You can't tell me this retro kitchen
don't take you back to "I Dream of Jeannie" wreaking havoc on Major Nelson. That's if Major Nelson would let Jeannie blink a pink designer kitchen into his Coco Beach home?
Charming Gidget Jones here, your iCafe Woman Moderne server extraordinaire at your service. Kiki sends her miracles and blessings.
You had to know we were heading in this direction after our last text-webisode was devoted to childhood comfort food. Nobody asked me what mine was. Okay, since you asked ... my favorite was liver and onions. What's with the sour face, you've got yours ... I've got mine.
Since most of us had kitchens that didn't look like a House Beautiful magazine spread, the next one may crank up your memory juices. Just add splattered spaghetti sauce on the cabinets and jelly stains on the counter. There you go, it came back. I knew it would.
Or maybe this one takes you back.
Don't you miss those lovely mustard and avocado appliances? Some of you are still trying to get rid of them. You're not alone.
Everyday I sneer at my white GE 1950s stove. Unfortunately, I live by the "if it ain't broke and it doesn't burn up the food ... don't buy another one ... philosophy. I was counting on it biting the dust years ago, just from my adventure cooking alone. Fat chance.
I grew up in a 1950s unfitted kitchen in a house that was a close kin to Sanford and Son. That is still a 1950's unfitted kitchen today. (It's now my oldest brother's bachelor pad.)
My Dad worked the 3 to 11 shift for the Sanitation department, and by day ran his own candy vending business, which made me a hit with neighborhood kids. He kept a gumball and peanut machine in front of our house until we closed the blinds for the night.
At dinnertime, the seven of us elbowed each other, squeezed around a table almost identical to the one below. Ours was of the sunshine yellow and sky blue formica/vinyl design. Lovely.
It's a good thing we didn't have Swiss steak on a regular basis, somebody would've suffered an injury. It was tight, but fun. Us kids would wolf down our mashed potatoes and peas, so we'd have time to watch our favorite television shows before bedtime.
Since Women's Lib wasn't observed in my household, my sister and I were stuck washing the dishes in record time, that's if we didn't get into a shouting match over whose turn it was to wash. Those fights usually cut our television viewing time by 75%.
Ah, hello old friends ... I remember scrubbing you with Brillo pads, but not in these cool colors. That's right, they're the New Millennium retro cool versions. But wait, is that a Corning ware frying pan in the ever popular wildflower design. It is.
Remember those aluminum tumblers in a rainbow of colors?
If you went inside every row house on my block during the "Hawaii Five-O" and "All in the Family" era, you'd find a Corning ware with wildflowers for Shake 'n Bake chicken, a punch bowl set often swimming with Sherbet Punch for pantry parties or block meetings; and of course, the standard TV trays stacked in homes across America.
You'd have to keep from kicking over those aluminum cups filled with Coca Cola, found on more than a few front stoops on a hot summer night in the City. And every screened window had a fan whirling away.
Do you have a favorite retro style kitchen memory. Do dish!
Oh, I almost forgot, here's a glimpse into my dream kitchen. I'm a modern design kind of diva.
I'm digging those Aga ranges.
Toodles!
