PB & J's, Ham & Peas, are what Retro is to Tuesdays!

So thought I would give this blog hop called Retro Tuesday a whirl because I am all into dredging up things from the past.
And speaking of dredging,the lost art of covering things with flour, sugar etc that in later years became known as "Shake and Bake", this is the time of year that many of us become lost in our kitchens cooking.
Be it that the colder weather has us seeking out comfort foods, or because we tend to congregate in each others kitchens more often, home cooked meals take on a new meaning in ones lives as the days draw darker earlier.
Many seek out to be the best cooks they can, some bask in the glow of some new found recipe that has become a hit.
Some,as yesterdays blog alluded too, try to remain healthy in their consumption of daily meals.
I do think though I have come up with a new goal to my kitchen duties.
I must never, and I repeat NEVER create a meal that will spawn such horrible effects as seen in these vintage ads below.
To do so would would not only freak the ham out of me but could definitely offend my friends and family as I swiftly throw their children out of my house.

When Fish Fly

Its funny how in my childhood days I loved fishing. My aunt and uncle would often take us fishing and I have many great memories.
Whether it was the time my aunt tied a little string around a crayfish's neck (do they have a neck come to think of it?) and I walked it like a little dog, or the great picnic lunches we would have, or cooking the freshly caught fish, I am not sure, but it was great.
And there were the trips up north with my parents, renting a cottage off the lake and getting up at the crack of dawn to go see what bounties we could reel in.

Somewhere down the line though, something clicked or snapped, depending how you look at it.
I suddenly found the whole fishing thing a little disconcerting.
Still love spending time with family, still love great picnic lunches, still love nature.
But hooking and reeling in the things...ewwww...can't do it....just can't do it.
I remember my Dad always told me that they didn't feel anything. Well I bought it then, but sorry I can't buy it now.

I realize fish may not have the most magnetic personalities, and its not exactly a creature you would want to cuddle. But just try watching one lay there on the boat gasping its last breathe and look at those glass like eyes and tell me you don't see something of a personality?
Sure they are different. I think the French novelist Andre Gide put it best, "Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. Its their way of falling." So is that any reason to persecute them?

I often come across many vintage images where fish are depicted in many strange ways, from serving martinis, bowling, to romancing their significant other. One of my favorite is from an 1800's image that I use in a popular pin I sell that I like to call "Thick Lipped Smoked Fish" for short.

This recent discovery below is a bit strange. Can't quite make out the meaning behind it but its interesting, to me at least.
The woman is holding a fish that seems to blend in with her dress all neatly wrapped in a bow. Fashion accessory? Maybe to attract the menfolk? Or is it simply supper on its way home?
Whatever the case sweetie, I would watch out for the fish flying above you. May be a hostile family member ready to drop some bait that might just catch you.

And finally there is the awesome animated short on BoingBoing I came across. One from the PSST!3 series where three teams of collaborators combine their work.
Its the first in this series,called "Omar" by Doug Purver I was especially fond of although all 3 are great. I have added the full version below called "Omar and his Skyhook" but if you would like to see it combined with 2 other short animated clips that merge into one,heres the link for that. http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/17/bb-video-omar-hot-pu.html

So hope you enjoy it. I may just sign out with the name "Hypocrite". Because where you won't find me fishing again till fish fly, I have to admit that you will be able to find me chowing down on sauteed trout, baked salmon, or a nice slab of seared ahi tuna whenever possible. My bad.

Be afraid, very afraid....

I for one, have never understand the morbid fear of dentists. Whats the big deal?? Not that I have really enjoyed my trips through the years to keep up the pearly whites, but really nothing to stress about. I guess you could compare my attitude to be similar to the woman in the early 1900's toothpaste postcard.

Well, OK probably not that sedate and contemplative. Who knew brushing the teeth could be such a deep moving experience?
I guess being the blind optimist that I am, I figured all of our dental encounters would leave us with fresher breath, whiter whites and stronger healthier teeth. We might even come away with such a positive experience that we would be much like this young woman who went in to have dental surgery and came out smiling even though they stitched her finger to her gums.

But this week has changed everything. All my growling at my husband, who has a phobia about anything medical, "Quit being such a baby, its just the dentist". Or telling friends who faced extractions, "Aw, you'll be fine. That's what they make vicodin for".
Having had all three of my older children as well as myself have wisdom teeth pulled, I was not at all worried about my 18 year old son having his pulled out on Monday. Worst was I was going to have to kill about 2 hours waiting and getting him situated back home. After all, the oral surgeon said they were very easy teeth and it was going to be a piece of cake.

So when they finally called me back ,I waltzed leisurely into the discharge area. There he sat still barely able to open his eyes. I turned my attention to the nurse who began to spill out all the instructions. Along with the tidbit,"Oh,and he swallowed some gauze" without missing a beat. I looked back at my son and observed what to me appeared to be an impression of a drunken pelican trying to swallow a whole fish. I interrupted the nurse and asked "Did the gauze go down? Why is he swallowing like that?".
"Oh, he is just probably really dry" and went on to more instructions, like gauze of all things, and salt water rinses. As she rose to open the exit door, my steady peer at my son fighting to swallow became more apparent. I told her I was not comfortable leaving as it appeared something was wrong.
So she proceeds to try and get him to drink some water which leaves him choking and gasping for air. They take him back to a room,send me back to waiting room and an hour later come back and tell me he is fine now. So I gather up his things and we head home. Granted,he didn't seem to be gulping anymore.

