Back in the Old Days

In article <[email hidden]>,

Melba's Jammin said:

Squeaks' thread about embarrassingly easy recipes elicited a response
from Ravinwulf that mentioned using boxed frozen broccoli. It got me
thinking about stuff that I used to buy that I don't now.

Forty years ago, fresh mushrooms were way more expensive than canned
mushrooms -- so I bought canned. A lot of fresh vegetables now
available in markets year round were only seasonally available then --
fresh broccoli came to mind. And I had to search for zucchini - it was
not a commonly known vegetable in my neck of the woods (I had become
acquainted with it from reading Sunset magazine). I don't remember
mangoes, either. OTOH, I can pretty much guarantee I wasn't looking for
mangoes, either.

Lots of changes since those times.

I remember quite well the first time I saw broccoli. My mom was a
canned corn, peas or green beans lady. We went to dinner at friends
house and they served broccoli. None of us had any idea what it was.

When I was in junior high we ate at another friends house and that was
the first time any of use ate an artichoke. Other than seeing one on
the Little Rascals show I had no idea anyone ate them for real.

I have a wonderful coffee cake that calls for a bag of frozen rhubarb.
It used to be tradition on Christmas morning, but it's too hard to find
frozen rhubarb anymore. In season I generally have to tell the grocery
clerk what it is as most of them don't know and ask.

marcella

Marcella Peek said:

I have a wonderful coffee cake that calls for a bag of frozen rhubarb.
It used to be tradition on Christmas morning, but it's too hard to find
frozen rhubarb anymore. In season I generally have to tell the grocery
clerk what it is as most of them don't know and ask.

Speaking of rhubarb, fresh or frozen, you could not get it
in the stores when I was young. In fact lots of people
either never heard of it or thought it was a weed and thought
you were insane if you ate it. Luckily we had it growing on
our place and in the summer we often had rhubarb "sauce" with
our meals. That's the only way we ate it back then, although
I liked to eat a stalk raw, dipping the end in sugar with
each bite.

It's only in the last maybe 20 years or so that I've seen
it in the supermarket fresh. However, I've never bought it
because I'm not going to pay the outrageous prices they charge
for a "weed"! Now that it's "trendy" they think they can
get away with charging a lot for it! Luckily I have a
friend who has it on her property and I can get a bunch
from her. Otherwise the frozen stuff is great. I think
frozen rhubarb has been around longer than fresh in the
stores.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>,

Melba's Jammin said:

Forty years ago, fresh mushrooms were way more expensive than canned

Not quite 40 years ago, I worked at the biggest produce warehouse in town
for a couple of summers after high school. We got in mushrooms...once.

Quoted message said:

fresh broccoli came to mind. And I had to search for zucchini - it was
not a commonly known vegetable in my neck of the woods (I had become

I don't remember seeing zucchini at the warehouse or in stores. People
grew it in their gardens, though. Sometimes in the summer we would drive
out in the valley and buy fresh corn. I don't remember if my parents
picked it, or waited while it was picked to order, but it was right out of
the fields. One day the farmer sold my parents these giant zucchini.
They were about the size of an arm, but thicker, the kind that I now put
right in the compost. They were really cheap. My parents asked how to
prepare them, and were given a hand-written recipe. They cut them and put
them through the grinder. They added salt and waited to draw out some
moisture. Then they added various spices and other ingredients, and then
canned the mixture. It was kind of a sweet pickle relish, and very good.
My parents made it for years, always with giant zucchini. I never knew
that there small ones that you could cook and eat until I was an adult.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
[email hidden]

Melba's Jammin said:

Squeaks' thread about embarrassingly easy recipes elicited a response
from Ravinwulf that mentioned using boxed frozen broccoli. It got me
thinking about stuff that I used to buy that I don't now.

This may not be completely on point, but I remember when my family
rotated back to the States from England in the mid-60s (I was but a
wee lass, of course) and hit a USAian supermarket for the first time
in 3 years. My mother went bonkers. There was toothpaste in a pump,
pie crust in a refrigerated can, frozen bread dough, Pepperidge Farm
refrigerated desserts and 3 kinds of canned mushrooms (sliced, whole
and pieces). Don't recall what else, but Mother was in prepared food
heaven.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Melba's Jammin said:

Squeaks' thread about embarrassingly easy recipes elicited a response

Quoted message said:

from Ravinwulf that mentioned using boxed frozen broccoli. It got

me

Quoted message said:

thinking about stuff that I used to buy that I don't now.

