Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Milk, It Does a Pocketbook Good


This is a 1916 ad extolling the virtues of drinking milk every day.  1 quart of milk per person which is quite a bit when you think about it.  I'm lucky if I do a quart a week and that's mostly with cereal.  I grabbed the ad because it gives a snapshot of food prices in the World War I era and of course they're comparing the nutritive value of milk to all the other food items in the ad.  It's brought to you by the dairy board, of course they're going to try to sell you milk.  And of course to make it even more "official" they have the requisite scientist to offer his opinion based on scientific observation.  I love the chart showing the growth pattern of children given milk vs those without.  Of course the children drinking milk are naturally larger, and oh yes, "milk contains fat, in which is a puzzling element that makes young folks grow."  I wonder what this puzzling element is?  Probably calcium, since they had only a speculative knowledge of calcium's effects back then and they didn't understand what we now know about fat soluble vitamins and their effects on mineral absorption.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Traditional Chicken Kiev Recipe


I love eating chicken, I guess it goes along with being a Southerner but you get bored eating chicken the same way all the time.  That's why I decided to try something a little different by making Chicken Kiev for dinner one night.  Chicken Kiev is a dish that originated in the early 1900's but lost popularity in the 30's.  It was revived again in Moscow in the 1950's and rechristened with the Chicken Kiev name.  It's not Ukrainian in origin however it representative of the various chicken cutlet recipes that are a part of Ukrainian cooking.  It became popular again in 50's and 60's and eventually lost it again as people started the low fat diet trend.  I made mine with choice ingredients and the outcome was spectacular.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Byrrh Wine Ad 1938


I don't usually deal with foreign ads too much but this one just tickled me.  The ad text reads "Souvenirs du beau voyage.  Voila sweetheart, cela, c'est tout Paris est ceci toute la France." Roughly translated it means "Memories of a beautiful voyage.  That sweetheart, is the pride of Paris and this the pride of France."  So let me get this straight, boyfriend is in the navy (chuckle), boyfriend goes on extended sea duty, both boyfriend and girlfriend live in France but all he brings back is miniature Eiffel Tower and bottle of Byrrh Wine?  What a cheapskate!  This as is only slightly less weird than the Botot ad I posted some time ago.  He did bring home another "gift" from that whorehouse in French-Indochina but he's not talking about that one... hopefully the doctor can stop the itching.  Of course the artwork itself is fun to look at.  Obviously Ms. Girlfriend is some sort of domestic help, judging from the uniform.  She's totally enraptured by the whole 5 francs he's spent, heck even kitty is watching from the floor.  Mr. Sailor boy looks rather old to be in the navy, or maybe it's the salt air... or perhaps even the pack of Gauloises we see peeking from the pocket on his middy blouse.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Tiramisu' al Lampone (Tiramisu with Raspberries)

The other day we had a visit from a cousin of ours that we had never met.  She was very nice and it was a great to meet members of the family we've never met before.  I already had lasagna (click for recipe) planned for the day so I wanted to get a dessert together that stuck with the Italian theme of the day.  This was when dad suggested a tiramisu, specifically Tiramisu' al lampone (Tiramisu' with Raspberries).  This recipe comes from a cookbook sold by 5 brothers pasta sauce.  5 brothers is still around, it's just marketed under the Bertolli name now.  The recipe in the cookbook was an ultra decadent traditional tiramisu made with mascarpone and marsala wine.  This is not a cheap dessert, this is a "pull out all the stops I want to impress the guests" dessert.  Don't be tempted to replace the mascarpone with cream cheese.  You won't be saving anything and the loss of flavor and texture will result in an insipid end result that will be reminiscent of restaurant tiramisu everywhere.  Make this a day ahead if you can, it needs a minimum of 8 hours to chill and set.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Authentic Lasagna


Yeah, I know, alot of recipes claim to be the authentic lasagna recipe but I've had this one for years now, taught to me by a great old Italian lady.  It differs little from most mainstream lasagna except in the use of fresh ground chuck and Italian sausage.  Simple and easy to make, you can freeze any leftovers to heat up later for a quick dinner. For dessert we had Tiramisu with Raspberries (click for recipe, opens new window).

