Little Grey Bungalow

November 10th

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Links - Free Sewing Patterns

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:49:00 +0000

A collection of free shirt patterns from around the web at craftstew.com (including a few of mine). They have many more sewing and other needlework projects, as well.

Links - Vintage Images

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:43:00 +0000

Due to a rather hairy work schedule, I am taking the easy way out by posting links this week. This one is to freeantiqueimages.blogspot.com, a site with an amazing selection of vintage images (found thanks to the lovely Amanda).

Knitters With Too Much Time On Their Hands Dep't

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:11:00 +0000

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

An Apple A Day

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:59:00 +0000

On my way back from Detroit last month, I stopped by an orchard in Coloma and bought a bushel of Empire apples. Eternity has been described as “two people and a turkey.” One might as well say “two people and a bushel of apples,” because we are still slowly eating our way through the basket. It’s a good thing Empires are keepers.

I was looking for a quick scone recipe when I found this one, and decided to add some chopped apple. My first try resulted in a batter too slack, as the old cookbooks say, for scones, but it made dandy muffins. The second time I added some spices and vanilla, and I didn’t chop the apple quite so fine.

Apple Muffins

1 cup Bisquick or other baking mix
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup thin cream (or ¼ cup whole milk with 1 T. butter melted into it)
1 egg
1 Empire or other small apple, peeled and cored
1 t. vanilla
½ t. cinammon
¼ t. cloves
Cinnamon sugar

Coarsely chop the apple; I put eighths in the food processor with the sugar and pulsed about 3 times. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat the egg into the cream with the vanilla, and add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until they are mixed. The dough should look ragged. Fold in the chopped apple and spoon into a well buttered muffin tin. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with cinnamon sugar and bake at 425° for 13-15 minutes. Allow them to cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes after you take them out of the oven, so they don’t stick while coming out of the pan. If you’re too impatient for that, use paper muffin cups.

I halved the original recipe so this makes six muffins. Unlike most home-made muffins, these are good for two or three days, probably because of the chopped fruit. I reheat them, wrapped in foil and in a 250° oven while I’m getting ready for work, and so can enjoy a warm muffin with my first cup of coffee.

(vintage fruit crate label from Dover).

Caturday!

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:08:00 +0000

Quote of the Day

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:43:00 +0000

The panther is like a leopard,
Except it hasn't been peppered.
Should you behold a panther crouch,
Prepare to say Ouch.
Better yet, if called by a panther,
Don't anther.

~Ogden Nash

(Vintage image from Agence Eureka).

The Online Bookshelf The Flying Stingaree

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:06:00 +0000

If you were about ten years old in 1963, this book would have been right up your alley!

Patterns of the Past - What a Difference Two Years Makes

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:01:00 +0000

A cape and skirt from Needlecraft, September 1914. The almost-but-not-quite hobble skirt is quite a contrast from last week's 1916 silhouettes.

Vintage Patterns at Purple Kitty

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:59:00 +0000

I am going to be lazy this week and instead of posting a pattern from my collection, provide instead a link to a free pattern site with fifty vintage women’s sweater patterns from the 1940’s and 1950’s, originally sent to me by Purple Kitty.

(I love it when someone else does all the work for me).

The rest of the site is well worth exploring; who can resist an afghan with French Poodles knitted into it?

From Our Friends at "An Engineer's Guide to Cats"

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Some day those cats are going to kill him. Slowly.

Vintage Images - Victorian Birds

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Camouflage Cookery, 1918

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:15:00 +0000

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

From the University of Wisconsin’s home economics website, an earnest little book published during the War to End All Wars (as it was once optimistically referred to), to help housewives cope with shortages of meat, wheat and seafood. Subtitled A Book of Mock Dishes, it is a gallant if occasionally misguided effort to make foodstuffs look and taste like something they are not (edited for correctness; it can be downloaded here. Unfortunately the University has chosen to post all their books in a format that requires you to do it page by page. Arggggh).

Many of the featured dishes would be perfectly acceptable in their own right. There is a recipe for Mock Oysters made with salsify, once known as oyster plant for good reason.

