Today is April Fool's Day and this could explain why a few of my family members got a little silly late this afternoon with e-mail. Much of it started with comments about Mother being a "Tomahawk" from the prior post. This led to a story from my cousin and sister about the time as children they escaped raging flood waters only to be punished by Tomahawk and her evil sister, Aunt Nan (we're still thinking of a nickname...for now, I'll go with "Arrowhead"). They were forced to stay indoors and make an inedible cake from Bisquick. Even the dumbest dog on earth at the time, Bo Bo, wouldn't eat it.
All of this led to the question of whether it was possible to make a cake (not a pancake) from Bisquick and somehow that reminded Aunt Arrowhead about the time she made Candlestick Salad in Home Economics class in the mid-1960s. Here's how it went:
CitizenB: You can make a cake with Bisquick?
Aunt Arrowhead: Sure you can make a cake out of Bisquick. You can make one out of mud too. Tastes about the same. When I was in school I made donuts out of biscuits. I also made a candlestick salad. Take a plate, put a lettuce leaf on it, then a slice of pineapple, stick a banana in the center of the pineapple, whip cream on top of the banana with a cherry on top. Lake Worth High School home economics in action. Sorry, I got carried away with all my cooking expertise.
CitizenB: Curious…was the banana supposed to represent the candlestick?
Aunt Arrowhead: Of course it represented the candlestick. What else?
CItizenB: I don’t know…? I was just trying to get the salad construction and name to match….never heard of a candlestick salad until now. Very good to know. I think I could make it.
Aunt Arrowhead: ... We were only in high school and never thought about things like that. I'm pleased I could teach you something you never knew before. Yes, YOU CAN DO IT.
CitizenB: I guess I was mixing a little World History in with Home Ec. I was visualizing the banana as an ancient Egyptian obelisk (for some reason) and not a candlestick... Thank you for your confidence in me. Let’s pray I can keep the banana erect.
Aunt Arrowhead forwarded a recipe to me but there was no photo. After work, I researched and found the below depiction of Candlestick Salad in all it's glory. Of note, the whipped cream is supposed to represent the melting wax and the cherry the flame. Sigh. I'm sorry but it cracked me up to think about a bunch of 1960's high schoolers trying to make bananas stand up on pineapple rings. Thankfully by the time I hit Home Ec. in the late 1970's, Candlestick Salad had been replaced by a basic Waldorf Salad. Mayonnaise on apples was risque enough for me.
All of this got me wondering about the 1960's and why housewives were obsessed garnishing everything with pineapple and shaping food into weird objects..like candlesticks.
For the five minutes I've been thinking about it, my opinion is that housewives were bored silly, and canned goods and advanced packaged foods opened up new culinary doors and excitement. I decided to take a quick look into my very cool 1967 Better Homes and Gardens "Jiffy Cooking" to see what I could discover. From the book, it's clear housewives were obsessed with the color orange, molded gelatin, glazes, and all things elegant with "an Oriental flair."
Here's a sample of words used to describe various recipes:
Saucy, frosty, royal, zippy, peppy, spiced, lazy day, easy-do, meal-in-a-bowl, instant, hurry, jiffy, easy perfection, creamy, minted, velvet, quicky, time-saving, fruit-glazed, "a la", party, tropical, Hong Kong, fizz and sparkle.
And a list of Menus:
"A Robust Meal for Crisp Evenings" (Skillet Potato Salad with a 14 ounce bologna ring)
"Fit for the King of the Household" (Canadian Bacon Stack-Ups with canned sweet potatoes)
"Treat Your Guests Elegantly" (Pampered Beef Fillets with Royal Mushroom Sauce)
"An Informal Teen-age Record Party" (Tamale Hero Sandwiches and Pickle-Sickles)
"A Light Brunch for the Ladies" (Orange-nut Ring and Berry Parfaits)
"A Main Dish Inspired By Old Mexico" (Taco Salad with Crusty Hard Rolls)
"Be Creative With Convenience Foods" (Yam and Sausage Skillet)
"Three Open-face Salad Sandwiches" (Tuna Tugs, Corned Beef Captains & Chef's Salad in a Roll)
Gosh, I miss the good old days when the only fish we ate was canned tuna (in oil), and we consumed hundreds of 14 ounce bologna rings, saucy sausage links, tins of luncheon meat, and cans of high-sodium Veg-All and Pork-n-Beans. Much like the Candlestick Salad, it was all so elegant!
CitizenB
