SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 They say to boil broccoli and asparagus for 20 minutes. LOL That shi* would be DEAD. My mother was born in the mid 50s and this is the sort of thing she did (although she bought canned and she'd boil the canned if you can imagine). She hated vegetables. No wonder why. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Oh my goodness, that would be sooooo gross. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Yuck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I love vintage cookbooks! So many of the recipes and tips are insane to us today! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 OMG! What cookbook? What other travesties? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 I should try it and take a pic. I really just cannot imagine what it will look and taste like after that point. I wouldn't sacrifice a bunch of it. Would be highly amusing though. The crazy thing is the book has pictures and they show pictures of vegetables that are clearly raw (on serving dishes with over the top garnishing). There is no way someone's veg would look like that following the recommendations. In one shot there is a head of cauliflower. You know how different cauliflower looks going from raw to cooked. What were they trying to pull?! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 OMG! What cookbook? What other travesties? Betty Crocker. I'd say about 80% of the recipes are for baked goods though. The veg section is one of the smallest sections. I guess there wasn't much focus on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Raises hand--I grew up on that s***. Horrible, nasty food. Ugh ugh ugh. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Oh my! I always thought killing the veg was just a thing in the area where DH grew up! I can't believe those were the instructions. *faints* My late mom never cooked like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 Raises hand--I grew up on that s***. Horrible, nasty food. Ugh ugh ugh. Yeah...canned spinach here. UGH....wow. LOL Oddly I ate it and didn't mind it. I didn't know the difference. Now I could never go back. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) There's a line in a 1930s novel by DL Sayers about 'the right way to boil fish'. It always makes me shudder. ETA: The line is: 'Peter perfectly capable of looking after himself and probably not wanting wife with head stuffed with chicken-pox and best way to boil fish' Busman's Honeymoon Edited February 21, 2018 by Laura Corin 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 The first time I had a bite of a raw green bean I was transfixed. I never forgot this. We always had canned or frozen ones at home, boiled to oblivion. A neighbor was cleaning and trimming fresh ones, which I didn't even recognize. She gave me a bite. OMGosh. I went home and told my mother, who was really angry at the idea of having more to do in the kitchen (she hated to cook.) I have no doubt she would have boiled these to death as well, so it didn't matter that much. But once I was on my own, it was raw or lightly steamed veggies for me, from then on. Because I KNEW. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) I was raised on canned veggies - always cooked in can liquid AND salt and butter added! When I first moved across country for grad school and had dinner with future in-laws, I thought their food was so bland - they did not automatically salt stuff, and veggies were fresh, never canned. Although MIL was a bit too emphatic on not over-cooking veggies - no one let her forget the time she served "cooked" broccoli that was COLD inside and tepid outside, and hard as, well, raw slightly warmed broccoli. My dad swore all green beans had to be boiled 40 minutes or more with bacon to be edible. My mom only made a fresh veggie - broccoli - once in a great while, and then it had to be eaten with a dish of lemon butter to dunk it in. Oh, sometimes she cooked artichokes....an excuse to enjoy melted butter! Lets just say I cook veggies more like my MIL than my own folks now ;-) Edited February 21, 2018 by JFSinIL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Artichokes and asparagus were the only veggies that I liked as a kid, because they are the only ones that are not completely ruined by being over boiled. Oh, and corn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 My favorite site for this subject is the Gallery of Regrettable Food. Old cookbooks and snarky comments. :) 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 The first time I had a bite of a raw green bean I was transfixed. I never forgot this. We always had canned or frozen ones at home, boiled to oblivion. A neighbor was cleaning and trimming fresh ones, which I didn't even recognize. She gave me a bite. OMGosh. I went home and told my mother, who was really angry at the idea of having more to do in the kitchen (she hated to cook.) I have no doubt she would have boiled these to death as well, so it didn't matter that much. But once I was on my own, it was raw or lightly steamed veggies for me, from then on. Because I KNEW. Now see I think green beans aren't terrible when cooked a long time. There are some dishes that call for it and they are good IMO. Some nice steamed green beans are good too. But asparagus or broccoli?! No... This stuff is never good when cooked to death. