Hot off the press! Popeil's Dial-O-Matic slicer

Oh I forgot this is like Retro Tuesday but on Wednesday. I was midly jealous when i found out that my pal Tracy @ Crazy Suburban Mom hit the chenille jackpot. I tried to grab some for me but the store didn't answer my email. Like I told her, I have a chenille bedspread from my youth, it was white and my mom dyed it turquoise and it's still in amazing shape!

So tonight I stopped at my neighborhood church basement  and I found some mid-century deliciousness of my own.....

The pictures are not great

Look at those designs! I love the veggies.

The color is way better in person, it's beautiful pale turquoise.

It comes with a special blade to make rippled cuts and the instructions.

This is the kind of kitchen gadget I've always loved but my mom couldn't bear. I would be hypnotized by all of Popeil's miracle wares. I know they don't all work, but I still love them!

How tackylicious is that? I saw Dan's face when I brought it in the car.....It's going in the shop after a good cleaning! LOL

Well it's 9:02 and I will go nighty night, I'm pooped and I feel hollow so that means I need a good night sleep.

On the plus side, I'm really happy to wake up in the morning and go to work! I'm learning new stuff every day :) 

Retro Tuesday: Pickle Sickles and Mid-Century Joy

First off a quick reminder for those who haven't entered my super Spring GIVEAWAY! Click HERE to enter. You could win this....

And other goodies....

Now for Retro Tuesday!

Last Thrusday I stopped @ the Sally Ann and

I found this....

When I saw this lamp I definitely had a OMG, START THE CAR moment and a DON'T EVEN LOOK AT MY LAMP LADY!

 

I also brought home this beautiful piece of fabric. It's linen and it's never been used and it's all crisp. It is finished as a tablecloth.....Still on the fence about keeping it or listing it....

And this....

I simply can't resist those cookbooks! But I never make their recipes....I just look at the pics and laugh! 

Like this one...it's an informal teen record party. The sandwiches are tamale heroes....the tamales are from a can ( ? ) and you can serve them with pickle sickles (I bet Snooki would LOVE those).

And a full page on the Perfection Salad! A big mess of gelatin and canned sauerkraut!

 Save me some!

I picked up 3 of those posters for .99 cents. They're from 1961. I couldn't scan the entire thing so I cut the little girl and I kept the dad fixing the lawn chair...Much more interesting.

Check out the see-through house! You can bet I won't be watching tv in my pj's. And yes you can see the shape of my hands in the background. That poster had been rolled up for sooo long that I couldn't get it to stay put on the scanner! Maybe I'll frame one to go in my living room after it's painted!

Have a happy Retro Tuesday everyone! Keep on thrifting :)

Drop by for a visit @ Crazy Suburban Mom for more Retro Tuesday fun. 

Retro Tuesday: Ben's a slice of Montreal history

Happy Retro Tuesday faithfull readers and friends!

By now I'm sure you know that I love a things vintage. So I was realy excited to see an article in The Montreal Gazette on Ben's Delicatessen . Ben's was the oldest deli in Montreal. It was opened in 1908 by Lithuanian immigrant Ben Kravitz. It served well known delicaties such as smoked meat, chopped liver, latkes, corn beef and cabbage and assorted sandwiches. Don't forget the Kosher pickles!

It relocated in the 50's to the corner of Metcalfe and Maisonneuve Sts. The interior never really changed...yellow and green formica tables, retro-style stools and counters and a wall covered with autographed pictures of celebrities. Every smoked-meat lover and tourist had to go there at least once!

My dad was a regular. A a matter of fact my dad looooves smoked-meat! 

The employees became unionized in 1994. The went on strike in 2006 asking for a raise and improved working conditions. By late 2006 the owners, now the 3rd generation, had decided to definitely closed the joint after 98 years!

The front doors after the closing.

The McCord museum acquired most of the inside artifacts. So we won't forget the joy Ben's brought us for nearly 100 years!

Too bad the fries were of the frozen variety!

You know how I feel about fries! They have to be freshly fried!

If ever you want to read the entire article here's the LINK 

In the meantime be sure to visit my pal's Tracy super blog Crazy Suburban Mom for more Retro deliciousness!

