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 .° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

Spiritual Enlightenment  

  

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 . . . 

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And I do too!