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 My favorite site for this subject is the Gallery of Regrettable Food. Old cookbooks and snarky comments. :) Thank you. I needed those laughs. The meat book is brilliant. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 My favorite site for this subject is the Gallery of Regrettable Food. Old cookbooks and snarky comments. :) haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I should try it and take a pic. I really just cannot imagine what it will look and taste like after that point. I wouldn't sacrifice a bunch of it. Would be highly amusing though. The crazy thing is the book has pictures and they show pictures of vegetables that are clearly raw (on serving dishes with over the top garnishing). There is no way someone's veg would look like that following the recommendations. In one shot there is a head of cauliflower. You know how different cauliflower looks going from raw to cooked. What were they trying to pull?! This kind of thing still happens - a lot of food looks funny if you photograph it cooked. So they will do all kinds of things to make it look tastier. My aunt who is an artist once had to paint a raw turkey to look cooked for a cook-book photo shoot. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 This must have been the cookbook my mom had. She fully embraced the microwave when they came out. Instead of boiling veggies to death, she nuked them to death. I had no idea I liked veggies until I moved out. One meal that graced our plates at least once a month was a slab of ham, nuked to death on a plastic plate, a pile of asparagus, nuked to the point of being more of a "slime" than a once-living plant, and rice-a-roni....again nuked. If it was a "special occasion" we got a slice of processed cheese over it all. Ironically, the food was stored in the oven to keep it warm while the other items were nuked. I really cannot believe I am still alive. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 This kind of thing still happens - a lot of food looks funny if you photograph it cooked. So they will do all kinds of things to make it look tastier. My aunt who is an artist once had to paint a raw turkey to look cooked for a cook-book photo shoot. Oh agreed! I took a food styling class in culinary school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 This must have been the cookbook my mom had. She fully embraced the microwave when they came out. Instead of boiling veggies to death, she nuked them to death. I had no idea I liked veggies until I moved out. One meal that graced our plates at least once a month was a slab of ham, nuked to death on a plastic plate, a pile of asparagus, nuked to the point of being more of a "slime" than a once-living plant, and rice-a-roni....again nuked. If it was a "special occasion" we got a slice of processed cheese over it all. Ironically, the food was stored in the oven to keep it warm while the other items were nuked. I really cannot believe I am still alive. My mother's cousin was in love with the concept of the microwave. One year she invited us over for a turkey cooked in the microwave. It wasn't good and it wasn't really quicker. You couldn't convince her otherwise though. She used her regular oven as a pantry. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 There's a line in a 1930s novel by DL Sayers about 'the right way to boil fish'. It always makes me shudder. ETA: The line is: 'Peter perfectly capable of looking after himself and probably not wanting wife with head stuffed with chicken-pox and best way to boil fish' Busman's Honeymoon Ah, but there IS a right way to boil fish! And it's SOOOO good! https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/how-to-throw-a-fish-boil-20150915/ A vat of melted butter to serve is absolutely essential. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 My MIL still cooks from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 They say to boil broccoli and asparagus for 20 minutes. LOL That shi* would be DEAD. My mother was born in the mid 50s and this is the sort of thing she did (although she bought canned and she'd boil the canned if you can imagine). She hated vegetables. No wonder why. My parents still eat their vegetables this way (canned vegetables boiled to death). I have a very strong memory of being 6 years old and chewing on a piece of canned asparagus for 15 minutes before throwing up at the table and being sent to bed. It took me until about 2 years ago to even want to eat vegetables (grilled or roasted or raw for me, thanks). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 My favorite site for this subject is the Gallery of Regrettable Food. Old cookbooks and snarky comments. :) So I have a few thoughts on this. One is, a few years ago I went to a party at the home of an elderly couple, and the food was straight out of the 50s. They had chaffing dishes, aspics, and all the rest. I was having flashbacks to my pre-school years, but actually, a lot of it was really tasty. Now, this past Sunday there was a potluck at our church and someone brought beets in jelly. I like beets, so I took some. Big mistake - it was pickled beets that had been jellied in raspberry jello! Totally gross. Even my sone who once ate so many beets he stained his bum pink wouldn't eat it. More seriously though - a lot of those things were considered pretty gourmet. It makes me feel a little decadent that we look back on that food and think it's so lame. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 most food was overcooked. my grandmother (who got married in 1929) - cooked her roasts to death. the 50's and their molded jello salads . . ..which must. have. vegetables. in them. sometimes even meat. (a flavored aspic?) and spam . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 My parents still eat their vegetables this way (canned vegetables boiled to death). I have a very strong memory of being 6 years old and chewing on a piece of canned asparagus for 15 minutes before throwing up at the table and being sent to bed. It took me until about 2 years ago to even want to eat vegetables (grilled or roasted or raw for me, thanks). canned peas ... my niece called them "little green balls of mushy poison.". the name stuck. but even as a child - I couldn't stand canned peas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 One thing to remember about cooking things to death, particularly meat, is that people really didn't want to become ill and get brain worms and such. Kind of like ironing sheets. It seems crazy until you have no good way to kill pests. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 most food was overcooked. my grandmother (who got married in 1929) - cooked her roasts to death. the 50's and their molded jello salads . . ..which must. have. vegetables. in them. sometimes even meat. (a flavored aspic?) and spam . . . ugh... I hate gelatin....so so vile. Luckily so did my dad so my mother never made anything with gelatin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 This kind of thing still happens - a lot of food looks funny if you photograph it cooked. So they will do all kinds of things to make it look tastier. My aunt who is an artist once had to paint a raw turkey to look cooked for a cook-book photo shoot. did she use brown shoe polish? I caught glimpse of some program talking about how they made food presentable for "foodie shoots" - and the person used brown shoe polish on the turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 There's a line in a 1930s novel by DL Sayers about 'the right way to boil fish'. It always makes me shudder. ETA: The line is: 'Peter perfectly capable of looking after himself and probably not wanting wife with head stuffed with chicken-pox and best way to boil fish' Busman's Honeymoon Fish boils (potatoes and white fish and spices and maybe carrots can't remember for sure are thrown in a pot of boiling water) are extremely popular here so this one actually doesn't phase me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 my mil can't cook to save her life.. . she once served a jello salad, but didn't have any whipped cream to "make it pretty". . . . . so she put a dollop of mayonnaise on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Thank you. I needed those laughs. The meat book is brilliant. oh my goodness - peter lorre's face. :smilielol5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 My mother's cousin was in love with the concept of the microwave. One year she invited us over for a turkey cooked in the microwave. It wasn't good and it wasn't really quicker. You couldn't convince her otherwise though. She used her regular oven as a pantry. LOL I do not own a microwave. My current house had an over-the-range unit when we moved it. Until we removed it years later, I used it as a cabinet. It was a great place to store bread and other items that my cats think are cat treats. My mom still cannot understand how we manage without one. It is like she did not live half of her years before they were even invented. It is not like I am cooking over an open fire in the yard every day or something. Sheesh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 ugh... I hate gelatin....so so vile. Luckily so did my dad so my mother never made anything with gelatin. Several years ago, I had to buy a collection of books off of Ebay in order to get a single out-of-print cookbook that I wanted. So I had 11 other cookbooks that I did not want and planned to donate. One was a gelatin-based recipe book from the 1960s. There was a deviled egg jello mold recipe that still makes my stomach turn to think about it. It is exactly what it sounds like. And looks exactly how you think it would. I couldn't bring myself to donate that book. It has been making the rounds as a gag gift within my circle of friends ever since. I made sure to put a nice post-it flag on that page so that everyone can share the experience. Seriously.....mustard, mayo, PAPRIKA, and hard boiled eggs.....in JELLO. For proper presentation, it must be sliced like meatloaf so you can see every layer very clearly. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 to be fair on the gallery food . . . . I've had chicken bbq with a basted sauce recipe that included 7up. . . it was pretty good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Ah, but there IS a right way to boil fish! And it's SOOOO good! https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/how-to-throw-a-fish-boil-20150915/ A vat of melted butter to serve is absolutely essential. And a good fish boil is very much a social event here! Probably the only party I’ve ever attended that required a fire truck to be present too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 One thing to remember about cooking things to death, particularly meat, is that people really didn't want to become ill and get brain worms and such. Kind of like ironing sheets. It seems crazy until you have no good way to kill pests. IRoned sheets killed bedbugs? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 IRoned sheets killed bedbugs? I imagine it would kill bugs on the sheets, but nowhere else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) My favorite site for this subject is the Gallery of Regrettable Food. Old cookbooks and snarky comments. :)Treet?Just no. This thread made me go to Amazon and skim through the previews of Peg Bracken's I Hate to Cook book. Still feeling a bit nauseous. ETA I follow the Duggar family (as best I can with no tv). One daughter, living in Central America, remarked that you could only buy whole vegetables and had to cut them yourself. She sounded as though that was a weird custom, found only in second or third world countries. Edited February 21, 2018 by Alessandra 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Several years ago, I had to buy a collection of books off of Ebay in order to get a single out-of-print cookbook that I wanted. So I had 11 other cookbooks that I did not want and planned to donate. One was a gelatin-based recipe book from the 1960s. There was a deviled egg jello mold recipe that still makes my stomach turn to think about it. It is exactly what it sounds like. And looks exactly how you think it would. I couldn't bring myself to donate that book. It has been making the rounds as a gag gift within my circle of friends ever since. I made sure to put a nice post-it flag on that page so that everyone can share the experience. Seriously.....mustard, mayo, PAPRIKA, and hard boiled eggs.....in JELLO. For proper presentation, it must be sliced like meatloaf so you can see every layer very clearly. Eggs in aspic is a classic French dish. But the egg is poached, and aspic is not sweet like jello. Kids and I encountered a jello salad at a dude ranch. I remember explains it and warning them in a whisper not you eat any -- and not your point and laugh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Sounds like my mom exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Now see I think green beans aren't terrible when cooked a long time. There are some dishes that call for it and they are good IMO. Some nice steamed green beans are good too. But asparagus or broccoli?! No... This stuff is never good when cooked to death. Right. I'm kind of a fan of canned green beans, but nothing else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 IRoned sheets killed bedbugs? I think it helped with eggs and large of all kinds that might be on the sheets - fleas, clothes-moths. I don't know where bedbugs lay their eggs but I suspect being ironed with one of those old irons would kill a wayward adult bedbug. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) Right. I'm kind of a fan of canned green beans, but nothing else. I have nostalgia for canned peas. I don't know that I'd say that I like them, but they remind me very strongly of my grandmother. Edited February 21, 2018 by Bluegoat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 We went to my SIL's for Thanksgiving once (ONCE WAS ENOUGH!!!) and she put canned peas on to boil for 20 min. Canned peas are nasty anyway but after 20 min.? Ugh. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 One thing to remember about cooking things to death, particularly meat, is that people really didn't want to become ill and get brain worms and such. Kind of like ironing sheets. It seems crazy until you have no good way to kill pests. I had never thought of that but a well kept home which would include ironing all clothes, towels, sheets, table cloths could potentially kill a lot of pests making the home be less infested than a home without. I always wondered why in the world when they had to do everything by hand and things were so much harder that they were so much more particular than us. Also I remember my grandmother saying the legs of the bed were kept in little dishes of kerosene so the bugs couldn't climb up the bed. They would have to start on the bed. That doesn't help a mattress but I could see how having a couple bites sure beats waking every morning to being covered in them. Hmmm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 That is how my mom cooked it. I hated vegetables growing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 You iron sheets because wrinkled linen is really painful to sleep on. It's not like cotton. I'm sure all the bugs died when you washed the clothes, anyway. As for salads with jello, a properly done dish with aspic is a delight. And if people would just make these dishes with unflavored gelatin it wouldn't be so bad. But noooooooooooo.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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