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Greatest Thing To Ever Happen To Berries


No it's not the crisping drawer in the refrigerator, it's Rice Krispies.  It's so wonderful and amazing we have to spell it with a "K".  I haven't had Rice Krispies in years, mostly because I'm getting older and look for the higher fiber stuff now but I seem to remember that Snap, Crackle and Pop looked much different now than they do in this ad.  As a matter of fact I suspect that after our 3 wayward elves left the Keebler factory in the tree and landed a contract for Rice Krispies, there was some plastic surgery going on here.  I think I would too if I had a nose like a zucchini and ears you could fly away with.  And what's with the crane loading the strawberries into the bowl?  Is this some horrible Monsanto experiment gone wrong, strawberries the size of boulders.  Maybe we're making breakfast for Paul Bunyan, who knows but this is certainly the battiest artwork in an ad that I've seen for awhile.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Salmon l'Orange Recipe


Salmon l'orange is a simple recipe of fresh salmon fillets poached in orange juice and white wine with some spices.  It's such a simple dinner and only takes 1 hour to marinate and 15-20 minutes to cook so it won't eat up your day with prepping it.  It's also healthy too and everyone is on the salmon for health bandwagon.  I'm not going to argue, it's good for you but not all the time.  Everything in moderation.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Bacon In a Jar


Did you know you used to be able to buy bacon packaged in a jar?  I seem to vaguely remember this stuff still being around when I was a kid and it was already cooked, wrapped in wax paper and sealed in a jar.  I suppose it was one of those holdover things from when refrigeration was not accessible and most people were lucky to have an ice box.  We've become spoiled in our modern era of huge refrigerators with freezers the size of Alaska so that most things that used to come in a can now are to be found in the frozen foods section.  It's not a bad thing really,  just annoying when the power goes out for extended periods of time... like Hurricane season. 

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Southern Style Baked Macaroni 'n Cheese


Sometimes it's the simple food that we want the most, like a nice dinner of Macaroni and Cheese (with ham in the case).  Macaroni and Cheese occupies a vaunted position in the ranks of Southern Soul Foods and while it's not the healthiest thing to eat, making it yourself from scratch helps you control the ingredients and the final product will taste 100 times better than any over processed box variety of mac n cheese.  Don't be daunted by this recipe, it has perhaps a little more prep time than you're used to but it comes together very easily.  Just have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start, it makes everything so much quicker.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Mazola Oil By the Mazola Maid


It's funny, just yesterday I posted on this blog's Facebook Page a picture of some real deal Spanish Olive Oil I found in the store packaged, get this, in a CAN.  A real deal tin can with vintage artwork even.  I was stunned because even though it was par for the course that oil used to come in cans we've managed to turn it all over to nasty plastic packaging today.  I understand the reasons why this was done but putting products into plastic compromises the contents.  I don't care what they say, plastic is porous, it breathes and worse yet gases off God only knows what kind of chemicals into our food.  On top of all this clear plastic allows light infiltration which is detrimental to things such as a delicate oil.  Anyhow, this ad features a nifty recipe for making your own mayonnaise at home which is cool if you want to undertake such a project.  Here's the Recipe:

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Cheese It Boys!


In my never ending quest for ingredients that match what would have been available back in the era covered by my new diet plan, I have inevitably turned my eye to cheese.  I was avoiding going on this search because I knew of all things dairy, cheese made from the proper milk would be most dear.  I was not dissapointed.  Prices run from $9.99/lb on the low end to $18.99/lb on the higher end raw milk cheeses.  I can swallow the cost difference and use this cheese as a "cheese and cracker" afternoon snack cheese but I can't see using it in recipes just yet.  Now normally I just buy Cabot Cheese which has all the appearance of being at least semi-organic but when I started delving deeper into their operations I was shocked.  None of the milk they use is free from rGBH the estrogen like hormone given to cows to make them produce more milk.  It's disconcerting, even Publix store brand milk is certified free from that nonsense.  This led me to rethink quite well my position on cheese.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Vintage Diet


This is me in all my overweight glory.  The goal of this diet is to lose weight by eating in a vintage style with the premise that the food they ate back then wasn't so bad and allowed the a well balanced diet full of the vitamins needed.  My starting weight is 360 and my first goal is 335 by May15th (When I go to Alaska).  The final goal is 260 by next February, a steady pace of about 2 pounds of loss per week.  Calorie Goals are 2,000 per day although sometimes going over for special occasions is no big deal.  The tenets of the diet are as follows:

- No processed food, Everything is made from scratch.  In addition, eating at restaurants is kept to a bare minimum and all fast food is eliminated.

- Organic ingredients where needed.  I'm not as fussed about organic lettuce as I am organic beef, chicken and dairy.  It's the modern day equivalent to what they would have had back then, available in any grocer.

- The diet is varied and because I will be following vintage recipes it will be flavorful as well.  Portion control will be strict, with proper serving sizes observed.  People at alot less back in the old days.

- 2,000 calories on a normal day to 2,500 for holidays and special occasions.

