11 October 1956 “Why Do Fools Fall in Love, A Moveable House, and The Power of Vinegar”

Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers were a new boy group here in 1956. Here is one of their first tv appearances on the Frankie Laine Show. Little Frankie Lyman is only 13 here, so young.
An interesting and surprising fact about Lyman: He appeared on a new show, “The Big Beat” which predated American Bandstand and used that format of bands and teens dancing. Frankie Lyman, who was black, was seen dancing with a white teenager. The show had to be cancelled because NBC affiliates in the Southern States took offense. Sad, really, when just a few people who care about something so silly and really quite innocent can ruin it for so many. And I am sure there were also people in the South who would not be offended, so in a way that was also unfair to those people as well. I guess it does seem that one bad apple does ruin the whole barrel.

During the 1950’s the RV or Caravan was having a boom. The mobile home is really born out of this era as well, with trailer parks becoming a new option for young families, though not with the ‘poverty cache’’ they have now. The ability to have a home with wheels, rather it was a ‘vacation home’ as in the case of the RV/Caravan or the longer term mobility of a mobile home was becoming attractive to the growing country and its increasing highways. 
What is so interesting about this story from my 50’s magazine is the James G. Mitchell’s solution to this mobility problem: A custom built home that is neither mobile manufactured home nor store-bought RV.
Mr. Mitchell, who works in the construction trade, often has to be moved about for his job. Rather than leave his family or leave the mobility of his job, their family decided to make their home portable.(all images are larger when clicked upon)
Mr. Mitchell designed his home to be built on Oak skids and to have easy hook ups for utilities. He completely designed the structure and his wife the interior. Read their little article here and enjoy the pictures of the inside of their home.

How adorable is her little kitchen and there is even room for a little ‘homemaker office’ where Mrs. Mitchell sits on the phone.
They don’t even let their mobility stop them from music and the bulk of the piano.
What I love here is you can see how the children, they have three, even have a playroom. Though it is small, it uses every inch of space with lovely colored wall storage and gay little block handles. How is this done? Easy, when the three share one bedroom then the second bedroom is freed up for their play and easy clean up.
I think what great lesson we can take from the Mitchell’s is not only their ingenuity or their desire of family over convenience (the importance of their being together over the ease of a solid foundation home somewhere) is the use of space. Now, they had this home built for the equivalent of around $55,000 in current money. This is quite a bit of house for that price when one considers the extra effort made to allow easy utility hookup. 
The fact that good space and utility can be mingled with style and yet toys, clothes, and even musical instruments are still available. Though they may have much less in comparison to today’s child, they have enough to stimulate and educate and also the lesson of living in well designed economy. A lesson, really, any of us young or old should and could benefit from. I just thought you would like this little story.
I know that there is a movement today for small moveable ‘little houses’. They are even smaller than this house, but really I thought this showed a house with a bit more than just a 400 sq ft cabin. That might be good for some, but this also shows what could be moveable for the family that might like more ‘normal’ home conditions. It also shows how we can, even in a normal foundation build stationary home, really make do and make lovely with less space.
Now, on to cleaning: I know we have discussed homemade cleaning solutions before. And, although many readily available cleaners are at my fingertips in the markets here in 1956, I am an ‘old war wife’ and certainly recall having only water and elbow grease to clean with during the rationing years.
To clean a drain (and make it smell fresh) pour in one cup of dry baking soda and then one hot cup of vinegar (Watch it bubble!). After about 10 minutes run hot water down the drain. Fresh and clean.
If you have glasses that have become cloudy from the dishwasher, vinegar to the rescue! Take a cloth and soak in white vinegar full strength. Now wrap it all around the glass, in and out, and let sit an hour or so. Now when you rinse and wipe clean, they should sparkle like new.
Copper pots or copper bottom pots? Clean these bright and new with a paste made of white vinegar and salt. I wear a ‘cleaning cotton glove’ or use a rag and apply the solution. (mix the two until they are a pasty consistency) To make them shine or to shine copper use 4 Tbs catsup and 2 Tbs vinegar and then rub it on, let it dry and buff off.
To clean metals and metal sinks, make a paste with 1 tbs cream of tartar and enough vinegar to make a good paste. Rub onto the metal and let dry white. Then wash it off and rub dry. As good as Comet  but kinder, in my book.
If you have colored porcelain sinks, use full strength vinegar in a spray bottle to clean them. They sparkle and shine!
Fruit flies? Set out a small dish of straight vinegar and they shall be attracted and perish.
A great cough syrup/expectorant is 1 tsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp honey. Mix and swallow. It really works in lieu of cold or cough syrups (plus no drugs!)
The only bad thing about vinegar is don’t use it on white marble ( I have a small marble counter I use for my pastry) as it is too acidic for it and will ruin/mar it.
There are many uses for the stuff? What is your favorite way to use it? Let’s share, as I love finding new ways to use less things to keep my home clean and in order. And, best of all, any solutions we make and keep, we can decorate the bottles as we like and how lovely to see a cleaning pantry or closet filled with little bottles bearing our own cute vintage images or sayings! “The Smith Family Window Cleaner” “The Jones’ Incredible Carpet Cleaner” and so on. Have fun with it, then it’s not work.
Happy Homemaking.

