It's SO EASY [even a flapper could do it]!

[blogger's adide: hey - if you read Julie & Julie and loved it, I'm guessing you, too would read Cleaving and, well, read my review on frothygirls.com today...] No more haste, on to the pudding!

What in the hell does Better Homes & Gardens have against the bad girls of the roaring 20s? Are they intimidated by all the snazz, pizzaz and skinny cigarettes?

Just because you have a cute hair style, naked knees, ruby red lips and the chutzpah to do the charleston does not mean you can't make pudding.
Or does it?

Find out. Try this dessert recipe from BH&G's Snacks and Refreshments cook book (c) '63 - it's the cat's pajamas!

Flapper Pudding
1 cup fine vanilla-wafer crumbs
3/4 soft butter or margarine
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
2 egg yolks*
2 stiff-beaten [oooh, you dirty flapper] egg whites
&
1 9-ounce can crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 cup chopped California walnuts
* Have eggs at room temperature

Spread half of vanilla-wafer crumbs on bottom of 10x6x1 1/2-inch baking dish [do the math, flapper wanna-bes]. Cream butter; gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating till light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 1 minute more. Fold in egg whites (mixture may look curdled); beat at medium speed for a few seconds or till smooth. Fold in pineapple and nuts. Carefully spread mixgture over crumbs. Top with remaining crumbs.

Chill till firm, 5 hours or overnight. Cut into 10 squares. Garnish with cherries [yeah, those weren't on the ingredient list].

Okay, BH&G bitter bitch-types, I'm pretty convinced that a flapper could assemble this pudding with both hands, and two cigarettes, tied behind her back [hey, bonus would = no ashing in the yolks]. And it would be as tasty. It's easy, but that doesn't mean flappers were [although your love might cheat on you with this pudding - it's that good].

[hey, you with the lofty goals - or simple ones - enter to win that dandy lunches & brunches cookbook already - you have all day to share - scroll to the owl, stop, & share!]

Tipsy Tuesday: Rise & Shine [or drink until the sun sets...]

On these cold, gray days my thoughts are turning to a bright sun over my head and sand under my feet. And maybe a starfish in my hand. Time for Tipsy Tuesday's cocktail...Tequila Sunrise
1 1/2oz tequila
4 oz orange juice
2 oz grenadine

Pour tequila & oj over ice. Stir & drop grenadine shot into center of the drink. Sip. Feel sunny [watch this].

And, hey, don't forget to share around a few resolutions from your own personal menu! I know you're there - and I'm curious about what you're up to, too!

To You, From Me!

What are you cooking up in 2010?
Here's your chance to change up your coulda/woulda/shouldas from 2009 into gonnas in 2010!

Share your resolutions for relevations with me this week and I will draw [ever so randomly] a winner from the cooks in my kitschen to receive a copy [hardcover, even] of Better Homes & Garden's Lunches and Brunches.

This. Could. Be. You!

You have until Wednesday night at 10pm cst to post your goals a go-go - I can't wait to hear what you've got up your sleeve in the new year!

Need a minute? Okay. I'll go first.

My New To-Do Menu:

• climb the walls [papering margie's room & painting a bit in the kitchen]
• plant more pretties [knock-out roses all-around]
• play the days away [with the kids - and t]
• get kitschen feast a go-goin' [i have a few lofty goals up my sleeve]
• throw more dinner parties [first to-do? valentine's!]
• spin a yarn [baby steps knitting on a loom: flowers!]
• smile waaaay more [laugh, too]
• extra, extra qt with my fantastic husband t [weekend away!]
• do disney [land]
• go local [farmer's market or bust]
• another tattoo [so far i have 2]

Your turn...

Nice Muffins [if you don't mind me saying...]

My temperament is continuing to reflect the temperature, so rather than sticking my head in the oven, I popped a pan of muffins in this weekend. Bruised banana. Or, as Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book (c)'65 calls them -Banana-Bran Muffins
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole bran
1 beaten egg
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons salad oil

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in bran. Mix remaining ingredients; add all at once, stirring just to moisten. Fill 12 well-greased muffin pans [I'm thinking cups] 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Believe me when I say I didn't pick this recipe because it moved [or would move] me. Keep your colon in mind before you crack an egg and a box of bran open. Marge was in a muffin mood in the morning and the first fruit she saw in the kitchen was a banana. An ugly, nearly flea & fruit-fly bitten fruit. So we went for it, and I think it died a happy death. Whole wheat flour was subbed for the average white stuff in a weak attempt to ratchet the nutritional value up a notch. I like to play mind games with myself and subbing the whole wheat means I can put a melty pat of butter on my muffin. Or two. These muffins are well served, and deserved.

Zest. For Life.

I just finished watching Julie & Julia. Again.

I love Paris in the 50s.
Paul & Julia.

But mostly. Her zest for life.
Her appetite for life was delicious.

May we all follow her recipe for years to come.

Cocoa Kitsch

I love hot cocoa.
And the Jetsons.[this is my mug from '92 - it was a hard-earned freebie - cutting out those carnation upcs really wears on a high school girl. doesn't it look like, the most, resting in the snowdrift on our deck?]

George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane his wife [plus '[r]Astro & Rosie] are the epitome of retro a go-go! Born of the 60s to explore the groovy space age [shouldn't we be there by now?], you can't help but dig them. I think Ben & Marge & I will spend a little time with the fam [and the cocoa] this afternoon.

Eep! Opp! Ork! Ah-Ah! [That means I love this mug...]

Snowball Fight!

This recipe + sledding makes a snow day suck less.

Straight from Dishes Children Love (c)'54 [thanks again, Culinary Arts Institute]. This dessert [or, what the hell, dinner] is a good go-to when you've been home with your little loves for over 20 days of 'holiday break'.Snowballs Adrift
Ice cream goodness, enhanced by chewy coconut and flavorful chocolate makes an exciting combination. [well, that isn't quite the adjective I'd pick, but it is tasty - okay, that's not much more exciting than exciting, is it?]

Ice cream of any desired flavor, prepared commercially or in the home, [I'll let you guess what variety I used, one hint: lazy] may be used to form snowballs. It must be firm before shaping balls [this sounds a little wrong, but it tastes sooo right].

Spread in a chilled shallow pan:
1 cup moist shredded coconut [I toasted the shreds to provide a little "aloha" for our palates]
With a scoop, rinsed each time in hot water, quickly form 6 to 8 balls of ice cream from:
1 quart ice cream [we ventured for vanilla]

After forming each ball, roll immediately in the coconut. Place snowballs in chilled refrigerator tray in freezing compartment of refrigerator and cover with waxed paper [or, in our case, directly into your mouth]. Before serving, spoon chocolate sirup [yes, that's their spelling, those culinary y-phobes] into individual dishes and in each one float a snowball.

The whole fam will fight over a bowl of these balls - LEST YOU FORGET to toast the shredded 'nut to warm them up a bit [on what has become a damn cold winter, even for us midwesterners] your balls will end up with a limp!