Tuesday, July 29, 2025
20th Century Wieners! The Dogs Kids Love to Sprinkle with Parmesan
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Bitter indeed
I've spent the spring in our new home watching mysterious plants pop up here and there around the small yard. Several types grew quickly and were getting large, so I researched them and discovered they were varieties of dock. You've undoubtedly heard of burdock, or encountered it in the hair of a beloved pet or young child. Dock tends to be aggressively invasive, so I realized it was time for them to go before seeds arrived and they took over.
I've had a longstanding interest in foraging and have nibbled bits of greenery and berries across the decades. All those experiments went well, and I thought small samples were harmless.
(Queue the foreboding music.)
I'd read a decent amount about dock, and knew they were used in lots of traditional medicines. Both leaves and roots were reportedly edible. So when I dug up a root like a fat white carrot, I thought why not give it a try?
So I ate some. Not much. Probably a piece about the size of a quarter.
It did not go well.
I spent the night in the emergency room. 0/10, would not recommend.
I've done more googling since coming home, and am still convinced what I ate was dock. It's not clear why I had such a bad reaction.
As a way to vent my spleen about the experience, I decided to see what sort of vintage cookbooks or recipes might exist for the stuff.
And what, pray tell, did I find?
I'm trying to imagine the mind of the artist who designed ads for this company, but each time I enter in I get scared and have to slam the door shut on it. But I'm pretty sure they're a close relation to Sweeney Todd.
Here's another of the company's idea of a good time:
Wha wha wha what???
Animals were featured in several ads. Like this inexplicable bit of imagery:
(Is she bleaching her children?)Sometimes the ads focused on human children rather than puppies.
CHILDREN.
Like this poor wain, whose face seems to be saying, "Please mother, might I have something to eat?"
Then there's this child, who looks downright giddy in contrast. Perhaps they've already enjoyed a few sips of the elixir.
The back of the card is equally charming, plus packed with useful intel:
And then there's this. For which I shall offer no comments.
Startling in its vividness. Shocking in it's timelessness. Ugly on multiple levels, though different from the ugliness of my emergency room experience.
The moral of the story my friends, is to be careful what you eat in your backyard, and who you hire to do your advertising. Blood purity just isn't worth it.
Vintage Summer Cookout Recipes
Oh, summer! The air is warm, the days are long, and there's nothing quite like the sizzle of the barbeque grill and the laughter of loved ones filling up the backyard. While modern cookouts often feature gourmet burgers and artisanal sides, sometimes our hearts (and our appetites!) yearn for the simple, comforting flavors of summers past. You know, the kind of dishes your grandma used to whip up that just felt like sunshine and good times.
This year, why not take a delicious trip down memory lane? Dust off those old recipe cards and cookbooks. Let's bring back some vintage summer cookout classics that are as easy to make as they are delightful to devour. Forget the fuss, embrace the flavor, and get ready to create new memories with a dash of old-fashioned charm!
Three Timeless Cookout Treasures
These recipes are cherished for several reasons: they're crowd-pleasers, they travel well, and they embody the spirit of carefree summer days.
1. A quintessential Potato Salad
No summer cookout is complete without a creamy, tangy potato salad. This isn't your fancy, herb-laden version—this is the comforting, classic kind that tastes like childhood.
Ingredients:
3 lbs russet or red potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (full-fat for that authentic richness!)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste
Paprika for garnish (optional)
2. Old-Fashioned Baked Beans
Step aside, canned beans! These homemade baked beans are sweet, smoky, and simmered to perfection. They're the ultimate companion to grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.
Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4-5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve a little of the drippings!)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3. Summertime Ambrosia Salad
For a touch of retro sweetness, ambrosia salad is a vibrant, fruity dessert that’s light and refreshing. It’s like a party in a bowl!
Ingredients:
1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well-drained
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, to your preference)
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, halved
1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (for a tangier twist)
1/2 cup whipped topping (like Cool Whip) or freshly whipped cream
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch
There you have it! Three simple yet sensational vintage recipes to get your summer cookout started. These dishes are more than just food; they're an invitation to slow down, savor the moment, and connect with the timeless joy of good company and great cooking.
What are your favorite vintage cookout memories?
Share them in the comments below!
Cheesy Tuna to Tame that Man-Child Brute
"It is wisdom as old as the hills that the way to get along with a man-child is to feed the brute," Mary Haworth advises readers of our WNPC cook book. "Lots of famous fascinators can't cook but I am convinced that nothing gives a woman greater self-confidence as a woman than the ability to cook well."Analyzing females and foods, she believes "The womanly woman has a congenital urge to cook well. She cooks to please her man almost as instinctively as the vamp powders her nose."And, as a final warning, Mary points out, "The lovable woman is a nurturing woman and men don't leave them because 'you can't hardly get them kind no more'."
Her preferred Lenten dish, good any Friday, and heavy enough to please the most masculine appetite is:
Oh, butter...
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
New Cookbook Day! Cutco Meat and Poultry Cookery
It's a promotional piece produced for the cutlery division of Wear-Ever Aluminum, Inc. in 1961.


Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Moxie. Wicked Good Stuff
I'm drinking my first Moxie, even as I type.
It is reputedly the oldest soft drink in America, having been brewed since 1884. I haven't done the research to either confirm or deny this factlet.
All I know is that it definitely is different. No doubt about that. Just take it from this guy:
Moxie. Try it if you can find it in your neck of the woods.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
One more reason to make a muffin
I'm not much of a baker, but there's something deeply satisfying about mixing up a dough or a batter, popping it in the oven, smelling the smells, and then biting into the warm rewards of those efforts. Our home is currently low-carb for health reasons, so defaulting to an afternoon of baking is more challenging now.
As an alternative, I went on a hunt for vintage political cookbooks, but the results were disappointing. I did however stumble down a rabbit hole which I'll now invite you to enter: an explanation for why baking is such a comfort.
There are a ton of these little guys wafting around the internet. Most follow this model; a vintage kitchen with a female in period garb looking varyingly happy or deranged. Here are a few more examples.
But a few took a different spin, featuring gadgets, hedgehogs, sloths, and an unsurprising clutter of cats.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Night Night Little Piggies
So before this little piggy trots off to bed, here are a few creepy vintage pork images found around the interwebs for your twisted viewing pleasure:
Kitchen Snark Coloring book
Do you love cookbooks? Need a distraction from the cares of the world? The Kitchen Snark Coloring Book is here to help! You'll find 50 pages filled with humor, wisdom, memories, and a touch of snark, all waiting for your creative flair. Color the stress away with this timeless book of vintage fun.
Amazon LINK - https://amzn.to/37JNptD
to create something fun connected to one of my other loves: vintage cookbooks!