9 & 10 October 1956 “Jam, Chocolate Cake, Left-Over Pie, and Bread: From Field to Slice”

  I realized I forgot to share my finished Jam and recipe with you the other day. While speaking of canning I must tell you about my first incident with canning. I sometimes forget, now well into my second year of life in the 1950’s, that it was not that long ago I could hardly boil water.
My vintage friend and I had decided to try some canning early on in my 1955 year. We both had never done it before and only had some basic books to use. We were so careful measuring and preparing the jars and I set my then ‘new’ vintage canning pot with rack to boil. We carefully lowered our first set of jam into the water, eager to make our first batch. Then, we waited…and waited. We heard no pops and could see the lids were not indented, so we simply went onto more prep work for more jam.
I forgot to mention, this was late in the evening that we had decided to do this. We were also working on some art projects for a craft fair we were going to go to the next day. So, time went by. When it reached midnight and no indenting lids, I told my friend to go home and I would stay up and baby-sit our first batch of jam.
At around 1 a.m. I simply gave up and took the jars out. Thinking we had made some horrible mistake. When I removed the jam you could see the liquid in the jars boiling inside. Oh, well and off to bed.
The next morning, when I came down to make breakfast, it was like Christmas morning when I noticed the jars had all popped in the night and were happily dented in! Needless to say, that batch of jam was VERY cooked, but it was then that I learned the ‘popping’ didn’t happen until a few minutes after you remove them from the boiling water. I feel I have come a long way. That is also why I feel like any of you out there who can barely boil water that why to try the adventure into cooking and doing more for yourself, don’t worry. It is possible and rather fun along the way.
Now, my jam. I had mentioned I was in the middle of using up the peaches I had received from my MIL from her little fruit orchard. I also had some leftover rhubarb I had picked at our local farm early Summer that I hadn’t used, so simply froze the full stalks. I decided to combine the two. Thus, Peach Rhubarb Jam.

Here is the recipe:
50sgal Rhubarb & Peach Jam

• 1/2 cup rhubarb diced
• 4 cups mashed peaches
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Lemon zest
• 4 Tbs liquid pectin

Get your big canning pot boiling. (any pot large enough to have boiling water that will cover the lids of whatever size jar you are using) I have an old large metal canning pot with the metal rack insert that you lift the jars in and out. I bought it at a local sale for a few dollars. They are not expensive and as usual, I always try for vintage, as I know it will last. But, they do have new variety that are nice. I have some books and Canning equipment in the Corner Store HERE if you would like to check that out.
I blanched my peaches first. This makes canning peaches much easier. Especially if you are doing a large patch. This recipe makes 6-7 8oz. jars.
Set water to rolling boil and then drop in peaches for about 5 minutes. I found with these peaches, as they were more ‘natural’ (that is not overgrown for the consumer market, just an old peach tree in my MIL yard that yields small little plum sized peaches) it took a little longer. Have an ice water bath ready and simply plunge the peaches in. The skin should slide off fairly easy. I also find this really prepares the peaches to be mashed. With a firmer store bought peach the mashing might need some cooking to achieve it. But with these, the were rather mushy when I was done and simply cut out the pit and sliced/smashed them into my measuring cup to get about 4 cups.
Cut rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces and cook with 1/4 cup lemon juice (I like fresh lemon juice, but you can use bottled in a pinch). Cook this until it is soft, about five minutes or so.
Now place the peaches and the sugar into the pan with the rhubarb and bring to a boil. Then, simply spoon into clean and dry canning jars, wipe mouths of jars clean and dry, put on the lid and place in your large pot of boiling water for canning. Make sure the lids are under the boiling water. I boil for 10 minutes then take out and wait for the fun little ‘pop’ sound. Always laughing, of course, recalling that first batch of ‘all-night’ jam with a friend.
I forgot to mention. I used liquid pectin in this recipe but you could also use powdered. The trick is:
4 tsp powdered pectin = 2 TBS of liquid pectin.
Also, remember that when you use DRY PECTIN you add it to the juice of fruit before heating. Then after you have brought it to a bowl add the sugar.
When using LIQUID PECTIN you add the sugar and juice/fruit together and THEN boil and add the liquid pectin AFTER. It took some research to find this out, as I had both liquid and powdered pectin depending on the recipes I had found and the other day had only liquid left. So, I hope this  helps you out.
I made a new chocolate cake recipe the other day that I really like. It was nice and dense and very old fashioned tasting, though the recipe was new. I made the frosting through an error and was, as usual, happy with it. I often find when I run up against a problem, in this case I had less confectioners sugar than I had thought (forgetting I had used some the previous day). So, without enough sugar to stiffen it into a good firm spreadable frosting, it basically became icing.
Though it was a simply mixer frosting, I then treated it like a 7 minute frosting, but added no eggs. I simply put it in a double boiler (for me that is a pot with boiling water with a smaller pot set in) and used my electric mixer for 7 minutes.
This was the Frosting recipe I used:

