, a Coffee Cake, in that it contains coffee.  Every recipe I have seen for a Victoria sponge seems rather similar to a basic no yeast coffee cake, with varying degrees of complications, such as having to stir in each ingredient in a certain order, to serving the cake layered with jam and cream and dusted with confectioners sugar. Any UK readers out there, please give more information. When you eat ‘coffee cake’ ,if you do, is it a coffee sponge? Or do you eat the ‘coffee cake’ that is the yeast risen similar to our coffee rolls? Do let us know.
Here is a very easy Victoria Sponge recipe. It’s base, much like the coffee cake, seems a great vehicle to make any various forms of cake by simply mixing in. This cake, as well, is usually cut in half frosted with jam and dusted with confectioners sugar, yummy!
Victoria Sponge (if you click the image you will get the recipe in metric measurements, we Americans refuse to let go of our Imperial)
Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch pan. Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time mixing thoroughly with each addition. Slowly stir the flour mixture in with the butter, sugar, and eggs. Beat in the milk and vanilla until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. This cake is traditionally served unfrosted, just cut in two horizontally and filled with jam or custard and dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Here, then, is a recipe for a ‘coffee cake’ that is a sponge with coffee in. It comes from HERE.
1 Cup Caster Sugar
1 Cup Self raising flour
3 Eggs
2 Tbsp Camp Coffee
For filling:
Butter 3oz
Icing Sugar 3oz
Coffee (to taste)

• Beat together sugar and eggs until light and fluffy

• Add coffee then fold in flour

• Pour into two 8 inch sandwich tins and bake at 180 degrees C for about 20 minutes

• For the filling: beat together equal quantities of butter and icing sugar, till well mixed

• Add coffee to taste

• Sprinkle a little icing sugar on top when put together and finished

So, here is to a wonderful Sunday morning and a nice hot piece of Coffee Cake, Kaffee Kuchen, Sponge, or whatever you like to call it. Happy Homemaking!

20 August 1956 “It’s Blackberry Season!”

Well, folks, here in 1956 it is Blackberry Season! Here you can see a lovely handful of these delicious fruit. I have bushes I have planted in my yard (still giving a small yield but will increase next year). The path we take to the seashore is also lined with blackberries. Luckiest of all, of course, was dear Gussie brought home a large bag full from our local farm where she works.
Now, I love blackberries. They are the perfect blend of sweet and tart. They always herald those late summer days, dining alfresco, and sweet mouthfuls of ripe berries and cream.
We have been Blackberry Mad around here lately. I have made countless batches of blackberry pancakes. Yesterday, I wanted to make filled crepes. I had some cream cheese in the house, so I simply popped some in the mixer, added some sugar and vanilla extract and whipped it smooth. No recipe here, just go for consistency and taste to your liking. You could have even added blackberries to that while you were mixing it to give it taste and color. Here they are. In all fairness, they are really thinner pancakes and I used toothpicks to keep the closed. Normally, when I make a crepe, they are much thinner and would have been easier to roll onto themselves and hold their shape. I simply made my usual pancake recipe and just reduced the baking powder. Normally, when I make crepes, rather they are sweet or savory, I use my recipe from the 1950’s Boston Cooking School Fanny Farmer cookbook.
CREPES

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup milk or meat stock (depending on sweet or savory of course)

Mix well, make thin pancakes.
Very easy indeed and savory crepes are a great way to stretch a food budget. Leftover meat and even potatoes and veg mixed with an easy gravy or sauce stuffed into crepes, topped with sauce and garnished. Looks lovely, very easy and tastes wonderful!
I also make some wonderful Blackberry scones the other morning. Some mornings when I get up a little earlier than usual, I like to bake for breakfast. I am a morning person and having the house quiet, the coffee percolating often sets the perfect baking mood.
This recipe is rather easy and makes a triangular scone.
Blackberry Scone
3 cups flour
1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cups butter (cold and cut up, I keep my baking butter in the freezer)
1 cup butter milk (if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, it’s easy to make. Add one tbs vinegar to each cup of milk needed.)
handful of blackberries (about a cup)
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and then cut in butter. I always use a pastry cutter so as to keep the dough cooler, like when you make a pastry dough. Gently stir in the blackberries. make a circular shape with the dough. Cut into triangles. Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. They turned out rather well and were very delicious.
I also made some wonderful Blackberry/Blueberry Jam. I had blueberries left over from Gussie’s last farm gift of blueberries. A touch of lemon rind to this sort of jam does wonders to the taste.
Now, on the list to make still are some of the following. I found this great recipe in one of my magazines for a baked date pudding.I am just going to replace the dates with blackberries. And instead of just orange juice will most likely use less juice but put it in the blender with fresh blackberries to add more fresh flavor. (click to view full size)

And I would like to make a good Blackberry Roulade. THIS RECIPE is fairly good, though it is modern. Most likely I will end up tweaking it, as I do most recipes. I am not sure why this happens other than when I use a recipe now I have certain baking formula that flit about my head and recall things from previous recipes. Therefore such thoughts as “Oh, this would be nice with buttermilk” or “If I added some cocoa here and I could cut back on the flour here and make it a bit moister” come to me.
Now a Roulade is not only a dessert item. The word Roulade originates from the French word "rouler" meaning "to roll". Therefore meat lends itself well to this roll and fill food stuff. Duck is wonderful in a roulade, especially stuffed with pate’ (If you love fatty things as I do!) HERE is a great step by step for a meat roulade that uses flank steak. I often find this type of meal great for a cheaper cut steak, for when you slice it and pound it well (with your meat mallet or rolling pin) it really tenderizes it.
From one of my favorite cookbooks,     Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook, Is this recipe for Blackberry cream pie (click to enlarge and read) I love how this book is set up, as it gives you the guide to make a basic recipe and the suggestions to make variations, therefore teaching you how to make your own recipes. This is the page for the one layer pie crust.
Well, I hope whatever your current climate is, you are able to enjoy cooking and baking with some local fruits.
Until tomorrow, Happy Homemaking.