Housewife Life

Name: Watergate Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 package JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding; 20 ounces can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained; 1 cup Miniature Marshmallows; 1/2 cup chopped pecans; 1 1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

The 1950’s Housewife Challenge

Chances are you have seen the “Good wife Guide”. This guide originally started as a chain email (remember those?) but it is now more frequently shared on Facebook. There are usually some remarks about how far we’ve come as a society, and then it usually gets torn to shreds about the sexist treatment of women. I am not here to argue about whether a woman belongs in the kitchen or the boardroom, that decision is personal, and honestly, I think a woman belongs wherever she feels the most fulfilled.

This list of the ideal characteristics of a wife has launched many 1950’s Housewife Challenges, women undertake the role of 1950’s super-wife for a brief period of time. I admit I am curious if the soft skills of the 1950’s housewife would have an impact on my marriage, if daily life will run a little smoother in my household if everything is exceptionally tidy, and most of all I am curious will I resent my family’s slobbish tendencies after I spent the majority of my time cleaning?

THE GOOD WIFE’S GUIDE

The following is a viral post that is presented as an excerpt from a 1950’s home economics textbook intended for high school girls, teaching them how to prepare for married life. However, Snopes discredited this claim. While the list may not be an authentic period publication I do believe it to be a relatively accurate reflection of the mainstream vision of a woman’s role in post-war America, and therefore will be using this as a daily guide during my 1950’s Housewife Challenge.

Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal — on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.
Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.
Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.
Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.
Some Don’ts: Don’t greet him with problems or complaints. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.
Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.
Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.
Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.
The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

MY TAKE ON THE 1950’S HOUSEWIFE CHALLENGE

This challenge is not new, in fact, it has been done numerous times by many different bloggers. Some focus on appearance, other’s on relying less on modern conveniences, both are fun and worthy causes!

My desire is perhaps a little more subtle. After the recent American election, there seems to be such hostility, rules of decorum seemingly thrown out the window. I long for the grace and thoughtfulness that the mid-century woman embodied. I will create a haven at home, nurture my family, and socialize the way women in the 1950’s would have. I will be gracious and kind, striving to make everyone around me feel comfortable and liked.

I will also undertake my daily tasks as authentically as possible. The typical family only had one car, which means less impulsive trips into town for me. I will manage the household finances frugally, and provide tasty full meals, complete with dessert DAILY. I will also put forth an effort to bring a little bit of glamor to my appearance (goodbye, yoga pants! ).

Want to follow along with my 1950’s Housewife Challenge? Becoming the ultimate 1950’s housewife seems like a big goal, so I will be undertaking one specific aspect of the Challenge each week, adding habits and traits in subsequent weeks. Follow along on Facebook or Instagram for peaks into my day throughout the week, or sign up to my email list to get my weekly updates delivered directly to your inbox!

Watergate Salad (1975)

Congealed desserts, political scandals, and summer barbecues. Sounds like unlikely bedfellows, but say “Watergate Salad” and all these things come to mind.

In this dish, which even by the loosest definitions should never really be classified as a salad, an instant pistachio pudding packet is combined with crushed pineapple, whipped topping, mini marshmallows and chopped pecans. It’s the kind of pleasantly retro and weirdly addicting dessert that you will find at family get together’s and summer barbecues.

Supposedly, the recipe, originally called Pistachio Pineapple Delight, was created in 1975 by Kraft, but renamed after the political scandal by an unknown journalist trying to drum up interest in the recipe.

Watergate Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This picnic staple is a cool and creamy classic.

Ingredients

1 package JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding
20 ounces can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup Miniature Marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix, the whole can of crushed pineapple (juice and all), the marshmallows, chopped pecans and whipped topping.
Stir well to combine thoroughly. Chill before serving.
Spoon into individual dessert bowls or glasses and top with a dollop of the remaining whipped topping and some chopped pecans.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172

This salad is known by a few monikers, in case you would like to serve it without getting into a political debate at your next family gathering. It is also referred to as Green Goddess, Pistachio Delight, or Shut The Gate Salad, Green Goop, Green Fluff, or Green Stuff. We always referred to it as “The Green Stuff” in my family.

Articles Sited:

Watergate salad from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

20-Minute Bathroom Tidy-Up

Bathroom speed cleaning, I rely on it as part of my daily cleaning routine. With 3 kids (one of which is a boy) being able to quickly and thoroughly clean my bathrooms is important to me. Over the years I have developed a routine to keep my house in order, and a daily speed cleaning session of my bathrooms is an important essential part of my routine to keep my house neat, tidy and company ready.

Every morning after the kids get on the bus, I take an hour and a half to tidy up my bathrooms, and kitchen. This quick tidy works if you have already decluttered and established a storage place for all the goods you store in your bathroom. If you haven’t decluttered yet, go ahead and get that step done first, it will make daily clean up a breeze.