Mock Fried Oysters

“Wash, trim and cook a bunch of oyster plant (or salsify) in boiling water until tender. Drain and scrape off the skin. Mash well, and if stringy rub through a colander. To one pint of the mashed salsify add one teaspoonful of flour, one tablespoonful of butter substitute, one well-beaten egg, and salt and pepper to season highly. Take up a small spoonful and shape it into an oval about the size of a large oyster; dip each lightly in flour or very fine cracker crumbs, and brown on each side in hot butter substitute.”

This certainly sounds better than the mock oyster recipe on page 19 that calls for sliced green tomatoes, or the one on page 18 that uses tripe.

The recipes for mock crab use either cheese or corn, and again look like they’d be nice dishes without all the obfuscation (although I’d go easy on the vinegar in this one. Maybe a teaspoonful?).

Mock Crabs

“Grate a quarter of a pound of hard cheese and sprinkle it into a fireproof dish. Beat up one egg; add four tablespoonfuls of milk, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste, and pour on the cheese. Bake until the mixture becomes the consistency of cream, then spread on very hot buttered toast. Serve at once.”

Very puzzling indeed is the recipe on page 8 for mock chicken gumbo that calls for, of all things, chicken, and the one on page 15 for mock turtle soup using a can of … mock turtle soup. The recipe on page 48 for mock ham is ersatz all the way, though.

Mock Ham

1 quart kidney beans
½ pint English walnuts
½ pint black walnuts
½ pint pecans
½ pint almost
1 can pimentos
1 tablespoonful salt
1 saltspoonful black pepper.

“Soak the beans over night; next morning drain, cover with fresh boiling water, boil twenty minutes; drain, throw the water away, cover again with fresh water, and boil until tender; press through a colander. Chop the nuts and pimentos. Add them, with all the other ingredients, to the beans. Form into a small ham, and place on a greased paper; brush with melted butter substitute; bake in a moderate oven one hour. When done, take out the ham, brush it again with butter substitute, dust it thickly with bread crumbs and brown. Serve this cold, cut into thin slices.”

How unthinkable it would have been for these well-meaning women to serve honest vegetarian food with no pretense that it was anything else. Maybe a delicious Indian dish of potatoes and greens, which I usually make using frozen spinach (and once with a bag of coleslaw mix when I was out of spinach. Yummy).

Sag Aloo

2 T cooking oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 large baking potatoes, cut into small cubes (or used leftover boiled or baked potatoes)
1 package frozen leaf spinach, thawed and drained
1 t. grated fresh ginger
1 small clove garlic, peeled and smashed
¼ t. cumin seed
1 t. turmeric
1 t. garam masala
salt

Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the cumin seeds for a few minutes, just until they are brown. Remove them (otherwise they’ll probably burn). Add the onion and fry until it begins to get limp.

Push the onion to the side of the skillet. Turn up the heat slightly and add the cubed potatoes, frying them until they develop a slightly browned crust. Sprinkle the vegetables with the garlic, ginger, turmeric and garam masala, and the reserved cumin seeds. Stir and add a few tablespoons of water, cover and cook just until the potatoes are soft (this is not necessary if you are using leftover cooked pototatoes). Add the spinach and cook everything together until the spinach is heated through. Season to taste and serve with rice and yogurt.

Caturday!

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Quote of the Day

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:58:00 +0000

There is no such thing as a dangerous woman; there are only susceptible men. ~ Joseph Wood Krutch.

Happy Birthday

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:51:00 +0000

...Sergeant Mauldin.

The Online Bookshelf - Amazing Science Fiction Stories

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:47:00 +0000

A little piece of 1960's sci-fi, at Project Gutenberg.

Patterns of the Past - "Garments for Home Wear"

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:18:00 +0000

To go with last week's garments for general use, also from Needlecraft, May 1916. I think the little girl's garment at the top is an apron or coverall of some sort. I do know that the fetching two piece outfit and cap on the lady at the bottom of the page used to be called a breakfast or matinee set. Presumably this is what the stylish young wife wore while serving her husband his breakfast.

Note the bell-shaped "war crinoline" silhouette of the skirts. Note also that the faces of the models are beginning to evolve (or devolve) away from the sophisticated, glamorous look of the Gibson era and into something more fluffy and child-like. A reaction to the war? Who knows.

