August 20, 2000 -- 11:00 PM
EST
 Is everybody still as
wild about those green Jell-O molds as they used to be? Especially with the
little marshmallows and bits of pineapple? I remember attending more than one
potluck family gathering and my mother made that to take along. Eventually she
moved on to skipping the marshmallows and pineapple and going for different
colors and an extra packet of unflavored gelatin to make the squares not melt
and hold their shape. Jell-O Jigglers long before Bill Cosby got into it
all.
I like to collect cookbooks. The
more horrendous, the better. I like the yellowing old photos and I love the
love the potato-chipped casseroles and the grape jelly meatballs. The fondue
party menu's crack me up while the endless variations of macaroni and cheese
make me wonder.
Yesterday, after dropping Paul off
at work, I was running around doing errands and then I went poking about in
thrift stores and used book shops for fun, although ever on the lookout for
neat pieces I could refinish for the kitchen. I found two of those
"brand-name" collections -- where they gather all the recipes off the
back of boxes and cans and group them together. To round it out, I got half of
the 1973 "McCall's
Great American Collection" recipe cards. I must have not dug around long
enough to find the rest of the cards... I'll have to send Paul back on a lunch
break to see if he has better luck.
I was sitting down on the floor
spreading them out and putting them back into order. Apparently I have A-M, but
no cards for the rest of the alphabet categories. Just my luck -- I bet you
anything "V" was the vegetarian category!
me: Tomato Aspic?!
Who does that anymore?!
him: What's "aspic"
mean?
me:You wouldn't like it. One, it
has tomato and two, it is squishy. (Showing him the card).
him: Ugggh! Take it away! You
aren't going to make me eat that are you? What is it?!
me: It's a molded dish -- you mix
up tomato juice with gelatin so it will set, some spices and pour it into those
mold things. I remember Mom had about 8 of them on the kitchen wall -- all in
that copper...
him: That's terrible! Don't make
that!
I sat there wondering why mom
never used the star-shaped mold and always either the ring one or the
circle-shaped one with the little bumps and Paul returned to his models.
Don't think though, that I am
stuck in this retro 1970's thing. It's more like a 1950's-1970's thing. Little
by little I'm getting closer to the point where the house bits that need the
most attention (ie: closets, fence, tiling utility room, etc) are getting
wrapped up, and then I'll get to the fun part of playing house -- decorating!
Furniture shopping!
Paul and I both feel strongly that
our bizarre 1950's house ought to be done in a modern 1950's-1960s blend. No
egg-chairs, but maybe butterfly chairs. No orange and brown puke curtains, but
maybe big daisy ones. We shall see. For the time being, I'm reading about Eames
and Miller and jotting down what spots to hit at the antique district.
Hi Ward. Hi June. Jell-o mold
anyone?
~Astrophe
  
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