Forty years ago, fresh mushrooms were way more expensive than canned
mushrooms -- so I bought canned. A lot of fresh vegetables now
available in markets year round were only seasonally available then

--

Quoted message said:

fresh broccoli came to mind. And I had to search for zucchini - it

was

Quoted message said:

not a commonly known vegetable in my neck of the woods (I had become
acquainted with it from reading Sunset magazine). I don't remember
mangoes, either. OTOH, I can pretty much guarantee I wasn't looking

for

Quoted message said:

mangoes, either.

Lots of changes since those times.

Yes, we have a wonderful abundance of fresh vegetables now. On the
other hand, in the 1950's not far from downtown Los Angeles we had
chickens and rabbits in the backyard. When we had eggs or fried
chicken, or chicken fricassee, or fried rabbit they were FRESH and
GOOD. -aem

Dan Abel said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Melba's Jammin' <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Forty years ago, fresh mushrooms were way more expensive than canned

Not quite 40 years ago, I worked at the biggest produce warehouse in town
for a couple of summers after high school. We got in mushrooms...once.

My elementary school was downwind from an ancient mushroom house. Took
us quite a while to eat any mushrooms of any kind. A long while.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

fresh broccoli came to mind. And I had to search for zucchini - it was
not a commonly known vegetable in my neck of the woods (I had become

I don't remember seeing zucchini at the warehouse or in stores. People
grew it in their gardens, though.

Can't remember the first broccoli sighting, almost certainly frozen.

Melba's Jammin said:

Squeaks' thread about embarrassingly easy recipes elicited a response
from Ravinwulf that mentioned using boxed frozen broccoli. It got me
thinking about stuff that I used to buy that I don't now.

Forty years ago, fresh mushrooms were way more expensive than canned
mushrooms -- so I bought canned. A lot of fresh vegetables now
available in markets year round were only seasonally available then --
fresh broccoli came to mind. And I had to search for zucchini - it
was not a commonly known vegetable in my neck of the woods (I had
become acquainted with it from reading Sunset magazine). I don't
remember mangoes, either. OTOH, I can pretty much guarantee I wasn't
looking for mangoes, either.

Lots of changes since those times.

I guess it's because I was raised "military" - the commissaries seemed to
stock things regular grocery stores didn't. I gather this was due to the
multi-cultural experiences of most military personnel, who were used to food
items found overseas. My earliest memory of fresh broccoli, hmmm, I must
have been 5 (that would have been 40 years ago). Zucchini I don't
specifically recall but I don't remember never *not* eating it.
Artichokes - ate my first one at age 9 and remember sharing another with
friends out by the curb and instructing how to scrape the 'meat' off the
leaves with your teeth.

Jill

"Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pineapple is strange.
When I peel it it is bitter. I love pineapple. Plain not with anything
else. I like it in cakes though.

I bought a fresh pineapple last Friday, to add to a fruit tray I was taking
to our cast party. It's always a gamble buying pineapple up here, as
quality is not always great, but it turned out to be juicy and delicious.
But at $7/per I don't think I'll be having another one anytime soon.

Gabby

On Thu 24 Mar 2005 07:20:39a, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Gabby" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pineapple is strange.
When I peel it it is bitter. I love pineapple. Plain not with
anything else. I like it in cakes though.

I bought a fresh pineapple last Friday, to add to a fruit tray I was
taking to our cast party. It's always a gamble buying pineapple up
here, as quality is not always great, but it turned out to be juicy
and delicious. But at $7/per I don't think I'll be having another one
anytime soon.

Gabby

I love pineapple but seldom buy them fresh. Too expensive here.
Pineapple is great though. I buy it in those jars which is less
expensive. That's how I buy mango. I don't have many choices with the
mango. We just don't get 'em fresh here. Good stuff though. I'm looking
on Google for decent mango recipes. I hope to find some.