EASY CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1 stick butter
4 tbsp. cocoa
1/3 c. milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine butter, cocoa and milk in saucepan and heat until butter has melted. Beat in sugar, vanilla, and salt, beating until ready to spread.

But, then I found out I did not have 1 lb. of sugar and had already made the liquid ingredients. Shame on me, for I should have had all my ingredients out first. I am so used to baking and cooking and usually try to stick to my lists for pantry and shelf so I assume there will be ingredients there. I had forgot, however, that the previous day I had used up some confectioners/powdered sugar unexpectedly.
So, to that I added marshmallows broken up and then put it in the double boiler. It made a thicker liquid, which I poured onto my cake. When it set, it was a beautiful smooth as glass surface. A good trick with such liquid icing on a cage, is to pierce the cake with something, a knife or the small ends of your beaters, so the icing drips and sets into the cake, this is wonderful.
Dark Chocolate Cake

• 3/4  cup  butter, softened
• 3    eggs
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4  cup  unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 2  cups  sugar
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla
• 1-1/2  cups  milk
•     Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting (see recipe below)

directions

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease bottoms of three 8-inch round baking pans or two 8x8x2-inch square or 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Grease and lightly flour waxed paper and sides of pans. Or grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set pan(s) aside.
2. In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder; and salt; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined (3 to 4 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla.
4. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan(s).
5. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes for 8-inch square pans and the 13x9x2-inch pan, 30 to 35 minutes for 8- or 9-inch round pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Peel off waxed paper. Cool thoroughly on wire racks. Or place 13x9x2-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with desired frosting. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

As I am doing a recipe post, I figured I might as well share last night’s dinner with you. I had made a slow cooker meal of corned beef, potatoes, corn and onions the previous night. It was quite good. Then, as I usually do, Hubby gets another version of the previous night’s dinner for his lunch the next day. Now, I had quite a bit of the meal left and I did not want to simply serve that leftover again in the same form, so I made one of my good ole’ stand by’s. I call it ‘left over pie’.
Basically, I make a very simply in the pan pastry and then fill it with the leftovers. In this case I baked the crust for ten minutes and then shredded the corned beef along the bottom. Took all the corn and potatoes and mashed them. Then I put a layer of green beans over the meat and topped with the whipped potatoes and grated a bit of leftover cheese along the top.
  This is always a fun and easy way to use up leftovers. You can, of course, make a top layer crust as well, but in this case, it was more of a sheppards pie affair and the browned potatoes and cheese on top are so yummy.
This might actually look rather bad to anyone who doesn’t eat meat, but I assure it, it was quite good.
This is my old make in the pan pastry. This recipe is for a two layered pie, so for this pie I simply cut back the ingredients to:

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

Both versions are so easy to make and you can whip it up rather fast. Company will always be impressed with homemade pie, rather savory or sweet, and this actually makes a very light and flaky crust.
Now, just for fun, this interesting video.This isn’t a vintage video, but it is an interesting watch. This gentleman in UK used his allotment to grow wheat and he takes you from seed to loaf. A great teaching tool for you homeschoolers just to show a very small version of wheat to bread production. Also very interesting how he uses some garden machines and modifies them to work in the wheat process. Obviously not practical for many of us, but very interesting none the less.

