Jury Duty Episode Coming Tuesday!

I just saw Paul's final edit of our jury duty episode, coming Tuesday morning, and he's outdone himself this time!  Viva la green screen!

Duty Done!

I am done with jury duty!  I'm glad I had the experience and I'm ready to not have to schlep to the courthouse anymore, so it's win-win!  Our jury duty episode will be online next week!

Pumpkin Enchiladas

I've seen a big backlash against pumpkin in foods lately, but these enchiladas sound really good!  Click the link and see what I mean: How Crazy Cooks Pumpkin Enchiladas

Fast and Fancy Food Results

Here are the dishes I made from June Roth's Fast and Fancy Cookbook!

From left to right we have Maiki Ham, Chinese Bean Salad and Shimmering Mint Mold.  The first two are really good!  I have yet to try the Jell-O mold, but Paul declared it tasty and not too minty, since it only has two tablespoons of creme de menthe.  I'll sample it at lunch!  

Thanks, June Roth!  These recipes were all really easy!  We'll definitely be making that bean salad for parties!

June Roth

Today we're cooking from one of my favorite cookbooks, 1969's June Roth's Fast and Fancy Cookbook!  Mrs. Roth, "a leading proponent of good nutrition" and nationally syndicated food columnist, passed away in 1990 at the age of 64, but her legacy lives on in 36 cookbooks, including The Mood Control Diet and The Executive Success Diet, both of which I suddenly feel an urgent need to own.  I will post pictures of today's culinary experiments later, but here's a little taste of what's to come.  Be sure to click on and read her introduction.  It could be straight out of "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en!"

More Blue Book for Miss Teen

It's time for another excerpt from Blue Book for Miss Teen, the booklet on beauty, fashion, manners, cooking, decorating and personality published in 1959 by The News (today it's the Daily News), "New York's Picture Newspaper."  Today we're looking at "Your Manners" because "Good manners are the cake of social life, special occasion etiquette is the icing on the cake."  So, without further ado, take it away, Elinor Ames!

Jury Duty

I wore my vintage finest to the courthouse today...and got picked for a trial.  I'm not allowed to talk about it or do any research, which won't be a problem, owing to the fact that I could not be LESS interested in the subject matter.  I'm considering it research for the next "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" episode, all about your civic duty!

Revamped Cocktail Page

There's an all-new cocktail page, complete with recipes, on the "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" website!  Click here to check it out!

Ida Bailey Allen

Continuing our exploration of radio and television cooking and lifestyle hostesses of yore, I'd like to introduce you to Ida Bailey Allen (1885 - 1973), known at one time as "The Nation's Homemaker" and "The Original Domestic Goddess."  Mrs. Allen began her career as a food writer in the teens, her book Mrs. Allen's Cookbook having been published in 1917.  A partial list of her accomplishments includes serving as a food editor and columnist for many newspapers and publications, penning countless articles for magazines such as "Good Housekeeping" and "Ladies Home Journal," hosting, producing and even selling advertising for her own radio show, writing over 50 cookbooks, and appearing as television's first female cooking show host on "Mrs. Allen and the Chef."  At one point she even allowed visitors into her home and test kitchen, to witness "the latest developments in homemaking." Whew!   Mrs. Allen, we salute your pioneering spirit as a woman in broadcasting and your boundless creative energy!

Behind the Scenes

Here's what shooting "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" looks like from my point of view.  You can't see the lights in this shot, but you get the idea.

Beatnik Cake

Here's a recipe for a healthy cake that I tweaked.  Behold, Beatnik Cake!

1 cup canned beets (14.5 oz can), mashed

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased and floured cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine all with a mixer:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick melted butter

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Costume Shop

Like all good shows, the "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" has its own costume shop!  In other words, good vintage can be hard to find and expensive, so I make many of my own costumes.  Here's my latest, which will have its closeup in the episode we're shooting this weekend, our San Francisco travelogue.  Necessity is the mother of invention!

Blue Book for Miss Teen

While clearing out my mother-in-law's house the other day Paul came across the Blue Book for Miss Teen, published in 1959 by the New York Daily News ("New York's Picture Newspaper") and made available for 25 cents to area young ladies.  I'll let the introduction speak for itself:

"The ins and outs of poise and polish and finer points of the sweet and bitter puzzles that pave the way to womanhood are here collected for Miss Teen, the young girl who grows up faster, earlier and more "compleat" than ever before tending a tiller or a tennis racket, a community minstrel show or a church bazaar, cheerleading one moment and caring for the neighborhood children the next, keeping up with current affairs and ancient history, physics and Phineas Fogg, and ready to discourse just as easily on a coiffure, casserole or cabinet, a flower centerpiece or a flower print.

Helping you meet this merry mix-up looking, feeling and behaving your best, and enjoying every minute of it, is the purpose of this little handbook, prepared by well-known writers on the Woman's Editorial Staff of The News.  Best of all, each chapter is part of a continuing story for, fortunately, there never is a last word on how we look or feel or associate with our friends.  You'll find each of the stories represented here continued every day in the pages of the News, and in the many booklets and leaflets offered by The News to its readers."

Here are the first few pages from the chapter about cooking.  The entire chapter features a heavy emphasis on entertaining, as presumably no teenaged girl was about to just cook for herself.  Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 15th anniversary!  On this day 15 years ago, a Rhode Island judge speed read our vows on a beautiful, sunny day and the rest is history!  We celebrated with lobsters, our absolute favorite indulgence, and a "Thin Man" movie.  Perfect for us!

Be glad there's no "after" shot, since we were both drenched in butter and lobster broth, as were the table and floor!

Elka Seltzer

One more cocktail creation in honor of the "Hot in Cleveland" season finale, Elka Seltzer:

Build in a highball glass with ice:

2 oz vodka
1 oz chocolate liqueur (I used Trader Vic's)
1 oz coconut milk
Seltzer to fill

Combine first three ingredients in glass, top with seltzer, stir gently.

Man Hands

The "Hot in Cleveland" season finale double-header is tonight and I'm so excited!  You know what that means -- special cocktails for the occasion!  First up, "Man Hands" (and thank you to Donna for the name):

2 oz scotch
1/2 oz ginger liqueur
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
Dash of Angostura orange bitters
Garnish with a Luxardo maraschino cherry

More soon!

Maxine Mulvey

As you might imagine, I am fascinated with the local television and radio cooking and home show hostesses of yore, particularly those who've been (largely) lost to history.  Many were part of the daily lives of women for years, bringing not only recipes and household hints, but companionship and even a feeling of routine with their daily shows.  They were post-war era working women who were helping other women to navigate their many responsibilities.  Often these hostesses invited participation from their listeners, giving them an outlet for their questions, concerns, and even creativity through listener submitted tips and recipes.  They were a pre-Internet and social media space for busy housewives and working women looking to create a lovely home life and they were important.

Today I'd like to introduce you to Maxine Mulvey, who hosted the "Hello Neighbor" program on Denver radio station KOA.  As you'll see below, she was an accomplished broadcaster as well as "an expert cook and homemaker."  Maxine, the "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" salutes you!