Everything Old

Antique Greetings

2009-03-30T22:44:00.001-07:00

Nothing gives me more pleasure and pride than the greeting cards that once belonged to my grandmother. I love them. I love the texture of the paper, the details on each card, the inked handwriting from the sender inside. The cards are precious to me and I love looking through them, something I do at least once a year.

Valentine's Day is long past, but look at these wonderful cards! Just look at the ribbon and lace on this one. Isn't it grand? Who wouldnt' have loved to get this special card from a special friend?

This one is made of crisp vellum, one of my favorite papers. It is embossed with various inks and metallic paints. It's a masterpiece.

Mother's Day is coming up. How about this lovely card for mom?

And how about a nice masculine one for Dad in June?

And in only two months or so we'll be sending congratulations cards to all the graduates.

Scalloped Rose Bowl

2009-03-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

This scalloped-edge bowl belonged to my grandmother. My mom kept it after grandma died and I just recently inherited it last fall.

It doesn't have any distinguishing marks that I can find. The fact that it's very shallow keeps it from getting much use. It's not deep enough to really hold much on the dinner table. However, it is very good for holding eggs that I plan to boil the next day. I always leave them out on the counter over night before boiling them.

I think these eggs look so pretty sitting in this bowl. The colors and shapes go together so nicely.

My rose colored glass bowl is my contribution to Coloradolady's "Vintage Thingies Thursday".

Antique Angel Food

2009-03-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

While perusing my collection of vintage cake recipes, I found this one which had been printed on the circular insert found inside an angel food cake pan. It was just the excuse I needed to finally try out my vintage angel food cake pan! I also needed a really good way to use up a lot of eggs in one shot. The recipe used 1 1/2 cups of eggs whites. I saved the yolks and used them to make some chocolate ice cream in my new ice cream maker. Nothing went to waste.

I wasn't sure what to expect since this was my first attempt at angel food cake, and it was the first time I've used this particular cake pan.

The cake turned out better than I had hoped and was delicious. My guys' eyes lit up when they saw the cake. What is it about cake that males find so irresistible?

I have to add that the plate is also a vintage find from Lene's Web. It's larger and flatter than a dinner plate which make it very nice for a cake platter.

And I finally got a chance to use my angel food cake cutter with the Bakelite handle. It looks like a very large comb. It works its way through delicate cake really well. The large perforations can then be torn by hand and you're left with a wedge of picture-perfect cake! I suppose it would also be very handy for grooming sheep, if you were so inclined.

Buttermilk Benefits

2009-03-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

How do you use Buttermilk? I have to admit, up until recently I never used it. But I didn't really flex my baking muscles until recently either. If you're a baker, you use buttermilk regularly. I wouldn't make biscuits without it. It's not just the flavor that's important, it's the thickness and the acidity. Just yesterday I used buttermilk to make a wonderful batch of cinnamon rolls.

I found Saco Buttermilk Replacerbut the only thing it doesn't duplicate is the thickness of real buttermilk. This is important when making biscuits; not so important when baking bread or making pancakes.

If you're making a recipe that calls for buttermilk but don't have any, it's easy to substitue a cup of whole milk that has a tablespoon of lemon juice added to it. Let it sit on the counter for about 5 minutes before using it. This allows the lemon juice time to thicken the milk proteins and gives it a consistency much like that of real buttermilk. The lemon juice also gives it the proper acidity and you won't be able to taste a difference.

How do you use buttermilk? Please share your favorite recipe using buttermilk in the comments. The lady in this Starlac flyer is drinking it--gag! I've heard it makes fried chicken and onion rings even better. I often find quarts of buttermilk on sale at the grocery store. People must not use it much anymore--a testament to our instant-gratification society that no longer cooks from scratch. What a shame.

Exciting Development!

2009-02-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

I have some exciting news about my little English china dish! I submitted a photo of the mark to Figurines-Sculpture.com and asked if they could identify the maker. I received this very exciting reply today:

"Hi Amy,

"Thanks for your interesting question about the mystery pottery mark shown in the above photo. A clear photo like that always makes identification easier.

"The mark is one I am pleased to be able to identify as that of Samuel Radford Ltd, a Staffordshire maker of good quality producing fine china between 1879 and 1957. They were originally a Longton maker, then in 1885, moved to Fenton.