8 October 1956 “Eartha Kitt”

This month here in 1956 Eartha Kitt will perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Eartha, she is a very unique talent. I adore her voice and her sing song/story telling way she approached songs. She doesn’t just sing a song or perform, she owns it and it becomes a little vignette; a mini movie or almost short story.
This clip of she and Nat King Cole from next year (1957) show that indeed people of color were on TV in the 1950’s. I love her rendition of this classic song. It seems they were going into a skit, but it cuts off before that happens.

 
This 1962 clip of her singing “Just an Old Fashioned Girl” is wonderful. You really get the complexities of her voice and what a glorious dress and set. I have to say, though I am biased, I would much rather watch such a set and lovely outfit and performance than an MTV video.

She would later go on to play Catwoman on the Batman show in the later 1960’s. Many people know her wonderful rendition of Santa baby first recorded by her in 1953. There was a horrid Madonna version made of the song once. I know it’s a bit early for Christmas, but we can’t talk of Eartha Kitt and not hear it.

I am sorry the website disappeared for a bit yesterday and today. I had some glitches that needed to be fixed. I hope all  are able to access again and I will be back with a longer post and more information on the site. Thanks for the patience with that.
Happy Homemaking.

7 October 1956 “A Little House”

This fun song by the Four Lads had me flipping through me various 1950’s vintage house plans. It is fun to sing along with. Here are the lyrics:

There’s a tiny house (There's a tiny house)
By a tiny stream (By a tiny stream)
Where a lovely lass (Where a lovely lass)
Had a lovely dream (Had a lovely dream)
And the dream came true (And the dream came true)
Quite unexpectedly
In Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea
She was out one day (She was out one day)
Where the tulips grow (Where the tulips grow)
When a handsome lad (When a handsome lad)
Stopped to say hello (Stopped to say hello)
And before she knew (And before she knew)
He kissed her tenderly
In Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea
The happy pair were married one Sunday afternoon
They left the church and ran away to spend their honeymoon
In a tiny house (In a tiny house)
By a tiny stream (By a tiny stream)
Where the lovely lass (Where the lovely lass)
Had a lovely dream (Had a lovely dream)
And the last I heard (And the last I heard)
They still live happily
In Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea
In Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea

I am not sure what it is exactly about this particular house, but I am drawn to it. It couldn’t be simpler. I currently live in a rather small home, but it couldn’t be more different than this little gem. (click images to see full size)
I think the combination of the stone, the clapboard siding, the little cupola on the garage, the swoop of the white fence attached to the garage. It just seems very homey. This house was probably built many times in a sub-division, but I could really see it on a little plot of land here in New England.
Here you can see the layout both with a basement or just a foundation. There is even included in this layout an outdoor fireplace. You can see there is a lot of living in this small space. And I could see it decorated either 50’s modern or Early American and both being quite lovely and appropriate.
Before 1955,  a home such as this would hardly have caught my eye in a book of plans. As I learn to make more of my own, live more simply and really find that I need less and less, the concept and idea of my living space seems to shrink as well. And, as a homemaker, the less space to clean the more time for other endeavors.
A family with two children would have happily lived in this space in the 1950’s. Today, I think separate bedrooms and baths as well as the requisite great room or media room would be required. It’s funny to think that today there are probably more computers in an average American home than there are bedrooms in this 1950’s home.
Just a simple post for me today, I hope that is fine with all of you. The crisp fall weather calls and there is dinner to be made. I hope all of you a fine day and as always, Happy Homemaking.

