To Sift or Not to Sift

I'm certainly no chef, but I've picked up a few things in the kitchen over the course of the past year. Through trial and error - sometimes a very messy error indeed - I'm gradually learning some of the tricks of the trade that most 1940s housewives would have learned as children watching and working in the kitchen with their mothers and grandmothers.

My mom was a great cook, bless her heart, but she did all the work for us when it came to meal preparation. Once in a while, she brought us into her domain to help with a batch of cookies or salad or something, but we were children of the '80s. Moms of that era probably wanted to believe that their daughters wouldn't need to know all this "mundane" stuff. That by the time we were women, technology and modern industry would have replaced the need to prepare three meals a day from scratch --- and clean up after them, too!

So I'm starting a little late.

At any rate, one of the things I've discovered about baking is just how important it is to sift your dry ingredients. It's such a simple step and yet so key to getting great results. Taking a few extra minutes to sift together all your dry ingredients - flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, spices, baking soda, etc. - can make such a difference. Thoroughly blended ingredients make for a muffin or cookie or cake with a more even texture and flavor. And you never have to worry about biting into one of those dreadful baking soda clumps again! I always used to skip this step, thinking I could blend the ingredients just as thoroughly by mixing them with a spoon, but I've changed my mind after having some great successes with baking this last year.

One of the little treasures in my small vintage cookbook collection is a late 1930s booklet called Clabber Girl Baking Book, probably a promotional giveaway for customers of Clabber Girl Baking Powder. The author of the booklet writes that flour should be sifted in order to get a more accurate measurement: "Always sift the flour before measuring, and then dip it lightly into the measuring cup. Do not pack the flour into the cup." Some modern baking tipsters online recommend sifting as critical when using finely ground ingredients that tend to clump: baking soda, confectionery sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and cake flour. Some people point out that sifted flour makes for lighter, fluffier results. Others tell us that sifting is archaic. Important in the days when flour wasn't as finely milled as it is today, but you can get the same results by mixing dry ingredients with a fork or a wooden spoon.

What do you think? Is sifting a must in your kitchen when baking - or did you leave it behind in Home Ec class?

Dorothy Dix Says...

This week's topic: Can a woman keep house and keep a job outside the home as well? Dorothy Dix answers the question in this column first printed on April 18, 1940:

DEAR MISS DIX - My husband and I are both employed and we board in a private home, but I am not satisfied. I wish to do light housekeeping and still hold my job, but he says that it will be too hard on me and if I go to housekeeping I must give up my work. What do you think?

MARGO.

Answer - I think your husband is exactly right, and that no woman should undertake to carry on two jobs at one time. Of course, many women do. They work all day in store or office and then rush home and clean up the house and get dinner. The result is that they are nervous, peevish, overwrought and end up in a breakdown. The reason that men last so much better in business do is not because they are physically stronger or have better health, but because they have so much more sense about taking care of themselves. When a man does a day’s work he calls it a day and lets it go at that. He doesn’t go from his work to his home and cook his dinner and sit up half the night pressing his trousers and sewing on buttons.

No, indeed. He goes and gets a good, hot meal that somebody else has cooked and that he hasn’t had to worry about or plan for. He spends the evening reading or amusing himself, lets the tailor do his mending and the laundry do his washing.

But a woman superimposes the work of a woman on her work of a man. She does a man’s work outside of her home and then comes home and cooks and scrubs, washes and retrims her hat and takes a tuck in her skirt. Then just about the time when she is getting to the place in business where she is capable of drawing down a good salary she blows up in nervous prostration.

So take your husband’s advice, Margo, and board with somebody else until you are able to set up a real home and devote all of your time to it. “Light housekeeping” is well named “light.” There is mighty little substance to it, and I don’t blame a man for not wanting to leave a place where there is real food to be had.

47 + 2 = 49

My grandmother died on Monday night. It was truly a blessing. She was imprisoned by Alzheimer's disease and dementia for the last four years, so I'm very happy that she's finally free of them both. It's been a tough week. I thought I'd already grieved for Nana - when we lost her in one sense - but I clearly wasn't finished. I've started to write a post several times this week and was never able to finish. She's been the only thing on my mind, but her death is too personal to share.

