Recipe cards from the 1970s

It all started with Fluffy Mackerel Pudding.

I was trading war stories with someone (hey, Deri!) about some of the worst recipe titles we'd run across in our careers, and I mentioned a recipe called Crusty Prune Delight. She countered with Fluffy Mackerel Pudding (which won the contest fins down) and pointed me to a website where the aforementioned fish pudding was displayed along with a collection of other hilarious Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974.

The scary photos of the food are enough reason to check out candyboots.com, but the commentary from Wendy McClure, the site's author, really makes the click worthwhile. Wendy has also compiled the cards into a book called The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan. If you laughed at the cards on her website, then you'll find more of the same in the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon. The photo above is from the book, and Wendy's comment on the dish is this:

Sometimes, all the photo stylist can do is use a prop so ugly it can only make the food look better in comparison. Thus, for the Pears That Look Like They've Gotten Sick on Themselves, only the Sludge-Drooling Blowfish will do.

Vacu Vin Party People

Here's an interesting spin on the wine charm: little characters that stick to your glass with a suction cup. The Party People from Vacu Vin come in a set of 12, each with a different shape, color, and name. This would be a good way to really annoy your guests by assigning them one of these characters, whose names (personalities) include Deep, Cuddly, Devilish, Honest, Sneaky and Macho.

You can buy the set of 12 characters for $9 from Vital Wares.

I picked the two whose looks I liked best and it turns out that I'm both Mysterious and Naughty. I'll take that.

My Sister's Potato Salad

[Potato flowers photo by Keith Weller for the Agricultural Research Service]

My sister Megan (she of the home seltzer machine) does not cook. It's not that she doesn't have the palate, because she does, it's that she doesn't have the patience. This, in fact, is the reason that I have always loved her potato salad.

When Megan cuts the potatoes for her potato salad, she does not have the patience to cut them into even little cubes. She cuts them kind of helter-skelter--whatever gets the job done fastest. As a result, when the potatoes cook, some pieces get mushy before the other pieces cook through. The happy by-product of this is that the mushy potatoes blend in with the dressing and make the salad seem extra creamy.

I have made my potato salad this way ever since (Megan, are you grinning?). Of course being the somewhat more methodical cook, I actually use a small baking potato cut small to do the job.

My Sister's Potato Salad
The baking potato is purposely cut smaller so that it will fall apart while the red potatoes stay firm. This contributes a pleasing thickness to the dressing, giving you the sense that you're eating a sinfully rich potato salad. Other health tweaks: no mayonnaise, fewer hard-boiled eggs than a typical potato salad, and green pepper replaces the typical celery for the same crunch but more nutrients.

Salt
2 pounds red potatoes, UNpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small (5 ounces) baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 large eggs, hard-boiled
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely minced Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 green bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
1/3 cup chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the red potatoes, baking potato and garlic until the red potatoes are fork-tender (but not falling apart), 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice over the hot potatoes.
2. Meanwhile, peel and halve the eggs. Transfer two of the yolks to a small bowl and discard the remaining yolk. Coarsely chop the whites and add to the bowl of potatoes.
3. Mash the egg yolks well with a fork. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth. Whisk in the mustard, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil.
4. Add the onion, bell pepper and egg dressing to the potatoes and toss well. Stir to force the little pieces of baking potato to break down and become a part of the dressing. Add the parsley, if using, and toss.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

DRY sodas

What do you drink when it's summer, it's hot, you like sparkling drinks, you don't want beer and you don't like treacly soda pop? How about one of these really cool looking, not-too-sweet drinks from DRY Soda?

DRY sodas are made with all-natural ingredients--including lemongrass and rhubarb--and they are only lightly sweetened. I am seriously not a fan of sugary things, and I was very impressed with DRY.

The idea for DRY started in the kitchen of Sharelle Klaus, who, after going through four pregnancies unable to drink wine with meals, was looking for:

a drink that was simple, all-natural, caffeine-free, low in sugar and...that could complement great food or act as a light refreshment on its own.

She came up with four original flavors and then last year added two more to the line. You can now get lavender, juniper berry, vanilla, kumquat, lemongrass and rhubarb. Even though the flavors are great, I want to own these just for the beautiful bottles.

You can buy the soda online (though frankly that seems a little silly), but you can also check out the store locator.

Like a hamster habitat for liquids

Seriously, what's not to love here, especially if you're drinking a Scorpion with a friend? Actually, especially if you're sharing a second Scorpion with a friend. Or to put a more responsible and parental spin on this, what better way to get your kids to drink milk?

This DIY Drinking Strawz kit comes with 44 components that you can configure however you choose. This gives you the option of creating a branch off the main straw so that two people can share a drink—though I'm having a little trouble grasping the physics of that, but maybe you take turns sucking.

In the kit are twelve 5-inch pieces, twelve 3-inch pieces, and 20 flexible connectors, all for $10 from Think Geek. If you want to create a giant masterpiece straw, you get a break for buying more than one kit: $19 for two, $25 for three.

Meatball grill basket

This is one of those products that makes the rounds of the internet in a heartbeat. It must be because of the lovability of meatballs combined with the lovability of the grill. Makes you wonder why someone didn't come up with this sooner.

The long-handled, hinged, stainless steel basket has 12 little meatball-shaped holes. Fill the holes with a meat (or vegetable) mixture and place over the grill, flipping it to get both sides. The meatball cups are performated so fat can cook off. It's $50 from Williams-Sonoma.