"You are right in saying your mark was an early mark dating from c1880 to c1913, so you have a very accurate date for your wares. After about 1913, the firm developed a new pottery mark called "Radfordian", and developed at least 10 or so different pottery marks, some using the S.R. initials in various fonts, and some using the Radfordian back mark.

"If you go to my China Replacement page and follow the tips on how to search efficiently online, you will find some wares from the same maker. Be aware of sellers who are not properly flagging up the quality and rarity of Samuel Radford Ltd wares. Having gone out of business in 1957 makes Radford China relatively rare. Be careful not to mistake Samuel Radford with other makers with a similar name. They are:-

"RADFORD (signature on printed ware)- Relates to engraver Thomas Radford.
E. RADFORD - Relates to H.J. Wood Ltd
G. RADFORD - Relates to Radford Handcraft Pottery

"I am not a china expert by any means, just an artisan within the industry, however, I always pass on any information I have for free and publish it for all to benefit from. You can use my in-house search engine located on the home page (and on many other main pages) to check for answers to any other queries you may have.My own knowledge more centered on famous English china makers, but all queries are welcome.I give general tips on pottery marks here (my own page)."

Now I have to research this dish some more and find out its value! What if I'm holding onto a china dish that worth $1,000? Then what?

I think that little dish was a gift to my grandma. It stands out like a sore thumb amongst her things. I seriously doubt she would have chosen it herself. But it's certainly becoming a very interesting piece! Stay tuned...

Heirlooms

2009-02-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

This little cabinet sits in the corner of the dining room. It was used to store sewing supplies when it was in my grandma's house. She kept bobbins, needles and spools of thread in it. The ends have secret compartments in them and if you lift the ends on either side up you can find lots of extra storage there. I keep hot pads and candle supplies in it now. It's convenient to have the hot pads for the table right there when I need them.

A closer look at the items on top shows some family heirlooms. The oil lamp and the china dish were grandma's. The wood bowls were made on my grandpa's wood lathe from wood taken from a log cabin owned by the Miller family in our township. The brown glass bottles were found in the nearby Toussaint River. I found the white glass hen dish at Lene's Web two years ago. It doesn't have a knick on it.

I found the old school books at Lene's Web too and I put them under the oil lamp as a tribute to my grandma who was a school teacher.

This is the maker's mark on the back of the china dish. I've never researched it but I'm sure it's a common pattern. Grandma never bought anything really expensive. She was a very thrifty person.

It's the only piece I have from this pattern. I always thought the colors were nice even though the oriental pattern is not my taste. I like the orange and brown together and it looks right at home on top of the sewing cabinet.

Rooster Bowl

2009-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

This is a fun bowl. I try to use it as much as possible. Right now it's holding apples. I can't find a maker's mark on it anywhere so I don't know how old it is but its colors and style make me think 1950s. It's about 10" in diameter and not very deep so it's not good at holding a lot of stuff. But I knew I had to have it when I saw it last November at Lene's Web. If you have one like it or can tell me anything about it I'd like to hear about it.

Time Marches On

2009-02-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

I picked up a few more vintage items at Lene's Web today. This Westclox "Dialite" makes me think of the spare bedroom at my grandma's I used to sleep in. There was a clock similar to this one near the bed. The face glowed orange at night just bright enough to see what time it was. This one glows too and it takes me back! It's pale blue and was sitting next to a white one. When I set the time I tested the buzzing alarm and the sound of it really took me back.

These gratin dishes really caught my eye, especially the deep orange pair. The 50's color and shape is fantastic--right up my alley! I can't find a maker's mark on the orange ones.

The Hall gratin dish is less stylish but I took it anyway because it's a Hall and it's one I don't have. It's upside down to show the maker's mark. Now I just have to find uses for these new dishes. I thought they'd be handy to put chopped toppings in for tacos. It would have been nice if I could have found a matched set of 4 so that I could actually use them to serve individual gratins but Marlene said she only had these. Their colors would be appropriate around Halloween and Thanksgiving. They could serve as candy dishes then.

Snuggle Up!

2009-02-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

It was 60 degrees out just two days ago. Now it's 34 and I've got a quilt draped over my lap that my mom made for me. Mom and grandma were both quilters. I didn't inherit the sewing gene; I'm the cook. I think it's safe to say that just about everyone has a quilt or two that are family heirlooms.

