CRIMES AGAINST VEGETABLES

Culinary harridan from way back- Fanny Cradock & her highly opinionated notions of vegetable cookery was commissioned by the Gas Board in 1959 for a book(s) on vegetable cookery 'MR THERM'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF VEGETABLE COOKERY' was the result.

'TOUGH LOVE' was possibly the approach running through Fannys head, as in the introduction she declares: 'In general, the British housewife's approach to vegetable cookery is so extraordinarily casual & so fundamentally slap-dash that it could well be summarised Assault on Good Vegetables'.
Fanny does have a point, Britain didnt have a brilliant reputation for vegetable cuisine!
However her nagging style, convoluted methods & bizarre combinations contributed to another couple of decades of VEGI-OUTRAGES!
Here are some colour plates from the book - enjoy! (your veggies)

Top: For the beetroot connoisseur: Whole Beets, Sliced Beets, Beetroot Wedges & Diced
Beetroot! Photographed on a green towel.
Bottom: Cold, cream cheese (Fanny says 'make your own'!) Stuffed Beetroots with tinned
peas & lemon twists..on a blue towel.

    Top: More lemon! More peas! Raw mushrooms look on in horror!
    Bottom: Turnips stuffed with overcooked spinach, served with tinned mixed veg &
    little mounds of grated veg....GAS!

Fanny loves that Spinach.....Its tinned by the way...flavoured with cinnamon!

Top: Green beans restrained by perky pasta.
Bottom: Broccoli with a dip made from..you guessed it - SPINACH! Pink towel in overdrive!

Fanny Cradock loved a piping bag....her miscellaneous extrusions grace 6 platters, below:
jacket potatoes stuffed with GASP.....LEFTOVER MEAT!

This is a cucumber...this is cucumber when Fanny dips it in batter & deep fries it....ewww!

Top: Oh Dear! Gassy sprouts with mushrooms & a rice,egg & sultana ring served in a comode seat?
Bottom: Blood transfusion celery.

The Stuffed Tomatoes were served with whole tomatoes & tomato salad..& those pesky lemon slices.
Tinned mixed veg in a jellied mayonnaise ring...piped mash garnish....
More stuffed turnips...mmmm piped green coloured mash garnish...
Loadsaveg...

Lastly Fanny's corned beef hash, included here because she makes it with cabbage &
excessive amount of parsley!
Interested in Fanny Cradock?....Fascinating story....just Google her name....loadsa stuff on there.
Theres a couple of 'Fannys' on Twitter or you could try www.fannycradock.com
Yes! I did consider calling this post 'May all your vegetables look like Fannys'!

AN OLD FASHIONED EASTER?

Easter Holidays are coming! Bored kids, chocolate stains, Easter Bunny vs Jesus...
Why not catch 'EASTER FEVER' & dress it up with various retro 'happenings'.
To begin, a downloadable game to keep the kids quiet from traditional Polish chocolatiers Cadburys..make some counters from excessive Easter egg packaging!

Suprise the family with an Easter themed breakfast! Tell the kids its a
'Limited Edition' breakfast if theyre a little uneasy that the usual half empty
box of Coco Pops isnt present!

Those 'Jiffy Hot Cross Buns' dont look very 'Jiffy' all that involved yeast

stuff...heres a quick non yeast risen Hot Cross bun from a 30's(?) Bero

flour cookbook....get the girl children only doing these buns for a real

retro touch....

It doesnt specify but the flour is self raising flour & you could replace the lard

(AKA Pig fat...see 'Bringing Home The Bacon' below) with butter or marg....

Youre on a roll now....what about some Easter Bonnet Biscuits (YOUWHAT?)

'No little girl will be able to resist these coloured biscuits that look like
hats' hmmmm...Tell you what... just get out the house!..Happy Easter!

Dont forget click on each of the images for a larger view!

