Wednesday 12 July 2017

Not alot about anything much . . .


This looks like the type of cookbook I would have bought when I was a teenager. Yes, I was interested in cooking and homemaking even then.  I have a whole binder upstairs (in additon to my Big Blue Binder) filled with handouts from my school Home Economics classes, recipe print outs from my Sixteen magazines and Co-Ed magazine, and recipe booklets that I wrote away for from newspaper ads, box labels and television ads.   I am not sure how it worked in America, but in Canada  Kraft Foods were huge sponsors of television programs and they would show recipes you could make and you could send in to them and they would send you back recipe booklets each month.  I have quite a few of those! 


The booklets themselves are not in colour.  They are on yellow, pink and blue paper with black and white photos and recipes, about the size of a mid sized envelope.  As a young bride these were a very important resource for me.  I have clipouts of hot dog sandwiches looking like smily faces, ghastly looking jellied salads, and tuna casseroles up the ying yang.  Nowadays a lot of them look quite dated and I have to laugh a tiny bit at what used to seem so sophisticated! 


I cut some of my culinary teeth on some of these! And nobody complained!  I have a booklet from the Saint Lawrence Salad Oil company, filled with recipes that are all made using salad oil.  We weren't so worried about our cholesterols back then! Tons of clippings of teen party ideas. You name it, I've got it and they are a wonderful glimpse back into the history of my teen years and the early years of my married life and early "mom-dom!" 


Can you remember when one of these was a real treat!  I do!  We loved the fried chicken and the turkey dinner ones . . .  ugh . . .  the turkey ones, with sliced turkey roll in gravy.  I always liked the vegetables . . .  frozen peas were a favourite of mine and that little tiny receptacle of cranberry sauce! 

 

 We were also HUGE fans of the frozen pot pies when I was growing up.  My mother made fantastic pot pies, but  we totally adored the frozen ones with the creamy white gravy.  More gravy than meat and vegetables and a crust that melted in the mouth.  What a treat they were!  I have never quite been able to replicate them . . . but then again, does the memory taste of anything ever taste the same again?  I don't think so.  We remember with rose coloured glasses. 


This was another favourite.

I don't think I ever had mac and cheese from scratch when I was growing up.  It was not something my mother cooked.  Occasionally we were treated to a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese and we discovered boxes pizza mixes when I was in my teens, ohhhh and the Kraft spaghetti dinner boxes.  


ho ho, the quick kind you cook up fresh.  I actually liked the flavour of the sauce, or at least in my memory I did.  I can well imagine Italian Mother's across North America cringed at the sight!  Mild-ish!   I love it.  Bring a little Rome home soon.  It makes me smile.

  

The epitome of sophistication.  Sometimes on Saturday nights we had tinned spaghetti with fried hot dogs for supper along with bread and butter.  That was also a real treat for us!  We were easy to please. 


The mind boggles! 

  

This was also a real treat and other than when corn was in season, the only corn we ever got. I still love creamed corn, and yes this because over here it is better tasting than the fresh sweet corn that is on offer.  Corn is not something which grows well in this country. Too much rain and not enough sun. I did try growing my own one year and all we got was about 4 cobs, each only about 4 inches in length. 

I think part of the appeal of processed convenience foods back then was that
they were a rare treat whereas today,  its a much more common thing?
I don't know.

What were some of your childhood favourites?

My own children loved Pizza Pockets and Toaster Strudels.

I had a pretty full day yesterday.  I went grocery shopping in the morning, which seems to be taking me twice as long for half as much these days.  I can at best shuffle.  Todd came to find me yesterday because I was taking so long. Very frustrating, but I do need to get out of the house.  Once we got back from that Todd went into town to the library and I put the groceries away. Then my friend Tina came over for a nice visit which I really enjoyed.  She is such a great friend.  Next week we have decided we are going to go for a picnic on Anglesey.


Its not that far away and a place we both want to go.  And if it rains, well, then  . . .  we'll just picnic here in the house! 

A thought to carry with you . . . 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★

 *.˛.° ˛°. .May I suggest that you  reduce the rush and take a little
time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise,
enjoy God's creations.  ~Todd D Christopherson .° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •


  

In The English Kitchen today . . . Pasta Salad Primavera.  Low fat, easy to make and delicious!

 Have a fabulous Wednesday.  Don't forget along the way . . . 

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════

And I do too!

 

11 comments:

  1. Good morning Marie. I am so sorry that you are shuffling around to shop. It sounds awful and painful. Even though I don't need a shopping service I am in such a place that I would just love to buy one of those meal boxes see if I can be kick started out my current blah cooking feelings.

    I would love to have my high school cook book and my pattern making books still. I know where the cook books went but there is no answer for the pattern book. Mum wanted to have it as it was a proper drafting book.

    I hope that today goes better for you . I pray for you and Todd every day. Lots of love always.

