Just when you think life is good, along comes a curve.

So I am going to pick up where I left off. The last and final story about food and the 60s ends today.

A new day is coming.

Going back to food, we covered comfort food, food grown locally, foods from different parts of the country and now for holiday desserts.

This is a topic I have avoided, but today is the day to talk about it. I am talking about desserts.

A holiday is not a holiday unless the meal is finished with desserts.

Divinity, fudge, caramels, peanut brittle, pound cake, cream cheese and pumpkin pie.

Here come the calories.

This week we are talking about the recipes that defined the decades, the dishes that popped up at every party or dinner table across the country for a time, enjoying brief popularity before disappearing almost entirely from our kitchens. No longer popular, no longer cool, they still hold a special place in our hearts (and bellies).

Here some  favorite under-appreciated recipes from the 60s.

Green Jell-O and Gelatin molded desserts have become the butt of a number of jokes.

Sometimes it’s pistachio Jell-O, marshmallows, walnuts and pineapple.

There’s another one that has green Jell-O and canned fruit, in bar form with a graham cracker crust and cream cheese layer. Most of the recipes came from the back of the food box and are still some of the best recipes around.

Many desserts came from ethnic families and have been past down through generations. Consider the mince meat pie, kiefles, the pecan pie and the most loved or hated fruitcake or Rice Krispy squares and no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. Yum.

Just remember the new year is here and there will be plenty of time for a new diet. Eat now and pay later.

Happy New Year.

 

Jo-Ann Boepple works at the Edwardsburg Area History Museum.