BRINGING HOME THE BACON

Kids today apparently, do not know where the meat they are eating comes from...
Its pretty funny at school, at the Lunch counter, the kids say 'CAN I HAVE THE CHICKEN?'
I say 'YES' & serve them a pork chop!..ha ha! Perhaps this picture book could help?



Yummy yummy yummy I got pig in my tummy! Apologies to my veggie pals!

MANCHESTER TART

Its a cold but very sunny day, the rays show off the ghastly dirt lurking in my kitchen.
Ive decided to do some Spring cleaning...heres some Flash!
I will just have a quick coffee....mmmm that really hits the spot!
The thought of cleaning the kitchen is almost too much to bear....I put the Flash back in a cupboard.
Oh! I had forgotten about this....a cookbook..circa 1950's...from KENDAL MILNE the top Manchester department store...I must have shoved it in the cupboard during an earlier cleaning intention!

I have a crazy idea that I want to make a MANCHESTER TART.

All my years in this city & I never ate one. I have some guests coming to eat soon...

Is it really from Manchester? Theres bound to be a recipe in here....

No... there isnt! I'll look on the net.

There are loads of results. All different.

Basically Manchester Tart is a sweet pastry case, raspberry jam, bananas (???)

Birds custard & toasted coconut....am I right? 

Had a suspicion that Manchester Tart had evolved from leftover jam, custard & pastry, cobbled together by a budget concious dinner lady.

But no! It appears to have developed from Manchester Pudding, a 19th Century, egg custard, breadcrumb, almond & jam tart - see www.chorltonfringe.com/manctart.html also on this site a recipe for Manchester Cake..and Manchester Tart....but this one has a meringue topping & uses puff pastry, hmmm.. not quite right....

Heres another one using puff pastry & contains caramelized bananas & dark rum...

On www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes  James Martins Manctart recipe has fresh raspberries, vanilla pod custard & double cream...veerrry celeb chef & not really in keeping with the tarts cut price charm.

Although James uses ready made pastry...the preparation time is 30 mins to 1 hour...also 30 mins to 1 hour cooking time....Jeeez! Cant be bothered now....I think I'd rather get on with the cleaning!

I get the Flash out again.....

I have only got a left rubber glove...also I still dont have a pud for my dinner guests.

Have been thinking about Trifle...so decide to extend the Manchester theme...

MANCHESTER TRIFLE

30 mins to 1 hour prep' time begone! this takes 10 mins MAX!

Very nice it was too.....one of my guests told me Manchester Tart served with Boddingtons ice cream was on the menu at City Cafe at Mint Hotel in Manchester Piccadilly....didnt sound too nice but I expect it tasted gorgeous....though, I must say some of their other dessert components 'sea salt chocolate soil' & 'parsnip icecream' didnt sound that appetizing either!

www.minthotel.com

Younger readers or out of towners may say 'Top Manchester department store Kendal Milne? What?'

Well its now House of Fraser on Deansgate though I suspect it will always be 'KENDALS' to Mancunians & before the arrival of showy Southern stores Harvey Nichols & Selfridges, Kendals was THE Manchester department store.

www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Flash! a- ah- saviour of the universe..... http://flashcleaner.co.uk

 

WOOLWORTHS - SHOPPING WITH MOTHER

WOOLWORTHS or WOOLIES as it was affectionately known was a British institution, a hundred-ish years on the High street. People were shocked with the news that the familiar red fascia would disappear from shopping areas all over the land. Many had not been in a Woolies for years but it was a sense of loss of a name we had grown up with, also a lot of people, as they picked & mixed for the last time had no idea Woolworths was actually an American institution grown from one sucessful discount store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the heart of Amish country by former New York general store stock boy Frank Winfield Woolworth.

The Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway New York City

Thinking of doing some shopping related Clipcanteen posts after Christmas, one of the first things that crossed my mind was Woolworths! Growing up in the tiny West Cumberland town of Maryport there were two 'big' stores - The Co-op & Woolies, shopping with Mam in the dusty, run down Co-op with is doddery sales ladies & monotonous merchandise- I almost lost the will to live! But then Mam grabs my hand & we are off up Senhouse street to Woolies! Hurray! Big red letters F.W.WOOLWORTH & Co. become visible across the street & we push open the familiar wooden swing doors, Mam tells me she will meet me back here at the entrance in 20 minutes...Fantastic! The sweets & chocolate counter goes on forever! A huge toy counter with toys all year round (they only had toys in the Christmas run up at the Co-op) Friendly sales ladies behind wooden counters, exciting displays, they even made gardening stuff look exciting! 20 mins later my pocket money is gone & we head home & I am looking forward to my next Woolies expedition!

One day during a library visit I see a photo of The Woolworth Building in New York, I dont put 2 + 2 together at first, but much later realise that when i'm buying a war comic in the Maryport store, another boy is buying the same comic in a similar store thousands of miles across the Atlantic....WOW!

The Woolworth story is remarkably interesting for an everyday variety store chain - vast wealth for Frank Winfield Woolworth,The Woolworth Building a huge neo-Gothic skyscraper HQ that when first built was the tallest building in the world-Frank paying for the whole thing in cash (13.5 million dollars!) Winfield Hall, a vast 62 room mansion & estate on Long Island, one of his three daughters committed suicide, Franks granddaughter & Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton had a famously tragic life....Frank Woolworth died in 1919 aged 66, the Woolworth 5&10 cents store ( 3pence & 6pence in Britain ) format became a retail phenomenon.

Frank Woolworth (& brother?) outside the Lancaster, Pennsylvania shop.

Woolworths in the USA went into decline in the seventies & eighties & would eventually close all its stores there & in Canada. In Britain it relinquished control of its stores to a variety of different owners.

Things were never really the same again...Now Woolworths is an pleasant memory & I present some images which I love-American stores-familiar looking but in an unexpected (but fitting) location.

Left corner of Central Avenue, Alberquerque New Mexico. (1940's)

Same store different view. Today the building is still there but hosts a restaurant.

Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Same store, same street, the fifties. Currently the corner is being redeveloped.

Woolworths store on State Street, Chicago in the sixties...today U.S department store Nordstrom & Swedish fashion shop H&M occupy the space.

Phoenix, Arizona Main shopping drag in the forties.

West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee.

WOOLWORTH COFFEE - ALWAYS GOOD! Fifties Lunch counter menu......I first heard about the demise of Woolworths - reading the paper, enjoying a 'Full English', OJ & coffee, in the upstairs restaurant at Ashton under Lyne Woolworths....was stunned! I always hoped for a Woolworths rebirth!

Woolworths in America hoped for a rebirth too, here they try a sixties modern image - cool blue replaces the traditional red & gold,a lot of city centre stores were closed & more suburban mall stores like this one in Minnesota were tried.

Small town, Main Street sixties store.

The history of Woolworths is well documented in lots of places on the net -  both American Woolworths &
British Woolworths - one of the best is - http://www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk/
Take a look at Dorothy Whitworths collection of Woolworth postcards - www.whitworthfamily.org/woolworths.htm  In fact the whole of the Whitworth family website is fascinating!

Winfield Hall on Long Island NewYork, The Woolworth Estate - http://www.oldlongisland.com/search/label/Woolworth  is a great site, loads of amazing pics & some video tours.

The Woolworth Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx.

Whatever happened to the F.W.WOOLWORTH Co.? Its a long story, but the company is still selling across the world - its now called FOOTLOCKER...It still had its HQ in the Woolworth building, but in 1998 sold it & closed its branches on Broadway street level.

In the UK the Woolworth name survives online only http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ Its owned today by Shop Direct Group AKA Littlewoods! (whodathoughtit?) You can though, still pick & mix & fizzy dummies & rosie apples are still available - Fab!

