Maybe I'm super-cynical, but any time someone invites me to try a new dish by saying "It is so good," I immediately wonder how bad the food must be. If the eater (or especially the cook!) feels compelled to emphasize just how great that lump on the serving dish is supposed to be, I imagine their solicitousness means the cook just tried to wipe the dirt off after the platter fell on the floor or that the recipe was a handy way to use up a can of expired sauerkraut. Of course that means I am immediately suspicious of Better Homes & Gardens So-Good Meals (1963).
What might I add to a "so-good" meal as winter begins to hint at giving way to spring? Here is Better Homes & Gardens' helpful suggestion:
Winter Garden Loaf! Those are three words that I honestly would not expect together.... Now I want to look for "Summer Maple Mold" or "Autumn Rhubarb Stir-Fry."
If a lemon gelatin and vinegar mold full of canned green beans and other assorted veggies (Cauliflower! Radishes! Green onions!) is meant to make one think of spring, then I can only think of the recipe as aversion therapy. Rather than making spring (and warmer temps and flowers and light) feel just a bit closer, the intent seems to be to make spring seem bad enough that it's not worth looking forward to anyway. Might as well resign oneself to winter and accept that soon enough we'll have 43-degree days of torrential downpours and rabbits eating the flowers before they can bloom.
Thanks for the reminder, Winter Garden Loaf. That was so good.
Thanks for the reminder, Winter Garden Loaf. That was so good.
Now, now, Poppy, after all it was the 60s. As harsh as this Winter has been, I still think the Winters of the 60s were much worse! A sparkling Winter Garden Salad with canned assorted vegetables probably sounded "delightful" in those days. And as for those rabbits, I'm on the look-out for a safe rabbit deterrent. Thanks for sharing, Poppy...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we finally are getting some springy weather (even if it's not for long)...
Delete