6 October 1956 “The Industrious Homemaker”

I wanted to share some images from my magazines and books showing the homemaker being very industrious. Even in adverts, as above, we see the clever homemaker in her work dungarees cutting and creating her home and then later dressed and pretty in it. I think sometimes we only see the second image, mostly due to Hollywood, I think.
I often find such tips and guides, as this. We see the homemaker happily wielding the hammer. No ‘honey-do’ list needed.
Even when she is having hubby’s help she is often in the thick of it with him. Even in advertising, this was often shown. And Do-it-yourself meant both partners.
What I have noticed is that the early 1950’s magazines seem to show this more often. As we move closer to 1959, we see more interest in the finished product without as much of the labor being shown. Many more images of the woman enjoying a space decked out, but without the view of her working hard by herself or with hubby to get the desired look. Why this is, I don’t know.
Even, as I said, Hollywood seemed to follow this pattern. Leave it to Beaver was from the early 1960’s and though still very 1950’s in feel we often see Mrs. Cleaver working in lovely outfits and doing some chores, sometimes gardening. But, if we see I love Lucy, she is often ‘doing it herself’ even though it often ended badly. Yet, that was the humor of it and I am sure many homemakers could associate with the mistakes because they, too, were trying to ‘do it themselves’ not merely relying on their hubby’s.
I think the homemaker’s role was very serious to her. It WAS a job and that job entailed the home in many ways. While hubby might mow the lawn, take out the garbage, and occasionally barbeque, really it was her province and she ran it even down to installing and repair. Some may disagree with me, but I would be willing to bet the average woman in 1950’s new more well-rounded aspects of living from cooking, to hair design, to even plumbing and basic home maintenance than many women today. It was part of your job and part of being a woman.
Even when the ladies tried to use their ‘feminine whiles’ to trick the man into helping out, it often meant they were stuck in the thick of it as well. This of course brings to mind this episode of I Love Lucy, where Lucy and Ethel try to trick the boys into building a Barbeque only to end up as helpers. I also like this episode as I liked the season they lived in CT.

The main glaring difference in Women’s magazines of the 1950’s to today, is that missing element of the woman actually doing the work. Of course, I have not done an exhaustive cross reference of all modern magazines, but I know all the home/decorating/homemaking type magazines I used to read pre  1955 were more about the end result. Often big expansive things that were either impossible to copy or simply ‘chabby chic’ with no real direction as to how to achieve success with it. That is understanding color and how it works together and in a room. Even the cooking is often ‘make this meal in 10 minutes from a mix’ but never understanding the basics to cooking in the first place. Making dough, making a sauce, how to bake and roast.
Well, there you are, a little bit of the industrious women of yesteryear. Let us, in this as well, emulate her as best we can. Because you know what? We CAN do it!

4 October 1956 “Red Velvet Cake and Peach Rhubarb Jam”

Yesterday I hosted a birthday party for my friend. I forgot to get pictures of us, as we were having too much fun, but the ladies dressed 50’s vintage and we looked darling. I wore the last dress I shared with you that I made, the blue flowered sheath, with a brown cardigan and belt and shoes, and a brown fabric flower in my hair. Fun was had by all.
I made, upon request of the Birthday girl, red velvet cupcakes.
This is the recipe that I used. I found it HERE. Though it is a modern recipe, it seemed similar to the others and I had not tried them before. I would recommend them. They are quite good and more chocolaty than the more traditional version. Though, it is still a very subtle chocolate cake taste as opposed to a heavier chocolate fudge cake. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 fluid ounce red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with 20 paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter and frost with desired frosting.

This picture actually makes them look redder than they actually did. But, they had the reddish/brown cast you get from the older recipes that don’t call for red food dye, but actually get the reddish color from the chemical reaction of  the acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa. Before  the higher  alkaline "Dutch Processed" cocoa that we now use (most likely what you have in your pantry), the red color would have been more pronounced. This natural tinting may have been the source for the name "Red Velvet" as well as "Devil's Food" and similar names for chocolate cakes.
For example, my Betty Crocker cookbook has this recipe for Red Devils food cake. It does not have red food coloring or vinegar in it: (click to enlarge)

During the war, when sugar was in short supply, cooked beets were often used, for their higher sugar content, thus giving a natural reddish color. Obviously, not a sugar beet, as that is a white vegetable.
I have not tried a beet recipe, but would like to. This ONE I found sounds quite good. If any of you make it, let me know how it turned out.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dark cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup fresh pureed beets*
1/3 cup oil (I use a sunflower/ rice bran oil blend)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
*I used 3 medium sized beets and got approximately 1 1/2 cups of purée.
Wash the beets, scrape/ peel and slice them. Cook them (steam cook or microwave) till they’re well done. Cool and purée the cooked beets along with about 3 or 4 tbsps of water, in a blender till smooth. Keep aside. You can do this ahead and refrigerate the purée for a day or else freeze it till required.
To make the cupcakes, first whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl till well mixed. Keep aside.
Put the puréed beets, oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract into another bowl and lightly whisk together till mixed well.
Pour this into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix just enough to combine. Divide the batter equally between 12 cupcake tins lined with paper cups.
Bake the cupcakes at 180C for about 20 to 25 minutes. A skewer/ toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean once they’re done.
Cool completely and decorate with frosting of your choice. The usual choices are butter roux (boiled) frosting or cream cheese frosting.

