Kids Bored? Have A Leap Year Frog Party!

I knew that I had to write even just a short post on this 'unique' day!  We won't see another one for four more years and it is incredibly complicated to explain the whole February 29 phenomenon - so just click on the link - Wikipedia does a good job.  But suppose you just have a bunch of kids and you're stuck home with them while the rotten weather does it's thing outside...why not entertain them with a kid's 'Leap Year Frog Party'! 

When my kids were little I was constantly on the lookout for activities that would entertain them during the cold weather months.  This would have been fun.  Everything fun involves a little bit of work but in the end it's worth it.  Green would be the primary color for this event and anything 'froggy' would do along with Lily pads, ponds or a garden theme.  Because we're all looking forward to Spring and the entire year is referred to as 'Leap Year', I think that if you're the mother of a pre-school or young elementary child this would make the perfect theme for any sort of school celebration.  And if you happen to be stuck with 'snack week' (I hated snack week) this might just work!  I found a fun web site that provides plenty of inspiration.  Just click on this frog inspired site for a few ideas! 

If middle school students are what you're stuck with (sorry...I meant 'leaping with joy' over) then maybe you might want to fondue some frog legs!  Seriously, they will eat anything if they can fry it in a fondue pot.  I've seen it.  Here's a simple recipe from allrecipes.com that can easily work with a fondue pot.  Of course if you 'chicken out' you could always use thinly cut chicken tenders and pretend!  But don't - you'll regret it.  One of the most fun food things my boys did was to fry soft shell crabs in the fondue pot and put them on a bed of lettuce on a roll with some tartar sauce!  They wanted to try it, it looked super creepy and gross and even though they didn't eat it all they had a blast! 

For those of you that visited this site today looking for a really fantastic retro or heirloom recipe - I won't disappoint you.  I do not have a recipe for frog of any kind but I did find something odd.  And isn't this what this day is all about?  Try it if you're brave or just have some kids to amuse.

Rock work Pudding

1 qt. milk
6 eggs
1 cup sugar and vanilla flavoring

Sweeten the milk slightly and set over the fire in a rather wide mouthed sauce pan.  Beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth with a tablespoon or two of sugar.  When the milk boils, put in the froth a tablespoon at a time turning each little heap as it is cooked on the lower side.  Take out the cooked froth carefully with a skimmer and lay on a sieve.  When all are done set in a cool place while you make a custard of the yolks beaten up with the sugar and the boiling milk poured on them.  Set over the fire and stir until it begins to thicken and pour out to cool.  When cool, flavor, fill a glass bowl with custard, and pile the rock on the surface.

If you were extra creative you would add a little 'froggy' to the rocks in this recipe!  Think about how much work that one dessert recipe took.  Wow.

If you're a grown-up and are looking for a movie to watch, well then, try this.

Happy Leap Year!

Spring is Coming! The Flower Shows are Here!!

Yesterday, my husband and I made our annual trip to Hartford to see the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show.  We've done this every February for several years now and I can't imagine approaching spring without this ritual welcoming of the long awaited season!  If you're in Connecticut there is still time to attend the show.  Here is a link to their site - ctflowershow.com - along with ticket prices and directions.  If you miss this one, you're in luck, they tend to be popping up all over the country this time of year.

Here are some pictures that I took yesterday at the floral competition.  The theme this year was 'The Fabulous Fifties'!  Both 'floral shoes' were designed with only natural items to resemble fifties footwear!

The above was a vignette titled 'Leave It To Beaver'

In addition to all the wonderful flower competitions, there were great landscape displays and booths offering anything you can imagine surrounding the home and garden theme.  Of course there was food...lots of samples so we grazed our way through the convention center.  It was tough to leave the flower show and be blasted with cold, windy weather as we made our way through the parking garage to the top level!  And yes, we did see snowflakes as we left.  Spring can arrive anytime.  Here's a little of what we saw yesterday!

How We Ate Rice - 100 Years Ago!

For the past few days I've been looking through old cook books and recipe collections spanning over 150 years. I have come to the conclusion that while some things are trendy and make an appearance for just a few years, others - like rice - have never left us.  Rice is essential to our nutrition and sustainability.  In many parts of the world rice is considered the single most important item in international food security.  To read more about rice and it's importance to the human race click on this Wikipedia link.  While the U.S. does not produce much rice compared to other countries we have started increasing our rice production.  Here is a link to the USA Rice Federation if you would like to learn more about the U.S. rice industry.  In the last 50 years rice consumption has increased by over 40%!  I thought it would be fun to share some recipes that haven't seen much action recently!!

