Overheard at Work

[mlipps]

When my 3 kids were little I was a SAHM & would also watch my friends kids as needed. I cooked everyday. Either put them in the kitchen with some toys or use a playpen if necessary.  Also the long afternoon nap they should be taking is a good time to prep for the evening meal.

Yeah, I really can't buy kids as an excuse to not cook. My mom did at home daycare growing up, when I was little there were four of us under 3, plus assorted preteens, usually 8-10 of us total every day. She always cooked. Maybe not 100% from scratch, but there was a proper meal on the table that she cooked as everyone got picked up & had on the table when my dad got home.

[Dr. A]

My parents are/were the worst cooks in the world. My mom can hardly boil water and my dad over cooks everything. I use to jump for joy when we would have take out, not because I enjoyed eating junk for dinner, but because the food my parents made was awful. I'm actually grateful my parents didn't teach me to cook. Instead, I've had to learn from friends, friend's parents, and thank god for the Internet.

I feel exactly the same! I figured out cooking on my own and through other people - and starting cooking all my food in about my mid teens. I remember a whole lot of nasty, boiled-to-death vegetables from my childhood.

I think there may have been an era back in the 50s/60s/70s where all the baby boomers learned to cook really terrible food using processed "ingredients" (e.g. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) and that miracle of modern technology, the microwave. We know better now, but "convenience" was all the rage back then...

I agree - I was talking to a friend the other day and mentioned that this seemed to be the case - my grandparents were excellent cooks, and my generation seems to be picking it up again through the modern foodie culture that's all the rage, but it somehow "skipped" the boomers. Interesting to know that that was right around the time when convenience foods exploded onto the scene.

I have the same experience. I ate a lot of fish sticks and Kraft mac and cheese growing up. It was more because of my mom than my dad. My dad grew up on a farm, so he loved fresh produce and quality meat. His mom is an awesome cook. But my mom did most of the cooking in our house, and her mom knew no dish that wasn't a cream-of-something-based casserole. When we all left for college, my dad started doing most of the cooking, and he really is an awesome cook. I wish I grew up eating the food he cooks now! But my wife and I saw the light when we were out on our own, and cook most all of our own meal at home, from whole foods.

My parents were at the very tail end of the baby boom, and I don't remember much of my grandparents' cooking. For us it was shake & bake/barely seasoned & grilled meat, plain mashed potatoes or plain white rice, and frozen microwaved vegetables. Ugh, no wonder I was a picky eater.

My wife's parents were the same way, but now we make Mexican something from scratch at least once a week, and if I haven't pulled at least five different spices out of the cabinet, I don't feel like I've been cooking.

My parents have branched out more recently, and they do some pretty good stuff now, but still with the friggin' frozen vegetables "steamed" in the microwave! Do they just think that's how green beans are supposed to taste?

[Jennifer in Ottawa]

My parents are/were the worst cooks in the world. My mom can hardly boil water and my dad over cooks everything. I use to jump for joy when we would have take out, not because I enjoyed eating junk for dinner, but because the food my parents made was awful. I'm actually grateful my parents didn't teach me to cook. Instead, I've had to learn from friends, friend's parents, and thank god for the Internet.

I feel exactly the same! I figured out cooking on my own and through other people - and starting cooking all my food in about my mid teens. I remember a whole lot of nasty, boiled-to-death vegetables from my childhood.

I think there may have been an era back in the 50s/60s/70s where all the baby boomers learned to cook really terrible food using processed "ingredients" (e.g. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) and that miracle of modern technology, the microwave. We know better now, but "convenience" was all the rage back then...

I agree - I was talking to a friend the other day and mentioned that this seemed to be the case - my grandparents were excellent cooks, and my generation seems to be picking it up again through the modern foodie culture that's all the rage, but it somehow "skipped" the boomers. Interesting to know that that was right around the time when convenience foods exploded onto the scene.

