Inspiration Board, Scrapbooking, Arrested Development, Historical Reference

Hello dear followers and visitors,

I'm reining myself back in a bit not to be lured out by phase 1, 2, 3, 4.  I want to watch the medical/scientist numbers on Covid not the coming back out phases.

This lead me to going through my scrapbooks.  I have been collecting pages from magazines since the 1990s. Then I took to pasting them in books.  Pretty much what I did in 3rd grade. You see the 'arrested development' in the title.  Now you know what that means.  I can't throw any books away even though the home & garden pictures may have gone out-of-style.  I encourage myself to keep them by saying they could be a historical reference for design students. The Inspiration Board is in my office.  I like paint swatches; they come in handy for these projects.  I always dream of dressing monochromatically & having a room in one color especially white with silver/grey accents.  Enjoy the pictures. Click to enlarge.

Questions, welcome.

Vintage Cookbooks, Rambling Post & Chocolate Cake

 One of my favorite cookbooks: 1960s

I like the graphics & 'made simple information'.  My brothers (and all high school boys) had to take this course at one time. One project was to make aprons. Instead of using scissors to cut off the ties, they just used their muscle. They cooked and baked.  The household management & budgeting was a useful tool for everybody.  Is any course like this offered today?

A young couple I know of wanted to save money.  They started to cook at home and stopped eating out frequently.  It went smoothly till their dishwasher broke down, and they could no longer continue to do this. Back to the restaurants. True story.

Sometimes, fast food is cheaper.  Now not everyone is comfortable with to-go orders.  During Covid more people are cooking and baking.    A local  market manager says she can't keep yeast on the shelf  (refer back to my post on baking with yeast). What I read on Nextdoor is people can't find flour, oil, baking soda etc.

During the Depression and war time people had similar challenges in finding product.  One of my favorite cakes came from this time period.  Mom made it a lot in the 1950s and 1960s.

If this is not in your recipe file or vintage cookbook, you can just Google.  It has different names: Wacky Cake, Depression Cake. Crazy Cake.  No eggs, no butter, no milk, no problem.  You just use one pan don't even have to grease it. No bowls needed.  It is a moist 8 x 8 cake, and I put a lemon frosting on it.

https://www.today.com/food/depression-cake-or-wacky-cake-making-comeback-t179436

Enjoy!

Then Pick 'n Save Now Big Lots Mind since Covid

I remember when learning to meditate there were times that my mind just wouldn't clear...pickup dry cleaning, go to ATM, errands, groceries etc.  Covid has cleared so many of those "waste thoughts" for me. I shop differently, think differently, rest differently and ironically my mind has less debris.

A thought was triggered by this nifty (old word) red tortilla holder that I used last night.  It came from either late Pick 'n Save or early Big Lots when this store truly sold buyouts, close outs, over stocks.  I remember finding my favorite perfume there, Tweed, for a stellar price.  At that time I was naive and didn't yet realize that it was being discontinued forever after launching in 1933.

Back to the tortilla warmer, it's a bright beautiful red, high quality plastic, works effectively & was sold at a cheap price.  Big Lots took over about 2002 & after a few years changed the format & prices.  Now I rarely go there sometimes only once a year.

What I noticed while writing this post is that I could look back factually without lament, or loss or judgment.  I can't help but think this is a by product of Covid.  An empty mind is a more logical mind?

Just in case you do like nostalgia and loss pulling at your heartstrings.  Check out the "History of  Southern California Retail".  Interesting easy reading chart.  Tissue, please.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pic_%27N%27_Save

Like Gold

Can you read the sign?  Allen Tire Company, Long Beach, CA always has very clever signs.  Time appropriate.

This would not have been a pre-Covid19 post

Now this is big news in my world. I drove 20 miles today.  And I drove on the freeway.

I drove past where I used to work (stomach pull).  I dropped off some donation food, I went to Unleashed for Tilly's food.  My online pickup order was ready in less than 30 minutes.  Hats off to them.

My car was headed to Los Altos McDonalds for a fish sandwich and a fountain drink.  Last minute, I made a U-turn.  Self talk talked me out-of-it.

On my little street, I notice when a neighbor drives away.  Wondering.  Did they wonder about me today?  Probably.

Whole new world.

Order, Prep, Cook, Cleanup & More

Since the lock down began, I feel like everyday I get a "Chopped" basket.  Especially when the groceries are on the wane and time for a new order. It is challenging my creativity but I'm a home cook not a home chef.  Nothing wasted.

This last week, I have spent hours and hours trying to get an order through on Amazon & Ralphs. I've given up on Instacart. I start a week ahead from when I actually need the groceries. Yesterday, I got a Ralphs pick up time for next Friday. This morning, I got an Amazon delivery time for Monday.  After you successfully order, you need to allow extra time for delivery or pickup date.
My experience three weeks ago at Ralphs was I ordered about $100 worth & I got $58. Not being proficient at this yet, I found that out at the car from the employee. Because of the time lapse, items are out-of-stock and logical substitutions are out-of-stock too.  Amazon, I got about 3/4 of what I ordered.  So this time, I am keeping both orders.  Not duplicates per se.  It would be nice if I could stock up for a month. I'm not a hoarder but it averages about 10 hours on the phone/computer trying to get these orders through.

The romance of it all escapes me. I do like the cooking part & the eating part.

We now have local restaurants (3) that are pop-up markets with basic essentials so I can get fresh produce. I went on Wednesday and I was the only one there at the time. I did wear my mask, gloves & long winter sweater. I carry wipes, disinfectant in the car & sprays.

When I get home, I wash the clothes I was wearing immediately. Spray the bags & items that I can. Wipe down contact surfaces. Now all veggies go into a big tub with cold water & a drop of Dawn for 2 minutes & then rinsed thoroughly. Dried. I heard this from one of the doctors or scientists on TV.

Sometimes, the pop-ups have TP (gold) also other non-food items.  They buy from their suppliers to help keep us all going.

This week it is hard to get eggs.  Easter is coming and a good family activity is to have the kids dye eggs and do an Easter egg hunt on Sunday.  Deviled eggs are also popular.

Items that seem to fall off my list before I get the order are chips, sodas, pasta (I can't get plain pasta, any pasta) and dry beans.  Even when people shop in person, come home and leave a post on NextDoor...the neighbors go right away and items are gone.  It changes fast.

Our experiences are different here depending on where, when and how you shop.

I am taking the weekends off .  It might appear that I have the week days off too.  The weekends I have "more off."