TTC

[onlyorganic]

All this talk of unappetizing vintage recipes is making me revisit Gee, That Food Looks Terrible and Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974. Food history (particularly postwar American food history) totally fascinates me.

The "Gee That Food Looks Terrible" site reminds me that forty or so years ago everyone seemed to be obsessed with convenience and creativity. Nowadays with organic-everything on the rage, it seems like back then the way to wow your friends was to buy as much processed-canned crap and see how many other processed, shitty things you could combine it with for some snazzy appetizer. You got points for the limited number of ingredients. That being said, a lot of things now kids (and people, ALL people for that matter!) just won't plain eat... things like olive loaf and spam. I remember reading an entry from Pleasant View Schoolhouse where the blogtress said something like "we grabbed some iced tea and a basket of egg salad sandwiches to feed 12 kids!" If I did that I'd hear a "YUCCCCK" and an "I'm NOT eating that" from every other kid! Not to mention the six kids that are allergic to ingredients. In some ways it makes us look now like a bunch of picky prissies. But when you think of it, smoked spare ribs in a can could not have been good for anybody...

We also ate "olive loaf" all the time when I was younger. I can still taste it (and I aptly gag now at the memory) but it baffles me that people back then were eating small portions of this shit. I wonder if we actually *are* healthier now, or if eating all this canned junk in tiny portions and forcing kids to eat things like liver actually made us appreciate food more.

[Guest Anonymous]

No. People don't eat it.

Little-known fact; there has only been 1 of them created. It is passed along from person to person, cover dish event to covered dish event.

No one can tell it's old as hell cause it's already green.

The makers blackmail people into trying it by threatening to drop the dish on their toes.

[tabitha2]

http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html

The Gallery of Regrettable food.Snark about REVOLTING food,recipes,ETC-hilarious stuff.

[celestial]

You mean everyone hasn't seen this? :shock: I have never been to a family function , school , church potluck where this has not been there. Just like green bean casserole its a standard, around here its with carrots though!

I for one have never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it! I'm amazed that a dish with that combination of ingredients exists, and that people bring it to functions! Where in the world do you live, sassy?

[onlyorganic]

from those sites with "vintage recipes" I almost hurled at this one. It looks like a crime scene...

flickr.com/photos/kahluacream/2104742191/in/pool-789063@N20/

And just for the fun of it, I have been in tears over how "in poor taste" this ad would be today...

flickr.com/photos/47607517@N04/5989926587/in/pool-51426133@N00/

[wordsfromthewest]

I hardly ever make jello as kids and DH don't like it.

My mother made a jello concoction that consisted of whipped up lemon jello and shredded cheddar cheese. (yes, she grew up in Utah, the heartland of jello).

I seriously suspect all things that include jello.

[fundifugee]

An OT question, but is jell-o non-kosher / non-halal, or do religious folks just, like the rest of us, blissfully ignore that it is made from hooves and trotters?

[Aurora]

Lime jello salad with walnuts and celery is actually delicious, believe it or not!

The tater tot pizza casserole - yuk! It's like Tater Tot Casserole II: This Time It's Personal. The recipe might be worth an FJ investigation, though...

[Witsec7]

An OT question, but is jell-o non-kosher / non-halal, or do religious folks just, like the rest of the world, blissfully ignore that it is made from hooves and trotters?

Jello puts a K on its package to denote Kosher but it isn't. There is kosher jello out there, probably seaweed based.

[sassyNoz47]

I for one have never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it! I'm amazed that a dish with that combination of ingredients exists, and that people bring it to functions! Where in the world do you live, sassy?

LOL I wasnt the first one to bring it up , I'm not alone ...im in Kansas that should explain it :whistle:

[celestial]

Ah, you're right sassy, it was Cedarchip who first mentioned it! My mistake.

Kansas, eh? Guess it's a Midwestern/Plains delicacy. I'm almost tempted to whip some up for Christmas for the sheer shock value... ;)

[almostfundylyte]

My mom always fixed jello when I was sick, but never any other time. Just plain jello, always lemon, lime, or orange. Now, everytime I have jello, I feel nauseous. My husband and son love the stuff, though, so I fix it occassionally for them.

[Wolfie]

My mom always fixed jello when I was sick, but never any other time. Just plain jello, always lemon, lime, or orange. Now, everytime I have jello, I feel nauseous. My husband and son love the stuff, though, so I fix it occassionally for them.