I have quiltsall over the house that were made by either my mom or my grandma. It's wonderful to have them. They are nice to look at and useful too. Sometimes I'd rather wrap up in a quilt than put my fleece bathrobe on.

Keeping Up To Date

2009-02-11T12:54:00.001-08:00

In this 1957 edition of "Home Journal", modern household items are featured (click to biggify). The "free wheeling" tea cart was featured in the 1957 Furniture Show in Chicago. It is priced at a very affordable $70.

Next is the "Smoke-N-Odor Stop" by Philco which removes smoke and odors when placed over a range burner. Basically it was a catalytic converter for the stove. I wonder if it worked? It cost $30.

The Nutone Food Center is featured in the last photo. The base sat in the electric motor which was located beneath the counter top. I think this might have been the predecessor to the KitchenAid mixer with all its attachments. The meat grinder attachment is in use in the photo. You could also get the mixer, blender and juicer as separate attachments. The base unit was $79.50, the juicer was $3.95 and the grinder was $19.95.

If you had any of these items in your home I'd be interested in hearing about them.

Quick Breads

2009-02-09T18:03:00.001-08:00

This is the oldest cook book I have. It's a bulletin of the Agricultural College Extension Office, The Ohio State University reprinted in June, 1940. The faded stamp on the cover is Elizabeth Wallrabenstein's signature. She was the Home Demonstration Agent for Oak Harbor, Ohio.

On page 5 there is this interesting illustration of balls of flour. The caption reads, "Fig. 1--Gluten balls from equal weights of flour: (a) bread flour; (b) family flour; (c) pastry flour; (d) cake flour.

Turn to page 8 and you'll see this picture of various types of egg beaters: (a) rotary type; (b) whisk type; (c) turbine type. I've yet to find the turbine type.

Here's how to form biscuits. Notice how perfect everything looks--there's no messy flour on the board, the dough circle is perfectly round and the biscuits are all consistent! I think the most important thing I've learned over the years is that my results are never, ever going to look like the one in the picture. If you can get over that fact you're well on your way to becoming a really good cook!

Biscuits: (a) Biscuit from lightly kneaded dough. Note symmetrical shape, smooth crust and large volume. (b) Biscuit from dough which has not been kneaded. Note small volume and coarser appearance. (c) Drop biscuit. Note irregular shape which is characteristic of this type of biscuit.

Great Bargains

2009-02-09T15:23:00.001-08:00

It has come to my attention that there was a typo in yesterday's blog. Here's the correction. All kidding aside, can you imagine the stampede that would result from this price in today's economy?

Here's an interesting ad promoting home pasteurizers. I don't know how much it cost since most of the ad is missing. We don't think about pasteurization when we buy milk today. The milk we bring home in neat little plastic jugs has already been pasteurized. In light of the fact that China is trying to poison our food it might be a good idea to start thinking with a 1950s mindset. It's easy to take food safety for granted when you look at it from our perspective today, but people in the 50s had to do it themselves. That's why you'll see vintage recipes call for "scalded milk". To be safe, cooks would scald milk before cooking with it.

Now on to less serious topics. How about a wedgie? You have a choice of 7 colors and they're only $3.35! If you click on the ad and read the fine print you'll see that these particular wedgies are made from elk hide. No C.O.D.'s please.

I wonder if they'll accept a personal check? I don't know the year this check was printed but it came from my hometown bank which is still in existence today, although it's now the National Bank of Oak Harbor. The bank is celebrating its 75th year of service.

1956 Bisquick Cook Book

2009-02-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

I adore vintage cookbooks, especially the little paper back booklets that women sent away for using proofs of purchase from their favorite brands. This 1956 Bisquick cookbook is one of my favorites. There are 28 pages of recipes, color photos and monochromatic illustrations to browse through.

I also love to see how Betty Crocker morphed throughout the years. Her neat and tidy 50's coif is very prim and proper. Doesn't she look smart in that tab collared smock?

Here's an example of some of the illustrations. I love the use of monocolor illustrations. The pink color is especially pleasing to me. Other colors used in this booklet were teal blue, mint green, goldenrod and rose.

The recipes are still useful today and I wouldn't hesitate to make a batch of biscuits or "tuna broccoli casserole"!

There are also some helpful cooking tips or menu suggestions at the bottom of each page, framed within a block of 50's-style color. The tip on this page reads, "Griddle is right temperature for baking when a few drops of water sprinkled on it jump around."