Michael

Scroll down the page on this site until you find the first mango recipe.
There are a bunch of mango recipes here and many sound really good.

http://www.markjcooking.com/recipeslist1.php/196

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Melba's Jammin said:

Lots of changes since those times.

Years ago when you made 'scarole, as for soup, you had to wash it
forever to get the dirt and sand out. Now you can buy it in the
grocery store and it has been cleaned up a lot. My mother almost died
from happiness when she discovered that.

When I moved to the midwest in the '70s and brought in escarole soup
for lunch one day, it was looked at like soup from another planet.
Then, Bon Appetit published an RSVP recipe for "Italian Wedding Soup"
and it has a name and foodie credibility :>

Even common vegetables are conveniently packaged- baby carrots, for
example.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"Curly Sue" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

When I moved to the midwest in the '70s and brought in escarole soup
for lunch one day, it was looked at like soup from another planet.
Then, Bon Appetit published an RSVP recipe for "Italian Wedding Soup"
and it has a name and foodie credibility :>

Heh, I remember the first time I saw escarole soup being made. Looked
pretty perplexing to me, I was only maybe 20. Then I had my ex mil's
Italian Wedding Soup and I was hooked. I even requested she make it
for my wedding rehearsal dinner. My bridesmaids were quite skeptical
about it. Then, years later, they would have it on the menu occasionally
at the cafeteria at work. So, once when I looked at the weekly menu,
I said, oh! Italian Wedding Soup. Seems whoever was with me had
thought all along that it was some cafeteria made up name.

Quoted message said:

Even common vegetables are conveniently packaged- baby carrots, for
example.

Do they call them that? I don't think they are really baby carrots, just
ground down regular carrots. At any rate, I don't have a problem buying
that packaged stuff for the most part.

nancy (making cream of broccoli today, I know I shouldn't)

Dog3 said:

I love pineapple but seldom buy them fresh. Too expensive here. Pineapple
is great though. I buy it in those jars which is less expensive. That's how
I buy mango. I don't have many choices with the mango. We just don't get
'em fresh here. Good stuff though. I'm looking on Google for decent mango
recipes. I hope to find some.

Michael

Pineapples can be had for between $3.50 to $4.99
each here. I like to buy them and grill large
pieces while we're doing pork on the grill.
Mangos can sometimes be had 2/$1.00 or $1.50 and I
really enjoy making a mango salsa out of them
to serve with grilled chicken.
Goomba

Gabby said:

"Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pineapple is strange.
When I peel it it is bitter. I love pineapple. Plain not with

anything

Quoted message said:

else. I like it in cakes though.

I bought a fresh pineapple last Friday, to add to a fruit tray I was
taking
to our cast party. It's always a gamble buying pineapple up here, as
quality is not always great, but it turned out to be juicy and
delicious.
But at $7/per I don't think I'll be having another one anytime soon.

Gabby

Eeep! recently here in Northern California (S.F. bay area) pineapple
went down from 3 dollar per to .79 cents for a whole Hawaiian pineapple.

---
Joseph Littleshoes

In article <[email hidden]>,

Joseph Littleshoes said:

Gabby said:

"Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pineapple is strange.
When I peel it it is bitter. I love pineapple. Plain not with

anything

Quoted message said:

else. I like it in cakes though.

I bought a fresh pineapple last Friday, to add to a fruit tray I was
taking
to our cast party. It's always a gamble buying pineapple up here, as
quality is not always great, but it turned out to be juicy and
delicious.
But at $7/per I don't think I'll be having another one anytime soon.

Gabby

Eeep! recently here in Northern California (S.F. bay area) pineapple
went down from 3 dollar per to .79 cents for a whole Hawaiian pineapple.

---
Joseph Littleshoes

It's commonly $3.99 per lb. here, and I thought that was expensive! ;-)
I generally get them when they come down to $2.99 per lb.

Wow.
--
K.

Marcella Peek said:

When I was in junior high we ate at another friends house and that

was

Quoted message said:

the first time any of use ate an artichoke. Other than seeing one on

Quoted message said:

the Little Rascals show I had no idea anyone ate them for real.

Might have choked Artie but it ain't gonna choke Stymie.