- Sweets are kept to a place that vintage people would have, dessert is for weekends, cakes are limited to special occasions and birthdays.  No other candy is allowed except on rare occasions.

-  There is no specific exercise routine in the diet except 2 miles of walking per day to simulate commuting by streetcar as people would have done back then.

- Weigh ins will be done every Friday and posted to the blog.  Daily progress reports and meal descriptions will be posted to our Facebook Page and Twitter Accounts.


Wish me luck!  And if you decide to follow along with me I wish you the best of luck as well, never give up on dieting for your health!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Organic and Vintage Is Cost Effective


If you think that buying organic is too expensive then you need to rethink your position.  I've heard this argument and I admit, I've made it myself but it wasn't until I started looking into vintage foods and cooking that I started thinking about the true cost.  In the picture above you see my dinner last night.  A piece of Publix Greenwise Porterhouse done medium rare on the grill with steamed asparagus and caprese salad.  Herein lies the most important part of the vintage diet plan, smaller portions.  People ate within serving guidelines back in the day, they just varied what they ate so the taste was more rewarding.  Despite current beliefs, they were not steak and potato fanatics as we would be led to believe.  Vegetables were a part of the meal and everything was fairly well balanced.  It's the gross overcomsumption of today that has led us to think that a 12oz steak is a "serving".  Sorry, a serving size of just about any meat is 5-6oz, this holds true to beef, chicken and fish.  SO with that mind we are able to go from buying 3 common steaks at $7.99/lb on sale to 1 organic steak at $9.99/lb on sale, and effective savings of $13.98!  Lets break the meal down and see what we have:

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Vintage Diet: Prequel

I'm still putting the final touches on the vintage recipe diet, but I'd like to take a moment today and explain my reasoning behind it.  Through the years I've been on just about every diet known to man in order to lose weight.  It all works for a time and then something happens, your body adjusts, you get tired of the unrelenting exercise, or you get tired of the tasteless food.  All these contribute to failure every time, usually with a weight gain to a level higher than before you started.  This so called yo-yo dieting is a viscous cycle that never ends.  So I gave up on dieting and ate what I wanted and soon I returned to creeping obesity.  Something had to be done to reverse this. 

I've always been a student of history, but in my case I prefer to study the day to day life of the average person.  Having grown up around grandparents who lived through the 20's and 30's I became intimate with what life was like back then and better yet, I inherited some of their prized recipes.  Now the first thing you have to dispel from your mind is "fats are bad".  We've been sold this load of dung by the health nazis so they can force low fat cardboard tasting food on us.   "Don't eat the steak! It's high in saturated fat!!!  Drink this wheatgrass smoothie instead!"  Honestly if you want to drink blenderized cow food in the name of health be my guest, but don't do it around me.  I got to thinking, If fat in the diet is really the problem then we should be thin and healthy since we don't have as much fat in the food supply anymore... but we're not.  Instead we have an obesity epidemic the likes of which the world has never seen.  So the pendulum swung in the other direction until we had the Atkins diet.  All protein and fat because carbs are the problem.  People were still fat, it didn't work.  Now I'm left with alot of research and I started with our grandparents.  According the food nazis people in the 20's and 30's ate an extremely unhealthy diet but if that was the case why were they thinner and healthier than we are now?  The truth is, we've been sold a bill of goods by everyone from the government on down to the food producers.

I've outlined it before, but I'll repeat, our food supply is compromised by corporations who don't care about your health they only care about your dollars.  You can eat a diet using vintage recipes but you still won't lose weight because the food (ingredients) have fundamentally changed since the 20's!  Food is no longer produced on small farms outside of towns, it's factory farmed in foreign countries or the USA.  Cattle and chickens are kept in pens so small it's inhumane and force fed an unnatural diet of corn, antibiotics and growth hormones.  Commercial feeds in the USA are from Genetically Modified Organisims (GMO's) whose health risks have not been fully evaluated.  All this combines to the point that not only is our food a nutritional shadow of it's former self, it's laced with ingredients that are poisons in our body leading to diabetes, immune disorders and cancer.  If we truly want to go back to a vintage diet then a fundamental change in how we shop is going to be needed, On Friday I will conclude this series with the fundamentals of the diet itself.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Louisiana Cooking: Jacksonville Mardi Gras King Cake


King cake is a Mardi Gras tradition dating back many years.  Filled with cinnamon sugar, Pecan praline or cream cheese filling it has come to symbolize the whole Mardi Gras experience.  The colors on the cake represent Faith (Purple), Justice (Green) and Power (Gold), meanings they were given in 1872 by "Rex" king of Mardi Gras.  You may be wondering why I decided to name this Jacksonville King Cake... isn't king cake a New Orleans tradition?  Yes, but I decided to give it a twist and replace the lemon peel in the recipe with orange peel.  If you really want to keep it traditional then just stick with lemon peel where I use orange peel.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Why Am I Fat?