The 20-Minute Bathroom Tidy-Up

Clear off the counters Put away any styling tools, make-up, towels, and products.
Spray toilet, the floor around the toilet, countertops, and sinks with cleaner I use Method Antibacterial bathroom cleaner on these surfaces and soaking is key! The product takes 10 minutes to effectively kill germs and bacteria, and a good soaking helps cut down on the amount of scrubbing needed. While these surfaces are soaking move on to other tasks.
Empty the trash Spray with a disinfectant and replace wastepaper basket liner.
Clean the Mirror and Extras Spray glass cleaner on a microfiber cloth and clean the mirror starting at top and work your way down. I also will wipe any canisters or bottles and other items that we leave out on the counter, and light switches during this time.
Clean the Glass Shower Door I don’t clean my whole shower every day (I use a daily shower cleaner spray) but I do clean the glass shower doors every day, both inside and out, use the same microfiber cloth and glass cleaner that washed the mirrors.
Wipe down the surfaces you sprayed with antibacterial cleaner.
Squirt some bowl cleaner in the toilet bowl and give it a quick swish with a toilet bowl brush. This quick task, when done daily makes a huge difference in the appearance of the toilet area.
Check for other messes that need to be wiped up, these usually include toothpaste on the front of cabinets, and random splatters on walls.
Remove dirty laundry from hamper

This is a very quick clean of the bathroom. I do a deep clean about once a week that takes about an hour. The major difference between my quick clean and deep clean being I scrub the shower and tub, mop my floors instead of just wiping the area around the toilet, and clean my vanity, both inside and out.

What does your daily bathroom routine look like? Mine became this thorough out of necessity when I had kids. Previously, when it came to cleaning surfaces I just wiped everything down with a Clorox disinfecting wipe and swished the toilet with a cleaner.

Keeping the House Clean with Microfiber Cleaning Rags

I’ve recently been taking a good hard look at my grocery budget, and while I consider myself to be somewhat thrifty, I noticed I was spending a significant amount of money on frequent purchases of huge packages of paper towels. Life, is after all, messy. Paper towels are a simple and convenient solution to the daily messes that go along with a family with kids, and pets. But $13 dollars a month (at minimum) for something that would simply end up in the landfill? That just doesn’t seem to make sense.

I slowly started transitioning away from paper towels, I purchased 4 microfiber kitchen towels at the dollar tree and was totally smitten. Not only did the idea of investing once and reusing my clothes appeal to my thrifty side, but I found that microfiber cleans better with little to no additional cleaning solutions. It wasn’t long before I purchased enough microfiber clothes to make up one, small dedicated wash load in my washing machine, but more on that a little later.

Save

I am positive our grandmother’s would have used some sort of cotton rag for cleaning, I have experimented around with different types of cleaning rags, from old shirts and socks to cheap dollar store washclothes, but microfiber is by far my favorite for house cleaning.

Reasons to love microfiber cleaning rags

No lint left behind
No streaks
No paper towels
Reduced need for cleaners
Long use life
Easily cleaned and reused, each microfiber cloth has 100’s uses, I wash mine about twice a week, so I can figure on at least a years worth of use on any given cloth.

I use microfiber cleaning cloths for cleaning just about everything and every surface, I have noticed my housework gets done faster and better. The time spent laundering my microfiber cleaning rags is not significant enough to discourage me from using them. If you are concerned about having to add a couple of more loads of laundry to your wash day routine, don’t worry about it, they dry quickly!

Microfiber cleaning rags are great for dusting, washing windows, washing walls and floors, cleaning toilets (designate a specific color rag to that task, please!) and also for cleaning up everyday spills and messes. One of my favorite uses for microfiber clothes is to fit it onto my Swiffer, it is not a perfect fit, there is quite a bit of overlap, but it is great for picking up dust, dirt, and pet hair.

Using Microfiber in Real Life

Have I convinced you to give it a try yet? Here are a few easy tips that will help you get started.

Purchase enough microfiber clothes to make one, small dedicated wash load in your washing machine. For me, this was about 30 clothes of various sizes. Microfiber doesn’t play well with other types of materials like cotton towels or in mixed loads of jeans and t-shirts. The microscopic fibers that make microfiber so great at cleaning, also collect lint and threads of other materials, it is time-consuming to pick off all the lint, and if left on, the lint renders the cloth less effective for cleaning.
Look for microfiber clothes in the automotive department of super-stores. Larger packages are usually cheaper there.
Buy packs of clothes with different colors. You can designate specific colors for different rooms or tasks. You can pick up a pack of 12 in 3 different colors for around $8 at Walmart.

Laundering Microfiber Cloths

It’s always best to wash microfiber towels on their own, but if you need to run a mixed load make sure it’s only with other non-linting synthetic materials – cotton is one material, in particular, that’s best kept separate from microfiber.
Wash on a cool or warm setting with very little detergent and never use fabric softener.
Once the wash cycle is complete, hang to air-dry or dry in the dryer on a low heat setting in a tumble dryer.
If properly cared for, your microfiber cloths should last over 100 washings. You’ll know when it’s time to replace them because they’ll lose their rough texture and start to feel more like washcloths. When mine have worn down I send them to the hubbies shop where he can use them as grease rags.