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  2. I shuffle because I won't let it beat me, no matter how awkward I look! And I am sure I get a lot of sideways glances. I am determined if nothing else! It is very draining though and I am just beat when I get home. Having a quiet day here at home today. I have a wedding on Saturday that I am prepping food for and the Missionary Sisters coming to supper on Friday to plan out! God bless and many thanks for your prayers and love! xoxo

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  3. Hi Marie. Convenient foods were definitely considered a treat growing up. I rarely had them, I think probably cos of the cost. My mum would know how to feed a family of six healthily and on a budget! My mum died 17 years ago (my dad 34 years ago) and I often think about her and would love to be able to talk to her about our growing up days and how she actually managed to give us such healthy meals every day. My dad had an allotment and grew lots of vegetables and flowers so that obviously helped.

    So sorry your knee is so painful. It must be getting you down. Where are you up to with regards treatment?

    I've had a lovely quiet few days since last week. I needed to recharge my batteries and feel much better for it now. It's nice to just potter sometimes! Lot's of love xxx

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  4. I am sure having an allotment helped Kate! I don't recall ever having broccoli or any exotic vegetable like that when I was growing up. It was peas, beans, carrots, swede, potatoes, and on a rare occasion, tinned corn. In August corn on the cob. There was always salad, made with iceberg lettuce and to this day my mom turns up her nose at anything fancier! In the salad would simply be cucumber, tomato, onion and sometimes celery. She always made her own vinaigrette dressing from scratch. Her salads were very tasty. Nobody complained. She was a thrifty cook, but quite a good one. We only ever rarely had convenience foods and they were a real treat! No treatment for my knee, just exercises to do with it, which involve sitting in a chair and lifting my leg and holding it for ten counts at a time, and bending it. Very frustrating. I have never had a problem doing that. It is moving my leg sideways, turning, or standing on it that hurts. sigh . . . a good recharge is as good as a holiday they say! Love and hugs, xoxo

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  5. The convenience things were rare chez nous..fish sticks..for Fridays;) Chicket Pot Pie..cream corn..and Campbell's soups..

    that's it.
    I remember your pics..and I love remembering them:)

    We are no longer well oiled machines my dear:) And need some oil:)
    Take care..all of these things are so altering..

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  6. I love frozen chicken pot pies and always have a few on hand in the freezer. Many times I do not feel like cooking a meal for myself and they hit the spot. Here I grab a cart to push around in the grocery store. It seems I walk much better and longer when I have something to hold on to. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  7. ah yes, Fish for Fridays. My mom would sometimes buy the fish sticks or the wedges. We thought that was a real treat! More often than not though it would be a tin of salmon divided amongst us, especially in the summer. It was not my favourite! My old machine seems to need a lot more greasing these days Monique! haha! xoxo

    I do use some convenience foods also Pam. Mostly frozen fish and oven chips, and the occasional pot pie. Eggs are a great convenience food in this house! Some nights we will have a nice cheese omelet with a salad and it goes down a real treat! God bless your Wednesday! xoxo

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  8. I'm amazed at how much you remember of what you ate etc when you were young....I can hardly remember anything at all. ,!!!...I have never been really interested in food, apparently when I was young mum had a hard job to get me to eat and was told by the Drs. Just to feed me whenever I wanted or indeed would. One thing I do remember is bread with butter and sugar and mum would make me little fingers and put them on my pillow when I went to bed and Sarah and her friends used to love to watch me feeling for the bread with my eyes closed and eating them !...even today if I can't think of anything I want I will have bread butter and sugar !..now that I think about it as I was born when lots of things such as bread and sugar we're on ration it's a wonder she was able to find me things...I remember nice soups, mostly potato soup stews, and my very fav. Rice pudding ....certainly nothing ever came out of a packet, again I suppose due to rationing. I think it was around 1953 when all rationing stopped and I would be 8 by then...It was good fun reading all about these facinating things available for you maybe if we hadn't had rationing I might have been better at eating.......you would never think by my weight that I eat so little, but there we are we are as God made us.....hope you have had a good day. Night night. God Bless xxx

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  9. And I love what God made you Sybil! I suppose I have always been a foodie. Always interested in food and cooking and eating. Now THAT'S why I look the way I do! Close to payday when I was a child, if we had run out of cereal, mom would make us bread with sugar on it and milk and we loved that. Thought it was a real treat! Such a simple thing and yet so good! Love and hugs. xoxo

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  10. Oh my you did bring back some memories on this one. I think I ate most all of these items and loved them too. Cooking then and now is so different. Food for our childhood does taste so good. I used to love Tomato Soup and toasted ham and cheese sandwiches.
    Thanks for the memories! Sending loving thoughts your way! Hugs~

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  11. Aww thanks LeAnn! You're very welcome! xoxo

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