SHOPPING WITH MOTHER

WHOOHOO! We are going shopping! Ive got 8/- saved up & my Nana gave me a half a crown yesterday...Im going to blow the lot on Matchbox cars, a Green Lantern 80 page special, Thunderbirds sweet cigarettes & a whole load of Black Jacks....cannot wait! Right im dressed & smart (but not cool!), my crew cut is combed through with Vitalis & my Mam has done that thing with spit & a hanky.....Mams looking for her purse now, but finally we are out the door & heading for the bus stop & the Cumberland Bus to town...
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* CLIPCANTEEN COMMERCIAL BREAK *

BLACK JACKS & FRUIT SALADS - 4 FOR A PENNY OR FORTY EIGHT FOR A 1/-!
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MMMMM! DO YOU LIKE SWEETS WITH BLACK BITS? MAYBE YELLOW & PINK COCONUT...BLUE HUNDREDS & THOUSANDS?...MMMM! THANKS BERTIE.......

* WE NOW RESUME OUR NORMAL SERVICE *

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Mams telling me she'll get me some luncheon meat & Birds Instant Whip for tea, I am almost delirious with joy! As we near the bus shelter....CATASTROPHE!!!! THE BUS GOES SAILING PAST! WEVE MISSED IT! & MISSED SHOPPING FOR ITS HALF DAY CLOSING IN TOWN! NOOOOO!!!

 

boriiiiing! can we go to the cake shop next mother?

Of course, we went shopping again another day & all those treats were finally mine!

Anyway, I hope you're not all thinking that shopping ( in my opinion ) was much better in those golden childhood days...GOD NO WAY! Didnt you get the allegory? As well as the dreaded half day closing, most shops were closed by 5.30, shut on sunday, national chains were pretty dull & independent shops sold only one type of product so you were obliged to trek around town for ages! Also changing rooms were not that common ( Marks & Spencer!!!!!) so you had to take home your purchase to try it on, or use a draughty, smelly toilet cubicle....dear me! That put me off clothes shopping for the rest of my life!

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* CLIPCANTEEN COMMERCIAL BREAK *

WHAT? IT STANDS FOR 'COATS & 'ATS' ????

* WE NOW RESUME OUR NORMAL SERVICE *

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2012...Shopping isnt really in great shape, chains going out of business, vacant high street shops, the same types of merchandise ranges....no real risk taking & online shopping getting some of the blame...

Although Im interested in shopping as social history, the thought of going shopping makes me feel sick!

SHOPPING I DO LIKE :                                                                          

Charity shops                                                                                                                   

2nd hand bookshops                                                                                               

M&S Foods                                                                                                             

Flea markets                                                                                                                  

Delicatessen

Jumble sales

Amazon

Drunken shopping (well ok just merry!)

National Trust plant sales (God Im getting old!)

Comic fairs

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SHOPPING I DONT LIKE:

Clothes shops

Electrical goods

M&S Everything else (other than food)

Market makeovers

Self-conscious delicatessen

Bad jumble sales

E-bay

Phone shops

National Trust gift shops

Saturday shopping

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                                    errrr....like, no you havent.............

So shopping is different things to different people....I think in the future chain stores will come & go with greater regularity & will never achieve the customer loyalty they had in the past, shopping areas will shrink.

Some towns may well lose their central shopping district like many communities in America. There will always be a place for the well run & imagination grabbing independent shops, & duh! online shopping will rise & rise...maybe an internet / high street hybrid shop will emerge... & CLIPCANTEEN will do a few more shopping posts for your enjoyment!

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LOST SHOPPING NAMES

As a kid, all the major retailers had a very different own brand name...why?

Were they ashamed of their original names? Do you remember any of these?

WOOLWORTHS - WINFIELD

BRITISH HOME STORES - PROVA

MARKS & SPENCER - ST.MICHAEL

LITTLEWOODS - KEYNOTE

ASDA - ASDALE

CO-OP - WHEATSHEAF

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HAPPY 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! Had a great Christmas, heres what I had for Christmas lunch...RESPECT to mine host Mark 'Mr Grumpy' Evans for his hospitality, culinary excess & his Aunt Bessie too!