Housework has actually been a great comfort during this incredibly crummy fall. When you're feeling all at ends with the world, there's nothing like mechanical work - tasks that don't require any kind of creative energy - to keep you from climbing the walls. It can tire you out, too, which helps you sleep at night. And for better or worse, you'll never run out of housework! Exercise has been an unexpected friend to me as well. I've exorcised many a demon as I gritted my teeth and walked my six laps at the park. If I'm frustrated by something on the job, I rejoice in the opportunity to break free at noon, draw some fresh air into my lungs, and burn some calories.

On an up note, I've re-lost the 2 lbs. I'd gained last week and weighed in at 145 this morning. (Whoo-hoo!) I tried on some pants in a size 10 yesterday and was thrilled to find that they fit me perfectly!!! So I'm headed out to do some shopping later today and pick up a few new things for my wardrobe. I may need to invest also in some new underwear. It seems my tush no longer fills out my current supply... Can't be rockin' my new figure with a saggy bottom!

An acquaintance of mine has decided to play matchmaker. She wants to set me up with a friend who's 39, hails from New York, and is a herpetologist at the university where I work. (Think lizards and toads.) "I'm always up for a set-up!" I told her. After all, how can I truly become a 1940s housewife, without becoming a wife? Let's give him a try.

Dorothy Dix Says...

We turn from bridge and cigarets to the topic of children and chores in this Wednesday's Dorothy Dix column - first printed on August 15, 1940:

DEAR MISS DIX - We have one daughter 10 1/2 years old. Is she too young to be asked to do a few tasks around the home, particularly on Saturday and Sunday? I sometimes ask her to dry the dishes or put them in the cupboard, but she is never willing to do it, and after I have asked her maybe three times her father interferes and tells me to let her play and for me to do my own work. What do you think about this?

MRS D.

Answer - Every child by the time it is 5 years old should have some definite task to do in the household for which it is held responsible and which it should be taught to do as part of its daily routine.

This not only inculcates habits of industry in the child, but teaches it responsibility and makes it feel that it is a cog in the domestic machine that keeps it running.

You certainly have failed in your duty as a mother if you have not given your 10 1/2-year-old daughter her regular household chores and taught her to do them as part of the homemaking, that she performs cheerfully as her contribution to the family good.

A girl of that age should be an efficient little housekeeper who could pinch-hit for mother in any emergency. In fact, many girls are, and I still remember with pleasure a most delicious lunch that I once ate that was cooked and served entirely by my hostess' 11-year-old daughter.

A woman makes a great mistake who does not make her children, sons as well as daughters, help her with her housework if she can not afford servants. No sight is more pitiful than an overworked, tired mother slaving to take care of a houseful of husky sons and daughters who have to play athletic games in order to get exercise.

But the worst part of your problem is your husband interfering in your management. There can be no discipline in a family where the parents do not do teamwork. And, heaven knows, in these days fathers and mothers need to stand together against their obstreperous children.

Back to the Basics: The Weekly Edition

On a cheerier note than yesterday, I've been paying special attention to my evening housekeeping routine for the past week - and it's paying off! Evening in and evening out, I've been carefully straightening up the living room, making sure there's space in my dishwasher for the next day's breakfast dishes, washing whatever pots and pans have been soaking in the sink --- and remembering how great it feels to go to bed knowing I don't have to face a scrummy apartment when I wake up in the morning. It's amazing how quickly these basic morning and evening housekeeping tasks have felt natural again to me.

I think it's time now to get back to the basics when it comes to some of my weekly chores. Last week, I was able to get each of my weekly chores done on time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. This week, I'm going to strive to get everything done on time through Thursday evening. There was a bit of a hiccup last night. I started prepping my Monday wash and realized I didn't have enough quarters on hand to do my laundry! That's the kind of frustrating screw-up I used to deal with all the time before beginning The Experiment. I was constantly forgetting things that needed stocking up on - like laundry quarters - until it was too late. I hate having that kind of chaos in my home. (There's enough out there in the world that I don't have any control over!) I'll replenish my supply of quarters today and get the wash done this evening. Here's a list of my weekly tasks for the early part of the week.

