Draw Your Own Conclusions
Category: Food
January In Texas
Yes, We Have Huge Bananas
Banana Burt and Lil pose in snazzy white trousers (who knows? maybe they were yellow…) at the Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts Dairy Queen in 1950. Forget the dilly bar; I’d rather drink a banana. 16 oz for a quarter? Sign me up!
Sad that you can’t spend the day with a huge banana these days? Well, check out this car made in Michigan.
Now you don’t need a BMW or Mercedes to get attention that you lacked in childhood; roll up in this tube of yellow and make others green with envy! And it never goes rotten.
Go Cantonese Tonight!
This frozen dinner must have been pretty exotic in ’58, but it looks pretty ew on my end. One wonders how well it held up to the reheating process. And trying to mix the rice with the chicken would inevitably create a mess all over the placemat.
While the word “Oriental” in the ad is now out of favor, “Cantonese” is not offensive, white people. Cantonese people speak Cantonese. And though it shares some vocabulary with Mandarin, the two vary greatly in pronunciation, grammar and lexicon. I know it’s hard to keep up with what is acceptable, but languages are ever-evolving. In fact, “guai lo” in the Cantonese language used to be a derogatory term for any Westerner, but now it has lost its sting. So don’t feel bad if you hear it, guai lo.
Fortunately, Cantonese food actually looks pretty swell in 2016. Here’s a current image.
According to www.chinahighlights.com, Cantonese or Yue cuisine originates from Guangdong Province (SE China around Hong Kong), and it is the most widely served style of Chinese cuisine in the world. This is because most of the Chinese who immigrated and set up restaurants overseas were from Guangdong. What distinguishes Cantonese food is lightly cooked fresh vegetables and meat, and sweet sauces.
I’d try any of these numbers. So let’s stick to fresh Cantonese food, not frozen. And remember to say do jeh (thank you)!
Get In My Belly
On holiday for Christmas 1956 at Torquay (a seaside resort town on the English Channel), the Taylor family looks forward to sharing a roast chicken.
Elsie and Elmer Borden: A Lesson In Dairy Dysfunction
The First Couple of Borden’s Milk products always seemed to be arguing, as they graced the pages of LIFE magazine throughout the 1940s and 50s.
Elmer was controlling.
Elsie was passive aggressive. But, dear…
The ad continues for nearly a DOZEN paragraphs, nothing for which today’s reader would have time. The dialog eventually addresses the product of Christmas. None Such Mince Meat.
Can you imagine an ad today making reference to Cabbages and Kings? Would most readers understand a reference to the 1904 O. Henry novel, itself a reference to Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass? I shant believe it.
Not only have I never tasted None Such Mince Meat, I have never seen hide nor hair of it. The main ingredients include raisins, molasses, dried apples, beef and spices. Not what I think of when I think of pie.
And what about you? Have you ever put a forkful of this into your gullet?
Later, Elmer asks, “Didn’t they punish nagging wives in the public square?” To which Elsie responds, “What a silly idea! Who’d make the mince meat pie while the wife was in the square?” Yikes! Better make sure that eggnog is spiked for tonight’s meal.
Buckley Music System Selection
This 1941 image from Jack’s Sandwich Shop in San Francisco has so much detail, I can almost wipe any lint off his jacket shoulder.
Plates & Dishes: Carol
No bacon??
Coffee Schmoffee
Well, that sounds fine and dandy, but as a person who only puts God-awful stevia into her coffee to prevent sugarbeetes, I can testify that the thought of twice-daily cocoa invites fear.
Although, somehow I can rationalize dark chocolate and Coke and ice cream…
On The Lookout For Autumn
These two ladies keep their eyes peeled for cooler weather (while wearing fabulous hats and dresses) on the kind of day that warrants nickel ice cream. I know it will arrive later this month, the glorious season of fall. But I also know it won’t feel like fall until Halloween. Still, I can see it on the horizon, and what joy that brings!
Seconds On Pork Sausages, Please
As I read that aloud, I can hear the man’s voice saying it. I wonder if you hear it, too? That typical 50s voice. “Why, Dick and Jane even give their dog, Spot, sausage and eggs every day, and he’s never felt better!”
Grilled Lean Bison Burger
The Kansas-Pacific Railway promoted buffalo-hunting parties back in 1870. Outside the railroad’s general offices, a taxidermist displays his work.
Don’t worry; they’re off the endangered species list. The population is stable and you can enjoy a nice sammich, should you so desire.
The OC Weekly raves:
The tangy stack features seasoned ground bison (aka the American buffalo) nestled on a bed of shredded celery and carrots. All that’s topped buffalo sauce-infused sharp cheddar cheese, grilled onions and jalapeños, and then smothered with housemade buttermilk ranch and Frank’s RedHot dressing.
Who could resist?
I Don't Get It 