Retro Tuesday: Corticelli Pull Skein

Welcome to OMG it's so late it's almost Retro Wednesday but still tuesday and I was soooo lazy I still have a holiday hangover! Too much fat and sugar and not enough sleep and veggies!

I picked up this wonderful box of embroidery thread at the Salvation Army quite a while ago. I enjoy cross stitching and embroidery even if  I do it only a couple of times a year. It seems I never have the right color....we have no stores that carry yarn ot thread in my part of the boondocks and let's face it all the little mom and pop shops are being replaced by Starbuck's or Shopper's Drug Mart. So I was eager to grab it and run to the cash register. It's almost always the same cashier, probably from the Phillipinnes.
I would love to see her home because she aways makes a face when looking at my purchases...Is she paid a certain amount for each face she makes? Anyways, you know the face, wrinkly nose and upturned lips, you can almost hear: ewww! That is soooo tacky! GAG ME WITH A SPOON!

Here's the cover

She looks so happy! I want some too!

Close-up. Would you say it's from the 50's?

Look at that cornucopia of embroidery goodness!

The kicker is that my Great Granfather Rochon (Gran-mimi's daddy) worked for that company. He lived in Verdun, Qc on the shore of the St-Lawrence river where the fire station and the McDonald's now stand. He had a huge plot with several buidings and stables. He would get horses from Scotland for his stables. The horses arrived here with their grooms and if the grooms were married, their wives went along for the journey and would work in the house. and you know the Maple tarlets I showed in my last post? There's a very good chance the recipe came to Québec with one of the groom's wife.

Those tartlets were my Great Granfather's very favorite. He could down 2 or 3 in a sitting with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We're talking  about 1920 or 1930. How's that for Retro Tuesday?

I'm in the process of translating that recipe so I could post it on Thursday (I hope).

It's not too late to visit my hilarious pal Tracy for more Retro Tuesday right here HERE!

Retro Tuesday: The bread stuffing story

It's funny how simple stories have a way of sticking with me. I'm writing it today so I won't forget it. It really started about 15 years ago but it is really a lot older than that; make it in the 40's.

So when we moved in the burbs, my mother in law would come over on Xmas eve and stay until New Year. She was the queen of the Xmas meal, waking up at 5 am on Xmas morning and starting the turkey.

I was really bewildered by this as my mother had never made turkey (or roasts) so the whole process totally panicked me. To up the anty my head was full of stories of ill cooked turkeys; think National Lapoom Xmas vacation or even my paternal grandmother uttering : it's dry! Like a death penalty.

My mother in law would get up every 30 minutes and baste the bird with strong tea and then go back to her nap. Near the end of the cooking time she would prepare the bread stuffing which consisted of regurlar stretchy bread (wonderbread), onions and poultry seasonning and maybe some chicken stock. She never mesured, which freaked me out some more and if i would ask questions on the quantities the answers were: like so or a lot. No help at all!
Anyways the turkey was always perfect (never dry, you would've like it Gran-mimi) and the stuffing delicious! I remember hating the stuffing with a passion growing up because Gran-Mimi added inside stuff, you know gizzards and neck and eeewww crap like that. My father thrives on this stuff by the way :)

So since she can't cook anymore, I've taken over turkey duty; but to tell the truth I never cook it for Xmas. I cook it in late January or whenever I feel like it. I don't want to be tied down to certain Holiday foods. My turkey never tastes like hers and it can be dry at times.... And this year I'd bought a freezer to oven bird so I could cook it whenever I feel like it.
 
So we are over at my Dad's and after a delicious meal of spaghetti Carbonara (I swear he makes the BEST in the world), he started telling us stories of when he was a boy. Of course you didn't waste anything back then; so all the leftover bread would go in a cotton bag that Gran-Mimi had embroided with the word BREAD when she was a girl. When she had enough bread; she would make either bread soup, bread crumbs or bread pudding.
My dad was quick to add that as a boy he didn't like bread soup. It was a lot like french onion soup minus the cheese.

