Easy Hospitality and Then Some

OK you guys…it’s been a while. My brain has been packed full of things other than you.

And for that I am deeply sorry.

Ok, maybe just a little sorry. I don’t feel like writing much b/c I am exhausted. If you follow me on Facebook, you are privy to tiny little quips of what I hope is kind of, sort of, funny.

Frankly that’s about all I have been able to muster for most of the past 11 weeks.

But who’s counting, right?

Well, I am certain you all are, as I know I have been missed.

OK, maybe just my mom has been counting. And possibly my grandma (if she’s remembered to check).

Other than that, I have my doubts.

And that is ok by me…because much as I want to read my friend’s blogs (as well as the blogs of people I simply stalk but pretend like we are friends)…I do not have time. 

Or I do not MAKE time. I'll own that.

Seriously people…I am spent by the end of the day.

Which means I know I cannot be upset if people do not read my blog. Now or ever again.

Now, don’t get me wrong…I love love love The Little Man and I am thankful for the opportunity to care for him, but there are so so so many things about this system which are broken so badly that dealing with them is kind of weighing a little bit heavy.

It’s tiring to deal with all that. If I only had to add The Little Man into my schedule? 

Piece.of.cake. Truly.

Even the NG tube is not a big deal at all at this point.

But…all the crap we have to deal with. Yeah. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

But I can’t tell you anyway…privacy and all that business.

I didn’t intend to even say all that…it’s sort of just spilling out.  I suppose that’s what happens when you are accustomed to blogging several times a week and then suddenly go cold-turkey for a while.

True, I have posted a handful of things, but still. Mostly it’s radio silence.

I don’t think I’m using that term correctly but it’s what popped into my head so there you go: out it came.

You may be, by now, wondering why I titled this post “Easy Hospitality”.

Or you may not have even noticed or taken the time to look b/c quite frankly it doesn’t usually seem to matter.

Well, I am here to tell you people today that it DOES matter.

It matters a great deal.

Ok, not really.

But it is kind of, sort of pertinent to the post…so it does have that going for it.

(There's a first time for everything, right?)

You may have noticed a few days ago my post on Instagram or my FB page a photo of two cookbooks I received from my 96-year old Grandma. She just moved to an assisted living apartment which is about 5 minutes from my house (after living in the same apartment for over 15 years, and prior to that, the same house for probably at least 50…that’s my fuzzy math, btw so don’t hold me to any of those numbers. Except the 5 minutes from my house…that part is totally true.)

Anyway…in cleaning out her kitchen cabinets, my aunt came across some cookbooks (as well as other various and sundry items…hey, Christmas is coming up and you never know what you might be able to give people; note: if you may be receiving a gift from me for Christmas, you will be getting a real treat from me this year, I assure you!) and asked if I wanted them.

Well, we are into the third month of “7” and we are supposed to be giving away items.

But instead, I happily took in two boxes of Grandma’s things. And regrettably I was remiss in my blogging skills and neglected to take a picture of the treasures within.

Please forgive.

So you’ll have to just trust me and put on your imagination caps to picture the items in your mind.

Ready?

I got a couple nice skillets.

Some cream-colored, woven placemats.

And my FAVORITE item (after the cookbooks, of course) were some shower caps.

Now…I must explain…they were NOT actually shower caps. But they certainly looked like them.

And I guarantee if I had used them as shower caps, they would have functioned perfectly well.

Now, knowing that these items were from the kitchen, what do you suppose these “mystery” items actually were?

Well, I didn’t have a clue and my mother had to set me straight.

They were covers to put over dishes.

I suppose the fact that they had images of lemons all over them SHOULD have been my clue. 

But nope.

I didn’t get it at all.

Too subtle.

And now that I have outed myself for my lack of knowledge that a shower cap can also double as a food dish cover (keep that in mind, people, should you ever visit a hotel that has “complimentary” shower curtains in its little goodie basket in the bathroom. You can always bring it home and use it to cover your food. You.are.welcome.)…I shall now move on and tell you all about that thing which prompted this whole post: the cookbooks.

Now…because I am sold out on “7” (ok not to make fun…I love love love the concept…I am having trouble with the implementation) I opted not to KEEP all the cookbooks. So I shall only be sharing with you today the ones which I kept.

And are all, of course, from the 1950s.

And let me preface this (and that’s funny b/c I have droned on for pages and pages by this point, but I digress) by saying: I don’t like these cookbooks for their recipes. 

In fact, some of them sound down-right disgusting as you will see for yourselves.

They have other redeeming qualities which I hope you will enjoy as well.

First up: Betty Crocker’s Bisquick Party Book. From 1957.

My favorite part is the fact that from 1957 to now, Bisquick hasn’t come up with too many new ideas. I have a whole BIG cookbook that is only Bisquick recipes, and I am 100% certain that every recipe from this 1957 throwaway booklet which Grandma certainly picked up at the grocery (it has a perforated page at the back where a coupon, presumably, was torn off at some point) is in my book from a few years ago.

If it ain't broke, dont fix it, right?

Next up: Spry 20^th Anniversary Cookbook. From 1955.

I had to do a tiny bit of investigative reporting (I am a paid professional) to figure out what exactly “Spry” is/was.

OK, not much investigating, actually...it was discussed on the inside cover of the book. But hey, I had to OPEN the cover so that took some (albeit marginal) effort.

Don't judge.

Spry was vegetable shorting, lest you be unaware.

Maybe they still make it, but I’ve never heard of it.

And if I’ve never heard of it then, well, I can’t imagine there’s much to it then…

But I digress.

My favorite part of this cookbook falls under the description of the item. Now I have to say, first of all, I understand what they are trying to convey…it’s just an interesting word choice.

And perhaps the very reason this product is no longer being made…

“It’s bland in odor and flavor”

Well, if that doesn’t sell your food product, what would? Who wouldn’t want their food to be bland in odor and flavor.

I know, I know…it is vegetable shortening but still. I think they probably could have selected some better word options.

And last, but not least (definitely not least...in fact, it is totally the best, I am excited for those of you who made it this far in my ramblings to enjoy this): Easy Hospitality. From 1951.

Oh my darling friends. You are about to get a real treat. I needed a laugh and this cookbook did not fail me.

This cookbook was published by the Coca-Cola Company and contained recipes, as well as entire menus, in which to include such recipes.

Of course every last menu included Coca-Cola or a Coca-Cola item, but that kind of goes without saying (even though I’m saying it…).

What I hope you will find as amusing as I did are the menu titles…these are suggestions for when such menus should be put into play.

You are going to get a bit of a picture overload, because frankly I am tired (it’s getting late…for me, anyway; don't judge) and you really needed to see these in context.

And honestly, there were so many to choose from that I didn’t even try to contain myself.

So here they are in no particular order…except the very last one: it’s my favorite.

This could apply to virtually any day this week...

Now...there are two more. They have battled in my mind for days (not really) on which should take top billing. And I have made my decision.

In second place:

Because, quickly frankly, liver paste? I thought you wanted that permanent to look GOOD! And you're serving liver paste to the people helping you?

And now, the drumroll please! Taking First Place in the competition in my mind:

Because this happens to me ALL the time...all my time working on those dresses really sucks up my day.

Hope I'll be back before another 11 weeks fly by, but no guarantees! Thanks for sticking with me!