I have the same experience. I ate a lot of fish sticks and Kraft mac and cheese growing up. It was more because of my mom than my dad. My dad grew up on a farm, so he loved fresh produce and quality meat. His mom is an awesome cook. But my mom did most of the cooking in our house, and her mom knew no dish that wasn't a cream-of-something-based casserole. When we all left for college, my dad started doing most of the cooking, and he really is an awesome cook. I wish I grew up eating the food he cooks now! But my wife and I saw the light when we were out on our own, and cook most all of our own meal at home, from whole foods.

My parents were at the very tail end of the baby boom, and I don't remember much of my grandparents' cooking. For us it was shake & bake/barely seasoned & grilled meat, plain mashed potatoes or plain white rice, and frozen microwaved vegetables. Ugh, no wonder I was a picky eater.

My wife's parents were the same way, but now we make Mexican something from scratch at least once a week, and if I haven't pulled at least five different spices out of the cabinet, I don't feel like I've been cooking.

My parents have branched out more recently, and they do some pretty good stuff now, but still with the friggin' frozen vegetables "steamed" in the microwave! Do they just think that's how green beans are supposed to taste?

My mother taught me how to overcook a roast.  Her pantry was the size of a closet, and the closest to 'scratch' she got was a pie crust mix you had to add water to.

My grandmother taught me how to really cook.  Her pantry was a cold cellar, and the only thing that came out of a box was salt.

[shotgunwilly]

My parents have branched out more recently, and they do some pretty good stuff now, but still with the friggin' frozen vegetables "steamed" in the microwave! Do they just think that's how green beans are supposed to taste?

I'm 26 and the other day cooked braised fresh green beans for the first time.  I was like "what is this shit in a can i've been eating all these years?!"

[CommonCents]

My parents have branched out more recently, and they do some pretty good stuff now, but still with the friggin' frozen vegetables "steamed" in the microwave! Do they just think that's how green beans are supposed to taste?

I'm 26 and the other day cooked braised fresh green beans for the first time.  I was like "what is this shit in a can i've been eating all these years?!"

Switch can for bag and that was my reaction too first time. Who knew veggies could be tasty?

[Insanity]

Google Frankenfood....

This is a possible winner.

[Stacey]

My parents have branched out more recently, and they do some pretty good stuff now, but still with the friggin' frozen vegetables "steamed" in the microwave! Do they just think that's how green beans are supposed to taste?

I'm in the same boat as many of you folks.  I hated most veggies growing up because they all came from a can and were boiled to death.  To be honest, I would LOVE if my mom steamed frozen vegetables.  I'm actually always trying to get her to make the switch from canned to frozen, because let's be honest, making the switch to fresh is just not a reasonable goal.  I spent the early part of my adult life teaching myself how to like vegetables that used to make me gag.  The biggest success was brussel sprouts.  I HATED brussel sprouts growing up (the one veggie my mom bought fresh, but she tortured it to death in a long, slow boil).  Now, it is absolutely one of my favorite foods.  I could eat that stuff like candy.  Seriously amazing!

[Hedge_87]

Lol I now love Brussel sprouts and spinach both. We used to have spinach from a can and it always made me gag just smelling it. And the texture of it gross.

[Nords]

This looks like something Oscar the Grouch would eat on Sesame Street.

Jello and... olives?  Seriously?!?

Lol I now love Brussel sprouts and spinach both. We used to have spinach from a can and it always made me gag just smelling it. And the texture of it gross.

Growing up, cooked spinach or asparagus in our house was always a confrontation of epic proportions.  We protested for years and eventually Mom gave up.

Then after college I discovered that the stuff grows in gardens, not cans, and can be eaten fresh.  Amazing.

[dragoncar]

Since people loved the Jello salad so much, I'll just leave this here:

https://www.google.com/search?q="the+joys+of+jello"&source=lnms&tbm=isch

and one more for the road for you shrimp lovers:

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Since people loved the Jello salad so much, I'll just leave this here:

https://www.google.com/search?q="the+joys+of+jello"&source=lnms&tbm=isch

and one more for the road for you shrimp lovers:

Oh my...That meal would certainly be "memorable". Ugh.

