I need to be excused for a moment.
This ad reminded me of James Lileks' Regrettable Foods. Found at Vintage Ads, via Sloth Unleashed.
Addendum: As discussed in the comments to this post, here is a photo of lima beans in jello ("featured in Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, 1974"):
I've never much trusted red franks...
ReplyDeletecreamed carrots in an onion cup sound simply dreadful, pass the dubious red franks please.
I think this menu may have been concocted by the same guy who invented the bane of my childhood: lima beans suspended in lime Jell-O.
ReplyDeleteCould this dish have been the cause of Runyon's fatal cancer?
ReplyDeleteLima beans suspended in line Jell-O? You couldn't have made that up. But who on earth DID think of such a very unlikely combination?
ReplyDeleteBarbwire - I also doubted the lima beans in jello, but found it after a quick search. I've added a photo of it to the post.
ReplyDeleteGross.
Barbwire and Minn--that (the new photo) is the stuff, all right. My aunt eschewed the multicolor variety for straight green. I though she (or Mom) had invented the dish. However a few years ago I bought some 1950s women's magazines and discovered a recipe for the stuff in a Jell-O ad.
ReplyDeleteAfter World War II, soldiers came home, took their place in the job world, bought a house in the suburbs, and sent their wives home to raise children. At the same time, modern homes had appliances and stores sold convenience products and children went to school, so being a housewife was no longer a full-time job.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, manufacturers and women's magazines came up with all sorts of weird ways that housewives could create something different for their families and give meaning to their Stepford suburban existence. Like jello salads in lovely molds. And time-saving money-saving processed foods. Like green bean and fried onion casserole. And decoupage. And Tupperware parties. Some women flocked to such things, especially if they weren't wealthy enough to buy tennis lessons. Others turned to barbiturates and martinis.
Finally, enough of them looked at the disgusting jello mold salad and said "Enough!"
And the modern feminist movement began.