Monday: Washing. Fold and put away wash. Prep ironing.

Tuesday: Ironing. Put away ironing.

Wednesday: Light marketing. Wash and trim fresh vegetables and put them in the refrigerator ready for use. Put out fresh linen in the bathroom.

Thursday: Weekly cleaning of my bedroom.

Intervention

It's been a long time since I had to do one of these intervention posts!

Well, I suppose there's plenty in the way of stress I can chalk this week's scale reading up to. Hearing that I was going to need surgery was a tough pill to swallow. When I'm stressed, I snack. And two doctor's visits this week even cost me one of my walks. (I'm going to try and make that up this afternoon.) At any rate, I weighed in at 147 this morning --- 2 lbs. heavier than last Sunday. I've got no time to waste. I can see all those holiday goodies on the horizon. Doesn't it seem like there are good things to eat everywhere you go between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day? I may as well whittle away as much as I can before the holiday temptations begin...

Fitness
I purchased some a pair of 2-lb. wrist weights yesterday, so will be wearing those now as I do my morning and evening exercises everyday and when I walk on the weekends. They feel so heavy right now compared to the 1-lb. wrist weights I've been using, but I'm sure I'll get used to them! I'm starting to see some real muscle tone in my upper arms so the weights are making a difference. Several weeks ago, I added some butt squeezing exercises (how's that for vintage terminology!) to my evening routine - 20 reps. I'm also going to add some basic crunches --- nothing too strenuous to start with, just 5 reps per evening. If there's one thing that's really paid off when it comes to this diet, it's the muscle toning. It was only when I began adding these kinds of exercises to my daily routine that the weight really began falling off.

Boy, aren't you glad we don't have to work out in those bulky sweatsuits in the picture above? Exercising will probably never be my favorite thing in the world to do, but I'm grateful as can be that I can do it in fitted workout gear!

Reducing
I don't have any new missions along this line, but I do have some "housecleaning" to do. For instance, as the weather's gotten a little colder, I find myself slacking off on my water intake each day. That's obviously not paying off, so it's back to the 64 oz. per day - no ifs, ands, or buts. I'm also going to make an extra rigorous effort when it comes to snacking and portion control this week.

An Update from the Trenches

I guess it's time for an update from the trenches. I saw a breast surgeon on Tuesday and she tried to aspirate the cyst. "Tried" being the operative word. She couldn't get to it there in the office. Spent a whole lot of time injecting numbing medication and got a good look at the cyst on a sonogram machine, but decided in the end not to go any further. She was a little concerned, too, about the walls of the cyst being thicker than she'd like to see. So I'm headed into the hospital for a lumpectomy one of these Thursdays. It's outpatient surgery. They'll put me under general anesthesia, remove the cyst - if that's indeed what it is - and give it all the tests that need to be done.

So that's the latest. The only plus I can truly think of is that this particular cyst won't fill back up again and need to be re-aspirated in the future. This one will be gone for good. I'm still waiting to hear from the surgeon's office on scheduling the procedure, but am crossing my fingers we'll be able to do this on the 19th, maybe I might even have the results of the biopsy before Thanksgiving.

I've been off caffeine for two weeks now. Weekdays are not a problem. I drink decaf in the mornings and usually end the day with a cup of herbal tea. Weekends are another animal altogether! With my cozy, freshly-made bed right there and way too easy to curl up in, I'm having a hard time getting through my Saturdays and Sundays without a nap. Any ideas how long it takes for 15 years' worth of caffeine to work its way out of your body? I guess I can't expect it to happen overnight. I'm curious to know what it will feel like when I'm back to normal.

