I'm sure this will not come as a shock to any of you dear readers, but I'm a totally disorganized, irresponsible blogger. I plan out my books for the coming week (although I only started doing that a few weeks ago) but I never seem to factor in what I'm actually going to be doing that day, and so I somehow always end up reading a book that is over 400 pages on the same day when I have a hundred things to do. So, today was a challenging reading today and there were moments when I thought I wasn't going to get done in time. But, the old blogging magic kicked in around early evening and I was able to make it through the book. And from now on there will be no more long books read on days when I have a lot of things to do. I'm going to try a crazy new thing known as consulting my calendar before picking my books for the week . . . just as soon as I figure out where my calendar is.
Today's book, "Fashionable Food takes you on an outrageous trip through the culinary history of America in the twentieth century. Decade by decade, Sylvia Lovegren details the origins - and demise - of such curious gourmet delicacies as Barbecue Bologna, Baked Beans au Glow-Glow, and Tang Pie."
I found today's book very entertaining, in a horrifying, train wreck, I-can't-believe-anyone-ate-something-that-disgusting, kind of way. There were quite a few disgusting food fads in the past, but for your reading pleasure I have narrowed them down to a few of the most disgusting:
- Peanut Butter Tea Sandwich - which are made with peanut butter, ketchup, sweet pickles, white bread, and iceberg lettuce - Say it with me now dear readers, EEEWWW. I'm trying to wrap my mind around the concept that someone actually ate that, but nope, it's just not happening.
- Granola Fondue - which is exactly how it sounds, you take regular fondue and stir granola into it. - Well that makes perfect sense, because every time I try to eat fondue all I can think is, Now if only this tasted crunchy and gritty, then it would be the perfect food.
- Fruit Cocktail-Spam Buffet Party Loaf - made with fruit cocktail, drained (but don't worry, the syrup will be used in the recipe, because it would be gross to leave it out), unflavored gelatin, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, Spam, celery, green olives, Miracle Whip, mustard, and salt) - What a delightful sounding recipe. Who would have ever thought that someone could take Spam, the world's most disgusting food, and make it sound even less appealing. Reading about that recipe made me nostalgic for my Dad's fried Spam sandwiches - at least those just contain Spam and bread.
- Valentine Salad - which contains lettuce, pineapple, cream cheese, guava jelly, white asparagus, pimentos, and French dressing - This is the part of the book where I got pushed to the breaking point, and I just starting muttering under my breath, "I just don't understand. I don't understand at all. How can people live like that?" There are too many good kinds of food in the world to eat stuff like that.
- Banana and Popcorn Salad - before you start to think, "Maybe it's not what it sounds," I can assure you dear readers that it is. Because Banana and Popcorn salad contains banana, lettuce, popcorn, and mayonnaise. - I want to meet the person who invented that. I want to see the sick, demented mind that came out of. And I want to ask them why? Why was that necessary? Why did they feel the need to inflict that kind of trauma on their fellow man? Why did they have to invent a recipe that would give me the shakes every time I pass a banana, lettuce or popcorn from this point on?
And here's your fun fact for the day: Despite containing sugar, which was rationed during World War II, marshmallows were NOT on the rationing list. - Of course what was the point of even having marshmallows around since chocolate was on the rationing list. Is there any point to a marshmallows existence if not to be roasted, put on a graham cracker and smothered with chocolate? I think not.