I'm the first one to admit it, I'm overweight.  6'2" 360lbs, you can get the picture.  This is part of what started me down the path towards making this blog.  What if people back in the old days ate a better diet than we do now?  They certainly weren't fat as a rule.  Modern science and the government will point several different ways as to why this is true.  One, they will say people got more exercise back then.  This is a flat out lie, while people walked more than we are used to today, and they did more by hand, not everyone lived the Jack London life in the woods.  The government knows this but they have to lie to disguise the real truth... our food is compromised due to greed and government collusion.  You'll hear the government go on about the evils of processed foods but keep in mind they were the ones who allowed food to be compromised that way to begin with.  Companies, never knowing when to be satisfied with the profits they have attained, searched for cheaper and cheaper ingredients until most package goods could barely be termed food.  It's empty, soulless food with no nutritional value whatsoever.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Sunday Stealing: The Derpworm MEME


Today we ripped off a blogger named  Kyogres from the blog Hero of the BlueFlames. It's long so we will do it in parts. It was stolen from Nerdish. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!

What is Organic?

 I remember when the term "Organic" first came out.  It was the butt end of so many jokes and derision that few people took it seriously.  I mean if it's living isn't it made from organic matter?  Honestly in the beginning the term "organic" was not controlled by the FDA and thus anyone could slap the term on their product charge 3 times as much and separate a fool from their money.  Today the situation is different though as anything organic is controlled by the FDA to mean raised in a certain way free from antibiotics and growth hormones.  Of course the FDA also cottons to the mega food corporations by telling us that there is nothing significantly different between organic vs. commercial... yeah right, if you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in buying... cheap.  The difference comes in ways not measured by the FDA so in this instance lets examine 3 things that comprise the major organic items sold in the supermarket, Eggs, Butter, and Meat.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Ah, There's Sweetness, Madam


Could you imagine buying butter packaged this way today?  3 times wrapped and sealed on the end with a presumably way seal?  It gets major points for being retro but you'd be paying $10/lb for it because of packaging cost.  If you haven't already "liked" The Vintage Recipe Blog on Facebook I really encourage you do so.  You get to see so much more than I put up on the blog and I really have such a wonder group of vintage themed pages that I am friends with who often bring up some really good information.  For instance, the other day, Canning Granny posted a link to an article that was about a study done in Australia on the effects of eating butter.  The conclusions may surprise you as they found out that fresh butter made from the cream of grass fed cows was actually very healthy for you.  There was an increase in the number of Omega-3 fats and much more Beta Carotene than is found in commercial butter.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Chicken Piccata Recipe


I love Italian food but I get tired of the tomato based sauces or heavy cream sauces like Alfredo.  That's where this recipe really shines.  A recipe of chicken breasts that have been pounded flat, breaded and fried crisp with a light citrus sauce it's really the perfect meal when you want something lighter for those summer months.  I am not really sure of it's pedigree but I am guessing it is Sicilian in origin since they grow some of the best lemons on Earth there.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sunday Stealing: The Timex Social Club MEME




Today we ripped off a blogger named  Kyogres from the blog Hero of the BlueFlames. It's long so we will do it in parts. It was stolen from Nerdish. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Rails of Gold, Part 1

Jax Birney Car on it's last run 1936

I found this great old picture awhile ago and it's been sitting in the various folders on my computer.  Rather than consign it to just being put up on my blog's Facebook page I decided to take some time to deliver a history lesson for those who may not know.  Lets turn back the dial to the 1920's, most people lived in the city or the country, there were no "suburbs" yet as we know them today.  The automobile had finally gained popularity however most people couldn't afford one so they rode the streetcar.  Every city had streetcars and in some areas there was a network of interurban lines that would take you between cities, a concept that was popular in the Ohio Valley.  With success comes jealousy though and in this case it would take root in the heart of some corporations you may know about, Standard Oil (Exxon), Goodyear and GM.  See, even back then corporatism had taken hold.  Why compete in a capitalistic way when you can drive your competition out of business through government regulation?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Fresh Blueberry Pie Recipe


One of the great things about living in Florida is all the fresh produce, and we get it before anyone else in the country gets it. Right now is early berry season here and we're able to get fresh strawberries from Plant City and blueberries from Winter Haven. Since the blueberries were on sale 2/$5 at Publix and I had a nice vintage recipe for blueberry pie with a lattice top I figured I'd give it a go.

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