Just look at all the tasty things you can make with Bisquick! What's your favorite Bisquick recipe?

Instant Lounge Lizard

2009-01-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a tempting offer? With 850,000 students how can they be wrong? I'd have been sold instantly if they were advertising drums. I've always envisioned myself pounding away on a drum set with skill. Admittedly, I have no musical talent. Alas, one can dream.

So THAT'S What's Wrong!

2009-01-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

Coffee nerves! Who knew?

When I look at ads like these it makes me think about the women of the 50's and how much the home depended on her. The housewife was the backbone of the American home during that post-war era. And you know the saying: if mama's not happy, nobody's happy!

Personally, I don't get the jitters when I drink coffee. I can even go back to sleep after having it. This poor lady here better give up coffee altogether!

Plastic and Iron

2009-01-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Raise your hand if you've got some Lustro-Ware in your kitchen. Uh, huh. And how about a cast iron skillet? Uh, huh, uh, huh. Very good.

I have a red Lustro-Ware recipe box that belonged to Mrs. Gulau which contains retro recipes along with some modern ones.

I confess that I do not own a cast iron skillet...yet. I'm waiting for the right one to come along. I'm hoping for an exceptional skillet that used to belong to someone's great-granny. One that has a patina like that of shiny coal. One that is perfectly seasoned and more nonstick than Teflon. It's out there. I can feel it.

You don't hear much about Lustro-Ware these days. It seems Bakelite gets more attention. I'm not sure why that's so, but it's interesting. I'm glad to have Mrs. Gulau's recipe box. It's a real treasure to me. And I know that, some day, my skillet will come.

Ad was published in February, 1952.

57 Year Old Bread

2009-01-24T18:15:00.001-08:00

Funny, it doesn't taste that old! I found this recipe for "Oatmeal Molasses Bread" in Mrs. Gulau's stack of recipes that I "inherited" from Lene's Web. This one was published in the February, 1952 edition of "Household" magazine. It was folded and kept in a red Lustro-Ware recipe box along with many, many other bread recipes, most of which I didn't keep.

I replaced the 1/4 cup of molasses with honey and the shortening with butter. I added 1/8 cup of water to the recipe too, since it's very dry this time of year. The bread came out delicious! We enjoyed some warm slices with honey drizzled on them. Tasty!

I didn't follow the pictorial series of shenanigans used to form the loaves (below). My approach to loaf-forming is very straightforward. I let the bread maker mix and knead the dough. When the dough is finished proofing, I roll it out into a rectangle close to the recommended size, roll it up gently (not too tight) with my hands, tuck in the ends and place it in the loaf pans for the second rise. Easy!

And now that I've indulged in two slices of this wonderful, honeyed bread I'm afraid I'm going to have to order some clothes from Roaman's catalog for "stout women". Is that a nice way of saying "plump"? Roaman's is still in business today and caters to "plump" women. What I really want to know is why does Roaman's send me catalogs? (If you click the photo and enlarge it, you'll notice that the clothing sizes range from 38-52.)

Here are the loaf-forming shenanigans I referred to earlier, in case you wanted to know. Click to biggify.

Mystery Utensil

2009-01-23T00:21:00.000-08:00

Sunny sent me these photos of a mystery utensil in her kitchen. She asked me if I could help her identify it so that she can sleep tonight. She suggested that it might be used in the cheese making process when the curd is cut. Here's what she had to say about it:

"The main boby of this utensil is 9" long and 5 1/4 " wide. The interesting thing is that the wires going across are flat on one side and wedge shaped on the other, so as to make one think it is used for some kind of cutting."

I have never seen anything like this before and I don't know the first thing about cheesemaking. Can you help Sunny?

Well-Hung Furniture

2009-01-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

Got your attention, didn't I?

Check out the furniture in this article. Those skinny-legged, low-backed chairs are so retro! The concept of hanging furniture on the wall so that it can be moved up out of the way is a bit strange, but practical. I have to admit, I've never seen it done. The only drawback I can see is the inability to rearrange the furniture once it's installed.

The retro colors in the drawings are nice and make me think of the colors my grandma used in her house. Remember avocado green? Mustard yellow? Aqua blue? Yeah, I knew you would.

