TV

So, TV was such a big deal in the 50's. The fam all watched it together, after a little din-din. Kids waited all week to watch cartoons on Saturday. Good cartoons too...not Doodlebops and Backyardigans. But, what used to bring the family together, now seperates them. Each kid has a TV in their room, and parents have one in theirs.. Families don't eat together..OR watch TV together. What is the world coming too???

I can't sew.

Seriously...how did they do it all? Sewing there own garb? Its hard. My skirts come out looking like pillowcases and my husband won't let me near his shirts o mend them? Oh well, practice makes perfect.

What NOT to feed the family!

Canned Ox Tongue?

Amazing Blog.

VISIT THIS SITE:

dowhatnow.typepad.com/.../2007/03/index.html

It is SOOOO fantastic. Take time to really look at the pictures, they are hysterical.

The houses.

Retro home plans have stood the test of time. House designers who are still actively designing new house plans today designed this group of homes in the 1950’s and 1960’s.It's time to stop maligning the humble rambler, the practical, ubiquitous one-story abode that has embodied suburbia for more than half a century.Across the country, the 1950s-era retro homes are desirable real estate again -- and are even being embraced as historic architecture, worthy of preservation.Yes, the humble and prolific one-story home is becoming retro chic.

What does ATOMIC Magazine have to say about the retro revival?

It's a great style that so many of us relate to and grew up in. But people are taking off the cedar shakes and putting on vinyl siding when they don't have to. Now that ramblers have come of age people should maintain their charm.Yes, you heard right: charm. Once derided for cookie-cutter floor plans and a humble working-class image, the rambler is becoming something suburban real estate is almost never called: retro chic.Sometimes called ranch houses, ramblers typically had about 1,000 square feet of living space -- enough for a modest-sized living room, kitchen and three small bedrooms.Who is buying these retro style house plans? First-time buyers are buying some and a secondary market is the empty nester looking to downsize to a one-story home.

Now I'm ready for summer!!!

BACKYARD BARBECUES

After WWII, many returning GI's married and settled in the suburbs. A house with a back yard was one of the symbols of American status. How best to show off one's back yard? Barbecue! It's no coincidence men proudly did the grilling. What was served? Women did the planning and prep-work based on suggestions offered by contemporary magazines and cookbooks.

Lamb Barbecue:

Lamb Roast, Indienne, with Savory-mint Barbecue Sauce Fruited Pilaf, Whole Tomatoes Quick Vegetable Salad with Parsley Dressing Buttered Crusty Bread Slices Fruit Basket, Coffee."

"Come Over for Steak"

Grilled steak, Butter-toasted Corn, Garlic French-bread Slices, Mixed Green Salad, Roquefort Dressing, Honeydew Melon with Lime Slice, Coffee."---Family Circle, August 1957 (p. 51)

"Backyard Barbecue"

Charcoal-broiled Steak or Hamburger ,Cheese and Caraway French Bread,Peach and Apple Pie,Coffee, Milk."---Woman's Day, June 1959

The Good Housekeeping Cook Book [1955] offers a chapter titled "The Bountiful Barbecue" (p. 593-600). It offers tips for planning a barbecue, including equipment checklist (asbestos gloves, Monosodium glutamate!), practical notes (choose a menu to fit the grill's space, double-wrap foods in heavy-duty aluminum foil) and safety notes (never heat canned foods in the unopened can). Recommended meats include: big steaks, little steaks, king steak, salt-grilled sirloin steak, barbecued spareribs, heavenly hamburgers, hot franks, grilled ham, barbecued bologna roll, amb and beef alfresco, kabobs, charcoal-grilled chicken, charcoal-grilled duckling, fish fries and barbecues, and shellfish alfresco. Fresh grilled vegetable recipes feature corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. Special instructions are provided for grilling canned and frozen veggies. Grilled breads were also popular. Good Housekeeping recommended grilled French & Italian breads , grill-baked breads, rolls and muffins, garlic-buttered slices and a variety of hot grilled sandwiches. Dessert could also be prepared on the grill. Popular items included caramel roast apples, walnut roast, fried marshmallows, baked bananas, and "Marshmallow Treats," (aka S'Mores).