I also found this little bit of Red-Velvet cake history from Canada:

In Canada the cake was a well-known dessert in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton's department store chain in the 1940s and 1950s. Promoted as an "exclusive" Eaton's recipe, with employees who knew the recipe sworn to silence, many mistakenly believed the cake to be the invention of the department store matriarch, Lady Eaton.

In the 1920’s the Waldorf-Astoria was known for its Red Velvet cake. And according to a legend, a patron asked for the recipe and was billed an exorbitant amount. Her retaliation was to spread the secret recipe through a chain letter.
Here we see a Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel NYC 1950’s. Aren’t they lovely?
Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 tablespoons cocoa (heaping)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

FROSTING

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup butter (must be butter)

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs.
Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa.
Add to creamed mixture.
Add buttermilk alternating with flour and salt.
Add vanilla.
Add soda to vinegar, and blend into the batter.
Pour into 3 or 4 greased and floured 8" cake pans.
Bake at 350°F for 24-30 minutes.
Split layers fill and frost with the following frosting.
Frosting: Add milk to flour slowly, avoiding lumps.Cook flour and milk until very thick, stirring constantly.Cool completely.Cream sugar, butter and vanilla until fluffy.Add to cooked mixture.Beat, high speed, until very fluffy.
Looks and tastes like whipped cream.
Today I am using up the last of my peaches. My mother in law has peach trees on her property and gave me a good amount. I am amazed by the shelf life of these peaches, as I have had these for the past month in a brown bag in my ice box. They are still fine. They have never been sprayed or any chemicals used on these trees and they are the small natural peaches, not the big over genetically altered grocery store peaches, so  I am not sure if that is why they lasted so long.
Here they are coming out of their ice bath. I blanched them (Place them in boiling water for 5 minutes then plunge into ice water, the skins slide right off).
I also had some leftover rhubarb from early summer that I put in my freezer that I want to use. So, Rhubarb Peach Jam. I will let you know how it turns out.
Until tomorrow, Happy Homemaking.

3 October 1956 “Music”

Today I am hosting a birthday party for my friend. I also have an afternoon of Vintage Shopping with the birthday girl and another friend, so not much blog time today. Therefore, here is some fun music to keep you in the Vintage Spirit:

And this is a great party tune, and I did know you were coming, but I baked cupcakes (fairycakes) instead.

Happy Homemaking.

