I will not eat Campbelled eggs and Spam!

I found a booklet today called Recipes: Southern Kitchens Cooking School. On the back it says it is "co-sponsored by Progressive Farmer." On the inside cover it lists the companies whose products are named in the booklet. I can't find a publishing date on it but, there are two cards inside for magazine subscriptions. You can get twelve issues of Progressive Farmer for $6.00 and any additional subscriptions you get for friends or family will only cost you $5.00 for twelve issues. If Southern Living is more to your liking, then the deal is $7.00 and $6.00 for the same terms.

I flipped through it and found two recipes that Sandy will probably have on her show one day. Please note that the "Campbelled Eggs" are marked as especially suited for holiday and other festive occasions. Um, yeah okay. It made me think of this recipe.

Edited to add: One of the products advertised in the above booklet is the Pokey Pot from the Wear-Ever Aluminum Company. From reading the recipes it must be some kind of slow cooker. The name is stupid and if you are 12, it very quickly evolves into a risque joke. *snicker*

These on the other hand, look like they would be quite tasty! This was on a folded up piece of paper and it said "5 lbs plain" at the top so I'm guessing it came with a bag of flour.

Whatever will I do with tongue and trotters??

Rosie, I can't find any recipes that call for ears. Here's the ones for tongue and trotters. Once again, these are from the Household Searchlight Recipe Book and this is the eighth edition which came out in 1936.

It's all in your head...

I finally found and opened the box with the rest of my cookbooks today. Whoot! (We have lots of books still in boxes because we got rid of some of our particleboard bookcases and haven't yet found suitable replacements in our price range.) Anyhoo, I found a recipe I just have to share with you. This cookbook originally belonged to my great-aunt and after she passed away, my late grandmother received it. The cookbook is called The Household Searchlight Recipe Book and this is the eighth edition which came out in 1936.



There's also one for headcheese. For those not aware of what headcheese is all about, the ingredients are "1 Hog's head, 1 Hog's tongue, Sage and Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper."

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

I would like to wish all of my readers an early Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm of the belief that Valentine's Day is not just a day for romantic love. Please be sure and let all of your friends and family know that your life is better because they are a part of it. Sometimes tomorrow is too late so don't put it off!

If anybody sends me some of Sandy's Creme de Menthe Brownies, I will retaliate in kind! ;)

If you are thinking that they don't seem too bad, then you definitely need to see Rosie Hawthorne's six part series.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6

I'd also like to wish my friend M. a very Happy Birthday!!

Whoot! *shimmy shimmy* Whoot!

Edited to add: The above picture is one of the many handmade items I found in a box that belonged to my late grandmother.

Chocolate Cobbler

I found this recipe in an old magazine a couple of years ago and of course I can't remember which magazine it was so that I can give credit where credit is due. Edited to add: I found the source.

Anyhoo, some variant of this recipe has been around for many years. I've heard that it must from the 1930's since the recipe uses no eggs or butter. I've also heard it must have been developed in the WWII era for the same reasons.

You may be more familiar with the name 'pudding cake' or 'hot fudge cake'. It's the kind where as it bakes, it turns into a cake layer and a hot fudge layer. You'll notice that the recipe only has three tablespoons of oil in it so it is a low fat recipe depending on what you decide to put on top of it before serving. I've been craving this recipe for a couple of weeks but, I think you really need ice cream with this recipe and so I kept putting it off till later. Then on Friday, I went grocery shopping and they had pints of ice cream on sale.

I was a little bummed out at the selection, until I heard an "Excuse me" behind me, and the lady that had picked out her ice cream before me had returned. She says " I don't know if you are interested but, they have more flavors in the case up front." I thanked her and made my way up the front of the store where a plethora of flavors awaited me. So I got some vanilla, chocolate, rocky road, and cookies and cream. Yes, I do have PMS now hush or I won't let you have any cake!


Chocolate Cobbler
1 cup self-rising flour
(substitute: Place 1 1/2 tsps baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt in a measuring cup. Add enough all purpose flour to measure 1 cup and proceed with recipe.)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa,
1/4 cup baking cocoa,
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups hot water
vanilla ice cream (optional)

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and 2 Tbsp cocoa. Stir in milk and oil until smooth.



Pour into a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Combine the brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa;


sprinkle over batter.



Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR!


Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched. Yep, it's kinda ugly looking!




Serve warm with ice cream if desired. Serves 6-8.










If you live alone, let it cool, cover it up, and store your leftover cake in the refrigerator. If you live with other people and have cake left over, you might consider whether or not you wish to continue your relationship with people who are not bright enough to scarf down hot cake and melting ice cream like they haven't eaten in days. I'm just saying...

Anyway, when you want some more, scoop out desired amount of cake and sauce into microwave safe bowl and heat until warm before serving.

But seriously...

My regular readers are well aware that I try to make this a fun place to visit and hopefully bring a smile to your face. The truth is that I know some of you are really struggling right now. When times are bad, we all need a distraction from our troubles and hopefully I've helped just a bit with that.