In the year 1859 Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management was published.  I'm lucky enough to own a reprint of this detailed account of what it meant to run a home in the middle of the 19th century.  This is the description that is offered in regard to rice: 

"Rice, with proper management in cooking it, forms a very valuable and cheap addition to our farinaceous food, and, in years of scarcity, has been found eminently useful in lessening the consumption of flour.  When boiled, it should be so managed that the grains, though soft, should be as little broken and as dry as possible.  The water in which it is dressed should only simmer, and not boil hard.  Very little water should be used, as the grains absorb a great deal, and consequently, swell much; and if they take up too much at first, it is difficult to get rid of it.  Baking it in puddings is the best mode of preparing it."

Here is a simple rice recipe from Mrs. Beeton's book.


Plain Boiled Rice Pudding


1/2 pound of rice


Wash the rice, tie it in a pudding-cloth, allowing room for the rice to swell, and put it into a saucepan of cold water; boil it gently for 2 hours, and if, after a time, the cloth seems tied too loosely, take the rice up and tighten the cloth.  Serve with sweet melted butter, or cold butter and sugar, or stewed fruit, jam, or marmalade; any of which accompaniments are suitable for plain boiled rice.


Time 2 hours after the water boils
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.  Seasonable at any time.


The following recipe for rice comes from 'The Rumford Complete Cook Book' that was published originally in 1908.  Different and...interesting.


Japanese Eggs


1 1/2 cups boiled rice
6 Hard cooked eggs
1 1/2 cups white sauce
1 teaspoon onion juice
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon soy or Worcestershire sauce


Pile the hot, cooked rice on a platter; cut the eggs in quarters and imbed in the rice; pour over them the sauce flavored with the onion juice and the soy or Worcestershire sauce, and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top. 


Note:  Soy is a sauce to be found in some stores where Japanese and Chinese products are sold.  Its principal ingredient is the soy bean.


Can you believe in the cook book they actually had to print that explanation of what soy sauce is?  Of course, you can click on the wiki link I provided to learn more than you ever wanted to know about soy sauce!


I also learned from 'The Modern Family Cook Book' authored by Meta Given that the custom in the middle of the 20th century was to rinse rice many times before actually cooking it to rid the rice of loose starch.  She then suggests that if fluffy rice is desired that the cooked rice be rinsed again in a colander and then steamed by placing the colander over a pot of boiling water.  Wow.  No thank you - that's a lot of work and let's face it, we're busy with lots of other stuff these days!  You know...facebook, twitter...


Here are a few more retro rice recipes that are about 100 years old!


Baked Rice Pudding


1 pint milk, 2 TbspsTbsps. of sugar, 1/2 cup of seeded raisins, a lump of butter.  Flavor with cinnamon and bake until thick.


Rice and Peanut Loaf


Put one cupful of shelled and roasted peanuts through the meat grinder, using the nut butter knife.  Add to the nuts one cupful of cooked hot rice, one cupful of milk, one cupful of soft bread crumbs, one lightly beaten egg, one and a half teaspoonfuls of salt, one quarter of a teaspoonful of paprika 1/8 teaspoon pepper.*


*Then what?  This is bizarre.  I assume you would mix everything into a pan of some sort and bake it - or something!  And I guess we would all have a meat grinder at the ready and know what a 'nut butter knife' was!


Pilaff


1 cup raw rice, 1 pint tomatoes, 1 large minced onion, 2 cups cold meat cut in small pieces, 1 generous tablespoon butter (or nice beef drippings) pepper and salt.


Wash the rice and drain it.  Put the butter in the frying pan and fry the onion a golden brown.  Add the rice and stir constantly until it is a pale brown. (Care must be taken or it will burn.)  Add the tomatoes and 1 pint hot water.  When the rice is tender in half an hour the meat should be added.  Set the pan aside to cook more slowly.  Another pint of water will be needed to make it thin enough.  Season it well with pepper and salt.  Cook it two hours or more on the back of the stove.*


* I'm guessing that the back of the stove was not as hot as the front of the stove.  Be thankful tonight when you turn the gas flame on or turn on the electric flat top stovetop!  At least you don't have to worry about keeping that fire burning!