 So right then and there I decided that I was going to cook the turkey the next day and make stuffing with rock hard bread that I've had for a while waiting to be blitzed in bread crumbs. I softened some celery and onions in olive oil, dumped them in my bowl of dried bread pieces, added some Bell seasonning (my poultry seasonning of choice), salt,pepper, garlic powder and moistened with chicken stock and some of the turkey drippings. I poured it in a trusty Pyrex casserole and in the oven it went, for 1 hour. 30 minutes covered with foil and 30 minutes without to crunch up the top.  

   

It was delicious!

So for this success I have to thank 2 great ladies: Gran-Mimi and my mother in law Réjeanne.

So for more Retro Tuesday fun head on over to Jersey @ http://www.crazysuburbanmom.com/ 

Retro Tuesday: Humbugs

Last night Dan came home with a bag of one of the sweetest tradition around Montreal; The Stillwell's Humbug.
The humbug is a hard candy made of molasses,butter and peppermint....Huuummm humbug!

I'm sorry the pic quality is crappy, this is the only one I could find on the web.

Humbugs come from England and the recipe was brought here in 1914 when the Stillwell's moved to Verdun  .Stilwell's Home Made Candy Store was opened on Wellington street in 1933 and stayed at the same location until 1999. I remember going there (1991-1995) on saturdays to buy some sweet stuff. They had all kinds of hand pulled hard candy, my fave was the humbug and the humbug suckers. I'm kicking myself right now because i didn't take pictures and there is none on line. The interior was all white with glass cases. The counters were manned by old english sour pusses with hair nets....You could get a sugar rush just by breathing deeply! Oh the joy this place brought to everyone!

After 1999 it moved to Lasalle but closed down in 2009 due to tough economic times. However the humbug is still handmade by Mr Jenkins , son-in-law of the original owners and available at 5 locations in and around Montreal. They are sold @ Le Panier in Pointe-Claire, Deli Plus Frank & Fred also in Pointe Claire, Westmont Stationary Inc, St. Mary's Hospital Centre gift shop, Montreal General Hospital gift shop.

And now more on how they started out:   In an attempt to keep his family off social assistance during the Great Depression after losing his job in 1927, violinist and artist Richard Stilwell and Kay began peddling fudge bars baked by his eldest daughter, Gladys.

Kay sold them for a nickel each to caddies at the Mount Royal Golf Club while Stilwell bicycled into Montreal's business district, where he earned $2 to $3 a week selling ribboned boxes of the fudge.

After he was arrested for selling without a permit, Stilwell resorted to delivering call-in orders around town with the help of another daughter, Jeanne.
Jeanne worked at Bell Canada and with all those numbers at her disposal, promoted her sister's fudge and took the phone orders.
Sales were so good, they rented space for walk-in business for about 10 months, during which time they added Humbugs and other speciality candies to their selection. Then they moved to the permanent Wellington St. shop.

Don't be fooled by imitations! These are not humbugs!

So basically there was no point in waiting until Xmas to savour those timeless candies....so we digged in and watched a Xmas episode of the Big Bang Theory....and for a while time stopped and all was right in the world with lazy snow falling.

Have a great Retro Tuesday y'all!

For more Retro Tuesday Fun check Tracy's Crazy Suburban Mom !

Retro Tuesday: Eat & Stay Slim!

Hello everyone! So yesterday I made the blackeberry jam and it took FOREVER! I am telling no lies good people of bloggyland! FOREVER! lol

I made 14 jars and I enough to fill another 2 cups jar and a small fridgie. That is a lot of jam!

Now on to Retro Tuesday! Today's installment is brought to you by Better Homes and Garden's Eat and Stay Slim lifestyle cookbook. I found this book in the church basement last week.It was published in 1968.

Some illustrations are hilarious!

I remember GranMimi (my paternal grandmother) had one of those butt shakers in her basement...I would use it every chance I got!

We all know that those machines are the BEST way to loose weight!

I had a major gag reflex when I saw this spread...

Tuna salad on an Iceberg Ring! EEEEEWWWWW! That definitely takes me back to my mother's side of the family dinner parties!