The Original Chiquita Banana Bread Recipe (1950)

Banana bread, the ultimate comfort food. The history of banana bread is slightly murky. There are two popular opinions about this bread’s origins, one that suggests that the modern banana bread recipe was developed in corporate kitchens during the midcentury to promote flour and baking soda products. This theory is backed by the fact there was an influx of banana bread promotion in the 1950s in the form of advertisements. While the other theory is quite simply that banana bread is the ingenious creation of thrifty housewives who were making do with all they had.

According to Wikipedia, “Banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder in the 1930s. It appeared in Pillsbury’s 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook, and later gained more acceptance with the release of the original Chiquita Banana’s Recipe Book in 1950.”

Chiquita Brand Bananas worked hard to cultivate a strong relationship with consumers early. Chiquita developed entertaining and effective methods of advertising and promotion. In fact, Chiquita was the first produce brand of any kind to advertise to consumers. In 1944 a lively, and perhaps the most successful jingle to date was produced to educate consumers on eating and storing bananas, along with the jingle the iconic “Miss Chiquita” character was introduced.

Later, Chiquita added recipe booklets to their advertisement and consumer education plan. The release of the original Chiquita Banana’s Recipe Book in 1950, is credited with making banana bread mainstream, but it also offered some creative concoctions for those with an adventurous palate such as ham banana rolls, banana fritters, and banana scallops.

The Original Chiquita Banana Bread Recipe (1950)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

The Original Banana Bread recipe is still just as great today as it was in the 50's.

Ingredients

1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 -3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 -3/4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe CHIQUITA banana, 2 to 3 bananas

Instructions

Beat shortening until creamy and glossy, or 2 minutes at medium speed on electric mixer. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy after each addition. Add eggs and beat until thick and pale lemon in color. Sift dry ingredients; add alternately with bananas; blend thoroughly after each addition.
Grease bottom only of a 4-1/2 x 8-1/2 x 3-inch loaf pan. Turn batter into pan. Bake in 350°F oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean and dry.
Let bread partially cool in pan (20 to 30 minutes) before turning onto rack. Makes 1 full loaf.

Depending on how many over-ripe bananas you have this bread can handle up to 1 & 1/2 cups of mashed bananas, in fact, I prefer it with the larger amount of bananas. If you use really ripe bananas your bread will have plenty of banana flavor, but a little vanilla never hurt anything, You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract which perfectly complements all the banana flavors. Chopped walnuts, or chocolate chips, also make a great addition.

Retro Lime Pineapple Gelatin (1955)

During the 1950s and ’60s, an epidemic of island fever swept the United States. Tiki-themed restaurants, drinks, and decor were all the rage and the height of classy dining and entertaining. Now viewed as decidedly kitsch the Tiki fad became a uniquely American pop culture trend.

The Pineapple appealed to the tropical island-obsessed 1950’s American as it came to symbolize the Hawaiian Islands and Polynesian Culture. At the time pineapple was seen as an exotic fruit and represented far off beaches, and sunny tropical islands.

It wasn’t long before housewives were encouraged by Dole Food Co. to combine their already established love for all things Jello, and the exotic pineapple. By replacing the juice in a can of sliced pineapples with green lime gelatin, and allowing the fruity dessert to set in the can, a jello dessert could be made with relatively little effort. This recipe seems to have been rather popular at the time, in fact, Dole continued publishing this recipe in print ads well into the 60’s.

4 servings

Retro Lime Pineapple Gelatin (1955)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

This fun Jell-O dessert is made by replacing the juice in a can of sliced pineapples with green lime gelatin and allowing the fruity dessert to set in the can. Kids get a kick out of it, and you can't beat the fun retro presentation!

Ingredients

20 ounces Can of Sliced Pineapple
3 ounces Box of Lime Jello
1 cup Boiling Water

Instructions

Open the can of sliced pineapple from the BOTTOM with a can opener. You don’t want to use the top because the newer cans today have a lip around the top edge which will tear your finished jello roll and damage it’s perfect can shaped appearance.
Pour off the liquid from a can of sliced pineapple and discard.
Dissolve a 3oz. box of lime Jello in 1 cup boiling water (you could also use the pineapple juice and water to equal 1 cup liquid)
Pour hot Jello water over pineapple rings in the can.
Chill until set. Run hot water on the sides and bottom of can to loosen. Then cut the bottom of the can and push the mold out. Cut between pineapple slices and serve.

Dole has changed their cans since the 1950s. Now instead of fiddlng around your swing-away can opener, there is a pull tab on the top of the can, that you use to easily open the can. While the new method of opening saves you from digging around in your kitchen drawer of rarely used gadgets, it also exposes a sharp a metal rim on the inside of the mouth of the can, that will tear your finished jello mold and take away from the unique presentation of pineapple slices suspended in lime gelatin in the shape of a tin can, so definitely open your can from the bottom, the pull tab opener will come in handy later when it is time to slide this dessert out of the can.

The end result of this unique combination of jello and canned fruit is surprisingly good. My kids actually really enjoyed all aspects of this dessert. From making it, to sliding it out of the can, and eating it, it definitely has fun factor. And if cranberry jelly can be served cylindrically why not pineapple lime jello?