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

2009-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of a super-clean kitchen. I even clean my kitchen sink after each use. So this ad for Clorox bleach is right up my alley (click to bigify). Note that it's:

Gentler
Greater

I don't know about that clown looking bottle guy though. He's kinda scary.

While looking at this page of ads from the February, 1950 edition of Farm Journal, I couldn't ignore the image of the coughing man in the Foley's ad. Now, it might be just me, but wouldn't you look that bad if you took a honey and tar cough compound? I'll have a cough drop, thank you.

It's interesting to note how our cleaners and medicines have changed since 1950. I'm so grateful for the improvements! We certainly know a lot more about what makes us sick and ways to prevent food-borne illnesses.

I'll also take one of those cut-to-fit homes for $1885! What a bargain!

Mrs. Friedrichs

2009-01-01T09:41:00.001-08:00

I feel like Mrs. Friendrichs lately with all the cleaning and cooking I've been doing because of the holidays. But she looks much better with those cat's eyes glasses. And check out the wide collar on her dress. Back then women dressed to the nines, even for housework. I certainly don't put that much effort into my daily appearance. I've even been known to leave the house with a case of bed head. Shameful, I know.

Check out her nifty washer/dryer setup. How nice that she doesn't have to bend over to load and unload the machines! I also like the built-in kitchen radio above the fridge. They really knew how to build things back then, didn't they?

You Can Grow!

2008-12-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

The winter solstice has passed which means the days will become longer until spring arrives. I can hardly wait. What better time than now to plan your garden?

This page of advertising (and more tasty blender recipes) came out of a 1966 issue of Farm Journal. I love to look at old ads and see what inflation has done to today's prices. The "Trees that Grow" aren't far off from today's prices. How interesting. Could it be that trees are inflation-proof?

I have never grown dahlias or gladiolus. If it can't survive an Ohio winter it's not worth the effort to dig the planting hole. My grandma had a thing for glads though.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to whip up a batch of that blender sandwich spread.

Blendamatic

2008-12-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

It slices! It dices! It's Blendamatic!

This is the cover of an owner's manual for the Blendamatic blender, printed in 1965. I searched far and wide for a photo of the original blender but couldn't find one.

The majority of the owner's manual is dedicated to all sorts of interesting recipes. Let's all get our blenders out and make some "Chick-N-Cheese" pie. And did you know you can make meat loaf in a blender?

This page really caught my eye. "Around the world with your Blender" says it all. Someone out there please make the "Gefilte Fish" and post a photo to astound and amaze us all.

How Cold Is It?

2008-12-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

This old thermometer was a promotional gift from the National Bank of Oak Harbor to its customers. The bank is still open today in my home town six miles south of Twelve Acres. I found this little treasure at Lene's Web. I need a thermometer inside the chicken coop and this little one fit the bill.

I nailed it right about one of their roosts. It fits snugly against the wall and the chickens can't knock it down.

PET Milk Recipes

2008-12-16T13:15:00.001-08:00

This recipe booklet "Sweet and Simple" was distributed by PET Milk in 1960. I love the color graphics in it. The colors are so vivid which was typical of that time.

Last night I made the "Orange Peach Parfait" but used mandarin orange slices instead of the canned peaches. It was very different--creamy yet fruity with a sherbet-like flavor. It was a nice, cool ending to a meal of spaghetti and garlic bread!

If you decide to make any of these recipes please post a photo of the end result on your blog and link it to here so we can all get a good look at your creation! I was too busy to photograph my little orange parfaits, unfortunately. (Click on images for full sized version.)

Aunt Nita's Bowl

2008-12-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

This green glass bowl once belong to my great-Aunt Juanita. It ended up in my mom's collection a few years ago and now it's in my kitchen. I used it to hold some grated Parmesan cheese for dinner tonight.

I can't find a single maker's mark anywhere on it. I'm assuming it's Depression glass because of its age and color. The brim has a rather sharp edge on it like a lot of Depression pieces have. If you have one like it I'd be interested in knowing more about it.

It's a very good size for the kitchen and holds about a pint. I love my vintage kitchen items not only for their looks but also for their usefulness.

A Woman's Work

2008-12-14T20:52:00.001-08:00

Those of you who are a decade or two older than me (I'm 39) are going to have to help me out with this brochure. The front cover states that it was distributed by the Home Economics Extension Staff of the Ohio State University in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. The date on the cover is May, 1943.