I'd like to ask those of you who are doing okay right now to think about those in your community and our nation who are having a tough time right now. The food banks in some cities and towns are not able to meet the demand as the numbers of the unemployed continue to rise. I'm asking you to make a donation to your local food bank or to Feeding America. I know that some of you make charitable donations every single month and I know whatever charities you are supporting are eternally grateful for regular donors such as yourself. Can you possibly do a little more? Even donating five dollars could help a hungry child, adult, or senior to have a hot meal today. I just made a donation, anybody else want to join me?

She's crafty...

Ah the joys of new readers from foreign lands! *waves*

One of my newest readers has requested that I blog about crafting here at my little corner of the world. I do some crafting but, I don't normally post pics as I don't want to bore anyone with my artistic delights. Since one of you has requested it though, I will share some of my favorites.


I call this first one the Kabob and Cut. You never know when a grilling emergency or a need for scissors will arise. You can kill two birds with one stone when sporting the Kabob and Cut. Just let loose your lovely locks and you can be the heroine at your next party, Kindergarten class or knife fight. Fun for all ages and lengths of hair*



*Kabob and Cut comes with a bottle of glue from a fine nation that doesn't believe in vowels. If your hair is not long enough to hold up the Kabob and Cut on its own, then apply the glue liberally and attach the Kabob and Cut to whichever side of your head you would not mind being permanently damaged.

Here is my personal favorite, Colander on a Lanyard. Ropes or chains are so 19th century and lanyards are so fun and perky! Notice here that the lanyard is in a sedate grey color suitable for the most conservative of offices.




You will also receive one bright green and one soft pink lanyard. The green one is zippy and fun and will attract the man of your dreams to your side when you wear it with your colander while drowning your sorrows at the local dive. The pink is for those more intimate moments when it's just you, your beloved, and your Colander on a Lanyard. Oh and just between us girls, he'll never notice those extra toes if you place your colander so that it reflects the light into his eyes just the right way. *wink wink*

Irish Oatmeal

I've wanted to try Irish Oatmeal for years. From the descriptions I've heard from others, I thought I would really like it. Well, I won some gift cards to Amazon.com recently, so I decided to pick up some Irish Oatmeal with the rest of my order.




This isn't a great picture but, here's what it looks like closeup.


Reminds me of birdseed!

I followed the directions on the box. I forgot to take pictures but, you bring some water to a rapid boil (the ratio is one part oats to four parts water), stir in your oats until it starts to thicken, then reduce the heat and simmer for thirty minutes stirring occasionally. I checked on it and it looked a little dry and still had about thirteen minutes left to cook so I added some milk. I usually do make my oatmeal with milk instead of water so this was normal for me. Then when the thirty minutes were up, I added a pat of butter, a little brown sugar and a dash of salt which is how I normally fix my oatmeal.



It had a very nice texture to it and I really liked it! I ate it with a slice of my homemade 100% whole wheat bread which I toasted and smeared some cream cheese on top. I also had a couple of breakfast sausages and a glass of OJ. Good stuff!

More vintage cookbook pics

This is the cover of small cookbook put out by the Jelke company in 1936. Click to enlarge if you want to see more details. The cake on the cover looks like a red velvet cake to me but, there is no red velvet cake recipe in this book. Strange.



Title page advertising Jelke Good Luck Oleomargarine.

I once knew someone who would became upset if any mention of "luck" or "karma" was invoked, as it went against their religious beliefs. Wonder if the Jelke company had any problems with that?


There's a recipe inside for crown roast of pork and the ingredients are:

• 1 crown of pork
• salt and pepper
• cubes of salt pork
• 1/2 recipe of sage stuffing ( this has the margarine in it)

(You stick the cubes of salt pork on the end of the bones and remove them before serving.) The poor dears, I can't imagine having to make something like that without seasoning packets, Ziploc bags, and vast quantities of alcohol!




Click to enlarge to see the picture and recipe for a coconut orange cream cake. It sure sounds good to me right now!





This page has the recipe for the orange filling and coconut marshmallow icing. Please excuse the stains on the page. This belonged to my late grandmother. She was quite the pack rat so odds are, this was packed away sometime in the 40's or 50's.



I guess we really should eat something other than cake huh? How about some tomato cream salad?

Those olives do seem to follow you around the room don't they? Uh, *gulp* you know I'm really full from all that cake. Anybody want my salad?



Look what else I found!



I was thinking I should send it to Sandy. Bless her heart, she never can remember the difference between a blllender and a mixer. Perhaps this would help?

SHCWSL- Chocolate for Dinner

I'm sorry guys, I'm not up to writing about this right now.

I've got it on tape for later as Mr. Hairball kindly set up the VCR for me this weekend. He also dug out my acid washed jeans, my Whitesnake cassettes, and my Aqua net hairspray to complete my 80's-scape. Here's a link to the TWoP page on this episode and to Food Network's page for this episode.

Enjoy your Sunday evening everyone!

PS: *waves* An extra special "Hello!" to the flood of new visitors. Some of you come from such interesting places! *sighs* If only I could live in Snarkil or Sandy Land...