I have many rice recipes from after 1940 when our rice consumption increased a great deal.  I will print one I found from the 1950's which clearly was meant to stretch ground beef.


Porcupine Meat Balls


Mix together 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 1/2 cup of uncooked rice, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper.  Shape into small balls and drop into 1 can of tomatoe soup into which has been added 1/2 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of chopped green pepper and 1 tablespoon grated onion.  Cook slowly for about 40 minutes and serve the meat balls with the tomatoe sauce over them.*


*Did you notice that this recipe didn't just call for a jar of spaghetti sauce?  There probably wasn't any to be found!


In my book 'Life is Meals' by James and Kay Salter they say this about rice,

"The Japanese have the longest average life span in the world: 79.9 years compared to 76.7 in the United States.  And until the end, their bones are stronger, they have fewer strokes and less heart disease, and few are overweight."

Enough said.  Below is a Minute Rice commercial from 1950 - Enjoy!

Dinner with George and Martha

Today the nation observes Presidents' Day, the combined celebration officially observing the birthdays of Presidents Washington and Lincoln.  George Washington's birthday is on February 22nd and I thought it would be appropriate to examine what a birthday celebration with George and Martha would have been like.  Birthdays in the Washington home were big events along with Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.  There are many records of the meals served by George and Martha along with account books that reveal (according to 'The First Ladies Cook Book),

"that food was consumed in amazing quantities; orders for claret and champagne were placed 26 dozen at a time."

The Washingtons also did quite a bit of entertaining during the breakfast meal although these were much less formal and Mrs. Washington herself made the coffee and tea and only one servant attended.   George and Martha found it necessary to confine their official entertaining once he became President to Tuesday and Thursday evenings with dinner being served at four in the afternoon.  President Washington had by the time of his presidency set in place rules of protocol that he and his wife followed in order to simplify the difficult task of being President in addition to maintaining a home, an estate and a table which would impress visitors.  It is recorded that as many as 10-15 extra guests would join them when they were at Mt. Vernon each night for dinner and accounted for much of the 8 tons of pork sent to the smokehouse to be consumed in a given year!  And what was the surprise expense?  The cost of candles due to the fact that many of his guests stayed overnight.  In addition, the Washingtons housed the servants of their guests and their horses.  It has been said that Washington considered all of his entertaining an important part of duty to his country and Martha complied with anything that she saw as benefiting her husband.  She was so devoted to George that she travelled with him during all of his winter encampments with the Continental Army.

 


Dinner with the President and his wife was elaborate with many offerings of meat, fish (a favorite of our 1st President), soup, fowl and many different forms of dessert including puddings, pies, etc.  And what about the story of that cherry tree?  Part of American lore and nothing more.  Cherry pies were served frequently because they were available in abundance.  Locally grown - what a concept.  It is recorded that a frequent offering at dinners was Beefsteak and Kidney Pie and English Trifle.  Trifle has changed a great deal over the years.  Below is the recipe served by the Washingtons.  Perhaps this would have been served instead of our traditional birthday cake.  It has evolved over the years to resemble a large 'parfait'.  Hmmm...didn't I write about that once?  Read more about Washington's favorite foods at this foodtimeline.org link!

Below is the Washington's recipe for Trifle but I have included a pic from http://www.pinterest.com/ of a modern day Trifle.


Trifle


Put slices of Savoy cake or Naples biscuit at the bottom of a deep dish; wet it with white wine, and fill the dish nearly to the top with rich boiled custard; season half a pint of cream with white wine a sugar; whip to a froth- as it rises, take it lightly off, and lay it on the custard; pile it up high and tastily - decorate it with preserves of any kind, cut so thin as not to bear the froth down by its weight.


Sponge cake, Naples biscuit, or jelly roll, cut into slices
1/2 cup white wine, sherry, or brandy
1 pint whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar rich custard (see below)
candied fruits and angelica for decoration


Line the bottom and sides of a deep dish with slices of sponge cake, Naples, biscuit, or jelly roll.  Wet them with 1/3 cup wine, and fill the dish nearly to the top with rich boiled custard. 


Season 1/2 pint of heavy cream with 1 Tbsp. wine and 1 Tbsp. sugar; whip to a froth and lay it on the custard.  Cover and decorate with the remaining 1/2 pint whipped cream, preserves of any kind, candied fruits, and angelica.


