The Mid-Century Menu

It’s time for some delicious jam! This is Bluebarb Jam. This recipe is from Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, which is a real winner if you can pick up a copy! Blueberry season is in full swing here in Michigan, and I have to admit that fresh blueberries are some of my favorite fruits. When I moved here, I thought my life would be changed by being able to pick ripe peaches off of trees. And while that experience was great, nothing prepared me for fresh-picked blueberries. They are so, so much better than I ever imagined! Since the...

So, the garnish on the top probably gives it away, but guess what the mystery ingredient in this salad is? That’s right, it’s bananas. Because this is Mystery Salad! This glorious recipe comes from The Dole Banana Bonanza, which was published in 1977. It has lots of great, classic recipes for most of the book, and then a bunch of savory recipes pop up, jammed way in the back next to the diet recipes. Which is always a big red flag. It was honestly a toss up between this one and an avocado banana dip that had onions in it. *shiver* But...

If you love S’mores, you are going to love this fun version made with brownies! We are trying to get in the patriotic spirit here on Mid-Century Menu, so I thought I would bust out this easy recipe from a few years ago and share it again. It even has colored marshmallows! Enough said! Happy Fourth of July, Everyone! I hope you are all participating in  – or planning to participate in – some fun! Tom and I are just hanging out and relaxing today. Oh, and probably making up more of these bad boys: And by bad, this time I mean really,...

I know, I know. Another recipe from the archives! But I just made these cookies this week for Alex. I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and used red, white and blue gumdrops and they were delicious. And patriotic for the upcoming Fourth. So I thought I would share this crazy recipe with you all again. Mostly because desserts with ketchup make me laugh! Yep. That’s right. There is ketchup in these cookies. And gumdrops. We can’t forget about that. When I saw this recipe in a Betty Crocker pamphlet from the 1960’s, I immediately...

I was digging through the archives for a good pie and I came across this chocolate frosted wonder.  Since I’m making it again, I thought you guys may want the recipe as well.   This is Chocolate Topping Pie!   So, this pie has a chocolate top with a peppermint chiffon filling. I was pretty excited about this one, mostly because the “chocolate top” was basically frosting. Pie frosting. Pie frosting!!! Okay, calm down. We have to make a pie. The recipe calls for peppermint sticks, but I couldn’t find any in the store so I...

It’s that time of year again!  It’s time for Pieathalon! Thanks again to Yinzerella from Dinner is Served 1972 for hosting the Pieathalon for the 3rd year in a row! This is always a fun vintage recipe swap.  In the past I have gotten (sort of) lucky with an interesting Cheese Pie and an Avocado Lime Pie.  Well, maybe not so lucky with that one… Anyway, this year I got lucky again and was assigned Brandy Apple Pie.  Which I totally didn’t deserve, since I had submitted Lemon Potato Pie, which was chosen for Taryn at Retro...

It’s been hot around here lately, so this week we decided to make a frozen treat. This is milk sherbet. This recipe comes from a book that I received for my birthday from Tom’s folks.  It’s called Food for Home and Trade and it is a textbook/cookbook from the Girls’ Trades and Technical High School in Milwaukee Wisconsin from 1942.  I love this book!!  I’m a big fan of home economics cookbooks in general, but I am especially excited about this one.  I’ve done a quick once-over, but it deserves a much closer look.  Not...

I was digging through the archives this week for a yummy gelatin to whip up for a Memorial Day picnic, when I came across this post from August of 2013! Since I am making it again, I thought I would give you guys a re-run of it as well. Enjoy! This week we have a gelatin that is decidedly NOT gross. Sea Breeze Salad! This thing is basically jelled lemon pie filling with pineapple in it. Nothing bad here. Surprising, isn’t it?  Well, we were invited to a picnic earlier last month where I knew there would be kids present and I didn’t...

Since I am hip-deep in rhubarb right now in Michigan, I thought I would do a mini-roundup of great rhubarb recipes from the blog archives!  And I know I’m posting this during fresh rhubarb season, but I’ve also made these all successfully with frozen rhubarb as well! Rhubarb Meringue Pie This recipe is from Tom’s family and is by far his favorite rhubarb dessert.  It features an oatmeal cookie pie crust.  Yum. Raspberry Rhubarb Salad This is a fast, easy gelatin dessert that is fabulous with whipped cream! Lemon Rhubarb Cake This...