House and Garden's Cook Book [1958] contains instructions for grilling the following items (p. 195-208): Churrasco (South American beef steak), Beefsteak Jerome LePlat (Italian recipe with Hollandaise sauce), Beefsteak Pizzaioula, Sliced Larded Filet on French Bread, Chateaubriand Marchand de Vin, Sate with Steak, Kebabs, Roast Leg of Lamb, Shoulder of Lamb, Lamb Steaks, Oriental Lamb Steaks (soy sauce & ginger), Ham Steak, Plain Hamburgers, Savory Hamburgers (w/chopped onions, olives & mushroom powder), Frankfurters, Grilled Italaian Sausages, Spitted Roast Chicken, Chicken Tarragon, Garlicked Chicken, Ginger Chicken, Baby Chickens on a Spit, Sate Ajam-Chicken on the Spit (Indonesia), Grilled Chicken Hearts, Epicurean Broiled Turkey, Broiled Turkey Flambe, Broiled Duckling, Broiled whole Fish, Fish Mixed Grill, Rotisserie Veal with Kidneys, Roast Leg of Lamb Hong Kong, Shish Kebab, Pork Loin with Sherry, Pork Shoulder Robert, Loin of Pork California Style, Port Tenderloin Orleans, Spareribs Island Style (w/pineapple), Spareribs German Style (w/sauerkraut), Suckling Pig on a Spit, Roast Chicken Pierre (w/sherry), Chicken Far East (w/cashews & peanut butter), Long Island Duckling Gourmet and Goose Montmartre

1933 Betty Crocker Bisquick Cookie Recipes!

Some yummy retro cookies! Delish!!

Straight from the pages of a 1933 Bisquick Cookie Book!

Bisquick Cookies
1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup nuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup dates, stoned and cut up or 2 squares of chocolate (2oz) melted

Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually. Add well beaten eggs, milk and vanilla. Add Bisquick, mix well. Add nuts with dates, or nuts with chocolate as desired. Chill dough. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cooky sheet. Bake 15 minutes in moderately hot oven, 400 F. This makes 4 dozen medium-sized cookies.

Coconut Gogetters
1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

4 beaten egg yolks

1 cup sugar

3 cups Bisquick

1/2 tsp. soda

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar, add beaten egg yolks and salt. Add 1 cup sugar. Mix soda and cream of tartar with Bisquick and add to above mixture. Add vanilla. Form into small balls. Make a depression in each ball and fill with jelly, then cover with coconut. Bake 10 minutes in quick, moderate oven 375 F.

Lemon Almond Cookies
2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup sugar

Grated rind of 1 lemon

3 eggs
Mix Bisquick, sugar and lemon rind. Beat eggs and reserve about 1/3 for brushing tops of Bisquicks. Add remainder to the Bisquick mixture. Mix well and roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut with small cutter and place on greased pan. Brush tops with remaining egg. Bake in moderately hot oven 400 - 425 F. for 8 minutes. When cool ice with Almond Icing. This makes 16 - 18 Bisquicks.
Almond Icing

Mix 1 cup confectioners sugar with a little hot milk and add 1 tsp. butter; add a few drops almond extract; beat thoroughly and spread lightly on Bisquicks.

Bisquick Coconut Cherry Bars
A fancy recipe, nice enough to give as gifts in a cookie tin.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup margarine or butter soft

1 1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 cup flaked coconut

1/3 cup chopped almonds

3 tablespoons Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup marachino cherries halved
Heat oven to 350. Mix brown sugar and butter. Stir in 1 1/2 cups baking mix. Press in ungreased retangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. Bake 12 minutes.
Beat eggs in a medium bowl with a fork, mix in white sugar and almond extract. Stir in coconut, almonds and 3 tablespoons baking mix. Spread over the baked layer. Arrange cherries on top. Bake until golden brown and set, 22 to 25 min. Cool and cut into bars about 2 1/2 inch squares. Makes 36 bars.

One Pan Chocolate Peanut Bars
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup margarine or butter, soft

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 egg yolk

2 cups Bisquick Baking mix

1 pkg or 1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanuts
Heat oven to 350. Mix brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg yolk with a fork in an ungreased rectangular pan 13x9x2. Stir in baking mix until moistened, (mix will be crumbly) Press mixture evenly in pan. Bake till a light brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Let stand until chocolate chips are softened, 3 to 4 minutes. spread evenly. Sprinkle with peanuts. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars. tip: I like it better with chopped peanuts.

Chocolate Yummies
2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup margarine

1 1/2 cup Bisquick

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 cup coconut
Melt over low heat chocolate and margarine. Combine Bisquick and sugar. Stir in egg, milk, chocolate mixture and vanilla; blend well. Fold in coconut. Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool, then frost.