First, a co-worker asks me if she can match me up with a friend of hers who needs a walking buddy. Then another person I know through work tries to get me to commit to a walking relationship. I hope I don't come off as impolite, but I'd really rather walk by myself. Let's face it. Sometimes walking with another person can speed you up --- sometimes it can slow you down. The people I pass when I'm walking are almost always in pairs. And the last thing I want to do is to have to rush to the park to sit around and wait for somebody who might be late showing up - and then might show up toting a kid or two. Complete with strollers. I've got business to take care of!
I gathered up all my courage Monday evening and went into the rec center to purchase a membership and take my first indoor walk on the walking track. The rec center may be located just a few steps away from the park where I've been walking on the weekends --- but it's a whole new world in there! It's louder for starts. The walking track is built around a basketball court with racquetball courts nearby. There's lots of testosterone in the air as most of the people using the basketball court are young men in the 15-25 age range. I've only been there twice, but I'd say there's a more competitive feeling indoors than there is with the folks using the outdoor track. (It's actually the first time I've wanted to check my rear view in the mirror to see whether those new exercise pants are flattering or not!) The track is pretty small, so I can easily do 30 laps in a 60-minute walk. Thank goodness for that iPod. I'd perish without it! I'll still have a chance to walk outdoors one day a week. The rec center is closed on Sundays.
As for snacks, I'm doing remarkably better at the only-fruits-or-vegetables thing than I thought I would. Of course, it helps that nectarines are in season here. I picked up some beautiful, small nectarines last weekend at one of the natural foods stores. They've got a great selection of produce and I was in quest of some parsnips for my vintage dinner - but the nectarines caught my eye. Have you seen how big the fruits are in some of the supermarkets these days? They must be breeding super-sized fruits for super-sized customers. And bigger isn't always better. I'm a nectarine nut, so imagine my excitement when I saw these massive nectarines at the supermarket last summer. Ack! They were mealy and bland and never got to that lovely soft stage where the fruit just melts in your mouth. Anyway, I've been having one nectarine every day at about 3:00 in the afternoon. That's it for snacks. This weekend will probably be more challenging than my weekdays have been, but I'm feeling ready to face the enemy.
Here's the menu for my vintage dinner last Sunday:
Parsley Buttered Potatoes
Pan-fried Parsnips
Molded Salad of Cranberry Sauce (canned), Celery and Apples
Butterscotch Pudding with Nuts
I haven't had Parsnips in years. In fact, I remember being slightly traumatized the last
time I ate them. It's been a long time, though, so I figured I ought to give them another shot. They have a spicy, celery-type scent as you're working with them, but once cooked they were pretty bland. Didn't taste like much of anything. What I've heard since then is that Parsnips are tastiest in the fall when they're fresh from the soil. Alas, my first attempt at a non-gelatin Molded Salad was a dismal failure. I tried just heating up a can of the jellied cranberry sauce, adding the celery and apples, and putting the concoction in the fridge to chill - but it never quite set. I'm going to track down some of the agar a couple of my readers mentioned and try that next time.It's Thursday evening, which means that it's time to clean my bedroom. The first order of business will be the daily chores recommended by America's Housekeeping Book (1945). This will be my new weekly routine for the bedroom:
Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air.
Remove all bed covers; stretch over end of bed, or over chairs, off the floor. Remove soiled bed linen; place near door to be taken out. Place mattress pad over chair near window to air.
Bring in cleaning equipment: carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner (according to need), dust mop, dust cloth, damp cloth. Bring in fresh bed linens.
Turn mattress top to bottom one week, and end to end the next week. Make bed.
Dust high objects if necessary (mantels, high shelves, window frames and sills, tops of bookcases, etc.).
Dust radiators covers if necessary.
Brush upholstery if necessary. Straighten covers. Plump up pillows.
Dust furniture and low objects if necessary.
Dust exposed wood flooring with dust mop if necessary. Use carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner on rugs or carpets.
Polish or wash accessories and return to place with other objects removed during cleaning.
Final touches: Straighten draperies, shades, curtains, etc. Take out cleaning equipment and waste basket. Bring back clean ash trays, accessories, flowers and waste basket. Close windows if desired.
I'm kicking off my new monthly chores (recommended in 1945 as weekly chores) by making my bedroom the featured room this week. So here are the extra chores I'll also be doing in there tonight. Brushing walls is a whole new thing for me this week. More on that in another post...
Collect lamp bases, bric-a-brac and dressing table fittings that need polishing or washing, and dresser scarves to be laundered.
Brush walls when necessary. Dust high mouldings, door frames, window shades and Venetian blinds when necessary. Brush draperies (or use brush attachment of vacuum cleaner). Dust mirrors, pictures, lighting fixtures, lamps, woodwork; wash any of these articles if necessary.
Dust radiators (covers and coils) or registers; clean thoroughly when necessary. Brush baseboard or use brush attachment of vacuum cleaner. Dust book shelves and books as necessary. Wash windows when necessary.
Remove cushions from upholstered furniture. Use brush attachment of vacuum cleaner on furniture (getting into all crevices) and cushions. Replace cushions.