[boyerbt]

A coworker is currently going through the process of selling a house and purchasing a new home. Due to a past foreclosure he has to sign for the lone himself and if they are lucky, they may break even on the current house.

Just the other day we received an update notice for our 401k program and he mentioned that he may have to wipe out the retirement and start over to buy the new home...my coworker is in his 40's. I asked what he would do and he said that he would just have to invest more money afterwards and more aggressively. I don't think he understands how compound interest works.

[GuitarStv]

My parents are/were the worst cooks in the world. My mom can hardly boil water and my dad over cooks everything. I use to jump for joy when we would have take out, not because I enjoyed eating junk for dinner, but because the food my parents made was awful. I'm actually grateful my parents didn't teach me to cook. Instead, I've had to learn from friends, friend's parents, and thank god for the Internet.

I feel exactly the same! I figured out cooking on my own and through other people - and starting cooking all my food in about my mid teens. I remember a whole lot of nasty, boiled-to-death vegetables from my childhood.

I think there may have been an era back in the 50s/60s/70s where all the baby boomers learned to cook really terrible food using processed "ingredients" (e.g. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) and that miracle of modern technology, the microwave. We know better now, but "convenience" was all the rage back then...

Ugh. Yes. I grew up on cream of crap soup casseroles and I know a lot of my friends did, too. We joke about it now because none of us will touch that stuff with our own cooking. My parents made other things that were pretty good (thank goodness) but they still rely a lot on those type of convenience foods.

I must be too young to understand this hate.  Cream of mushroom soup makes an awesome pasta sauce (add cream, chopped grilled chicken, lots of mushrooms sauteed in butter, and pepper) and great pork chops.

[annann]

Eh, I'm a boomer, and I cook, mostly from scratch.  My mom grew up in the 40's and HATES cooking. 

I learned pretty much on my own, in the era of microwaves (which really didn't come out until the 80's IIRC).

I too am a boomer and I cook.  My mother grew up during the depression and was a awful cook.  She lived on fried egg sandwiches, pancakes (with basted eggs on top), potatoes, pudding, and cake.  Veggies were from a can and the only thing she made that we three children still make and eat is potato soup.

Even when it was necessary to cook to feed the family, my mother found fast, easy, bad-tasting, and unhealthy food to serve us.  One good thing was that she rarely, if ever, bought candy, ice cream, chips, and other processed junk food.  I grew up before "fast food" restaurants.  I saw my first McDonalds in my teens.

Note that we were all overweight

[dragoncar]

My parents are/were the worst cooks in the world. My mom can hardly boil water and my dad over cooks everything. I use to jump for joy when we would have take out, not because I enjoyed eating junk for dinner, but because the food my parents made was awful. I'm actually grateful my parents didn't teach me to cook. Instead, I've had to learn from friends, friend's parents, and thank god for the Internet.

I feel exactly the same! I figured out cooking on my own and through other people - and starting cooking all my food in about my mid teens. I remember a whole lot of nasty, boiled-to-death vegetables from my childhood.

I think there may have been an era back in the 50s/60s/70s where all the baby boomers learned to cook really terrible food using processed "ingredients" (e.g. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) and that miracle of modern technology, the microwave. We know better now, but "convenience" was all the rage back then...

Ugh. Yes. I grew up on cream of crap soup casseroles and I know a lot of my friends did, too. We joke about it now because none of us will touch that stuff with our own cooking. My parents made other things that were pretty good (thank goodness) but they still rely a lot on those type of convenience foods.

I must be too young to understand this hate.  Cream of mushroom soup makes an awesome pasta sauce (add cream, chopped grilled chicken, lots of mushrooms sauteed in butter, and pepper) and great pork chops.

Minus the canned soup and it sounds like a great recipe!

