Today we will be talking about a cookbook called Teen-Time Cooking with Carnation. (1959)
The front cover is simple, with three teens on the front. On closer inspection, one is left wondering, “What are they doing?!” I have had this cookbook for over ten years, and I have apparently never really looked at the picture. Are they putting the apron on or are they taking the apron off of this teenage girl with very long arms? All three of them are a tad creepy, in my opinion.
Opening the book, the inside cover is lined with pretty pink and white stripes. The cover page reads Teen-Time Cooking with Carnation Evaporated Milk by Mary Blake, Home Service Department, Carnation Company, Los Angeles, California. Also pictured is a young woman sitting very daintily in a chair reading a book, this cookbook, we assume, although her cover looks nothing like ours.
Turning the page, the left side lists a table of contents. The copyright states 1959, Carnation Company, and it is printed in U.S.A. There is also a small depiction of a couple shopping for groceries, looking very intently on what I can only suppose must be a can of Carnation.
Table of contents
First rules of the kitchen road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Even dishwashing needn’t be dull! . . . . . . . . . . . 5
There’s a right way to shop, too! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
South of the border noodles and beef . . . . 6
Speedy spaghetti and meat balls . . . . . . . . 6
Chili dogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Beef and cheese spread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Picnic time here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Hamburgers on a stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Bunburgers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Picnic Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Double chocolate brownies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Nothing doing this weekend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Ring around tuna salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Your purse is slim this weekend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Homemade strawberry ice cream . . . . . . . . . 11
Five-minute fudge for the girls . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Planning a party? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Crowd’s coming to your house? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Quick potato salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Supper on a bread slice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Guests stopping by for cake and coffee? . . . . . . . . 15
Last minute chocolate icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
It’s my very last word! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
On the right side is a young woman contemplating her next dinner party, and she’s already in her party dress!
This page says:
“Comes a time when you’ll want to know more about running a household, and most of us start by getting acquainted with the kitchen. It’s never too soon to learn — before you know it, you’ll be in a kitchen of your own!
“There’s more to feeding a family than the delicious aroma of six o’clock dinner or the freshly baked cake when a party’s cooking. Sounds old-fashioned, I know, in these days of ready-prepared foods, but it seems very dreary to spend a whole lifetime opening packages fifteen minutes before mealtime. You can learn to take pride and satisfaction in your cooking. The old saying, ‘Kissing don’t last — cookery do!’ makes a lot of sense!
“Fun and memories are built around good food. And let’s face it — the attractive, popular ones in your crowd have the pep and vigor that start with healthful eating habits, rather than just using vitamin pills!
“Like learning to drive a car, learning to cook has a few ‘rules of the road.’ Get interested in a few facts about kitchens. If you start preparing food with proper methods, the years of cooking for a family will be lots easier — and a lot more fun!”
Pages 4 and 5 are First rules of the kitchen road and Even dishwashing needn’t be dull! In addition, There’s a right way to shop, too! is another of the may tips in this book.
On the right, we see pictured the same drawing of the girl sitting very properly in her chair reading her cookbook. On the left is pictured a young woman putting on her apron, winking at the camera, while the young man takes care of the dishware.
“First rules of the kitchen road
Of course you want to do things your own way! We all do . . . and the kitchen is a one-woman domain. But if you watch the smart homemaker set about her cooking you’ll find she . . .
PUTS on an apron as she goes into the kitchen.
GETS all the ingredients together before beginning to prepare any recipe.
And this really saves time and steps when there’s a dinner to prepare.
CLEANS up after each part of the meal is finished, instead of facing a LARGE
mound of soiled utensils at dishwashing time!
You must start somewhere, so help around the kitchen for a few weeks. It’s dull to peel potatoes, chop nuts for cookies, or clean fruits and vegetables. But it’s a way of becoming acquainted with food preparation gradually.”
“Another thing, you’ll need both hands and both feet all your life. Learn how to use equipment safely! Home accidents occur most often in the kitchen, so . . .
- Chop vegetables and fruits on a wooden board instead of slicing fingers with that sharp knife.
- Put knives back in their proper spot immediately after using them. (And if your kitchen doesn’t have a wooden or magnetic holder, put that on the Christmas list. They’re inexpensive and a lot safer.)
- Read the directions for using small appliances. They were written for your own convenience and safety, you know.
- Have dry hands when you’re working with electrical appliances.
- Wipe up any spots on the kitchen floor immediately. Skids can be painful.”
Our next page:
“Even dishwashing needn’t be dull!
There’s an easy way to do it. You might make it appear easy enough to get some help. Clean up in a flash with an orderly system:
Use a tray to remove soiled plates, glasses and silver from the table. But do avoid a crash at the swinging door!
Rinse glasses and silver. Scrape, rinse and stack china.
Wash glasses and silver first, then dry them. If you are using detergent suds, the plates, cups, saucers and other china may be washed and allowed to drain dry.
Do pots and pans with fresh suds.”
“There’s a right way to shop, too!
Why not begin with good shoppin ghabits? You’ll find yourself buying lots of food in the next few years.
ARRANGE the shoppin glist as your market is laid out. Put produce, fresh dairy products, canned foods in orderly groups.
LIST staples on a pad of paper as you use the last one during the week. check the list each time you shop.
REMEMBER to keep plenty of Carnation Evaporated Milk in the cupboard. You see, no other form of milk has so many uses as Carnation. You (and your brothers and sisters) may have been brought up on a Carnation formula, but it’s also the ideal cooking milk. Just…
Mix it with an equal amount of water when recipes call for milk. (So handy for making hot cocoa and so easy on the milk bill.)
Use it right from the can for the cream pitcher, or in recipes when you want extra special results. (Like the recipes on Pages 6 an 7. Serve any one of them with a green salad and cookies.)
Whip it for frozen desserts and pies, Lower in cost and lower in calories, too!”
Well, that’s everything for the introduction to this cookbook! Would you like to see more? Let me know in the comments!
Cool book! I like the style of the illustrations. I’d be interested in seeing pp. 10 and 15.
Ok! Will put that up.
I love this so much!
Thanks, Cherish!