Superwomen!

So I was reviewing the inventory in my shops, and, as usual, got totally distracted by flipping through the pages of the books in my Etsy bookstore. I can spend hours just cracking them open, staring at pictures where they exist, and scanning passages. I was particularly absorbed by the growing Wonder Woman comic book inventory in the shop. Clearly I have never gotten over the fascination with female super heroes that I had when I was growing up in the 1970s.




Wonder Woman No. 297 1982 DC Comics Thunder on the Wind





Wonder Woman 1977 Pizza Hut Collector's Edition No. 62

I loved (and still love) Wonder Woman—her strength, her independence, her total fierceness! I grew up in a family of strong women. My grandmother was a single mother (her husband died when her oldest child was only 7), and my mom struggled to work and raise my two siblings and me at a time when my dad was having all kinds of Vietnam-related issues. Watching Wonder Woman on TV was my chance to see another strong woman who didn’t come home tired at the end of every day, and who didn’t have to face the stresses that I now understand my mother did.




The Bionic Woman was another huge favorite of mine. More than anything, I wanted to be that strong. I wanted to be able to rip phone books in half. I was a pretty quiet, insecure child—maybe it was exactly those qualities that made me want to be the woman who could chase bad guys and rescue people.

I admit that I don’t watch a whole lot of TV these days, but of what I’ve seen there haven’t been many of these kinds of women heroes recently. (And I admit that I'm focused on the sci-fi genre.) There was, of course, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sydney (played by Jennifer Garner) in Alias, and there was the Kara Thrace (Starbuck) in the recent version of Battlestar Galactica, but what other great, strong female characters are on TV now? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Definitely not gold!

I started thinking again about the idea of alchemy when I came across a box full of vintage cookbooks at a yard sale recently. This collection is mostly from the 1960s, and one in particular is full of those totally unappetizing photos that somehow populated cookbooks of that era. This book focuses on the many uses for canned shrimp.





It gets me thinking that there are some things that just can't be transformed.

One of my favorite recipes in the books is for something called Jellied Tuna (if there are two words that shouldn't be in the same sentence, I'm pretty sure jellied and tuna are those!). Wanna try it?

Jellied Tuna

3 eggs, separated
1.5 tsp dry mustard
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 6 oz. can of tuna, drained & flaked
3/4 cup of celery
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of paprika
6 tbsp of lemon juice
6 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Beat egg yolks with salt, mustard, and paprika. Add milk and lemon juice. Cook in double boiler until it thickens, stirring constantly. Soften gelatin in cold water. Add to hot mixture. Chill mixture until it begins to jell. Add tuna, pepper, and celery. Fold in mayonnaise, then egg whites which have been beaten stiff but not dry. Pour tuna over aspic, chill for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, unmold on cold platter and garnish. Makes 8-10 servings.

So I'm curious: what's the most interesting/unusual/weird recipe you've run across in your explorations of vintage cookbooks and recipes?