Delrich's Blueberry Muffins, Family Circle January 1950

Who doesn't like blueberry muffins?  Make that blueberry muffins with delicious Delrich margarine!  We don't use margarine so I substituted butter but seeing squeezable margarine in all my vintage magazines makes me laugh.  It had such promise.  Lowering cholesterol, keeping fresh indefinitely, and tasting so good- better than butter!  But times change.  Who would have thought that butter would come out the winner?  Of course there is much debate out there but seeing as I've never liked margarine I'm feeling better about preference.    

Here's the original recipe:

Here's the updated version:

2C All purpose flour

2 1/4 t Baking powder

1/2t Salt

2T Sugar

1C Milk

3T Butter, melted

1 Egg

2/3C Blueberries (If frozen defrost first then rinse and drain well)

Preheat oven to 425.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Set aside.

In a large measuring cup pour the milk, melted butter, and egg.  Mix well.  

Pour the contents of the measuring cup into the flour mixture.  Stir until just incorporated.  Add drained the blueberries and fold gently until evenly distributed.  The mixture will be thick.  

Grease a standard muffin pan or use cupcake liners.  Fill the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  

These were what I'd consider "adult" muffins.  Not the soft cake- like muffins my kids gobble down before I can get them out of the oven.  They're not too sweet and have the texture of a scone.  I loved them with a little butter and I think they'd be a nice addition to an egg breakfast in place of toast.  

Let me know if you try them!

Sarah

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth!

I'm still here but we've been hit with this flu-like virus (twice!) that has left us all unable to eat, cranky, tired, and generally miserable.  I have to say the weather related school closings have been well timed though.  My kids haven't missed that much actual class time.  Yay!!

I hope everyone has had pleasant holidays and is ready for 2015!  I'll be back with a yummy blueberry muffin recipe as soon as I can get it going.  I've got the ingredients so that's half the battle, right?

Stay warm if it's winter where you are.  :)

Sarah

Frankfurter-Cheese Bake reinvented, Women's Day November 1952

When I proposed making hotdog casserole my dear Hubby let out a sigh ending with a weak ok.  Kind of like a forlorn little boy whose mother asks him to sit down and eat his dinner of liver and onions.   But when I offered to change it up and add his homemade chili that was packed away in the freezer I could see in his eyes that he was hooked.

After thinking about it a bit this recipe became Chili-Dog Casserole.  Hubby and I were thrilled.  We both crave a good chili dog every so often.   The kids all had their reasons not to like it though.  One doesn't like hotdogs, one doesn't like casseroles, and the other joined her siblings in solidarity but did say she liked the cheese.  So why did I bother to make a dinner that has two strikes against it?  First I thought it sounded interesting.  Totally screams "LET'S GET CREATIVE!" in the logic-be-damned way 1950's food just does.  And second, we were really tired of holiday food.  If there's the perfect antithesis of a wholesome Thanksgiving dinner it's got to include hot dogs, right??

Here's the original recipe:

Here's our version:

6 Hotdogs, chopped
1 Medium onion, chopped
A little olive oil
8 Slices white bread
1C Shredded cheddar cheese
1.5 C Leftover chili or canned chili

Preheat oven to 350.
Sauté the onions in a little olive oil over a medium heat until transparent.  Add the hotdogs and stir occasionally until slightly browned.  Spray a square 8X8 inch pan with cooking spray.  Cut the bread slices in half.  Layer 4 slices of bread on the bottom of the pan.  Top with the hotdog mixture, then 1/2 of the cheese, and then 1/2 of the chili.  Place the rest of the bread on top of the chili and press down slightly.  Top with the remaining chili and cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes until heated thru and the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Here it is just out of the oven.  Yummmm.

And here it is plated up.  We had some fruit with it.

This is the type of dish you'll either love or hate.  (I'm thinking if you've read this far you are in the "love" camp.  Thanks for staying with me, peeps.)  I honestly I wouldn't bother trying to make it healthy using tofu dogs, wheat bread, and low fat cheese.  The beauty of this recipe is you get the taste of a greasy hot dog joint without the expense or having to eat standing up.  Plus it's a great way to use up homemade chili.  I will make it again for me and the Hubster.  Maybe a romantic dinner with candles?  Ha ha.


Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!!

My Thanksgiving table 2013.

Is everyone busy planning, shopping and cleaning!?!  Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday with some of my favorite foods but it sure takes a lot of work, doesn't it?  This year I'm not hosting and I have to say I'm both relieved and a little sad.

I was reading my November 1951 Women's Day and found an article about how to make Thanksgiving easier on the cook.  It details the expected tips like shopping early, but only if you have a freezer.  What a nice reminder of the commonplace conveniences we have and to be thankful for them. Sometimes in the rush of a Costco run it's easy to forget that a few generations ago the problem of where to put all the food would seem absurd.  (And those 36 rolls of toilet paper?  That would be a crazy luxury in 1933!  But here in 2014 it's a great deal.)

I thought my readers would get a kick out of this article too.  Click on the pics to enlarge.  The drawings are darling!

I must include the adorable magazine cover.  You know how I love puppies.  Just look at those eyes!!

Wishing for you and your family much to be thankful and a delicious holiday.

Sarah

Meal Planning!

Clearly I talk was too much because when I made my meal planning video I thought it was a quick one and it was over 5 minutes!  So off to You Tube I went with my little editor/technology consultant (aka Very Dear son!) in tow to help me post it.

Here you go!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeEladf7Q2Y

Let me know if and how you meal plan in the comments below or under the video.  I'm always looking for inspiration and love learning from friends, cyber and in real life.

Have a great weekend!

Sarah

My Weekend Estate Sale Finds

It was a bonanza weekend of estate sales!  Surprising with winter on its way and Thanksgiving around the corner.  I went to three sales.  One was a total bust, one was an interesting house despite a serious lack of anything vintage, and one was a goldmine of vintage kitchen items and furniture.  

The house itself was about 100 years old and tiny.  It had an enclosed front porch and the bathroom off the kitchen had a pink toilet.  (I want to live in a world where a pink toilet is an option, don't you?!?)  I loved all the hidden storage nooks and layers of shelf paper in the kitchen cabinets.  So sweet- like someone really thought of the function of the house and took care of it.  The owners had put hooks in the backsplash so all of the cooking utensils were easily accessible and didn't get damaged being shoved into drawers.  There is something to be said about a kitchen being functional and not just pretty.  

The owner of the estate sale company said the home had been sold to a developer who is going to tear it down and build new.  I know the home would cost a lot to get it up to modern standards but I can't help thinking about the family who lived there.  (Apparently the home had been in one family's possession for 100 years!)  When the home was built the whole area was different.  Most of the homes on the street weren't built until the '50s and the current park behind the house was farmland.  I can just imagine children cutting thru the farm on their dash home from school and coming into the kitchen thru the back door.  Everything has to change though.  The poor back door was in such bad shape someone had nailed pieces of wood to cover the wear.  

I found lots of goodies!  The two glass measuring cups caught my attention because they were in such great condition but were clearly an older style.  The smaller is marked to 3/4 a cup but fill it to the top and it's a full cup.  I suppose we're spoiled by having that extra room in our measuring cups.  Ha ha.  Perhaps it was for dry measurements because there isn't a pouring lip.  The larger is marked "Fire King" and "made in the USA", which I love to see.  It's a 2 quart and is taller than the short and squatty 2 quart Pyrex I got for my wedding so it fits in my cabinet better.  (I'm good at justifying my purchase, aren't I?)  I also got an enamel pitcher/measuring cup.  It measures in ounces and grams.  I thought a gram was a measurement of weight so this is a bit confusing.  I'll have to do some research.  There are metal marks on the inside like it was used for making pancake batter or whisking eggs.

I also bought some tiny loaf pans for the tiny loaves of bread I'm going to make for my not so tiny children.  Although two of them have toddler sized appetites so I guess they're a need, not a want.  ;)

See the egg slicer on the right?  That thing must be 60 years old and it's in better condition than the one I bought two years ago to replace the one I bought 18 months prior.  I promise my kids haven't used the new egg slicers to do anything out of the ordinary, like paint rocks.  Those cheap things just broke with normal use.  I think the new vintage find may last until my grandchildren's weddings.  Seriously.  I also bought this thing to cut french fries from potatoes.  I usually use a knife but the french fry cutter was only $1 and I wanted to give it a try.