Rich Custard


1 quart milk, scalded
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
6 eggs, whole
1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract*


Scald 1 quart milk; add 1/2 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.  Beat 6 whole eggs and add cold milk to them.  Stir, and gradually add to the hot milk mixture.  Cook in top of double boiler until custard coats the spoon.  When cold, add the flavoring.


*Of course, you made your own extract!  That takes approximately 3 months with good rum and expensive vanilla beans.  I've done it and will write about it one day!!


Here is a picture of a 'modern' Trifle.

No Sonic?! Danbury Should Bring Back The Automat!

Well, it's official, Sonic will not be coming to Danbury anytime soon.  Lots of people were looking forward to the trendy fast food drive-in restaurant.  It created quite the buzz in Danbury as we waited and waited...and waited for construction to begin.  It never did.  We learned today that the company was involved in some sort of court issue that will prevent it from building on the proposed land.  It was actually going to be built adjacent to an Expect Discount Store located right near exit 8 off I-84.  Not only were more jobs anticipated but there was the excitement that a 'retro' type drive-in restaurant generates.  I'm confident that our mayor Mark Boughton and his team will work diligently to find another location that will be suitable for this trendy food spot.  Read more about Sonic and what the experience is like by clicking on the link.  In the meantime,

Maybe Danbury should seriously consider helping an investor to bring the 'Automat' back!  I will be honest.  It wasn't until I delved into the world of retro recipes and our American food history that I discovered what Automats were.  I had no idea they even existed until I read about them in one of my favorite books (find it, buy it, download it, borrow it - you will love it), 'The Food of a Younger Land' by Mark Kurlansky.  This is a collection of essays written in the 1930's by a group of writers working under President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration called the Federal Writer's Project to create work for authors.  Can you imagine that happening today?!  These authors set out to document our eating habits, traditions and daily struggles at a critical moment in time.  After the war was over American food habits changed drastically in large part due to the introduction of fast food restaurants, large supermarkets and an interstate highway and transportation system that allowed food to travel farther than ever.  The article in Kurlansky's book is authored by Edward O'Brien and simply titled "The Automat".  

According to Kurlansky Automats were a forerunner of fast food and in the early twentieth century were a rapidly growing trend.  Basically, food -and tasty food- was dispensed by inserting nickels into a coin slot, opening the glass door of individual compartments and removing the plate of food.  Each food item was placed on a tray and the customer sat at tables with complete strangers (sometimes waiting for a spot) and ate his meal.  The weird thing - and I do mean weird - is that not one person ever smoked in an Automat.  It was not done...and it could have been!  Read this description of the automat experience by Edward O'Brien,

"A stranger entering these precincts is led by the crowd toward a trim marble counter, in which are several plate-like depressions.  A nickel is the unit of purchase, so coins or bills are here exchanged for scintillating showers of nickels, which are miraculously never too many, never too few.  With a fistful of nickels, and wearing hat, coat, carrying brief-case or handbag, the crowd moves on toward the walls of food, assembling as they go trays, silver, and napkins."

And then followed by this,

"Dozens of illuminated metal cubicles, separated from the hungry by little plate-glass doors, exhibit single servings of some edible.  Prices in nickels are posted beside the glass door: Chicken Pie 4 nickels; Hot Mince Pie 2 nickels.  The trick is to push the required number of nickels into the right slot, whisk out the food before the door slams shut again, and juggle the dish onto the tray, without dropping bags, parcels, or other belongings."

I think this would be such a unique experience, so...what's the word---'retro'.  In our growing city of Danbury where college students mix with professionals and a burgeoning immigrant population this just might be successful!  We all still want Sonic to locate in Danbury but wouldn't this be awesome! To read more about the history of the Automat click on the link!  I found this article from Smithsonian.com that provides a good history of the Automat in America.  Sometimes we need to revisit what worked once before in our past.  What worked once might work again!  I found this incredible short You-Tube video about Automats.  Enjoy!!

Abe Lincoln's Birthday Dinner?

I know today is Valentine's Day.  Plenty of people will be writing about that but I felt inspired to devote this post to Abraham Lincoln.  I work in a large middle school that frequently offers assemblies to it's students.  Today our 7th grade children were treated to a presentation about Abe Lincoln given by an actor who portrays the younger Lincoln.  I walked around the corner of a hallway today and came face to face with our 16th president!  Actually, he was the actor that brought the man to life for our 7th graders.  While Lincoln never had a national holiday commemorating his birthday of February 12, 1809, it is now observed along with Washington's birthday during the combined President's Day. 

