Shrimp on Jello

Thanks to my newly aquired $40 scanner, I can share with you the minutiae of intresting cultural artifacts that thrill me to the core.

On a recent trip to Village Des Valeurs, I was perusing through 20-year-old microwave cook books when I happened upon this gem of retro cuisine. I've watched a lot of Food Network but rarely gave much thought to how modern food can be utterly ephemeral. Then I opened the aging pages of The Better Homes and Gardens Encyclopedia of Cooking, Volume One: Abalone to Bannock, and it forced me to realize how episodic the North American palate has been.

This edition of the "encyclopedia" was published in 1970. Elvis Presley was in a jumpsuit, US troops were in Cambodia, and motorists were burning to death in the new Ford Pinto. The food fits perfectly within that historical context.

It was the culinary era of deviled ham and cocktail weiners. Adding MSG to food made it "Oriental". And most importantly, food of almost any sort could be reduced to a semi-liquid form, mixed with gelatin, and poured into a mold. There are many different molds, lots and lots and lots of them, providing "homemakers" with a creative outlet, a way to strictly control the form and change it into something presumably more beautiful than the food itself. Reshaping food was also functional. It's much easier to eat a salmon party log, for example, than pick over a fillet while standing around sipping cocktails with the neighbours.

I could really go on forever, but seeing as how it's Sunday and I'm a bit hungover, I'll conclude with a couple items I really can't leave out. Both involve gratuitous use of bacon. And I'm sure one would go excellently with the other. I present to you bacon butter, an excellent spread for a few hearty Bacon Big Boys.

Bon Appetit!

Hasid Watch

The kosher dep beneath my house has all sorts of heimeshe treats for the Hasids in my neighbourhood. Only recently did I manage to get my hands on this golden piece of Hasidic kitsch, Rabbi trading cards! The New Gedolim Album, out of Brooklyn, are in the style of the O-Pee-Chee stickers I remember from the 90s. One buys an album and places the corresponding sticker in its appropriate place until the entire collection is complete. Four in each $1 pack. Collect all 300 in the series!

(Click image to enlarge.)

Toronto < Montreal

Took a trip to Toronto over the long weekend. It's a cool Canadian city, with better government run liquor stores than Quebec and food that rivals Montreal's. Oh yeah, and it has that amazing sculpture to the left.
But something about it makes me appreciate Montreal all the more when I come back.

Sometimes dreams come true

In reference to an earlier post, this new pen holder is now sitting proudly on my desk. I strongly advise you check out the live stream for Classic Country KSJB!