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Monday, August 10, 2015

Historical Food Fortnightly - A Mid-Century Bonus!


The Historical Food Fortnightly Challenges were challenging, educational, and, most of all, great fun!  Since Patrick and I had chosen to meet all challenges with recipes from the years we were born, 1950 and 1951, we got a lot of teasing about when we were going to make a stereotypical mid-century food staple:  aspics.  Well, here it is!  Our Mid-Century Bonus for our family and friends - Tomato and Cheese Aspic!

From one of our CBS Homemakers Exchange Recipes books:



Finding the ingredients in 2015 was easy.  But finding a fun mold for the aspic meant a little antique shop shopping which yielded these two beautiful molds.


Forward with the mid-century aspic!

Ingredients ready.

First seven ingredients cooked.

Gelatin ready.

Gelatin softened in cold water.

Gelatin then dissolved in boiling water.

Cooked mixture strained.

Gelatin and lemon juice added.

Mold and dessert glass treated with a little oil.

Mold and glasses half filled with mixture and then chilled until firm.

Chilled and ready for the next layer.

Cottage cheese and onion mixed.

Cottage cheese and onion mixture layered.


Remaining tomato mixture poured over cottage cheese layer.  Into the refrigerator until firm.

Presentation makes everything taste better and since we have no idea how this will taste we put a little extra touch into both of our presentations.






How completely 1950's!!!  And the taste?  Tangy and a great addition to any meal!  Especially delicious as I tried it for lunch on a hot summer day while sitting on the deck.  The chill of the aspic and the fresh flavors of tomato and green pepper were wonderful!

This is a bonus for our friends and family and also the last post for the Mid-Century Meals blog.  It wouldn't be complete, however, without sharing our most recent adventure.

When Patrick and I moved to North Carolina in 2002 we bought a pretty acreage with a log home and space for our horses, Gabriel and Vinnie.


Gabriel

Gabriel and Vinnie

Vinnie with his favorite neck scratch position.

While we lived there we rescued two miniature horses, Buddy and Honey.  Honey was in foal and later we had another mini named Sweetie.  I'm going to overload you with cute!

Buddy

Honey

Honey and her newborn foal, Sweetie.  Don't miss Sweetie in the lower left corner peering through the fence!  She's only 18 inches tall.


Three days' old.

Sweetie learns how wonderful a neck scratch feels.

Never too young to learn how to lift a hoof for the farrier.


If Mama does it, it must be the right thing to do.

We sold the home in 2005.  Several months ago we were contacted by the home's owner, the same gentleman who purchased it from us, and today I'm sitting in the home again!  Yes, we are moved back and although some things are changed we are ready to continue the memories we stopped 10 years ago!

10 years later the trees have really grown and the log home has darkened with age.




The barn is still great and the neighbor's horses are keeping the pastures under control.


Have always loved the living room windows and ceiling!

The loft will become my new sewing space.

When we first moved here we had a German Shepherd Dog named Tasha.  She has since passed and now we have the new puppy named Tasha.  Tasha and Patrick seem to be settling in nicely and this is my view from the loft most Saturday afternoons.


Can you understand why this is one of my favorite corners of the house?

The kitchen has changed but still has that great preparation and serving counter.


And I don't wait long before I invite friends Natalie and Maryl over for some ladybug salads and wine.

Looking forward to the new Historical Food Fortnightly Challenges beginning September 2015!  Meanwhile, we're looking forward to enjoying our new/old home and cooking in our new/old kitchen!  I wonder if there are horses in our future?  Hmmmm.....

Enjoy!
Patrick and Jeanette

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #27 - BONUS! Breakfast Food

27. BONUS! Breakfast Food May 29 - June 11
For a bonus challenge, make a breakfast dish. Get creative, but make sure to provide your documentation for its place at the breakfast table!

Bonus!  The Historical Food Fortnightly journey has been fun for us and we hope fun for you to read.  We have shared some recipes from mid-century cooking and we have also shared some photos and memories of our family.  In this digital age it is still nice to have a book in hand and we plan to have this blog published in book form for our family to put on a shelf.  Of course it will collect dust, but sometimes it will be fun to take off the shelf and share a laugh together as we so often do with the photo albums we have kept from years past.  History can be as fun to share as good food!

I spent my high school years living on a farm and loved collecting fresh eggs.  Eggs are still a staple in our diet although Patrick has switched to egg substitute following a heart surgery in 2005.  Our bonus breakfast food challenge recipe was easy to find in our CBS Homemakers Exchange booklet from April, May, June 1950.  Eggs Royale!  Yum!  With bread and bacon!  Double yum!



This would be an excellent recipe for those mornings when you have a house full of guests.  Quick to prepare, quick to bake, and ready about the same time as the coffee takes to brew and the juice to be poured.
Basic ingredients.

Circles cut from bread with a biscuit cutter.

Bread layered and buttered on both sides.

Bacon wrapped and pinned to the bread and baked at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.

Eggs sitting prettily in the bacon wells.  NOT! 

Eggs seasoned and back into the oven for 5 more minutes.
I would recommend a heavier bacon than I used as the bacon didn't hold the eggs for the second time in the oven.  But I'm a firm believer that a nicely plated and delicious meal makes up for those little disasters.
A hearty and absolutely royal breakfast of Eggs Royale!
Even Tasha thinks it would be delicious!
Tasha is our German Shepherd Dog who is now 16 months old and even though she is 74 pounds she is still very much a puppy.  This is Tasha at 8 weeks.
All together now - Awwwwwww!
Tasha is usually called T2 because there was another Tasha in our life.  Tasha the First has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  This is T1 with Patrick and his daughters, Cathy and Chrissy, in spring 1995.
And again - Awwwwwww!
By Christmas she was full grown and also still very much puppy.
There have been other four-legged family members but I'll save that for a special bonus for mid-century lovers in our final post next week.

Enjoy!
Patrick and Jeanette