2 October 1956 “Women’s Roles and The La Leche League”

We are often fed the stereo-type of the 1950’s woman in pearls, vacuuming or serving her husband. The modern world, for whatever reason, seems to want to relegate any woman pre-1960’s as an oppressed victim bordering on slave. I, of course, have been discovering more and more over the past two years this is far from true.
I thought I would show some women from my 1950’s magazines. These two little snippets are from a 1956 magazine. This first lady is called ‘the Frog lady’. You can read the article by simply clicking on the image.Dr. Doris M. Cochrin is a scientist. Not only is she working in the professional field she even, in the 1930’s, travelled to Brazil to continue the research started by a male scientist on frogs. There is no mention of how ‘cute it is’ that she is doing ‘man’s work’. She is shown in her office with a frog. I like to compare this with the modern image my hubby wrote about a modern young starlet (She once played Winnie on the Wonder Years) There are images of her inside as well. But, why is it that a woman who is intelligent in a ‘man’s field’ today needs to be sexualized? Why does Algebra need to be “HOT X”?
Next we have Dr. Alice Richards teached at the University of Wisconsin and is here show doing her second job: Training the Milwaukee Braves in Concentration techniques. We see a married woman who is a professional and also a key role in training a major league baseball team. Rather interesting, I think.
Now, this is not in any way to try and downgrade our modern homemakers. For, at this time, if one were a homemaker, I doubt very highly she would be looked down upon by either of these two ladies. In fact, I am sure she met many homemakers as they are both married professors who most likely have a university level social life of parties and gatherings where many homemaker wives of professors are present. This also would be a way for any young lady to see that one could have a choice.
Although the main role considered for women was the home, we must realize in most cases women did indeed have choices. Many homemakers also worked jobs. Especially among the working class, it was not uncommon to have both parents work. And those in the middle class who could afford to send their daughters to college usually did. Although many think it was for the intent of ‘finding husbands’, once there if the girls found a career as well, I don’t think they were discouraged by it. And if so, a strong woman would ignore the convention and follow her heart, I believe. Much as we, who stay home, do today.
Speaking of Homemakers and their own place of power in the world, there was an amazing even that happened this year (1956) with seven Homemaking mother’s in gathered in Chicago’s blue collar  suburb of Franklin Park, Illinois. They were to become the La Leche League (Leche being Italian for milk).
These ladies were gathering to try and gain acceptance and spread the word for something that had gone out of vogue and been discouraged by the medical community: Breast Feeding.
Doctors at that time routinely told women that they didn't have enough milk to nourish their babies, or that their milk wasn't good enough. There had been an increasing level of pressure from the medical and scientific community to take the baby from the breast and put it to the bottle on very rigid feeding schedules. There was little study done on women’s breast milk at the time and what there was had been chiefly ignored. Many doctors felt  cow's milk formula was better than what nature had provided.
These ladies ‘league’ formed one summer afternoon in 1956 at a picnic in Wilder Park in Elmhurst, Illinois, USA. During the course of the picnic, two of the ladies who were to form the league had breast feeding babies. The other mothers noticed how easy it was for  these two to care for their babies, with no bottles to warm or formula to keep cool. Eventually the other women attendees approached them with this basic story: "I had so wanted to nurse my baby but...My doctor told me I didn't have enough milk...My mother-in-law said the baby must not be getting enough because he wanted to nurse so often...My baby lost interest after I started supplementing with formula...I tried to breastfeed, but I just couldn't."
The first official meeting was held on an October evening in 1956 at Mary White's house in Franklin Park. The original group consisted of these seven ladies: Marian Tompson, Edwina Froehlich, Mary White, Betty Wagner, Mary Ann Cahill, Mary Ann Kerwin, and Viola Lennon.
Another main aspect to the decline in breast feeding ties into that same element I keep running up against in the 1950’s. The growth of the Corporation. Again, I don’t want to sound political, but I also need to represent the facts. And one of the main reasons women and also doctors were encouraged to ‘take the baby from the breast’ was the increase in Nestle’s formula production.
Though Nestle had invented baby formula as early as 1860, it wasn’t until WWII that it really took off. With the men away, many women, even those with small children, went into the workforce. Though women with younger age children could be exempt from the need to help in factories and such, the emotional and patriotic need to do so had many mothers leaving their infants with older relatives or friends. So, baby formula was a good answer to this baby left at home problem.
The baby boom generation were the first generation to be mainly bottle feed. And it was silently put around that if you were intelligent, middle class etc you bottle fed. If you say someone breast feeding it was thought they were ignorant, poor etc. Much of this perception was propegated by advertising and the subsequently corporate supported ‘studies’ in the medical field.
Now one could say, well that sounds as if you are being to critical or reading too much into it. Yet, when I see such things as this going on in Africa in the 1950’s. Nestle had created ‘Milk Nurses’ to offer free formula to South African mothers. The downside to this was they took the free nourishment (as their country was in war and great poverty) and then as the mother’s own milk dried up and they began to depend upon it, they simply stop giving it away and then had it for sale. It is one thing to make a product and sell it for money, that is fair, but to make a market through underhand ways is what I have a problem with.
And, so, in our own country, this sort of stigma to breastfeeding was put around. And during this time the middle class really was growing. Many young mothers and couples were, for the first time in their family, actually better off than their parents. They wanted to ‘belong to the middle class’ and not be seen as ‘backward’. So, the bottle and formula grew and the stigma against breastfeeding was set.
I find it very gratifying and a rather proud moment in Women’s history to know that these mother’s came together to help other mother’s take back their personal right to breast feed their children. And, in a way, their little revolution was done with sense and decorum on their part. There was no picketing and brash screaming on ‘news programs’ but rather living accornding to common sense and their example helped to spread the real knowledge and truth behind breast milk to other mothers.
I think, today however, that many mothers most likely do still bottle feed. I can’t imagine how they couldn’t since so many are working mothers. Many women get no more than a few weeks off before returning to work and if they don’t want to mess about with breast pumps, their only option is the formula.
Again and again I find that what I am most enamored with the 1950’s are the people and particularly the women. I am also finding that the current state of subterfuge and ignorance we have allowed ourselves to be in with our own food, health, economy, and government is heavily wrapped up in the corporations starting then. What may have been a growing family business happy to become larger has turned into an almost self-entity (including the fact that a corporation is now legally accepted as an individual and with an individual's rights) that seeks profit over any other aspect including human rights AND truth.
What I don’t understand is a vast majority of people today who seem to want to ‘return to an old way’ don’t realize that by simply focusing on silly topics and being lead by politicians (all of whom are puppets of the large business) are only further removing us from the ‘good ole days’. Because the main tenants of the good ole days were common sense, hard work, and decency to one another. Today we seem to think we must ‘pick a side’ draw a line in the sand and begin shouting. When really this only causes us to be further separated from one another and the common goal and a happy and good life.
But, I digress. I thought it would be good to show some strong and intelligent actual 1950’s women to contrast with the current image of the be-pearled half-idiot we seem to think the 1950’s homemaker was. I, however, am proud of that past and hope to continue to sort out the good from the bad and implement more and more of the good through learning and practice and skills.
Happy Homemaking.