Were these pamphlets distributed by people, presumably women, who acted as agents for the USDA? Apparently these people made sure that the topic of Home Economics was well understood and practiced by women all around the country. I am assuming that this program eventually lead up to what we now know as the Cooperative Extension Service. There is one such office located in the basement of our town's post office.

If Jim hadn't pointed it out to me I wouldn't have noticed the huge "V" for victory on the front cover. The women on the cover are cheerful and keeping the home fires burning while their husbands are overseas engaged in battle.

My how our focus has changed! And in such a short period of time. Sixty years really isn't that much time, all things considered. But look at what the women had to handle while the men were off fighting the war. Here's a sampling of a huge checklist inside this handout. The checklist also includes the topics of cleaning and caring for clothes which I didn't scan. Click the image for the full sized version.

Between my mother and me we have what must be the entire collection of all the letters my grandparents wrote to each other during the war. The letters are poignant for the most part with patches of mundane in between. Grandpa's brother, Richard, was wounded and sent to an Army hospital to recover. He sent this V-Mail to my grandmother during his hospital stay, also in May 1943.

If you've never seen a V-Mail or held one in your hand let me just say that they are a marvel to behold. They are miniscule! (Click the photo for the actual size.) They're actually a photo of the original letter, shrunk down. The tiny envelopes they were mailed in are absolutely perfect in their small scale. The smaller size made them cheaper for the government to send. I have only a few of these and they are precious to me. In his letter, Uncle Richard makes small talk and asks how my Uncle Donn and my infant mother are doing. He passes along blessings and well wishes and in his own way asks Grandma not to worry about him. It's all very pleasant and chit-chatty.

The back cover of the "Shortcuts in Housework" brochure encourages women to "keep a set of steady nerves" and "smile and still do your part to win the war". I gotta hand it to the women of the 40's. They were a breed apart. They had a lot on their plates yet they still did everything they could to keep their families fed, clothed and sheltered not to mention maintaining the household while the men were away.

What a fascinating and inspiring glimpse at life just a few decades ago. My grandmother was one of the women who kept the home fires burning while her husband was gone. This brochure makes me appreciate all that she had to do.

Ecko Cake Spatula

2008-12-13T22:40:00.000-08:00

Before we knew what this utensil was, Jim and I were both convinced we knew its identity. He swore it was a "cake leveler" and I swore it was a "cake server". (I pshawed at his cake leveler notion--the very idea!) We were both wrong. After a little searching I learned that it is actually called a cake spatula.

It was manufactured by Ecko but that's about all I can find out about it. It seems these cake spatulas are very hard to find now. I never did find another one exactly like it during my research.

The handle is an avocado green bakelite, not exactly a modern color. Hands up, who has an avocado green appliance in their kitchen right now? Uh huh, uh huh. It's a very nice weight and length and I just recently used it to cut and serve the heart cake I made for my guys this week. It did a great job of keeping the cake slices from wobbling back and forth precariously as I placed them on the dessert plates. It's extremely thin and therefore very good at slicing cake.

It belonged to Jim's grandmother Knipp, who used to quilt with my grandma. I have a picture of the two of them working on a quilt during one of many quilting bees they attended. (Do these even occur anymore?)

It's so nice to have this cake spatula still in use in my kitchen today. It makes me want to bake more cakes just so I can get it out and use it.

"Magic" Fruit Cake

2008-12-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holidays! Yes folks, it's Magic Fruit Cake! I'm not sure what the "magic" part is though. This marketing booklet (copyright 1954) was printed by The Borden Company and targeted to Home Economics Classes.

What's your take on fruit cake? Personally, I don't like it. I tried it once and once was enough! (All photos can be clicked for the larger version.)

It's interesting to note how technology has changed since 1954. It's a hoot that they considered a woman cooking with a wood stove to be old school. Looking at the "modern" woman of 1954 makes me think, "We've come a long way baby!"

Be sure to include Magic Fruit Cake in your menus!

Everything Old Is New Again

2008-12-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

My love and appreciation for vintage items has been the inspiration for this new blog, "Everything Old". I collect vintage kitchen items from my favorite trash and treasure place, Lene's Web. Marlene Webb went to high school with my mom and I was introduced to her years ago when mom and I went on one of many "treasure hunts" in Marlene's big barn.