That night at home when we tried to have him eat or drink, it always ended up the same way. After a few sips, he coughed everything up. I did some research on google and seemed to come away that swallowing can be a difficulty after oral surgery and just figured this was what he was dealing with. Stupid me.
In the morning on Tuesday I checked on him very early to find out that it was still happening. Few sips and he would feel it all build up in his chest and he would cough everything out.
Now a frantic call to oral surgeon was placed. Next thing I know we are whisking him to hospital to have an endoscopy. And lo and behold...gauze. Because I am just plain weird I am posting the actual picture of the endoscopy and the offending gauze.

On the upside,the oral surgery went great. No swelling,bruising,and hardly any pain.
Just a near choking death incident. What more could you ask for??

Tea for Two?

I have always wanted to boast that I am dedicated tea drinker. I don't know why. It just seems such a proper civilized thing to do. Have an afternoon tea.
All those visions of proper people sipping away float in my mind. Pinky held high. And tea always seems to sound so much better for you.
I have gone on my spurts of drinking tea. Usually when I am trying to fight off illness,or just can't seem to warm myself from frigid weather.
But I much prefer the thickness of coffee,the intensity of it.
The smell,richness,ah,yes,the fact that you can properly drive through a Starbucks stressed to the max, and seem civilized to order yet another cup of water brewed intensity.
And I recently came across a few images that back my thinking up of why I for one, will not fall for the deception that proper people drink tea.

For example this woman. What on earth is she so happy about?



This is just not natural. Look at the way she is staring at her cake or whatever she has on her plate. Whatever it is, it seems to be dripping in some sort of chunky frosty which should be enough to wipe that silly grin off her face right then and there.
And the way everything if properly arranged and the pressed clothing. No,no,no.
This is just not right. But wait a minute. That might be a coffee pot on her table and not a tea pot.
I knew it!!! Poser, nothing but a poser. The worst kind of tea drinkers. Not willing to stand up for the watery brew but hide behind the strength of coffee.

Exhibit #2



Whoever created this postcard should have stopped and did us all a favor the minute he whipped out his canvas. This woman just looks evil. I mean who looks like this when they are drinking tea? An evil tea drinker. Who would've thought they would go hand in hand. Tea....evil....nope,never would have thought.

And speaking of hands, there is just something strange about her hands. They are so small. Or is it really that her head is so big?
Could be the effects of drinking to much tea. Its called tea brain bloat which also causes atrophied hands. I knew all that cup and saucer raising and pinking pointing would have its serious side effects.

I will take the liberty to deviate slightly here to add one other hot beverage comment. Hot chocolate. I am not sure where I stand on this. I think that perhaps I haven't really had anyone make me a really good cup of hot chocolate.
But then again,maybe I would rather actually eat my chocolate. Bite it and not sip it. But until I totally decide here is a vintage food poster that makes me lead towards not. No, definetely not going to drink hot chocolate with this clown. Literally.




Need I say more?????

And finally,proof positive that tea drinkers are actually supporting the very uncivilized pratice of tea picking. How anyone could support such an uncivilized practice is beyond me. Yep,its coffee for me. I am sure you will agree after watching this pitiful consequence of the tea drinking industry. Far more serious than tea brain bloat.

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Parlez-vous francais???

After a bit of hibernation due to Arctic cold weather and than from a head cold that got its grip on me, I am back to feeling myself again,which isn't always a good thing.
For one the appetite is back. And just what is it about cold winter weather that just makes you want to eat food that hits you deep in your very core? Something warm and lush. Comfort food. And maybe something French thrown in now and then too.

I remember growing up how exotic French cooking seemed. I had a crush on Jacque Pepin at a very young age. Not sure if it was for him or the food.
So not surprising that when I came across some old French food advertisement posters I was intrigued to say the least. But can't say they did anything to set my digestive juices into a frenzy. But the mind...now that's another thing.

A couple deserve a quick honorable mention. The first up is one for a French wine.



Nothing like a nice a glass of wine to relax with and make a meal more enjoyable. Being a big fan of French wine, I would be happy to be offered a great big fragrant glass anytime.
Except if it was brought to me by some grinning lunatic riding a very large red crustacean that just happens to be pointing his claws at me. Not to mention the fact that the thing looks downright evil. No matter how much of the stuff you drank, it seems it would be just a little bit hard to unwind with those two on the loose.

Next in line is for a product that may or may not make your mouth water.

Duck Pate. What goes better with Duck Pate than wine?? Oh forgot! Skipping on the wine today. Actually I can't say that I have ever tried duck pate and don't know that I ever will. The thought of it actually makes me a bit ill.
And seeing this ad just solidifies my reasons for not eating paste made out of duck organs.
ITS REVENGE OF THE DUCKS!! This guy is so utterly bloated in his indulgence of the finer things in life, that he doesn't even notice two ducks plotting his demise. Probably the last meal of pate de foie gras that will ever cross his lips.

And now for the Pièce de résistance!

Ok, does anyone else have a problem with a baby smoking a pipe on what seems to be a transparent chair floating in the sky. HELLO??? What is in the pipe????
The French in the ad translates to say that the joy in his life is the baby cornmeal cereal. Seems to me that the joy in his life is whatever this sprout is smoking.
And just where are this kids parents??? Is that even a safe seat to be traveling in?
The other thing that dawned on me is that this kid strikes a uncanny resemblance to,ok at the risk of revealing my age, this kid looks just like Ed Asner.

And come to think of it it didn't Ed smoke a pipe when he was on the Mary Tyler Show??
Did he?? Anyone know??? Because if he did, I think that something much bigger is at play in this ad. Much bigger than all of us.
Somethings in life just can't be explained. Take for instance this final submission of something French and something on a whole different plane. Bon appetit!

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