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The stress of the Depression era in the US must really have gotten to the housewives... That's all I can assume.

Because there is just no real reason you would impress guests with salads that look like rabbits.

Or sea otters.

Still, a cookbook from the 1940s I got at a rummage sale features these, and more bizarre ideas.

If anybody needs a laugh and would like to check it out, you can connect to all the strangely molded cream cheese, the overly ornate "flower pot" salads, and little used phrases like "tra-la!" here:

thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com/2008/06/whatever-happened-to-baby-greens-or...

Do you think the guests during this time WOULD HAVE BEEN impressed...

Or just a little concerned?

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User Comments

  1. kdawg68
    Oh me oh my!!!! Where did you dig up these gems? Bunny salads? Booze swilling Austrians? Classic!
    1. ThriftShopRomantic
      And it was a whopping quarter! So much funny for a quarter... how I do love weird old thngs.

      Thanks for checking it out Kdawg!
  2. crpitt
    I would be concerned, very concerned!
    1. ThriftShopRomantic
      I start getting concerned when the salad stares at me.
    2. crpitt
      I found that one very disturbing me, it would be okay for a Halloween party
    3. ThriftShopRomantic
      It really would be great for Halloween. That's looking at the glass half full, Claire!
    4. crpitt
      Well it wouldn't be environmentally friendly to just chuck the books in the bin, so you have to find some use for them

      Have you ever attempted any of the recipes?
  3. lulubelleb
    "The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring Tra-La" is from Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado. The cookbook author probably thought this was a clever literary reference.
    1. ThriftShopRomantic
      Lulubelle- Thanks for the insight on that. I know some of the Mikado but wasn't familiar with that line...

      I don't know if knowing they thought they were making a cheeky literary reference makes it more of a relief... or not.
    2. lulubelleb
      You can hear the clip on YouTube, but the video has nothing to do with Mikado. Many, many tra-las.
      www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZORBfLKemZ8
    3. ThriftShopRomantic
      Oh, apparently so.

      Hm, maybe the "tra-la" needs to be brought back. I'm going to try using it in regular situations and see what the reaction is.
  4. G8rbryan
    "The caption tells us:

    This molded chicory crown will add new laurels to your reputation as a hostess."

    LMAO!
    1. ThriftShopRomantic
      Yeah, they were really trying hard there. "Molded chicory crown"...

      Words we JUST don't hear these days much anymore.

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