Then and Now - A Cook Book's Guide

Today I found my mothers cook book…. This cook book in particular she first started using when she was a newly wed.
Through-out the book, at first glance, it looks similar to my own; A tattered old exercise book filled with news paper clippings of recipes that interest me, or some unreadable notes scribbled on a piece of note paper that somehow resembles a recipe… in mums case, I have found out that it is much more than that… too bad some of the notes is in her own personal short-hand… that even she has found hard to decifer! There are even letters from her friends, my Grandma and Nana and her Aunties which include old family recipes and the origins of once of which they came. (A bakers treasure trove indeed!)
Upon opening this book …that I have remembered from my childhood every time Mum decided to make play dough for us girls, or her special pancakes for lunch… It is awkwardly bulky, clippings and notes falling out; once pasted within the pages neatly, are now detached and escape to float down like paper butterflies to the kitchen floor. I find that in the beginning there is a list of sorts – this is her “shopping budget list”. I admit, I have one of my own on my computer on a spreadsheet and shows the price of the items I usually buy or things that I may need if I am making a specific meal but usually don’t buy. When I took a casual glance at the list and prices listed next to hers though – I was gobsmacked to begin with, by the end of my list I was cursing and shaking my head at how much certain products and ordinary items on a Shopping list USED to be compaired to now!
THEN
Bacon: $2.10 (1kg)
Bread: $0.89
Butter: $0.89 (500g)
Cabbage: $0.39 (whole)
Cheese: $2.78 (1kg)
Cocacola: $.58 (1 litre bottle)
Dettol: $1.87
Eggs: $1.33 (1 doz)
Glad Wrap: $0.57
Honey: $1.39
Janola: $0.85 (bleach)
Milk: $0.21 (1 litre)
Salt: $0.55
NOW
Bacon: $15.99 ( middle bacon 1kg)
Bread: $4.50 (average brown bread)
Butter: $5.99 (500g)
Cabbage: $4.98
Cheese: $9.99 (1kg – though I have seen it at $15.99 1kg!)
Cocacola: $1.99 (1.5ltr bottle)
Dettol: $10.69 (750ml)
Eggs: $3.89 (1 doz)
Glad Wrap: $4.99
Honey: $5.95 – $18.96 (depending on quality and where you get it from!)
Janola: $2.65
Milk: $2.50 (litre)
Salt: $1.28
Keeping in mind that this cook book was started in 1980 - 30 years ago, it is still a shock at how much prices can change over less than half a century… On the other hand, the things that haven’t changed in price too much are cat food, washing powder and ice-cream…
One other thing that I also found was a list titled “Happenings” – reading down the list and knowing my Mum – I had to have a little bit of a giggle… I will try to put as much of her personality and a few notes of my own with the list as I can…
HAPPENINGS
Date: 1ist July, 1981

• Bought bathroom stool $24.95
• Bought rug for fire place $12.95
• Bought cane watering can $6.95 also fern to go in cane watering can – $2.95
• Bought new Reach tooth brush $1.52 (and it was Yellow!!!!!!)

Date: 8th July, 1981

• Bought Para Rubber Settee for Sunroom $3.80 (Yes – the decimal point was meant to go there… it was actually $380.00 but this is how mum wrote it – at first glance, I thought it was a pretty good price for a couch – even from good old Para Rubber!)
• Bought curtains for house $98.99

Date: 13th July, 1981

• Ross (my Dad) bought 2 Ladders at Levenes $54.95 (and yes, he still has them, 30 years on… can’t say the same for Levenes…)

Date: 7th August, 1981

• Ross bought lamp shade for our bedroom $20.00

Date: 13th August, 1981

• Bought chest of tables (copper tops) at Farmers $82.00

Date: 18th August, 1981

• Waterbed arrived from Captain Snooze $1,150.00 (with a name like that you know you’ll sleep well!)
• Traded in mattress and base for $383.00

Date: Xmas 1983

• Turned old lounge into bedroom and moved into bedroom 1st Jan, 1984.
• Hole in mattress (that would have made their bed into a swimming pool I bet!)
• Pulled down wall between sunroom & bedroom to make lounge and finished bathroom.

Date: May, 1984

• Finished old bedroom for Lisa (my older sister)

Date: September, 1984

• About to start kitchen, but haven’t finished hall yet.

Date: November, 1984

• Put in Kitchen units, not far to go now… Hopefully! (about this time, was when my mum found out she was pregnant with me, so I guess after that… the renovation to their house was put on the back burner… when I was two-year old I think was when they put in a spa bath and finally finished the kitchen!)

NB: Mum and Dad still have the bathroom stool, even though it is missing a lid – whenever we had guests, one of us girls would sit on it as an extra seat. I don’t remember the rug, but I DO remember the Cane watering can and the fern… which got replaced several times because of its tendency to turn brown after a little neglect…
There is so much more within the pages of my mums book, but some secrets (and recipes) you must keep to yourself…and for your mum!
For now, until the next treasure I find… Cheerio…
Toni.

Oranges and Lemons

Isn't it funny how, in life when you have a problem there are a lot of quotes that are used to describe your situation or a solution to your problems, that are in relation to food?

Things go "Pear shaped", "Sunnyside up", "Life's a lemon", "You are what you eat", "He who comes first - eats first", "Everything in moderation - including moderation!"

There have even been story's made up through the ages including food, fruit and veges to help the story along or put a symbolic meaning behind a certain food.

I have always been one to try to "look on the bright side of life" de do de do de do do do do do do
But when you always seem to be doing the wrong thing, (by other peoples standards), saying the wrong words and no matter how hard you try - everything goes pear shaped -In more ways then one - You tend to find out that you have more lemons than that of which you bargained for...
My health has not been the greatest for sometime now, after feeling like I've lost energy, started to feel just that little bit better then WHAM I'm hit with a whole truck full of lemons! This truck for me I called it the Chronic Fatigue truck. Yup, that's ME - Myalgic Encephalopathy - not "me, myself and I".... though when you have a Chronic Illness you can quite easily be accused of thinking about the former. But I digress...
I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue/ME in September last year. Since then, I have had to pull out of uni, quit dancing altogether and take extended sick leave from work until further notice. "Woe is me" or "Oh Diddums!"
No. I am not feeling sorry for myself, on the contrary - I am doing my best at striving to get back on my own two feet, I have consulted Dr's, specialists and even doing my own research on the matter. I even started up a conversation thread online so that others like me can swap stories, share their good days and bad days with other people that are going through or have been through the same thing as this - what is working for them, and what is not working for them... I feel that even though I might be at a stalemate right now, and only the halfway though the truck load of lemons, (I've managed to make some Iced Tea and Lemon honey with mine so far) I am at least looking for something to help me get back to work, back to the dance floor and (hopefully) eventually back to uni so that I can put on that cool black cape with the silky hood and wicked as cap... representing my favourite colour - ORANGE!
I plan to, (on my good days mind) use this blog as an outlet to joke about my trials, diets, exercise plans and some or my interesting or not so interesting days of what it is like to try to live life and work through this journey called Chronic Fatigue.

So in closing - when it comes down to the difference between lemons to make lemonade (when you actually need lemonades to make lemonade - figures!) or an orange tree that you can sing to that grows and brightens up your life I would rather have an orange tree any old day!