The 70's was an era of working mums , single dads , and
prepackaged name-brand concoctions . The illusion of throw-away convenience was in full force and everyone wanted in . The one-dish meal was king and there were more casserole recipes than unlucky kids who had to consume weird combinations of Spam , Campbell's Mushroom Soup , and Kraft Mac and Cheese . Being born in the 70's , I am well aware of some of the wretched dishes my Aunt Ruth "perfected" . (some she has inflicted on subsequent generations) The most infamous of which I long ago dubbed Welfare Spaghetti is one of these . It is essentially a combination of extremely overcooked macaroni , tinned tomatoes , dried pepper flakes , and some sort of Velveeta kind of shit baked in the oven with fake cheese slices on top for added posh effect . My grandmother actually liked this mess and old Aunt Ruth still brews this on a regular basis along with Mushroom Soup on Chops and other horrors. I love her , but her cooking is horribly out of date . Sorry . I was surfing the net and checking out 70's weirdness when I discovered the inspiration for this nostaligic blog . Courtesy of great Canadian mag Family Circle (I believe it's still in print) and the fine folks at Krap we have the piece de resistance - OrangeMallowYamYams . I think it's one word . You are not imagining this - someone actually thought it was an ingenious idea to combine oranges , canned yams , sugar , and marshmallows . Who the HELL imagined this abomination ? The sheer quantity of simple carbs would make an ARMY of kids crash through the walls of that cramped Toronto apartment with 12 people living in it .
This could not have been invented by one of the esteemed homemakers of Kraft's test kitchen .
Like most 70's mashups , I'm pretty sure it was the brain(less)child of one or more of an executive's stoner kids .
I don't eat gelatine (it's in the mallows) , so I dare one of you to try this and give me a review . Feel free to inhale 10 bong hoots prior .
I tried to post this the other day, but everything in this sans oranges is pretty standard fare during the holidays around here.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I believe Boston Market even sells a version with granola, sweet potatoes and marshmallows.
It's actually REALLY good.
A casserole can be a good thing (I make a great mexican casserole) if it consist of something other than just 4 overprocessed canned or boxed crap ingredients thrown together and baked in a dish. Mine are never simple: fresh ingredients thoughtfully prepared and well-seasoned...and I never buy canned soup for any purpose. I realise a casserole is supposed to fast, easy and serve alot of people...but not in my house.
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