Victorian Pizza Party?

 I picked up this photo in a box of postcards at a sale recently.  I would date the photo to around the turn of the 20th century.  Frankly, the image baffled me.  This jovial group appears to be dining on pizza.  

Great Balls of Popcorn!

You thought I was done? Not quite yet.

I thought I'd share this traditional Halloween treat with you.  Popcorn Balls. I'm old enough to remember when old ladies would hand these out as treats in your Trick or Treat bag.

Mixed Drink Mix

I found these "Instant" cocktail mixes in the basement bar of a recent estate sale.  I'm not an alcohol drinker, but I have to imagine these are pretty bad.  The fact that the these remained after all these years strongly indicates that.

An Ap-peeling Find

Seventeen years ago, I planted an apple tree next to my house with dreams of someday picking apples from my porch.

Over the years, the apples have suffered in a variety in ways all resulting in the absence of any edible apples come September.

There were droughts, hail, late Spring frosts, a complete absence of blossoms, and, most frequently, squirrels.  Lord, the squirrels.They would come in July and pick the tree clean of the young apples.

For reasons unknown, the squirrels around my house disappeared this year.  I suspect it has to do with a sewage backup that occurred in the creek behind my house, but that's purely speculation.  At any rate, it resulted in a bumper crop this year.

 

Uncanny Finds: It's 905 Somewhere...

I have hazy memories (and not because I'm drunk) of my Dad drinking 905 beer.  He preferred our hometown Anheuser-Busch products, but when money was tight, 905 would do. I should mention, 905 was cheap.  It was the house-brew for a local chain of liquor stores in St. Louis.

The can featured the Arch and the statue of The Crusader King, Louis IX of France which stands at the St. Louis Art Museum. Classy.

A Peanut's Demise

The recent brouhaha over Mr. Peanut's death reminded me of this booklet I have.  "Mr. Peanut's Guide to Nutrition" from 1973 is a promotion for Mr. Peanut products disguised as a nutrition guide.  Oh, and it was owned by "Jeff".

Happy Homemaking through Subjugation

This guide to Happy Homemaking is clearly aimed at the lady of the house and probably dates from the late 1950's given the dead-ringer for June Cleaver on the cover. Brought to you by the editors of Modern Romances. Enjoy!  AND GET COOKIN'!

Coffee Breaks

A coffee break to me is when I'm at work and need to step away from my desk and walk to the kitchen where I generally discover the pot has been drained and I need to make a new one, return to my desk and wait 5 minutes and proceed back.  Usually I get involved with something and by the time I get back to the kitchen it's gone again and the cycle repeats. Not much of a break, is it.

But this pamphlet dates from an era when "coffee break" meant neighbors (women, of course) taking a break from their household chores (sorry, ladies, this isn't me talking, it's the '70's) and getting together to"klatch", as my mother called it.  From 1978 and Maxwell House Coffee Times, it's "Coffee Breaks with The Friendly Taste of Home". 

Leftovers Day 19 -- Popcorn Party

I'm a lifelong popcorn addict.  Home-popped, carnival-sold, store-bought, fake-butter-drenched-movie-style, it doesn't matter. I also have a soft spot for popcorn makers.

Most people are familiar with the West Bend brand Stir Crazy popper.  A some point, some genius at the West Bend company realized you could increase your popcorn production by introducing a sleeve to raise the elevation of the domed lid resulting in a literal Popcorn Party.  To him I say, God bless you sir.  But clowns? Why did it have to be clowns?

Leftovers Day 9 -- Ai Yi Yi Yi

Given the current political climate, you might be surprised to know we once not only welcomed our friends South of the Border, but in fact immortalized them in crude caricature rubber pencil toppers.

Wilton's Halloween

This Wilton Cake catalog from 1978 displays some of their Halloween-themed decorations.

Witch's Brew

I wrote previously about the beer can collection I had when I was a kid.  Even though I don't drink beer, I'm still fascinated by the multitude and variations of the cans.  This can caught my eye this past spring.

If Your Child Fails to Grow Bigger, It's No Wonder

Today's pamphlet comes to us from the folks at Wonder Bread. Apparently, Fathers don't care how Wonder Bread helps his son (and let's face it, that's all we're worried about here.  Daughters should be weak and helpless) grow bigger and stronger.

Look What You Can Do...With Cottage Cheese!

The title of this pamphlet from Quality Dairy Products, a defunct dairy company here in St. Louis, hints that there were more of these pamphlets with different products following the ellipsis. 

The Mystery of Dixie Cream Donuts

Donuts may be my favorite food group.  They have their own food group, right?  Anyway, I found this plastic tray for Dixie Cream donuts a while back.  

Corporate Cooking

One item I commonly find at garage and estate sales are the old recipe booklets that various companies, food industries and occasionally the local utility company would publish.  They were either mailed or included with the product itself at the point of purchase.  I don't know why people hung onto these, but I'm glad they did because I love them.  I came across a cache of these at a sale this weekend.  I'll go into depth with some of these at a later date.

"Good Cooking made Easy", Spry Vegetable Shortening, 1942

Carnival of Treats

My wife made this brownie diorama with cake toppers I've found over the years.  It's another tribute to Ray Bradbury.  This time it's "Dark's Pandemonium Carnival" from "Something Wicked This Way Comes".

There's Always Room for Jell-O

I might be pushing it as this is my third post of the day, but you know what they say...(See title of this post).

I bought this booklet a few weeks back.  It dates from 1930.  I liked the art and maybe someone will use the recipes.  Of course, you can still get recipes from Jell-O, but these days they've gone high-tech and upscale.

Enjoy this peek into Jell-O's jiggly past.

Foods Men Hurry Home For

Yet another find from the great gumball/electronic games/Der Bingle estate sale. I found a box of miscellaneous papers (or ephemera, as we collectors like to call it). Mostly company-sponsored recipe pamphlets, the kind that would have been given away free when you bought flour, butter, etc. Most date from the 20's to 30's. Some are quite interesting with many pictures that would fit well in James Lileks' Gallery of Regrettable Food. I'm thinking about framing the montage above to hang in the kitchen. I'll profile some of the more interesting pamphlets, including one on how to throw a party and and another on mixing drinks in a later post. Bon appetit!