 The red drink on top is called Glistening Beef-O-Mato Soup, it's a cold soup. Might be delicious with vodka on a hot summer day...The other one is Cuke-Buttermilk soup, it's cold as well...Pass the barf bags!

If you feel you need more torture you can exercise as well with the help of this book!

I only scanned one page...and if you need to see more write me!

Have a great Retro Tuesday! Go visit my pal Tracy HERE she might not do Retro Tuesday, she might be blogging about her super exciting cooking experience at the Unilever test kitchens, but it's still highly entertaining! 

Retro Tuesday: Cool Cooler

A beautiful Retro Tuesday to you! Needless to say I slept like a baby!

I was so tired I didn't watch all of SYTYCD Canada, let's face it there is just so much I can take of Jean-Marc Genereux's tirades...Give it up Canada! You are a VID (very insane dancer) I swear he says that 10-15 times a show!

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for.....The giveaway results....Henry the Xmas Elf was tied up so I turned to the firm of Pinotte,Boubou,Yoda and Bob to monitor the draw...

AND THE WINNER IS.....

Congratulations Linda! WOOHOO! I'll be sending some sweet stuff your way!

Ok now for Retro Tuesday! Like I mentionned in the previous post, I got myself  a B-Day gift, I always do.This year it's this cutie:

 

When I saw it on Etsy my knees got weak! It was so sweet and vintage and remeinded me of a suitcase I had when I was 5 years old. So I bought the bag, I figured I could use it on my upcoming trip to Maine.

I received it yesterday and it's not really a bag...It's a cooler!

Funny how the Etsy store owner never mentionned it!

It was manufactured by Nappe-Smith and the tag says a Thermo-Keep product by Nappy, Farmingdale N.J, insulated with fiberglass. I'm gueesing by the pattern, it's from the 60's.

It looks barely used, the vinyl is not cracked and there are no stains on it; it even came with the key! It will hold beverages beautifully!

 

Check out that beautiful pattern! In the tones of blue and green I love so much!

Now no post is completed without some SWEET Pyrex love!

 

This is yesterday's cuke harvest. And I had a big bag in the fridge! So I made some cream of cucumbers. It doesn't really tastes of cucmbers and it's a great way to use them instead of pickles.

I might post the recipe tomorrow (I have to translate it....:( )

Ok bye for now folks! I'm gobbling up breakfast then hopping to the farm stand and later to the you know what....

Be sure to visit my pal who I hope is on the mend and not coughing up a lung, the very funny and crazy Tracy over at Crazy Suburban Mom for more Retro Tuesday fun!

Just Plain Ol' Tuesday!

Yesterday was one of the shitiest day EVER at the postal counter...It started by reading a note that EPM (evil post mistress) left me because OF COURSE I had made a mistake and a customer brought back a letter that wasn't his on Friday, it came from an eastern country and the postal code was oh so wrong! So I looked it up the phone book and didn't find the name. It made me feel sad that this letter came from so far away and wouldn't be delivered...so I took it upon myself to look up the address at home on the internet, so I left the letter in a safe place and EPM came in on Saturday and threw a hissy fit because of that mysterious letter!
 Needless to say that my internet search didn't lead to anything so yesterday I returned the letter and I'm glad I went the extra mile for that customer even if they never find out about it.

I can handle criticism, I make mistakes, heck I'm only human! It's the tone of the note that got to me and the negative energy. Crazy, but I can so feel it!

One lady yelled at me twice because I wouldn't give her a registered letter without seeing some ID. That one actually threatened me! EASY LADY! I'm only doing my job and protecting you against fraud!

I also got attitude from another woman because the man who wired her money sent her 79.99$ and not
80$   !

It must have been in the stars because a lot of people I know had a crappy one yesterday...

Now on to other subjects!

Last month after seeing Tracy's pantry , you can witness it for yourself right HERE ; I decided to clean mine.

Here's what I found...6 kinds of vanilla! They say 3 makes a collection...uh oh!

 I see crappy ones...the Ciba and Caridom don't taste too good...a leftover from Costco-I think that one is at least 10 years old! Eeeeewwww! LOL

Some homemade one (not strong enough) and the creme de la creme the big bottle on the right brought back from Mexico by a friend who knows I bake a lot . It is so good ,it's sinful! 