Years later, I've come to realize that the vast majority of my serving pieces, utensils and dishes came from Lene's Web. Here I will post photos of my favorite things. I know I'm not the only "old soul" out there who loves vintage things and I look forward to hearing stories from others who's "mom had one just like it". I'll also post recipes and fun advertisements here.

Marlene gave me the last of Mrs. Gulau's recipe collection today. I was very touched because she told me that she was giving them to me (free of charge) because she knew I would appreciate them. Wasn't that a sweet thing to do? It was a big envelope stuffed with recipe booklets from manufacturers such as Sunbeam and Shetland as well as companies Betty Crocker and General Mills.

Here's a photo of the items I purchased today. I am planning my "Nothing But Pie" party for next weekend and I needed a very retro punch bowl. Marlene had several and I chose this one with a nice swirly shape. Notice the extra, smaller bowl. I'm assuming that the goal is to freeze part of the punch in the smaller bowl. The frozen punch "ice cube" is then placed inside the larger punch bowl to keep the punch cold without diluting it the way ice cubes would. Isn't it lovely how the little cups hang from the punch bowl edge? I love it.

Also I'm in love with the Bakelite handled angel food cake cutter. The red handled spatula is under the "Androck" name. Even my son Derek noticed the quality of the "Made in the U.S.A." utensil. They just don't make 'em like they used to but I'm so glad these things can still be found if you look hard enough. I plan to use it on the grill. I love the tapered handle. So retro! You can also see some of the recipe books that Marlene gave me.

And now a word from our sponsor...Frigidaire.

Doesn't this lady look ecstatic about her new Frigidaire Cook-Master oven? Heck, I'd be ecstatic if my oven looked like that too. (Click on photo for full size version.)

I Heart Them

2008-12-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Last night it occurred to me that my kitchen isn't organized very efficiently. Most of my cooking tools were tossed into a big drawer which meant I had to dig and dig to find anything. My hot pads were on the opposite side of the room as the oven and my fruit and vegetable tools were too far from the sink. My goal today was to get my kitchen and my recipes organized. Although I really wanted to take a nap I didn't give in to the urge. I sorted through tools and anything I haven't used in 6 months was put into a zippered storage bag and placed in the storage cabinets in the garage. Then I separated the tools according to use: pastry/baking, fruit/vegetable, and general use and put each group into its own drawer. I then tucked my hot pads into the drawer right next to the oven which makes perfect sense to me. I rearranged serving dishes and cooking dishes so that the most frequently used items were easily accessible and the not-so-frequently used were placed out of the way. Now my kitchen makes sense!

I sorted through my recipe book and took out any recipes that I haven't made in a long time. Some of them made me scratch my head and ask, "What was I thinking?" Now my recipe book is much more streamlined!

Midway through my organizing I looked out the glass doors to see this riff-raff eyeballing me. Sorry, no beggars allowed! Silver and Sweetheart probably just wanted to see what it looks like inside the human coop. The girls have slowed egg production down so much that I'm lucky if I get 4 eggs a day right now.

After the kitchen work was done I brewed some coffee and prepared some cake batter to put in these pretty pans I got from Lene's Web. Aren't they adorable? I LOVE aluminum bake ware. Nothing releases so perfectly. Back when I made birthday cakes to make money when my kids were little, I had nothing but aluminum cake pans. They're long gone and I miss them. I will replace them though, thanks to Lene's Web.

What was the occasion for the cake? Well I got to thinking about how much my guys do for me and I wanted to show them that I appreciate them. I kept the cake hidden during the whole cooling process and managed to get the layers together and the icing on just as the boys were getting off the bus!

I had Derek put dessert plates out when he was setting the table. But they were noticeably empty during the meal. Jim finally asked about the empty dessert plates and I went to the office to retrieve the hidden cake.

I told the guys why I baked it and thanked them for all that they do for me. I also told them to have as much cake as they wanted (a rare treat).

I think they liked it!

Kitchen Treasures Found

2008-12-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

I visited "Lene's Web Treasures & Trash" again yesterday and hunted for vintage items to give as Christmas gifts. I love going there and Marlene is always happy to see me and gives me a nice discount. I was looking for cast iron muffin pans, loaf pans and muffin tins to go with bread mixes to give my sister-in-law and mother-in-law.

This corn stick pan is pretty common and easy to find. There is a "V" stamped on the back. Marlene had it marked for $12.50.

