This morning Molly sent me a video of a woman whose husband didn’t believe that they had bread and butter with family dinners. Molly sent this to me because she remembers us having bread and butter at every dinner. She is mistaken. We only had bread and butter with certain dishes that tended to require it: stew, mac and cheese, spaghetti, things with the letter R.

I told Molly that we had bread and butter instead of rolls and biscuits. Those things were for fancy people.

And that got me thinking about the foods we ate regularly that would raise a few eyebrows now, but that I remember fondly (and some of you will also.)

Fish sticks: we ate these wondrous morsels on nights when Mom and Dad were going out. They also came with bottled tartar sauce, lima beans, catsup and a baby sitter. Mrs. Murphry was our favorite. I still eat this dinner (sans Mrs. Murphry) when I need comfort food.

Canned vegetables: The lima beans came from a can (there are three in my pantry now) as did every other vegetable. The only fresh veg we had were potatoes (mashed or baked.) Green beans were the French cut version; spinach was a mushy mess; corn, peas, and all beans were soft, salty and accompanied by a lot of water. I still like canned vegetables and keep them on hand for…eating.

Salad: The idea of salad was kind of new and consisted of iceberg, cut up tomatoes and bottled dressing. Mom preferred bleu cheese. When Marie’s came along, it had a place of honor next to the lettuce. Canned fruit cocktail (refer to fruit below) could be eaten alone or mixed with coconut and sour cream or whipped cream (not Cool Whip, good grief.) Pineapple rings with dressed with a dollop of mayo and grated (actually using a grater) American cheese (refer to cheese below.) This pineapple salad is my favorite even now and I make it for myself as a treat, probably because of the mayonnaise.

Fruit: Fruit was canned–peaches, pears, cocktail (this was not my favorite because of the wrinkly grapes), and the aforementioned pineapple in rings. Applesauce in jars. Maraschino cherries (with stems) were a treat reserved for special occasions. I feel that way even now. We did have fresh apples and watermelon in season, and the occasional strawberry.

Cheese: It was American and came in a big block like Velveeta does now. Make no mistake, it was processed, but not plastic, or shiny or anything like the American cheese we have now. It could be sliced for a sandwich, grated onto chili or pineapple rings or hot dogs. I loved that block of cheese and wish I could buy one now.

Casseroles: Every casserole did not include cream cheese as they do now (or Ranch Dressing mix or Ramen noodles), but they did rely heavily on Campbell’s condensed soups. There were a million others. One was called Muriel’s Dinner in a Dish. Ted’s favorite was tuna casserole with crushed Lay’s potato chips on top.

Dinner: In my house growing up and later in my house raising kids, dinner consisted of a meat and one green veg and one starch (what we call carbs now.) So for example: meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, chicken breast with corn on the cob (frozen) and green salad. Contrary to Molly’s thinking, there would have been no bread with these. But you get the idea.

There were also Jello molds (sometimes containing fruit cocktail), the rare canned Chinese dinner (chow mein on the bottom, crunchy things on the top), pot pies or Swanson’s TV dinners on a Sunday night, salmon croquets with cream sauce and peas. Except for the pot pies, these did not translate to my own cooking.

Mom was cooking like all the other moms–getting affordable and nourishing food on the table for the husband who came home from work and the four kids underfoot. She did it again the next night and the next and the next. I did it, too, and so did many of you. Sometimes it was awful (the canned Chinese comes to mind), but mostly I loved it and copied it for my own family.

Whoa! Look at the time. I think I have fish sticks and lima beans in the kitchen. Now I just need a starch.