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at foods that were considered some of the Lincoln's favorites to serve.  I thought that perhaps on his birthday he might have enjoyed the chicken and oyster recipes from their administration reprinted below.  In my reference book, 'The First Ladies Cook Book' several recipes are offered from the Lincoln period at the White House.  The Lincoln's loved to entertain and at the time of the Lincoln presidency there was a custom of music on the White House grounds on Wednesday and Saturday evenings with the public having free access to the area.  Occasionally, the President would appear on the White House balcony and wave to the visitors on the lawn.  It was Mary Todd Lincoln that banished artificial flowers from the White House and insisted that only fresh arrangements be displayed.  However, after her son Willie died in 1862 she banished floral arrangements again from the White House because her son loved them.  Many say this was done out of the enormity of her grief.  The music concerts on the lawn were also a thing of the past.  It was at this point that she began to spend more time on shopping trips to New York that provided her with a quick fix to fill the void created by her grief.  Mary's unraveling would only accelerate after her husbands assassination barely one month after his triumphant second inauguration night.  Mary seemed to be improving and wore a gorgeous $2,000.00 dress, "shimmering white silk and lace, with an elaborate fan and headdress."  After her husband's assassination, Mary Todd spent five weeks upstairs in the White House before she felt composed enough to leave.  She lived the rest of her life in the shadow of grief as her physical and mental health fell apart.  She died in 1882 at the home of her sister in Springfield, Illinois.

Below are two recipes that were favorites of the Lincoln's and served frequently.  Read all about presidential china by clicking on the link!  These recipes may have been served on this china!!

Fricasseed Chicken

2 to 3 fryers, cut up
salt
pepper
flour, for dredging
1/2 pint cream
lard or butter, for frying chicken and parsley
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. mace
a little butter rolled in flour
parsley sprigs

Cut up your chickens into pieces of the desired size.  Wipe the pieces dry, season them with pepper and salt, and dredge lightly with flour.  Fry them in  lard or butter until they are brown on all sides.  When they are quite done, take them out of the frying pan, and keep them hot in a covered pan on an asbestos pad over a low flame.

Skim the gravy in the frying pan, and pour the cream into it.  Season with a little nutmeg, mace, salt and pepper, and thicken it with a small bit of butter rolled in flour.  Stir carefully to be sure that the mixture is smooth.  Give it a boil, and then pour it over the pieces of chicken which have been kept hot and which must be served hot.  Put some lard or butter into the pan.  Fry the parsley sprigs in it to garnish the chicken; the fried parsley must stay green and crisp.

Scalloped Oysters

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups coarse cracker crumbs
2 dozen oysters (drained, save the liquor)
1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons sherry
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup cream mixed with oyster liquor

Mix butter and cracker crumbs.  Butter shallow baking dish and put 1/3 of the mixture on the bottom.  Add layer of oysters.  Mix cream, oyster liquor, sherry, Worcestershire sauce and pepper.  Cover layer of oysters with half of sauce.  Add another 1/3 of the crumbs, place remaining oysters on top, and add remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 of the crumbs.  Bake in hot oven (425 degrees F) for 10 or 15 minutes until crumbs are lightly browned.

Just a quick note about the above recipes.  The chicken recipe calls for butter rolled in flour to thicken the gravy.  What a perfect way to get the right amount of butter and flour into a gravy!  And frying parsley sprigs?!  Very in.  Today we have seen a resurgence of fried kale recipes!  What's old is new again...always.  And the oyster recipe?  That's just a classic.  Mary Todd wasn't crazy all the time. 

Have You Had to Look for Your Backbone Lately?

I know it's an incredibly strange title to a post but I was thinking about that very thing this week.  I had a situation at work where I found myself repeating over and over that I needed to 'find my backbone'!  The reality is that our mental backbone needs plenty of reminders to stay strong in the form of self confident thought and behavior that our physical backbone receives from nutrition and healthy living.

Bones have always been associated with strength and have been included in recipes since the beginning of time.  Many people continue to use marrow bones in soup recipes while others (myself included) will buy them as a treat for a canine friend.  Currently, a common form of adding bone marrow is to make a split pea or ham soup by adding the ham bone to the broth as it is cooking and then removing it.  

