A Minute on the Lips...

Last night's vintage dinner was a super spicy one - from garlic to cloves, I worked that spice rack like never before! All in all, though, it was very good. I'm actually looking forward to the leftovers. Here's the menu, straight from 1945:

Lima-Bean Casserole

California Beets

Mixed Greens Salad (Iceberg, Romaine)

Honey Rice

The cookbook didn't include a recipe for the very casserole it was pushing in the menu section, but - quite by coincidence - I came across one in an article on reducing in the October 1945 issue of Good Housekeeping. A fortunate turn of events, because the casserole was really yummy. Filling and hearty and fairly easy to make --- though it took some planning.

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Lima-Bean Casserole

1 cup dried lima beans

3 1/2 cups cold water

1 cup chopped fresh or canned tomatoes

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

2 tablesp. brown sugar

2 1/2 teasp. salt

1/8 teasp. pepper

Pick over, then wash dried beans. Soak overnight in the cold water in a deep kettle. Then simmer in the same water, covered, over low heat, for 30 min.; drain; return 1 cup of this liquid to beans. Add remaining ingredients; pour into a greased 1 1/2-qt. casserole. Cover; then bake in a slow oven of 300 degrees F. for 2 hrs., or until beans are tender, removing the cover during the last 30 min. Serves 4.

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I substituted garlic here as I'm not a big onion person, but wanted something with equally big flavor. I put the beans on too high a heat during their initial simmer and wish I'd taken my time on this step and let them build to a simmer on a medium heat. The California Beets were a sort of sweet and spicy "pickled" side dish. Small, whole beets - I used canned beets in a nod to commercially-prepared foods - heated in sauce of margarine, lemon juice, cloves, sugar, and pepper. They actually went very nicely with the basic green salad.

The big surprise in last night's menu was the dessert. I had no idea what to expect as I read through the recipe for Honey Rice. Would it turn out like a rice pudding? Nope, no milk or eggs... You should've seen my face as I prepared this dish. I was absolutely sure by the time it was 2/3 done that I wouldn't be able to eat it! What do you know - it wasn't just edible, it was good. Tasted a little like a macaroon or the inside of some delicious chocolate candy. Both the California Beets and Honey Rice are recipes from the special wartime cookery chapter appended to the back of the cookbook. Note: The Honey Rice was very rich. You'll only need a small serving! I cut this recipe in half.

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Honey Rice

1 cup uncooked rice (I used brown basmati rice)

3/4 cup honey

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup chopped nuts

Cinnamon

Wash rice thoroughly and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain. Heat honey in a heavy pan, add rice and raisins and cook about 5 minutes. Pour mixture into a well-buttered shallow baking dish and dot with butter. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) until golden brown [mine took about 20 minutes]. Remove from oven and stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and cinnamon. Serves 8.

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All this talk of food reminds me of a question that came to mind as I was powdering my face this morning. When and where was it proper for women in the '40s to touch up their makeup? I know my dusting of face powder doesn't last out the day, and we've all experienced the need to make a visit to the powder room to touch up our lipstick after a meal - or, in my case, Chapstick! I'd better see what Lily Haxworth Wallace has to say...

It seems useless, and I suppose it is, to tell the girls today that they should not make up in public. That is a duty which should be performed in the privacy of their boudoir or in the semi-privacy of dressing rooms. A girl would be outraged if her escort took out his pocket comb and nail file, smoothing his hair and manicuring his nails at table in a restaurant. However, she does much the same when she ostentatiously applies powder, lipstick, and rouge in the same place. However, some of the persons in the most fashionable sets are guilty of this rudeness - a fact which in no way makes it right. (The New American Etiquette, 1941)

Sounds like she's convinced she's fighting a losing battle. (Oh, dear, what would she have thought of today's women?) Mrs. Wallace also reminds the working girl that "make-up of any kind" should NEVER be applied at any time on the job except when she's in the rest room. Armed with the best vintage advice, I think I'll tuck my new face powder in my purse and take it to work during the week for a little mid-day touch-up in the rest room.