Rub wood surfaces of furniture to polish; apply wax or polish when necessary. Polish metal hardware if necessary. Wash glass table tops.
Use vacuum cleaner for cleaning of rugs and carpets.
The evening is short and I've got a bed to strip. Time to shed my dress and get to work!
14 comments:
I swear, the cleaning routine and the meals, etc, remind me EXACTLY of how things were at my grandparents' house. I'd stay over every weekend and ended up helping out in the retro time-warp house. I really love your blog, by the way...!
i found parsnips pretty good when roasted... or mashed with sweet potatoes...
although probably not the healthiest way to eat them...
Mmm, Parsnips are great (best just before the frosts get on them), roasted in just a little olive oil until soft-centred and crispy. I eat them all winter. Yum....
I throw parsnips in with potatoes and carrots to roast when we're doing the English Sunday Lunch thing. I don't think I've had them plain before (they're okay in vegetable soups too)
I hate walking with someone else when I'm walking for exercise too. It's fine if it's just an after dinner constitutional, but when I want to get down to it for exercise (okay, I never *want* to do that), setting my own pace works best.
Thank you, LandGirl! Isn't it funny that our grandparents' homes can so often be like a mini-time machine for us. Giving us a chance to taste - quite literally, sometimes - what life in another era was like. Since starting this project, I've found myself understanding things about the way my grandmother ran her home in a whole new way.
I'm heartened to hear from so many of you that parsnips can be good. I think I'll try them roasted sometime in one of my 2009 dinners. Sadly, folks in the '40s don't seem to have been excited about roasting any kind of veggies. The only recipes for parsnips in my cookbook are Creamed and Fried!
I think Martha Stewart single-handedly revived roasted vegetables back in the 1990's. If you roast parsnips, onions, carrots and beets together with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, it is heaven on a plate. Also, the next day you can puree the leftover vegetables with some chicken broth, reheat, and you have a really fabulous soup the next day. (add half-and-half at the end of heating if you feel super-fabulous)
Oh I love parsips! If you take them and cut them up then put a little olive oil on the and roast them they are yummy. I like to make a meal out of them with carrots, potatoes and turnips. Nothing better then roasted root veggies! Be sure to sprinkle them with a little salt before you roast them. YUM!
Hugs
Joanne
I was wondering as a vegetarian, how are you getting your protein in? Just curious as I've noticed that your 1940's meals seem to be very heavy in starches and sweets, but haven't heard you discuss how you get protein into your diet.
I love roasted parsnips, they are divine. And parsnip soup is one of my favorite treats in the world!
Actually, Kalee, there was more protein in that vintage dinner than there is in a serving of ground beef, ribs, seafood or shellfish.
There is protein in the potatoes, parsnips, breading (used on the parsnips), apple, milk and pudding mix, and in the walnuts used to top the pudding. 22 grams to be exact.
People often forget that the only source of proteins for most of the animals they eat are grains and vegetables --- and there's plenty in those grains and vegetables for us as well!
It seems to be unanimous that parsnips are wonderful when roasted! I had no idea they had such a fanbase. :) I think I'll wait until the fall when they should be at their best - and then I'll try them again some other root veggies.
Boiled beets! Yeah it didn't sound that great to me when I read three different recipes for boiled beets in Meta Given's 1953 copy of Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking. So I took those three recipes and inspired my own (rarely do I actually follow a recipe anyway).
Where they good? Well there were no leftovers because significant other devoured them. So I thought I would foist my recipe upon you. Warning, I tend to cook for taste and not measure things out.
Prepare beets: wash dirt off but do not cut tap roots or stems off (they won't bleed in the water this way). Boil beets till tender, then quickly chill in ice water. Once cool enough to touch, slip the skins off the beets and chop up the beets.
Make dresing: add olive oil, vinegar (I used rice), and lime juice. Probably equal amounts of olive oil and lime juice and half of vinegar (I wanted the vinegar zing). Add salt and pepper and then... fresh basil and mint. I grow them on my front walk so I just go and snip out what looks to be a reasonable amount of both. For measurement's sake probably 1.5 Tbsp of each. Mince up (about the consistency of pesto) and add to the vinegar, oil, and lime juice mixture. Coat the beets thoroughly and let sit for 20 - 30 minutes to let the flavors mix (set the table, run around like a chicken with head cut off as pots boil over).
Perhaps you could substitute boiled/roasted parnips for the beets. I'm not roasting anything because it is hot, hot, hot right now and I have an old 1950's oven which heats up the house as much as it heats itself up. But boiling... boiling is fair game :)
Trying this again...
"Since starting this project, I've found myself understanding things about the way my grandmother ran her home in a whole new way."
I think we tend to forget that there was usually a valid reason for way our older relatives cleaned their homes. For instance, If I violate the "clean from top to bottom" rule, I risk having to sweep or vacuum twice.
Our grandmothers must have absorbed these unwritten rules from the time they were girls - watching and helping their own mothers in cleaning. Just basic principles in housework, I guess.
Hairball, you must have been reading my mind. The post I just finished has a lot to down with that very principle!
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