If you're looking for a more detailed description of the benefits of bone marrow check out this link!  Of course, there are restaurants that specialize in 'nose to tail' cooking that have been serving bone marrow delicacies for a very long time.  Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is very fond of a restaurant in Europe called St. John that serves up every bit of offal you can imagine!  I found several recipes using bone marrow from the Cooks.com website if you need inspiration.  Most of the recipes in my collection are rustic stew recipes that only call for cooking the meat with the bone while these are specifically geared to connoisseurs of the actual marrow.  Many believe that it is incredibly healthful to consume bone marrow.  

While I won't be eating any bone marrow or gelatin products (no red meat of any kind), I find it interesting to learn how history has changed our perception of foods.  In our recent past, bone marrow and offal were almost always consumed.  Waste was not looked upon in a favorable manner.  Now these items are considered delicacies or a pricey option for the 'foodie' but not standard fare for a family.

And what about my question about the location of my 'mental backbone'?  Not to worry.  I found it and it's strong.  Really strong.

  

What the 'Mechanical Refrigerator' Gave Us

This is an odd post.  Sometimes I have no idea what I'm going to write about until I start perusing some of my heirloom recipes (those that are approximately 100 years old) and find a tidbit of information that starts me thinking.  Today I found a recipe that specifically called for the use of a 'mechanical refrigerator'.  It's probably one of the earliest recipes I've ever seen for a frozen salad.  As you read the recipe, remember that you would have had to make the marshmallows yourself in advance! Marshmallows were not commercially produced until after 1948.  If you're interested in learning more about the marshmallow and why you should avoid them if you don't eat animal products, click on the link.  Go to this link about gelatin if you truly want to know what is in your favorite jello product!  I've included two very old recipes for jellied salads and one 'retro' recipe for a funky 1970's jellied salad!


Frozen Pineapple and Marshmallow Salad

Whip a cup of heavy cream and fold into it one half cup of mayonnaise.  Have prepared three and three-fourths cups of canned pineapple that has been diced and drained, twelve quartered marshmallows and a cup of shredded coconut.  Fold these ingredients through the mayonnaise and cream mixture.  Pour the salad into the the tray of your mechanical refrigerator and freeze until firm.  Unmold on a platter and garnish with crisp lettuce, and a slice of the canned pineapple that has been quartered.  This will serve eight.

Jellied Fruit Pudding

Cover 3/4 box of gelatin with 1 cup of cold water; when soft, add 1 cup of boiling water and 1 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved, then add the juice from 2 large lemons and strain.  Let stand until it begins to thicken and add 2 bananas and 6 figs cut into small pieces, the pulp of 2 oranges, and 12 broken English walnut meats.  Turn into a wet mold and stir occasionally while hardening to prevent the fruit from settling.

And now for that funky recipe from the '70's!  Good times.

Daiquiri Salad

1 cup boiling water

1 package (6 ounces) lime-flavored gelatin

1 can (6 ounces) frozen limeade concentrate

About 1/2 cup ginger ale

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained (reserve juice)

1/2 cup light rum

Salad greens

Honeydew melon balls

Pour boiling water on gelatin in 2-quart bowl; stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Stir in frozen concentrate.  Add enough ginger ale to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 and 1/4 cups.  Stir pineapple juice-ginger ale mixture and rum into gelatin mixture.  Refrigerate until slightly thickened, about 1 hour.




The pic is sideways but you get the idea!

 

Stir in pineapple.  Pour into 5-cup mold.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.  Unmold on salad greens.  Garnish with melon balls.  If desired, serve with whipped topping.  8-10 servings.

The above recipe came from an old Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book.  It was published in 1975 and the photo is scanned from the cook book.  Salad molds were an awful lot of work but they made impressive dishes...or centerpieces.

Preparing for the Super Bowl...in 1967!

The Super Bowl is this weekend.  It's almost become a holiday in it's own right.  But not in 1967.  The first Super Bowl occurred on January 15, 1967 in Los Angeles, CA.  The stadium had plenty of empty seats that sold for what was considered an exorbitant $12.00 each!  This historic first gridiron battle was between The Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Packers won 35-10.  The head coach of the Packers was the legendary Vince Lombardi.  One of the commentators at that game was Frank Gifford.  To read more about this historic event read this wikipedia link about all things Super Bowl I! 