[Daley]

Since people loved the Jello salad so much, I'll just leave this here:

https://www.google.com/search?q="the+joys+of+jello"&source=lnms&tbm=isch

I will see your Joys of Jello and raise you the entire Gallery of Regrettable Food.

[GuitarStv]

I would try a can o' meat with it's supplied sack o' sauce.

[Jane]

My parents are/were the worst cooks in the world. My mom can hardly boil water and my dad over cooks everything. I use to jump for joy when we would have take out, not because I enjoyed eating junk for dinner, but because the food my parents made was awful. I'm actually grateful my parents didn't teach me to cook. Instead, I've had to learn from friends, friend's parents, and thank god for the Internet.

I feel exactly the same! I figured out cooking on my own and through other people - and starting cooking all my food in about my mid teens. I remember a whole lot of nasty, boiled-to-death vegetables from my childhood.

I think there may have been an era back in the 50s/60s/70s where all the baby boomers learned to cook really terrible food using processed "ingredients" (e.g. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) and that miracle of modern technology, the microwave. We know better now, but "convenience" was all the rage back then...

Ugh. Yes. I grew up on cream of crap soup casseroles and I know a lot of my friends did, too. We joke about it now because none of us will touch that stuff with our own cooking. My parents made other things that were pretty good (thank goodness) but they still rely a lot on those type of convenience foods.

I must be too young to understand this hate.  Cream of mushroom soup makes an awesome pasta sauce (add cream, chopped grilled chicken, lots of mushrooms sauteed in butter, and pepper) and great pork chops.

Real cream of mushroom soup is delicious. Canned (which I think is what most everyone is referring to) is not, such as Campbell's:

WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.

[Fonzico]

Ahh, isn't that great - less than 2% of CREAM of mushroom soup is actually cream.

[geekette]

Less than 2% is dehydrated cream.  Then again, what percentage of cream is water?

It's basically a fat, a starch, and some dairy (a white sauce) with mushrooms and seasonings.  Nothing scary (but not particularly tasty either). 

[dragoncar]

Less than 2% is dehydrated cream.  Then again, what percentage of cream is water?

It's basically a fat, a starch, and some dairy (a white sauce) with mushrooms and seasonings.  Nothing scary (but not particularly tasty either).

Basically MSG.

[GuitarStv]

Is MSG supposed to be horrible for me now?  *rollseyes*  I thought we had moved on to demonizing glutens these days . . .

[dragoncar]

Is MSG supposed to be horrible for me now?  *rollseyes*  I thought we had moved on to demonizing glutens these days . . .

MSG is very bad for your weight.  Like anything else, it's fine in moderation.  But ask yourself why they have to hide the glutamates in four different "ingredients": MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING.  It's probably significant.

edit: it's pretty delicious, but I'd rather take the above recipe, remove the campbells, and just add my own glutamate to taste.  Then I can control it.

[GuitarStv]

Is MSG supposed to be horrible for me now?  *rollseyes*  I thought we had moved on to demonizing glutens these days . . .

MSG is very bad for your weight.  Like anything else, it's fine in moderation.  But ask yourself why they have to hide the glutamates in four different "ingredients": MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING.  It's probably significant.

edit: it's pretty delicious, but I'd rather take the above recipe, remove the campbells, and just add my own glutamate to taste.  Then I can control it.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7843398&fileId=S0007114510000760

findings indicate that when other food items or dietary patterns are accounted for, no association exists between MSG intake and weight gain.

MSG is one of those loaded terms that people have decided to demonize for no apparent reason . . . like gluten, carbs, lactose, etc.  It's been shown time and again to be less toxic than salt, and many double blind studies have been done showing that it doesn't cause headaches, weight gain, or any of the other hysterical things reported about it.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-7599.2006.00160.x/abstract;jsessionid=1855E58616B6D2BE421804C6BD6760C3.f04t03
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10736380
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230099913375
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03221.x/abstract

[ProfWinkie]

People today $20 a month themselves to death

[eil]

MSG is very bad for your weight.  Like anything else, it's fine in moderation.  But ask yourself why they have to hide the glutamates in four different "ingredients": MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING.  It's probably significant.