So what's with the Bisquick cookbook?  No I don't use Bisqucik but found a recipe on line for homemade Bisquick mix and thought I why not.  If I were a '40s/'50s housewife I'd probably love Bisquick.  The ingredients were much more wholesome back then.  I read somewhere it was just flour, salt, and baking soda.  Now it has too many chemicals I can't pronounce.  Of course if I were a housewife of that time I wouldn't have to worry about food killing me, unless it had spoiled.  Anyway, the red circus bowl was just so cute.  I've seen them on Ebay for a pretty penny but this one isn't marked so I don't really know what it's worth.  I'm not planning to sell it anyway.

This may be the last estate sale hurrah for the season.  Honestly I thought it was already over.  The sales are excellent in the summer and early fall and that's usually it around here.  I got so lucky!

Have a great week!

Sarah

No Recipe recipe: Throw A Chicken in the oven!

Real food shouldn't be that complicated, right?  But sometimes it just is.   Jobs, kids, housework, errands, and life in general can get in the way.  Not to mention our culture's elevated expectations of a home cooked dinner.  (Thanks, restaurants.)

When I read my vintage magazines and cookbooks I always notice how simple the meals sound.  Yes, there are some organ meats on occasion and Jello makes an appearance in both sweet and savory forms, but most recipes are for busy families who want a nutritious meal.  (Isn't that what we want today too?)  Real food was a given.  That's all there was until about the 50's.  I also note how little detail was given in the instructions.  The reader is assumed to have some basic cooking knowledge, even those written for the new bride.  Tracie McMillan elaborates on this point in her book, The American Way  of Eating.  See my review here.  Better yet pick up a copy and read it for yourself!  (I don't personally know Tracie- just really loved her book.)

So what does a quasi-foodie mom make for dinner on soccer/rehearsal night (Both my daughters are into theater.  Two different shows at two different locations with two different schedules.  My car is three years old and has almost 50K miles!) when there's also a Target run on the agenda?  She throws a chicken in the oven!

Check out the video on You Tube!

The details:

1 Whole chicken with the organ sack removed from the body cavity
3-4T Olive oil
A mixture of herbs:  Garlic, Savory, Rosemary, Thyme (Others that are good are Sage, Parsley, Oregano, Basil, or Paprika.  Any combination is good, assuming you like the herb.)
Salt and Pepper
An onion if you have it
A lemon if you have it
1/2C White wine if you have it

Preheat the oven to either 350 or 300.  See note below*.

Mix all of the herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Coat chicken with olive oil.  Rub the entire bird with the herb mixture.  Pour the wine over the chicken.  Squeeze the lemon over the chicken.  Put a few onion and squeezed lemon quarters in the cavity.  Sprinkle the herb mixture in there too.

Add any veggies you want.  (Potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, Brussels spouts are good.  See my Vegetable post for more details.)    Coat with olive oil and sprinkle with the herb mixture if you have any left or just use salt and pepper.

Cover the chicken with tin foil.  Cook for 1 hour at 350.  Uncover and cook for another 20 minutes to brown the top.  You can speed up the browning by raising the temp to 425.

That's it!  YUMMMMMM.

That note* about the oven temp.  If you are making this ahead or aren't going to be home (and feel comfortable leaving the oven on a low temp) set the oven to 300.  You'll need to cook the chicken for at least 90 minutes.  If you are concerned use a meat thermometer to check for doneness when you get home.  If I remember correctly the temp in the thigh should be 165.  (I think my meat thermometer is buried in the backyard of my old house.  Long story.  There were lots of neighborhood kids over one snow day and it's been missing ever since.)  Your meat thermometer will have the correct temps for many kinds of meat marked on the dial.

Total prep time can be five minutes, once you make this a few times.  Tonight I made it while my son got his snack and found his uniform.  (It was all ready for him!)  My oldest daughter came home 10 minutes before me and raised the oven temp and took off the foil so it was really ready to hit the table within minutes of walking in the door.  Nice!

Enjoy,
Sarah