Ok so I kept the really good one, the homemade one and the white Caridom (which is great for white frosting).

I've declared that I will make my own B-Day cake because I'm always disappointed about store bought cakes....Here you have crappy supermarket stuff or Premiere Moisson which is like the mafia of Quebec bakeries; they're everywhere and they force you to buy their stuff because they're putting little Mom & Pop bakeries out of business. So you buy their stuff because you don't have the choice. Granted they make killer breads but I say Nay Nay to a 30$ average cake! I'm so over Premiere Moisson, it's ridiculous!

I don't have a lot of free time to bake because I work eveyday this week (even saturday), so I decided to bake some cupcakes and frost them with coffee icing...HEAVEN! 

Ok no post is complete without a Pyrex pic.

 This pattern is unofficially called 'Eyes'. Nothing is known about it; and it doesn't even have the Pyrex stamp on the bottom. It is thought to have been made only in 2 sizes 403 (pictured here) and 401 (the smallest). I got this one from Ebay 2 years ago, quite reasonnable too, but right now I'm really looking for the smallest one. If you see one or you have one you don't want write me and we'll do business!

Have a great day!

Retro Tuesday: Miracle!

No it's not what you think....My lovely and trusty bike did not miraculously come back.

The heat was brutal yesterday and I had to walk back home from the bus stop. I don't really like to take the bus because it only runs a couple of hours a day and it's expensive. I'd rather spend that 3.25$ on Pyrex or some cool thrifty stuff!

So I came home hot,sweaty and still sad about the bike. I was taking a dip in the pool when I saw my neighbor who said to me: I heard you had your bike stolen, that's too bad but I have a bike for you. I was going to donate it...It runs great!

And while he's talking I'm thinking OMGOMGOMG is he giving me a bike?. And he says, hold one I'll bring it right away! OMGOMGOMG he's actually bringing a bike over!!!

And here it was...

How cool is it? Look at that blue!

So I ask my neighbor how much he wants for it and he says no it's a gift I was going to donate it anyways!

OMGOMGOMG Thank you so much! You ARE the best neighbor in the whole world!

I'm guessing it's from the 60's.And it was originally sold in a shop near where I live.

Look at those shiny mud flaps! And the springs under the seat!

 I'm so in love with my new bike! And I will not leave it unattended EVER!

It will be locked at all times. We have a brand new bicycle rack downstairs (old but never used) and will install it soon if we can figure out how to install it! Today during my lunch hour I will be visiting Canadian Tire and Zellers to shop for a basket..Oh I almost forgot I need a bell too!

I feel so blessed. I did pray a lot for God to take care of this and he did. I have to figure out a thank you fittting for my neighbor's generosity (He's the one who always fixed the old bike).

Have a happy Retro Tuesday!

Be sure to visit my dear fiend and fellow blogger Tracy (and Ginger and Tazzy) @ Crazy Suburban Mom for more retro fun! 

Retro Tuesday: I tried it and it was GOOOOODDDDD!

Good morning fantabulous thrifty readers! I have now 71 followers! Cool! Welcome everyone!

Today is more of a follow up...Remember a couple of weeks ago I did a Retro Tuesday post about Pyrex Prize Recipes? If not you can it HERE .

The BBQ chicken recipe was taunting me....Big time! Even if my pal Maureen thought the bird in the pic was about to take flight!

Even if the sauce recipe was a bit time consuming...lots of veggies to cut. I made the sauce in the morning before going to the postal counter of UNjoy. When I came home (5:20 pm) i threw the chicken with the sauce in Pyrex casseroles in the oven and presto chango- Supper!

The recipe called for  3 packages frozen chicken parts. I used drumsticks because they were on sale and let's face it there's only one bone to deal with. As I grow older I find i'm not to eager to find little bones in the sauce. Also It takes more than 1 hour total to cook. I'd say more like 1:30 total if you want fall of the bone goodness. And I removed the skin-who needs all that fat? I don't. Maybe you do, if so keep the skin!

It was even better reheated!