GP

Dog3 said:

Quoted message said:

I have a wonderful coffee cake that calls for a bag of frozen
rhubarb. It used to be tradition on Christmas morning, but it's too
hard to find frozen rhubarb anymore. In season I generally have to
tell the grocery clerk what it is as most of them don't know and ask

marcella

Gawd, I love rhubarb. Can you elaborate?

Here you go

Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffeecake

1 lb bag frozen rhubarb (3 cups sliced)
1 16oz pkg frozen, sweetened strawberries
2 T lemon juice
1 C sugar
1/3 C cornstarch

3 C flour
1 C sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C (2 sticks) butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 C buttermilk
1 t vanilla

In a heavy saucepan combine: rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice.
Cook over medium heat. In a bowl stir together cornstarch and sugar.
Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into hot fruit. Heat to boiling and
cook until thickened. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda
and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives cut in the butter until
it resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix together eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir liquid mixture into
flour mixture until just blended. Pour half the batter into the greased
pan. Top with fruit. Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over the fruit
filling.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until it is golden brown and bubbly. Cool the
cake for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

I think this is more of a cross between a coffeecake and a cobbler. It
works for breakfast or dessert. Either way it's very good. I have
substituted ollalieberries for the strawberry-rhubarb mixture and that
is good too. Just be sure to adjust the sugar to the fruit you use.

marcella

On Thu 24 Mar 2005 09:13:38a, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On Thu 24 Mar 2005 07:20:39a, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Gabby" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

>
> "Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message
> news:[email hidden]...
>
>
>> Pineapple is strange.
>> When I peel it it is bitter. I love pineapple. Plain not with
>> anything else. I like it in cakes though.
>>
> I bought a fresh pineapple last Friday, to add to a fruit tray I was
> taking to our cast party. It's always a gamble buying pineapple up
> here, as quality is not always great, but it turned out to be juicy
> and delicious. But at $7/per I don't think I'll be having another
> one anytime soon.
>
> Gabby
>
>

I love pineapple but seldom buy them fresh. Too expensive here.
Pineapple is great though. I buy it in those jars which is less
expensive. That's how I buy mango. I don't have many choices with the
mango. We just don't get 'em fresh here. Good stuff though. I'm
looking on Google for decent mango recipes. I hope to find some.

Michael

Scroll down the page on this site until you find the first mango
recipe. There are a bunch of mango recipes here and many sound really
good.

http://www.markjcooking.com/recipeslist1.php/196

Gawd, the site is wonderful.

Michael

Glad you like it. I've made several things from there, all good.

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Curly Sue) said:

Melba's Jammin said:

Lots of changes since those times.

Years ago when you made 'scarole, as for soup, you had to wash it
forever to get the dirt and sand out. Now you can buy it in the
grocery store and it has been cleaned up a lot. My mother almost died
from happiness when she discovered that.

When I moved to the midwest in the '70s and brought in escarole soup
for lunch one day, it was looked at like soup from another planet.
Then, Bon Appetit published an RSVP recipe for "Italian Wedding Soup"
and it has a name and foodie credibility :>

Even common vegetables are conveniently packaged- baby carrots, for
example.

What's more, the grocery stores seem to carry a wider range of fresh
produce than they did years ago. One supermarket near me have a whole
wall filled with different kinds of bagged salad greens. Just today, I
went grocery shopping at a supermarket in Delaware and I noticed this
store had a lot of fresh mushrooms that I had never seen before.

Dog3 uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz said:

Where do you find this stuff so inexpesive? I can not find pineapple
anyplace that is inexpensive. Maybe it's where I shop. Dierbergs and
Straubs prices on produce are prohivtive. Schnucks is okay but the quality
is poor. Shop 'n Save produce is pretty bad and Aldi's is lousy for the
most part.I can't wait till the Farmer's Markets to open. I'm dying for
fresh tomatoes and other stuff.

Michael <- all scruffy with full beard

OT but I see you're up early too. I've been up since 2 am - and
thinking of trying to tackle the 6-day beard myself. It's been 6
days, and I still feel like I just got hit by a truck. So much for a
flu shot. Produce is a pretty big gamble around us also. They tend
to "pretty" it up and you don't notice what [censored] it is till you use
it. Or throw it away, sometimes.