This pan, however, is another story. I can't find another one like it on the internet. The only maker's mark on the back is a "2" in one of the corners. This one was marked $12.50 too. I'd like to include a bit of history on the gift tag for each pan. If you know anything about them please inform me.

The pans were a bit rusty when I got them. I had Jim clean them up in the blasting cabinet then I washed and dried them. I coated them with shortening and put them in the oven at 250 degrees for two hours, then wiped the excess oil off. I repeated the seasoning process to make sure they were seasoned properly. I don't want to give rusty pans as gifts!

After all the time I spent on reseasoning these pans I've developed an attachment to them, especially the corn muffin pan! I'm going to bake a batch of corn muffins in it to further season it tonight. The more a cast iron pan gets used the better seasoned it will be, right?

Then I found this eight-cup Ecko muffin tin. It was made by Ovenex. I love the jewel cut pattern on the tin. Isn't it nice? I'm going to keep this one and use it to decorate the kitchen when I'm not using it. I didn't note the price tag on this one--I just wanted it!

Here's a close-up of the maker's mark. I can't find another one like this on the internet either. I can find six-cup tins but not eight-cup tins.

This perfect little Hull creamer screamed at me from the shelf it was sitting on. I couldn't find its companion sugar bowl. Again I can't find another one like it on the internet so anything you can tell me would be helpful. I love the eagle motif on the sides. It's a dark olive brown with a light aqua drip glaze around the top edge. Marlene marked it $1.50 and I know it was a steal!

There were other pieces of Pyrex that I'm happy with too but I'll share them another day after I've got them all packaged up and ready to give.

Second Hand Cookies

2008-11-13T18:12:00.000-08:00

A few miles down the road is a second hand shop owned by a lady named Marlene who went to school with my mom. "Lene's Web Treasure and Trash" is one of my favorite places to go to dig through the "stuff" accumulated throughout people's lifetimes. Marlene buys entire estates and places all the items according to category inside her huge barn. Items are priced at rummage sale prices and you just never know what you might find. "Lene's Web" is the manifestation of the old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure".

Whenever I go there I look for unusual serving pieces as well as useful kitchen items. I find interesting old books and military paraphernalia for Jim. Derek has found treasures there as well, even his first camera. I visited this week and found a nice 8 piece set of country blue Gibson dinnerware (missing one dinner plate), six cookie cutters of various shapes, jar candles and three sets of white lights for my new Christmas tree (found on ebay for $10). I found a cookie cutter shaped like Ohio but didn't buy it.

I used those new-to-me cookie cutters today to make my first ever batch of peanut butter shortbread cookies. It's going to be a homemade Christmas and I'm experimenting with cookie recipes to decide what I want to give as gifts. I found the recipe in a Gooseberry Patch Christmas cookbook my mother-in-law gave me last Christmas. I've never made cookie cutter cookies before so it was a learning experience. I found that the shortbread dough was easier to pat out with my hands than to roll out. They came out really nice and now we are nibbling at crisp, peanut-buttery cookies shaped like airplanes, hearts, Santa's boot, the Star of David, and a holly leaf! Next I have to learn how to make peanut brittle!

The most interesting items I found were a few recipe boxes still filled with the former owner's recipe collections. Talk about a look back through time! The box I bought belonged to Mrs. Wilton Gulau. She kept her recipes in groups according to the main ingredients, like most people do. Unlike most people, she put the grouped recipes in cut off envelope corners. She must have been a resourceful person and instead of throwing her Christmas card envelopes away she put them to good use holding her recipes. I found one that was written in my great-aunt Juanita's handwriting, and the return address was the one she lived at the whole time I knew her! I never knew Mrs. Gulau but apparently she knew Aunt Nita. Small world!

The recipes she clipped from magazines and newspapers were the most interesting to me, not for the recipes but for the glimpses of life in the 50s that could be found on the reverse sides. There was also some humorous advertising such as an ad for Feenamint Laxatime Gum. There were a few political articles as well. One headline announced a "Terrorist Attack in Algiers; One Killed Six Wounded". Perhaps we are not so far removed from certain aspects of life back then. If only our economy was the same!

I kept all the clippings that were of historical value and all the fun advertisements. Then I kept the recipes I thought would be fun to try out some day. I plan to go back to Lene's Web soon to hunt for Christmas gifts.