Vintage Recipe Friday - Salad Days

In 1976, America's Home Economics Teachers were feeling generous, and patriotic, and actually created a cookbook to celebrate our Bicentennial year.

I was a very young teenager then, but I remember receiving a copy of it at school, then put it away somewhere, and I guess it never saw the light of day for decades.

I feel guilty. Don't tell my homec teacher.

I don't know what it was about food photography back then, but I think it's a bit disturbing. In this photo, the refugee pickles look frightened of the giant tuna-potato pepper boats lurking over them, and I am quite sure that this lovely salad is much more appetizing than it appears here in black and white.

On another note--that is the tallest pitcher of ice tea I think I've ever seen! And the tablecloth has a very strange, almost alien texture. Well, enough of the photo critique!



I might change the mayo in this recipe to low-fat, and make sure the tuna is packed in water. But other than that, not a bad little salad. I am going to try it. I like tuna salad, and I like potato salad, so why not?

I love doing Vintage recipe research--some of the things I find are timeless and classic...other things just make me giggle, and jiggle like the jelled salad molds below from a 1950's booklet called "The Joys of JELL-O."

I don't know, it seems like a weird way to eat salad and the veggies look like they are in a Jell-O prison! It is very colorful though--almost like a set of Marie Antoinette's hats.

I would never make this in a million years. But it's very 1950's and very kitchy. It sort of reminds me of a family potluck Jell-O salad that one of my aunts would bring to the holiday dinners when I was little. I seem to remember it having pineapple, Jell-O, cream cheese and some kind of crunchy vegetable. I ate it and thought it was good--so go figure!

Yesterday my sister shared some lovely yellow pear tomato seeds with me, so I've got to get those started today--and most of my housework is done so I am hoping for some stitching time too, and I may even work on my novel a bit. The sun is trying to come out, and yet, winter is trying to stage a comeback this weekend!

Having all the little tomato, herb and flower starts on my greenhouse keeps me hoping. And these Jell-O molds keep me giggling!

 Salad isn't really salad, until it is fresh from the garden. Tasty veggies chopped up and drizzled with a little Italian dressing - yum. We'll keep the Jell-O for a little snack or dessert.


EWDS!