I actually like jello, as long as there aren't vegetables in it. Fruit is okay as long as it's not something I am allergic to or raisins. It is one of my guilty processed food things. But I actually occasionally crave red jello when I have a bad migraine. I suspect that it probably rehydrates me and has some electrolytes that I need.

[divadivine]

This is my thought about jello-

If God had wanted jello to have fruit in it, he would have put it in the box. Keep the fruits and vegetables out of jello. I like my jello plain. Thank you.

[koolmom]

http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html

The Gallery of Regrettable food.Snark about REVOLTING food,recipes,ETC-hilarious stuff.

And within that site, a must-see is "Jell-O Confronts The Depression", a tableau created by Jell-O pamphlets through the early years of the gelatin, narrated by a most dry but humorous look at the Depression seen through the eyes of the upper-crust (not graham-cracker, but social ladder). Simply splendid, dahling...

Funny, just a week or so ago, I bought a couple boxes of something called "Mixchief" by Jell-O, "Make your own Jell-O, add juice" reads the label. I would love to make something real exotic, nothing close to the usual, humdrum Jell-O flavors. I was thinking of something pina colada-like, for now.

[Witsec7]

Mixchief is sooo gonna revolutionize making jello shots.

[bethanythemartian]

At every big gathering, we have the green jello salad stuff with pineapple, pecans, marshmallows, and cottage cheese. I kind of love the stuff. My aunt also makes a whipped jello salad with fruit (generally matching whatever jello she got- orange for orange jello) and cool whip whipped into it. It's not bad. I have, fortunately, never been exposed to the more disgusting aspics that have gone around.

The last time I made jello and ate it, I had strep throat. I can't remember the time before that, excluding jello shots. :dance:

[ladypuglover]

Growing up in and out of the hospital there was always jello on the menu. It was one of the few things my abused throat could handle. Now I can't even look at plain jello without gagging. It has a slight chance of me eating it if it has some sort of fruit or other crap in it. My poor kids grew up only eating jello if my husband bought for school lunches or got a rare wild hair and made it but I bet you ten to one there are 6 boxes of the crap in my pantry. :evil:

[houseworksucks]

This is the worst I've ever had... and by had, I mean observed at a party and eaten about a teaspoon of. I'm not sure its's an exact copy, but it's what I found when googling Lime Jello, Horseradish, and Cucumber.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/grandmas_pineapple_cucumber_lime_jello_salad/

[gilora]

My kids love jello. I'll make them sugar-free strawberry or raspberry as a treat.

My grandmother used to make a jello mold for Christmas -- shaped like Santa complete with sour cream for the "fur" on the suit. It was actually really tasty. Damn, now I'll have to ask my mom for the recipe ...

As for mixing jello with eggs/vegetables, blech. That's just wrong.

[icecreamycakeycake]

My family did orange with celery and shredded carrots. You were supposed to top it with "salad dressing" (mayo). Ick.

This one is really good, it's dessert. Layered pretzels, creamcheese and strawberry jello.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pretzel-salad/detail.aspx

[uber frau]

I love vintage food porn. Thanks for all the links.

This is the worst jello concoction I've seen to date: http://www.fourpoundsflour.com/the-joys ... beef-loaf/

The only time I've ever had jello 'salad' was at my aunt's house last year-carrot and pineapple in lemon flavoured jelly. Could have been worse.

[kaetrin]

I guess it's a regional thing because I've never seen those awful jellos, either. Nor do I think of the PNW as having much of a casserole culture. I do eat jello on New Years', though, because my cousin makes a killer cherry jello with whole cherries and port. My foodie family loves it.

[babs]

This one is really good, it's dessert. Layered pretzels, creamcheese and strawberry jello.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pretzel-salad/detail.aspx

Pretzel salad is one of my very favorite desserts. I am going to have to make it soon because it's been quite a long time since I've done it.

[GenerationCedarchip]

Ah, you're right sassy, it was Cedarchip who first mentioned it! My mistake.

Kansas, eh? Guess it's a Midwestern/Plains delicacy. I'm almost tempted to whip some up for Christmas for the sheer shock value... ;)

Celestial - I've encountered the lime jello/spinach/egg monstrosity all around VA and West Va. I have friends in Mississippi who have similar stories, though.

Clibbyjo - That lemon jello dish sounds really yummy! I'd actually eat that one.