MSG is monosodium glutamate which is one part salt, one part glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is abundant in practically everything we eat. It is also produced by our bodies as a result of the digestion of proteins. It's used in our metabolism and is an important (the most important?) neurotransmitter.

MSG is not bad for you and biologically speaking, cannot be bad for you.

Science wins again.

[FIPurpose]

MSG is very bad for your weight.  Like anything else, it's fine in moderation.  But ask yourself why they have to hide the glutamates in four different "ingredients": MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING.  It's probably significant.

MSG is monosodium glutamate which is one part salt, one part glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is abundant in practically everything we eat. It is also produced by our bodies as a result of the digestion of proteins. It's used in our metabolism and is an important (the most important?) neurotransmitter.

MSG is not bad for you and biologically speaking, cannot be bad for you.

Science wins again.

But everytime I eat Chinese food, I get a headache afterwards. It can't possibly be that because I ate 5 pounds of fried foods. It's probably from the MSG stuff that's all in it.

[dragoncar]

MSG is very bad for your weight.  Like anything else, it's fine in moderation.  But ask yourself why they have to hide the glutamates in four different "ingredients": MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING.  It's probably significant.

MSG is monosodium glutamate which is one part salt, one part glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is abundant in practically everything we eat. It is also produced by our bodies as a result of the digestion of proteins. It's used in our metabolism and is an important (the most important?) neurotransmitter.

MSG is not bad for you and biologically speaking, cannot be bad for you.

Science wins again.

So your argument is that because a compound is in food we eat, and produced and used by our bodies, it is not bad for you and cannot be bad?  This is unconvincing... that's like saying salt can't be bad for you.  Of course, almost anything can be bad for you in high amounts.  So the question is whether adding MSG to food increases your glutamate levels beyond a healthy amount.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7843398&fileId=S0007114510000760

findings indicate that when other food items or dietary patterns are accounted for, no association exists between MSG intake and weight gain.

Papers are more compelling, but of course I didn't read all of them.  Be honest, though, are there no conflicting studies?  I ain't no fancy scientist, so how am I supposed to determine which study is more accurate?  If there really are no conflicting studies, I guess I'll happily add a teaspoon of MSG to everything I eat.  UMAMI!

[Ohio Teacher]

At the risk of this hijacking this thread further, I feel this picture has to be added to the jello salad conversation.  What was up with the 1960's?

[dragoncar]

At the risk of this hijacking this thread further, I feel this picture has to be added to the jello salad conversation.  What was up with the 1960's?

Good thing it's REAL mayonnaise, and not that fake stuff.  That would be gross.

[GuitarStv]

 . . . could also be the evil glutens.  I hear that glutens inspired Hitler.

[Rural]

At the risk of this hijacking this thread further, I feel this picture has to be added to the jello salad conversation.  What was up with the 1960's?

Good thing it's REAL mayonnaise, and not that fake stuff.  That would be gross.

Lest we forget, I give you the full smorgasbord of tomato aspic. My personal favorite is the one with R2D2. We never had R2D2 back in the day.


https://www.google.com/search?q=tomato+aspic&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sgarU6WcCZGkyATB1oDQBg&ved=0CDQQ7Ak&biw=1024&bih=645

[jordanread]

Lest we forget, I give you the full smorgasbord of tomato aspic. My personal favorite is the one with R2D2. We never had R2D2 back in the day.


https://www.google.com/search?q=tomato+aspic&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sgarU6WcCZGkyATB1oDQBg&ved=0CDQQ7Ak&biw=1024&bih=645

Oh dear god!! That looks awful.

[Daleth]

Lest we forget, I give you the full smorgasbord of tomato aspic. My personal favorite is the one with R2D2. We never had R2D2 back in the day.


https://www.google.com/search?q=tomato+aspic&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sgarU6WcCZGkyATB1oDQBg&ved=0CDQQ7Ak&biw=1024&bih=645

Oh dear god!! That looks awful.