Don't expect real smoky BBQ flavor, the sauce is very pleasant but not BBQuy at all.

I might try it in the crockpot also....Erin, you up for it?

 So the saying might be true that everything tastes better in Pyrex!

Oh by the way....It doesn't fit in that gorgeous yellow bowl...And the bird is about to take flight!LOL

Does look good! So on this scrumptious note....Have a very happy Retro Tuesday and do drop by my friend Tracy (The Declutterer) on her fab and funny blog Crazy Suburban Mom for more Retro fun.

And don't be shy faithful readers...link in! The more the merrier!

Retro Tuesday: Hostess Set & Prize Recipes

Hostess set? What the? Of course I'm talking about Pyrex people!

So looking for something sweet for Retro Tuesday I laid eyes upon my Pyrex Prize Recipes book published in 1953.

Leafing through it I couldn't help but fawn over the Hostess Set. No I don't have a complete one, I have pieces of one...

 And this recipe looks almost edible in the bright red bowl!

Not only tasty but inexpensive! Ok I admit that this might be pretty good on a cold night! Is this a side dish or the main dish? Any idea?

BBQ chicken with all the fixings! Doesn't look really BBQ but I could definitely eat this!

See? everything tastes and look better in Pyrex!

It's a known fact! So get in the kitchen and cook something in Pyrex!

Have a great Retro Tuesday! Be sure to hop,skip and jump and say hi to my PMSing pal Tracy @

Crazy Suburban Mom

Week 'O' Surprises!

I had some very nice surprises this week! I had to go in town (Montreal) for some doctor appointment and stopped at the Salvation army...

It was filled to the rafters! It was quite a while since i'd seen so much stuff but NO Pyrex people! 
                                                                 I found this

And this

And  later that night as part of the Just for Laughs festival we went to see the very funny John Pinette! we laughed for 2 hours straight!

  

Here's a taste!

And I also received some goodies! I traded some Pyrex with Jeni from In Color Order and I received it on Monday.

A beautiful Opal 503 and an adorable hommade tissue holder...LOVE!

A while ago I won Crazy Suburban Mom 's giveaway of a gift certificate from Novica and I chose some jewelry. A girl needs some bling! And I received that as well!

They came in those beautiful boxes...

Some nice hoops. 

This to die for bracelet.

and a gorgeous pendant that doesn't photograph well at all....because of the pearl!

I took this pic from the Novica web site.

I just spent 8$! The rest was covered by the gift certificate! How cool is that?

I had chosen other pieces but was floored by the shipping and duties. They vary from country to country. The web site has gorgeous stuff and I will make some Xmas shopping  there for sure !!!

Today Dan assembled the wardrobe doors for the hall and I assembled the lamp we ordered from LLBean. The doors were later installed but I was too tired for the lamp. The heat is unbearable and my AC feels tired! I should get around to installing the lamp tomorrow! How exciting :) 

Retro Tuesday: Snacks and Hors d'oeuvres

A beautiful Retro Tuesday to you!
Last saturday I found this retro gem at an estate sale in Hudson, Qc. The Snacks and Hors-d'oeuvres book of recipe cards by East and West cookery cards. Published in 1968 by Hamlyn House, The Centre,Feltham,Middlesex.
Of course the pictured grabed my retro imagination...

Assorted Hord D'Oeuvres

Check this spread out! YUM! Canned herrings, spanish salad, ham rolls..Orange juice...ORANGE JUICE!?! this is not my idea of a refreshing drink with appetizers!

Cheese Fiesta! Cheese boats, cheese sticks and cheese aigrettes (the aigrettes are really cream puffs with cheese inside). My mouth is watering!

Scotch Woodcok

At first I thought there was actually some kinda bird inside but it's really just bread, scrambled eggs and plenty of anchovies! Eggs and salty eyebrows, Yum!

Mac'n' cheese. I had no idea it was an appetizers, but a good snack ! And yes it's baked in a Pyrex Butterprint 503! How fab is that?

For more Retro Tuesday Fun visit my ever de-cluttering pal the fab Tracy @ Crazy Suburban Mom !

Have a super duper great day! LOL