Reminiscing: Cooking the Modern Way

All the way from 1948, I bring you the next installment of "Reminiscing" -- Cooking the Modern Way from Planters Edible Oil Company.

Nothing says delicious like this "Perfection Salad:"

I don't want to admit how much time I spent trying to figure out what this even was. I think it is the "Minted Pear Salad" that you see on the opposite page, but I'm still not 100% certain. No matter what it is called, it looks awful in more ways than one.


I can't figure the next two out at all--I have no idea what either of these is supposed to be, but it doesn't matter because I would never make them anyway and they are both making me want to puke so I am moving along to the next one.

I think that the black and white picture on the left is the "Vegetable Omelet," but I have no idea what the picture on the right goes with. What IS that rectangular shaped stuff at the top of the plate?

It only gets worse--I feel like the further I read in this book, the fewer items I am able to recognize and the more disgusting the food looks and sounds.

Now this is what I'm talkin' 'bout. I loves me a waffle topped with sausages cooked in Planters Peanut Oil in a decorative pattern. I sure hope Mother of Ken makes this for me when I'm home in December.

Is it just me, or does that pasta look suspiciously like brains?

I'll give you a moment to chug some Pepto Bismol before you come back for another dose of disgustingness.

Reminiscing: Bananas in the Modern Manner

I have been promising more reminiscing for a while now and I'm finally able to deliver. This installment comes to you courtesy of Mother of Ken, who found this gem in her travels.

Nothing like a good banana, I always say. Also nothing like some bad photographs...

I'm not sure that I would want to eat something called "Banana au Naturel" bright and early nor would I want to go to the trouble to carefully arrange the peel--just eat it!

Also, what do the people on horseback have to do with anything? Is this just to show that people can eat these breakfast menus and not spend the morning puking?

I have several problems with the following. First of all, what is with the polka-dotted bread? I guess that is the "Raisin Bread Sandwich"? If so, gross--that thing consists of generously buttered raisin bread topped with banana slices, lettuce, and mayonnaise!

This does not look appetizing at all. Who would put banana on top of steak? Who would wrap bacon around bananas? I cannot imagine the texture of steak or bacon with cooked banana...


Anything with the word "delight" in the recipe title makes me suspicious. I am also kind of grossed out by the "Banana Cereal Dessert (for children)." Apparently no adult is willing to eat that gruel.



The illustration is for a "Banana Rice Ring." I can't even talk about this. However, I am pleased to be able to offer you yet another recipe for something "devilled." This one includes banana, chutney, pimentos, and lemon juice served on toast.

I'm always up for new salad recipes, especially when they include such delicious accoutrements as cream cheese, peppers, mayonnaise, candied cherries...

I always love it when cookbooks include lengthy discussions of "digestibility."

I certainly hope that you will try to incorporate some of these delicious and digestible banana recipes in your daily menus.

Thriller 2009, Part II

Happy Halloween, gentle readers! Kenna and I spent the weekend celebrating Halloween with the girls in Maryland. We wanted to coordinate our costumes and, since Kenna already had her lobster suit, I had to think of something to go with that. So, I present our costumes to you--here we are as surf and turf:

Kenna got hot and took her costume off for a while, but she stayed on Trick-or-Treater patrol:

She put the lobster suit back on, but then she got tired:

When she was awake, she got a lot of attention:

Kenna made a great lobster:

We spent Halloween evening watching movies, playing games, and eating and drinking to excess, as usual. A good time was had by all, including McKenna.

Eternal Flame

I think that my oven has been on for about two weeks solid--at least that's how I feel. So, just for all of my gentle readers, I have compiled some photos of the things that I have made in the past few weeks. I hope that you enjoy it.

My first batch of Madeleines, using Ina Garten's recipe:

Grambi gave me a Madeleine pan this summer, so I was happy to finally have a chance to use it. I didn't love the recipe, so I think I'll try some others to see if I can find one that I like more. These were an odd texture that I didn't like, but Mother of Ken suggested a lemon glaze that you put on while they are warm, so I might try that next time.

I also roasted some chicken breasts--you'll see later in the post how I used the meat, but I saved everything else for stock.

I also tried a new kind of squash--Red Kuri:

This thing has a very thick skin, so I did some research and learned that you have to either use a hammer or pound it on a hard surface to open the squash. Someone actually told a story about her mother-in-law putting one of these into a pillowcase and throwing it down the stairs until it broke open. I knew it wouldn't be easy, so I wrapped it in a towel and tried hitting it with a hammer. That didn't work--it just bounced around. So, I ended up just holding it by the ends of the towel and bashing it against the floor until it cracked open.



Perfect!

I cooked the squash at 400 degrees until it was tender and used some olive oil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar toward the end of the cooking process to give it some flavor. It probably took about 45 minutes to an hour. It was pretty good, but I don't think that I will go to the trouble to break one of these open again anytime soon. And, yes, I know that this is not the nicest looking picture ;-)

With the chicken, I made pot pies with puff pastry lids in my cute little pie pans. I wanted to make a filling like the one that Grambi used to make that had lemon in it and wasn't quite as thick as traditional pot pie filling. I got close by using chicken stock and just a little milk and the juice of a whole lemon and I am really glad to have a few of these in the freezer:

Last Saturday, while I was making cinnamon rolls, pie, and lasagna, I got a box from Grambi that I had been expecting. She generously gifted me with her FoodSaver and I am thrilled!

I have already started food saving--sausage, lasagna... When I first moved out on my own and I was living in Dallas, working two jobs and feeling homesick, Grambi gave me a red cooler and every time I came home, she would load it up with things that she had food saved--spaghetti, turkey, roast beef, all kinds of things. I was so glad to be able to come home, put one of those in a pot of boiling water, and have a home cooked dinner almost every night that summer. This was, of course, supplemented by Mother of Ken's offerings so that when I had been on my feet for 8 to 10 hours a day working at a retail store, I didn't have to cook for myself and I had a little taste of home. That is one of the things I miss most living so far away--no food from home. It's a good thing I can cook for myself.

My lasagna--I used whole wheat egg lasagna noodles that were on sale and filled it with sweet Italian sausage, spinach, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and lots of cheese:

Lasagna with some homemade French bread:

I forgot to take pictures of the cinnamon rolls, but I did remember to take a picture of the world's cutest cherry pie:

I'm giving my oven a well deserved rest now and I hope to be back with a special Jell-O related post soon.

The Roof is Leaking, Part II

The roofing guys finally finished on Friday and then it rained from Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon, so I was able to get a good test of the new roof. Here it is, in all of its glory:

The only downside to all of this is that I no longer have an excuse not to paint the ceiling in the master bedroom. So, stay tuned for that...

When I See You Smile

McKenna has had quite a week. With the roofing guys here, she is beside herself trying to protect me and the house, plus she had to get a pedicure. That is a lot for a dog. She is also breaking in her new bed:

As Leah always says, "It's hard to be McKenna."

I love this one--yawning...or is she growling like Olive in Little Miss Sunshine?

Back to normal...