I can’t imagine I’ll ever part with
my two editions of Field’s Cookbook. Eugene Field Elementary teachers bonded in
the ‘70s and typed up their recipes on old school typewriters. These were
copied and stapled, with the cover being a hand-drawn scene on construction
paper. Maybe it was a PTA fund raiser and mom sent me with a completed form and
a dollar or two to take them home.
Eugene Field in Beaumont was named
for the “children’s poet” noted for nursery rhymes such as Little Boy Blue and Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. I liked the one
about the gingham dot and the calico cat (side by side on the table sat).
Some
classmates recently gathered for beach time and I pulled out the books. We
remembered the teachers and the food of the era. Times have changed.
Convenience products ruled and calories seemed to not be a thing. Even writing
styles have changed. A recipe calls for a 10 cent-sized bag of marshmallows.
How many would that have been? We laughed because you can’t find that anymore.
Dump food, so called because of
their method and ease of preparation, were hot topics, so stay tuned for two
“dumps” below.
One of my Camp Fire friends would
bring Mississippi Mud to our group meetings. Her mom’s recipe is in one of
these books and would still rock any potluck today. That casserole dish looked like a flowing
river of chocolate and marshmallow cream. We’d scrape the chocolate out of the
corners of the dish and return it empty.
Many
“salad” recipes could also double as a dessert. They were not low-cal options.
Forbidden Fruit Salad involves a jar of commonly obtained fruit salad, berries,
nuts, sour cream and marshmallows. I can’t figure what made it so forbidden in
the ‘70s.
Side note: A friend brought a salad
full of fruit and creamy stuff to a potluck and it went over extremely well.
These are classics.
Field’s
Cookbook in the 1976 version features a green construction paper cover with
hand lettering, inked in with a ballpoint. An onion girl wears a dress and a
bow on her sprout head. She’s waving a hoe at a little bunny who is connecting
with a carrot who smiles down at him. I don’t know why they would be friends. I
think that carrot is about to get munched upon.
Featured here:
Sombrero Dip
featured butter, green onions (tops and all) chopped with garlic, bell pepper,
green chilies and a can of chili con carne with pepper sauce and American
cheese.
Tiny Sausage
Balls, Cucumber Party Sandwiches, Bisquick Pie, Chicken Loaf and Western Meal
In-Oven are among the ’76 selections.
The red-covered
book is undated and I believe the drawing is a shoe about to be boiled on the
stove. Can’t quite tell. But containers marked SALT and P are at the ready.
So nostalgic
cooks, get some kids into the kitchen and try some of these comfort foods:
Dump Cake
1 medium can
crushed pineapple
1 can cherry pie
filling
1 box yellow or
white cake mix
1 ½ sticks oleo
½ cup chopped nuts
Dump pineapple
over entire bottom of well-greased 9- by 13-inch pan. Dump the cherry pie
filling evenly over pineapple. Dump the box of cake mix evenly over cherries.
Slice the oleo evenly over cake mix. Sprinkle nuts. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour
at 350 degrees.
J. Williams
Dump Salad
Put 2 cans of
Mandarin oranges in bowl (drained) and 1 small can of crushed pineapple
(drained).
Add 1 large
cottage cheese (small curd).
Add 1 large Cool
Whip.
Sprinkle 1 small
box lime Jell-O (dry) over all and mix
well. Chill and serve.
Lois Rogers
Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who’s
never in the “dumps” when cake is around. Share with her via panews@panews.com
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