There's a lot of reading material out there about fibrocystic breasts. I've been trying to regain some sense of control by reading up to see if there are any proactive ways I can prevent the formation of cysts. Besides limiting/nixing caffeine - which everyone seems to recommend --- I've read that you should reduce your sugar intake and be sure that you're getting the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E, the B complex, and magnesium. So I've been reviewing what I get from my own multi-vitamin and discovered that I actually need to take the multi three times a day. Eeesh! I had a hard enough time getting used to taking vitamins every morning. I probably need to keep a supply at work so they're handy at lunchtime. Even taken three times per day, the magnesium is still lacking, so I've added a magnesium supplement to my morning vitamins.

That's all the scoop for now, dear readers. Hope y'all have a wonderful day! I'll catch up with you later...

Dorothy Dix Says...

The most popular advice columnist of the 1940s was Dorothy Dix, pen name for Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (1861-1951). At her height in popularity, Ms. Dix had a syndicated column which reached approximately 60 million readers around the world. In 1940 alone, she received some 100,000 letters --- many of which were written by American housewives. I think it's high time we bring some of these voices back to life, so Wednesdays will now be dedicated to these vintage advice columns.

What were housewives thinking about? What kinds of concerns did they have when it came to life, love, children, and other relationships? Do these letters fit the picture you have of the '40s housewife? Is Dorothy Dix's advice sound - or does she miss the boat completely?

DEAR DOROTHY DIX - I have been married 15 years. Am still young and enjoy living. My husband is a good provider. We have a beautiful home and two lovely youngsters. I do all of my own sewing and housework. My husband tells me that I would be an ideal wife if I didn't care to smoke or play bridge. Now I only play bridge once a week and I do not smoke excessively.

I have waited on my husband hand and foot all these years and have endeavored to do everything possible to make him happy and comfortable, but I am not going to give up my bridge, which is my only outside pleasure. I love my husband, but I cannot permit him to take away every scintilla of my personal liberty. After all, I never tell him what he can or cannot do.

Just what is your opinion of a man who will let a little innocent game of bridge and an occasional cigaret separate him from an otherwise ideal wife?

INDIGNANT WIFE.

Answer - No man ever makes a bigger mistake than when he deprives his wife of any innocent amusement and tries to keep her shut up inside of the four walls of her home. Yet many husbands do this because they are the victims of the old superstition that a woman should be like the turtle and carry her house on her back, though why, goodness only knows. Turtles don't get very far. Nor are they interesting and amusing as household pets.

Still the idea prevails among old fashioned husbands that there is something meritorious in a woman being a stay-at-home and never going places or seeing things and having no conversational range beyond the children and the next door neighbors and the price of pork chops.

Now men have the wrong angle on this subject, and if they realized what was good for them, instead of trying to keep their wives locked up in the house all the time and objecting to their belonging to clubs and having their little games of bridge they would encourage them in it. For it would be money in their pockets and peace and happiness in their homes.

To begin with, it would save husbands a lot of doctor's bills for their wives to get around a little. Half of the neurotic women who are being treated for mysterious ailments are just simply bored.

They have no interest outside of their homes, meet few strangers, get no new ideas and they get so fed up on doing the same dull, monotonous round of chores, day after day and year after year, that they devise symptoms just to get something they can get a kick out of.

And, furthermore, the wife who belongs to clubs makes many friends who are valuable assets to her husband and children in a business and social way.

47 + 2 = 49

I've bid farewell to 2 more lbs. this week --- and good riddance to them. What's more, weighing in at 145 means that I've met my latest mini goal! My new mini goal is going to be 139. I'd like to weigh in at 139 by Sunday, December 13. Wish me luck. The weight is definitely coming off a bit more slowly now than it was over the summer, but I'm still headed in the right direction. By the time I get to 139, I should be solidly in a size 10.

I spent Halloween night with my nieces at a neighborhood carnival. Kitten was dressed up as her heroine of the moment - "Cingewedda" - and Poppet painted the town red as a fuzzy little chicken with orange and green striped legs. There were ghouls and goblins out in force last night with capes, tiaras, and face paint galore.