Left-click to enlarge or go to my Flickr account for a larger image.

Crochet - Two Edgings from 1948

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:42:00 +0000

Two crocheted edgings from Modern Knitting, 1948. Instructions may be downloaded from my Flickr account.

Vintage Ad Cuts - Halloween

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:39:00 +0000

The Language of Cats

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:39:00 +0000

(Warning: not safe for work unless you have headphones on).

Mother's Delicious Dishes

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Mrs. Sarah Moore, Needlecraft, March 1921

"CERTAINLY the mothers of twenty-five or thirty years ago used to be good cooks, for what man or woman of today but remembers fondly some oldfashioned dish that was the especial treat on high days and holidays, and very few of them can honestly say that anything every tasted as good since. Of course this is partly accounted for by the glamour which kindly time throws over all pleasant recollections, and partly by the youthful appetite which forms the finest sauce for any dish.

But there is no doubt at all about it, my mother and your mother, in fact, almost everybody’s mother of that day was an excellent cook, and though in all probability the good lady never heard of domestic science she could give points to many a cooking-school graduate of the present era. And many a capable housewife of today now keeps among her most cherished possessions mother’s very best receipts, perhaps written in faded ink on the blank pages in the back of the old-time cookery-book. Some of these old rules, of course, are too expensive for modern use now that eggs and butter have risen to prices of which mother never dreamed, but not all belong to this category. Every family has a collection of rules for making these oldfashioned dainties and wholesome meat dishes, and it is with the thought that perhaps the modern housekeeper would like to add to her collection a few more appetizing dainties that have been carefully selected from the household treasures of old friends in New England, in the south and in the middle west, that this article has been written.

OLDFASHIONED GRIDDLE CAKES. These cakes often came on the table at supper time, and were appreciated by the young folks. Beat three eggs and add to half a pint of milk, then stir in flour enough to make a thin batter. One teaspoonful of baking-powder must be added to the flour before stirring it all in. Fry the cakes the size of a breakfast-plate, and pile one on top of another, making five layers each covered with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, or shaved maple sugar after buttering of course. When served, cut them in pie-fashion right through.

CHOCOLATE CREAM-CAKE. Beat one egg light in mixing-blowl, add one cupful of sugar, one cupful of cream, sweet or sour. Sift together one cupful of flour, five tablespoonfuls of cocoa and one teaspoonful of soda. Add flour to thicken, flavor with vanilla, bake twenty minutes in gem or layer-cake pans. Ice with white frosting.

CHICKEN CHOWDER. Have a three-pound chicken cut up as for fricassee and cook in two quarts of hot water until tender, then remove the meat. Brown two onions in one half pound of pork cut in inch squares, when done discard the pork-scraps and add the rest to the chicken stock. Dice six potatoes and cook in this until soft; when these are done add one cupful of hot milk and thicken with one tablespoonful of flour. Simmer ten minutes, add to the chicken, season, and serve.

(by pork I wonder if Mrs. Moore meant salt pork. I think she must have).

APPLE SLUMP. Some of you may remember eating this oldfashioned dish in your childhood. Measure one quart of flour and into it sift three tablespoonfuls of baking-powder and shorten with one tablespoonful of butter rubbed into the flour. Mix with cold milk or water, the same as for biscuit. Put two quarts of pared, sliced or quartered apples with one pint of water into the dish in which the slump is to be cooked. Roll the crust about an inch thick, cut into quarters, and with it cover the apples in the dish; then cover the whole with a close-fitting cover, and boil or steam until done. Take out on a platter and grate nutmeg over the apple. Serve with a sweet sauce or sugar and cream.

MAPLE-SUGUR COOKIES. Mix together one cupful of sugar, one cup of crushed maple sugar, one cup of butter, two well beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of water, two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, and flour enough to roll out. Do not make too stiff. Bake in a quick oven."

Caturday!

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Quote of the Day

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:22:00 +0000

One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night. ~ Margaret Mead

The Online Bookshelf - The ABCs of Foxhunting

blueprairie@yahoo.com (Shay) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:53:00 +0000

A comic alphabet-book from the early years of Victoria's reign, available for download from Project Gutenberg.