I love this funny little Women’s Weekly box of recipes from days gone by, and I love the hot cross bun recipe – I make it every easter!
But WHO was it eating all the aspic in 1967? WHY was it so popular
You get lulled into a false sense of security with the delicious chocolate layer sponge and rock buns at the start.
But you still have a fair idea that the “slimmers” section is not going to get anybody excited. Ever.
I like to think I’d eat this now. I am fairly terrified of macaroni pies and anything that looks too dry-noodle-y. I sort of prefer it swimming in sauce and not all moulded and looking at me like that.
but hey… cheese.
I love the colour they’ve chosen to make these prawns look natural. These are some neon-ass prawns. You’ll probably turn into a ninja turtle if you eat them.
and apple? with a pimiento-stuffed olive? why?
oh and parsley. don’t forget the parsley.
always, always, always reminds me of the dinner party death scene in monty python’s the meaning of life.
“how can we all have died at the same time?”
“the salmon mousse.”
I’ve heard bacon makes everything better… but I’m still pretty scared. Days before proscuitto, I guess!
this is pretty cute but I won’t be eating it.
… so many things i want to say about this fish in white sauce business
but we’re family-friendly ’round these parts.
plus i’m too traumatised.
again with the moulded rings! no wonder spinach had a bad name for like, ever.
um.
man, do i miss corned beef. probably the only thing i do miss.
luckily i still have pimiento-stuffed olives out of a jar and funky sandwiches.
and paprika on eggs.
Deep fried bread boxes filled with stuff and prawns! I’ve had prawn toasts in my previous life, and the bread… the deep fried bread… I’m not willing to put myself through such torture ever, ever again.
What a delightful shade of vomit gravy on those brown, sad carcasses!
“I wonder if I deliberately made this photo blurry to save my eyes from the … beef… in … jelly…
*barf*<
But then…
Easter Hot Cross Buns from the 1967 Women’s Weekly Recipe Cards
I made these hot cross buns last easter for my sister, who is a total hot cross bun connoisseur.
I won easter that year.
see?
So gross! Did you know Pip from Meet Me at Mikes was working her way through cooking recipes from the WW box a year or so ago? She managed to find some that looked half decent. My mum used to have some of these cards too but never the whole box.
So i was going to have a second hot cross bun but after seeing these recipes I am surprisingly not hungry any more
Woweee that's an interesting lot. I wonder how many peckish people whipped up a batch of HCB only to get to the end of the card and find out they could only serve them on Good Friday. “Well, we'd better store these away for 6 months”
So,um, the fish in white sauce… you don't have to say it.
I'm also reminded of a parsley joke but will keep your site family friendly and NOT share it 😛
I loved going through this box of recipes as a child and couldn't wait until the day my mum passed this little box of secret recipe cards onto me… until now. I never realised that within the 3 or 4 favourite and well used recipe cards was a bunch of dog food recipes and many many laughs. Thank you for sharing this, i will never quite look at it the same way.
Some of those are equal parts appalling and mesmerising. Thank goodness for hot cross buns.
I LOVE looking at old recipes. How things have changed, thankfully for the better! Maybe our kids will think our food is strange? Hard to imagine what they could make that would be better – unless the way of the world of cooking heads down the Heston Blumenthal pathway!
Oh man, I already think he's strange!
This isn't even half of the bad ones…
Hahaha there is precious little I would actually cook from this adorable box of yesteryear!
Gag, gag, gaggity-gag!
Hahah this made me die laughing, I thought the same thing! Wait! You can't eat those til tomorrow! Or in this case, next year…
I spent 20 minutes swearing at my phone trying to comment… now I forget what I said.
So this is a tribute.
Heh
What a hoot the old recipes are frightfully funny.
'Tinned salmon is social suicide!'
Savoury boxes?
Clams/muscles floating in a fishy white sauce?
I'm leaving before I say ANYTHING inappropriate….x
It didn't make you hungry? Hm. I wonder why!
Dear, it's a Mr Death, he's come about the reaping?
And just plain frightful!
Stupid phone. Anyway… Salmon mousse on your menu this week?
Hi Stacey, just stumbled across your blog via a recommendation from Janelle at Me & Mia. What a wonderful walk down memory lane with those recipe cards. I'm sure my Mum had a set of those as did all Mums in the 70's. Oh, and I remember eating a lot of aspic inspired dishes all served from the obligatory Tupperware mould. (PS Are you the same Stacey on Qld Bloggers?)
Love your blog.
Anne @ Domesblissity xx
You realise now I'll have to watch it again? Love it!
Baaaaahaha. *sucking in a deep breath* Baaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhaahaha.
That jelly beef thing looks horrendous. So, so bad.
The hot cross buns, oh yum!
i effing love vintage food photos. so gross. haha.
yes I am! and aspic…. gross! Love those tupperware moulds though!
haha same. I will be doing that very thing this evening.
Thank goodness there was actually something good stuck in there with the freaky shit!
Dude, I get such a kick out of them. I've photographed all the ugliness in my vintage cookbooks for future gagging x
Hi Stacey, just followed a link to your blog from mummys on the phone. Love the vintage food stuff. I have a set of these cards (they were my mum's) and I remember pouring over them as a child thinking it all looked so exotic. I collect old cookbooks too, but I call the genre “ugly food” LOL!!
oh my gosh, it's SO UGLY! I can't even buy veg cookbooks from earlier than the '90s, because although the recipe sounds good, the pictures are horrific! Welcome aboard the Veggie Mama train 🙂
These are so bad they are good in a weird way!!