I've been experimenting with a little face paint myself recently. In addition to the loose powder I apply twice I day, I began trying a liquid foundation right down the center of my face - just trying to hit the places where I have more freckles and reddishness than I do anywhere else. Unfortunately, this is also the oiliest skin on my face. No sooner did I start using the liquid foundation than my skin began breaking out right in the very same area! One of the virtues of having been a frump for so long is that I'm starting with a great baseline. It's very easy to tell when something new is not a good idea. I went from having about one blemish per month to having two or three per week. Clearly, liquid foundation isn't a good idea for me, but I still wanted to try something to even out my skin tone in that area.

1940s beauty experts were adamant that no grown woman should consider herself fully dressed without a good foundation make-up. The right foundation was credited with giving the face everything from "a velvety finish" or "that pearly finish" to "smoothness which can’t be commanded in any other way." It was widely touted that foundation - or "base" - could even improve the facial skin:

Makeup bases are certainly a great addition to the cosmetic family and can protect the skin as well as make it look lovely. They can stay the damage of cold and wind and dust and sun. The powder clings to them and keeps your makeup fresh for a longer time. They cover up minor blemishes, and if you select the right kind for your skin, they will even act as a gentle lubricant for the extremely dry skin. (Spokane Daily Chronicle, March 27, 1944)

The Evening Independent's Alicia Hart suggested in an April 1940 article on the latest spring fashions that no look was complete without a well made-up face:

The face that is a connecting link between a new navy suit and a beautiful hat must be fresh and clean, expertly made up. Clean your face carefully at least three times a day - morning, noon and night. Don't put layers of fresh make-up on over stale. Don't expect to achieve that coveted luminous look unless you use a foundation film, cream or lotion. It's a mistake for any woman to assume she doesn't need to use a foundation preparation.

Clean your neck every time you clean your face and make it up just as carefully. The new vogue for white collars on everything - coats and suits as well as dresses - puts the spotlight once again on throats.

There were two major types of foundation on the market during this era. A cream variety - I'd guess this was similar to the liquid foundation available these days - and a "pancake" variety, "which comes in a wafer-cake form, and is applied with a moist sponge. It is this latter kind which now is generally used by the film stars" (St. Petersburg Times, May 29, 1940). Josephine Lowman advised her readers in March 1944 to select a foundation with a oily base if they had dry skin: "I have long thought the use of wet cake makeup may be extremely detrimental to dry skins, leading to coarseness and extreme dryness."

Application was everything. In The New American Etiquette (1941), Lily Haxworth Wallace recommends that after washing the face and applying face cream, "apply a lovely, smooth foundation. Use only five dots on your face, and blend it in very smoothly. The success of one's appearance depends, to a large extent, on the correct application of the foundation cream." One trick suggested by a beauty expert of the era was to dip your fingers in cold water to ensure more even coverage. At all costs, one must be absolutely sure when applying foundation that she doesn't forget her neck! "Don’t let makeup end at the chinline. Carry your foundation and face powder downward on throat. Your throat should match your face. Unless you apply makeup skillfully, it won’t" (The Evening Independent, March 10, 1941).

The truly adventurous woman might even attempt to use two shades of foundation in re-sculpting her face:

You can change your facial contour by a clever combination of light and dark foundation creams… Light lengthens and reveals. Dark shortens and conceals. Thus if you have a triangular face, use a light foundation cream on chin and lower cheeks… dark or medium on rest of face. This adds fullness. If round… apply dark foundation to lower cheeks tapering toward the chin, for a desired oval shape. If oblong… spread entire chin and jaws with dark foundation. Result is a foreshortening of the lower features. If your forehead is too deep, use a darker base than you do on the rest of the face. (St. Petersburg Times, September 2, 1945)

So what's a gal with a face that rejects a liquid foundation to do? I want that velvety finish of yesteryear, too! What I've decided to try is one of the new mineral powder foundations - just at the center of my face. I settled on a jar of Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Foundation in Classic Ivory the other day. I'm no cosmetics expert, but I'm pleased with the results so far. I'll have to give this some time in order to see how my skin reacts. Now if I can just remember not to try applying loose powder on top of the powder foundation...