We Have TWO Winnesr!

I think that everyone was a winner with their wonderful tips on how to make ends meet. I hope to be able to put them all together and maybe have a book to share with all of you soon.

Miss Mary is our lovely first prize winner, picked by the random number generator! Mey-Hem and Lillians Stitches are her blogs. I hope that you will enjoy this book, as I have for many years.

I had neglected to add the second prize winner ( please forgive me as I am an old lady! ) It is Babara at
http://barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com
I have a very nice surprise gift for your vintage pleasure. I do hope that you enjoy it!

Thank you all so much for visiting me. Everyone has been so nice!

The Mushroom Girl

Helen's take on mushrooms:

"I don't exactly remember where I got this little figurine. I know that I liked it because it reminded me of my sister, and it had a little rabbit. She also had a mushroom and I like to cook with mushrooms. A lot of people don't realize that mushrooms are very good for you."




Here is some information about mushrooms:
This came from an article my daughter found for me on CNN health page.


"Why they're good for you: They may be 90 percent water and have only 18 calories per cup, but mushrooms are getting serious scientific attention. Laboratory reports and animal studies show that compounds in mushrooms may do everything from bolster immune function to suppress breast and prostate cancers to decrease tumor size. And now, Penn State researchers find that mushrooms, from the humble button to the giant portobello, harbor large amounts of an antioxidant called L-ergothioneine. The scientific buzz is that fungi, for the moment, are the only foods that contain this compound."

While scientists work to figure out how these findings will translate to dietary advice, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy mushrooms. Clare Hasler, Ph.D., a well-known expert in functional foods and executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis, points out that mushrooms offer a healthy helping of the blood pressure-- lowering mineral potassium. "Most people might be surprised to learn that while orange juice is touted as one of the highest potassium foods, one medium portobello mushroom actually has more potassium," she says. "And five white button mushrooms have more potassium than an orange."



Helen continues to tell us about mushrooms in her mother's kitchen:
"This cookbook is another one that I have always enjoyed cooking from. When I was a little girl, one of the soups that my mother used to make was mushroom soup. It was a tradition in our family during holidays and special occasions. My mother used chicken broth, which was easier to make than beef, since we had all the chickens. She would saute the mushrooms in butter and add shallots, onions, garlic ( lots of garlic) and salt and pepper. I liked when she added carrots and celery, but my favorite ingredient was parsnips or leeks."


I want to thank everyone for coming to visit my blog. Everyone has been so nice and helpful with all of their hints.
If everyone keeps posting more hints I will have to add a second prize. Maybe it will be this little mushroom girl....or the book...or both......we shall see.

What a WONDERFUL little girl Annie is!

This post today has to be dedicated to a wonderful little girl named Annie ~ We can't say enough about her so here is the link to her story:

http://themiddlestsister.blogspot.com/2010/01/annies-bracelettes.html

This sweet little girl is raising money from making bracelets, to donate to the people of Haiti. She is truly an inspiration to all of us ~ and so is her Mom Libbie!

Please take the time to visit them today ~ and spread the news about the good work that she is doing!



Now for today's vintage wisdom, from Helen

"They say that a stitch in time saves nine. This is true when you are trying to sew up a stuffed chicken."



"When I was growing up, we did not have poultry lacers. We used a needle and thread. Imagine that!"



"Today I wanted to share my perfect recipe for a stuffed chicken, the way I made them back on the farm. I won't talk about how we prepared the chicken, because I know that a lot of you won't like it.

We had a coal stove which used to heat the whole house, which was small. To make the stuffing, we would use stale bread and any fruits or vegetables we had on hand at the tim., else we would use water. Always add an egg to the mix...and salt and pepper, and all over the outside of the chicken too. If we had milk, we would add that I would rub the chicken all over with butter or lard and then we would stuff it.

Back then we didn;t have timers so you had to keep checking it every 15 minutes or so. I still do that today when I roast a chicken.


So there you have it:
one chicken
an egg
vegetables and fruit
milk
salt
pepper

A simple dinner when you want a simple life.

Thank you to all of you who have left so many nice posts on my log. I still am not sure how it all works, but it seems very nice.
Have a nice weekend!
Helen

The Magic Carpet Ride ~ OWOH

Well I have not been on a ride in years. I think the last time was about twenty years ago, when my daughter persuaded me to go on a big ferris wheel. I did go swim with dolphins for my daughter's 40th and my 80th birthday ( and that was awhile ago :o)~ you could say that a magic broom would be more my speed!)




I wanted to take a chance to get to meet new people and so I am entering this giveaway. It is so nice to see so many people from so many different areas....all on the Internet, which I still have trouble understanding. I still like to just read he paper and watch TV!

This book is from my personal collection. I bought it when my daughter was a little girl so it really is quite old! It was published in 1967, so I guess it really is vintage!

Please leave me a comment abut how you share hints for making ends meet today. You may be able to teach me a thing or two still. The winner will be chosen on February 15th, and you just have to leave a comment and keep your fingers crossed. Thank you, good luck to everyone!

A New Year, A New Look, A New Post!

So many months have passed without Mom making an entry on her blog. Approaching 93 now, she is truly slowing down. Still she has so much wisdom to share, especially in these economically challenging times. With that said, I bring to you the return of Mom and her vintage wisdom.


The more things change, the more they remain the same. Trying to provide a nutritious, yet affordable meal, is quite a challenge these days. I asked Mom how they used to provide for 14 children (YES FOURTEEN), when she was growing up. This is what she had to say:

"So many families were on relief back in the thirties. Two of my brothers were at work camps. It is hard for people to imagine how rough things were back then, but I guess today people are starting to realize that you can make do with less."

"We had so many mouths to feed. We had to grow everything on our farm. When we were lucky enough to have meat to make it, stuffed cabbage was always one of our favorites. It used to take hours to cook for so many people, but at least we were lucky enough to have food on the table...........so many families didn't."

"My father grew the biggest cabbage you could ever see. I still think that the soil was special in Pottsville, Pa. He used to always add all of the table scraps, the coffee grinds, the eggshells...anything that we could to make the soil rich."

Browsing through a bunch of Mom's older cook books, I thought that I could find a recipe similar to what her mother used to make. Made me so hungry right now we may have to get her to make us some....not tonight though. Tonight we are making a ham casserole that is a little more up to date :o)


Campbell's® Pennsylvania Dutch Ham and Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
5 cups extra-wide egg noodles, cooked and drained

Directions
1.Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ham and onion and cook until the onion is tender.
2.Stir the soup in the saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese and cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the noodles and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Happy Mother's Day !

This is one of my favorite Mother's Day cards. My daughter gave it to me when she had a little kitten named Tinkerbell. The kitten was wandering through the neighborhood with it's mother, and one day she left it with us. She used to come back every now and then to check on her baby, but I guess she knew it was in good hands. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day today, whatever you did!

May Day ~ Here we go 'round the maypole...

It's MAY DAY!

When I was a little girl growing up on the farm in Pennsy, May Day was one of our favorite Spring Holidays. We used to put on our prettiest pinafores, and tie those lovely ribbons around the pole. We would dance until we were so tired that we would just fall down and go to sleep!

Read more about May Day here:

http://www.theholidayspot.com/mayday/history.htm