The Super Bowl in 1967 was certainly not the event that it is today.  Super Bowl ads did not become 'famous' until 1973 when Noxzema ran a commercial for their shaving cream featuring Joe Namath.  In fact, a 30 second TV commercial airing during that first Super Bowl sold for a mere $42,000 which is nothing compared to todays price tag of almost 3 million for that same 30 seconds!  Culturally, our nation was embroiled in war both at home with the civil rights movement in full swing and overseas with the Vietnam war.  We were going through growing pains openly expressed in the music of the day (Beatles, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds) and the newly opened Broadway musical 'Hair'.  The first 'Rolling Stone' magazine was published in 1967 and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was formed.  Seat belts were finally going to be added to our cars!  To read more about this tumultuous time click on the link!  It's an incredible site that tells you all about 1967.  For instance, the average price of a home was only $7,300 and a gallon of gas was a mere .33 cents!  

Below are two ads from 1967 for Coke and Tang.  Tang was a 'new' product!

So what were we doing for Super Bowl parties in 1967?  Not much.  It wasn't until years later that this became the food event that it is today.  Read more about Super Bowl parties and food here.  The halftime program in 1967 was less than amazing.  Two marching bands played along with the American Trumpeter Al Hirt.  Who?  This guy.  I can tell you that 1967 was the year Bugle Corn Chips were introduced (you can still find them in the chip aisle) and Tang was brand new!  Foods that were popular then were of the 'fussy' variety but did include buffalo wings and fondue.  Foodtimeline.org offers much more information on the popular food of the 1960's  at this link.

So while you're making your party preparations and setting up the coffee table as a grazing station, putting out card tables or TV trays, filling your dining room table with crocks of chili and foot long sandwiches and chilling the beer; remember the humble beginnings of this truly American Event.  After all, it is currently second only to Thanksgiving for food purchases!  Below is a short You Tube clip about that first Super Bowl.  I had to include 2 commercials from 1967.  They're pretty funny. Enjoy!

Americans and the Groundhog!

Today is Groundhog Day.  American folklore says that Punxsatawny Phil was originally named after King Philip and the first 'prediction' occurred on February 2, 1887 and has continued annually.  Click on this official link to learn more about the festivities in Gobbler's Knob today!  You could even join the 'Groundhog Club' if you were so inclined.  That male woodchuck (just sayin') apparently predicted 6 more weeks of winter.  Unbelievable.  I prefer to believe the official Connecticut groundhog, Chuckles, who upon seeing her shadow declared that winter has been cancelled!  The Connecticut groundhog (or woodchuck whichever you prefer) is a female.  Enough said.  Here is a link to News Channel 8 in Connecticut with her prediction. 

I've mentioned before that I work in a large middle school that has a large population of children from other countries.  It's always fun to substitute teach on Groundhog Day and explain this semi-holiday to children who have never heard of it before.  They are amazed...astounded that Americans actually gather to listen to this 'rodent'.  One child actually said to me, "But in our country we eat those animals!"  Seriously.  And, just a thought, maybe we should consider that after Phil's pronunciation of continued rotten weather.  There are actually websites with instructions for cooking up the cute little critters.  I couldn't resist and offer these woodchuck recipes from www.wildliferecipes.net.  Now, our Connecticut friend Chuckles the woodchuck that so correctly announced the winter season 'cancelled' should be given some extra special food and be permitted to hibernate as long as she wants.  We need to provide Chuckles with a PR person and her own special club.  She deserves it.  Here is a comprehensive wikipedia link with everything you ever wanted to know about groundhogs!  And here is a Discovery News site that offers even more information about the events surrounding 'Groundhog Day' and some awesome photos as well.

I couldn't end this post without describing how people in our American past may have cooked up 'Phil' for dinner.  Because they did.  Woodchucks can weigh over 8 pounds.  That's a good sized dinner!  They were usually cooked for outdoor festivities in a dutch oven type pot roasting for several hours with potatoes.  I'm sure in many parts of the country (and others) this is still considered good food and not just roadkill.  Many of the children that attend the school I work at are from Ecuador where guinea pig is eaten regularly!  Even if you have no intention of ever in your lifetime eating game (?) such as groundhog, I hope you take some time to learn a little more about this piece of American Folklore.  Or you could just watch the movie 'Groundhog Day' with Bill Murray.  Here's the You Tube video of the 'ceremony' in Gobbler's Knob. That name...

Below is the official trailer of the 'Groundhog Day' movie!  It's a must see!!