1 October 1956 “Sweet Extra’s With Late Season Vegetables”

I just thought this image from an ad in one of my 50’s magazines did a good job of showing another way the ‘Early American’ look was expressed. It almost has a ‘modern country’ look to it with the clean lines of the sofa with it’s bold plaid paired with the Windsor chair. The old bench as a coffee table is darling and I love the bold use of the bright wallpaper and the complimentary color of the solid green three tiered curtains.
Another aspect of this photo that is telling of the times (the early 1950’s) is the vast farmed field across the way. This home might very well be sharing their side of the street with many similar houses built on old farm land. And most likely that view across the street will change by the 1960’s as the building boom continues and farm land is converted to sub-division. A pretty prospect from their window now, though and I love their ‘woody station wagon’ in the drive. The entire scene makes me want to put on the fire and sip cocoa. It did a good job of not making me dread our coming winter.
This is a great article from an October issue of Better Homes and Gardens from 1954. It gives three recipes and ideas on how to use up those late summer vegetables in the garden in a fun way. I think I shall try these. Simply click on them for a full size view.


Enjoy and Happy Homemaking.

29 September 1956 “A 50’s Gal Remembers Her Youth”

I was thinking lately how I might recall my fictional youth. Being the age I am now in 1950’s would mean my ‘teen years’ would have been spent in the 1930’s. This is when I would recall my own first foray’s into fashion and music. My cooking and even my memories of my mother would be from this time, mainly. Many of us identify with that time when we were teens into early 20’s and so I thought I would share with you what my fictitious 50’sgal memories could be.
I might be getting too old for what may have been one of my favorite radio shows, “little Orphan Annie”

I would most likely look forward to listening to Fibber McGee and Molly.

What young lady isn’t always excited about the latest fashions!

Patterns such as these would be my template for my own wardrobe, mixed with store bought I imagine. The ‘New Look’ I will encounter with Dior after the war will seem oddly familiar to these lengths I wore in my youth. And these predictions from the 1930’s to the year 2000 will seem fantastical.

A lady’s hair is her crowing glory and short but highly stylized is the look of the day. Though it is becoming a little looser than the 1920’s. Although some of the styles will seem familiar, again, in the 1950’s. This 30’s look on Alice White is not that far removed from these 1950’s styles. Maybe I would even covet the brave new brush in colors used in high fashion, such as this winning exhibition of hair design in London 1935.
And though I would be going to the pictures and seeing all the glamorous stars, even hoping to be as lovely and decked out as them    I would still have to contend with seeing images such as this. If not in my own town, then at least in papers.
A young gal would most likely be expected to learn to cook, even if she were lucky enough to have a maid later on (except the upper classes of course).
 This might well have been me in a cookery class in the 1930’s. How old fashioned it would seem, looking back now in my modern kitchen with a dishwasher, easy to use range and large refrigerator and freezer.
And the 1930’s kitchen might only seem different with all the newer appliances, but bright fun colors and linoleum were still what was ‘in’.
Here are some recipes from a cookbook I have from 1926 that I sometimes use. I imagine it would have been in my mother’s kitchen and perhaps she would have given it to me. These are some fun dessert recipes:
And, certainly, the old music would still be played on the radio here in 1956 and I might tap my foot recalling summer dances in my long slim satin dresses, flowers floating in water, paper lanterns, men in wide pants toting ukuleles.

So, on a day such as today, when my mind might wander to my youth, these are some of the things that I would recall. Do any of you have any particular things of the 1930’s that you love?