But it would probably pair nicely with that Monterey jello-mayonnaise salad, would it not?

[Joggernot]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

[skunkfunk]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

I find your childhood oddly disgusting. Not that you were poor - I just gag a little thinking of tomato jello with old vegetables in it.

[shotgunwilly]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

Umm, how about eating the JELLO as a treat?! Vegetables and jello... gross.

[Quark]

Am I the only one here who thinks a tomato sauce and beef gelatin would be delicious as a soup base or even possibly by itself? I'm all about the bone broth. Those pictures are pretty gag though.

[Albert]

All these pictures made me feel happy about not being born in America in 50-ties or 60-ties. My childhood wasn't particularly rich, but at least we always had a good home made food.

[skunkfunk]

Am I the only one here who thinks a tomato sauce and beef gelatin would be delicious as a soup base or even possibly by itself?

Are you trying to make me sick? I think you just described the part of the beef that I usually throw away - the congealed fat after it's sat out a while.

[geekette]

There's a heckova lot of difference between congealed beef fat and beef stock that's gelatinized.  Gelatin is what gives soup body.

[Luck12]

Finally I have one:  Just overheard co-worker talking about since it's so hot out, she's going to take a taxi to meet her friend at the restaurant that's 0.25 miles away.  WTF?  It's 75 degrees out, the walk over is really nice and safe (beautiful urban park.  What a waste of money and she's fat to boot, she could sure use the walk.  I wanted to face punch her. 

[infogoon]

Since people loved the Jello salad so much, I'll just leave this here:

https://www.google.com/search?q="the+joys+of+jello"&source=lnms&tbm=isch

and one more for the road for you shrimp lovers:

A friend of mine got a complete set of those recipe cards from a garage sale. They are hilariously revolting, every one of them.

[Joggernot]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

Umm, how about eating the JELLO as a treat?! Vegetables and jello... gross.

The jello was a way of using up vegetables, so it served several purposes.
1) mom was able to use up the vegetables
2) we ate the vegies because they were encased in jello
3) they added color to the meal
The jello served the same purpose of using up the vegetables as the pressure cooker/crock pot does in this thread, and a jello mold was cheaper than either of those options.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/just-bought-a-$150-electric-pressure-cooker-last-month/new/?topicseen#new
If they look unappetizing to you, think how they'd look if you hadn't had a lot to eat that week.

[HoneyBadger]

My mother was the queen of the Jell-O salad:  favorite ingredients - Cool-Whip, canned pineapple and miniature marshmallows.  She still make the things for holiday dinners.  I finally got to nerve to refuse to eat them a couple of years ago, and she's still mad at me! 

[Hedge_87]

My mother was the queen of the Jell-O salad:  favorite ingredients - Cool-Whip, canned pineapple and miniature marshmallows.  She still make the things for holiday dinners.  I finally got to nerve to refuse to eat them a couple of years ago, and she's still mad at me!

We get this EVERY family get together I hate it so much! Every once in a while we will get canned oranges instead of pineapples which is still gross but it's a change of pace. You don't dare refuse it though cause grandma will through a fit and then start complaining about her heart and that she is feeling light headed.

[Rural]

My mother was the queen of the Jell-O salad:  favorite ingredients - Cool-Whip, canned pineapple and miniature marshmallows.  She still make the things for holiday dinners.  I finally got to nerve to refuse to eat them a couple of years ago, and she's still mad at me!

Oh, now that I'll eat. With the others, the combination of meat and sweet jello is what really gets me. The sweet is a (more) recent thing in the meal-style gelatins, by the way. The older recipes generally call for unflavored Knox gelatin, which helps a lot in reducing the level of disgust.


...And to get it back on topic, I wonder how my colleagues would react if I took a tomato aspic with olives and maybe some shrimp to our potluck "retreat"? I even have the unflavored Knox to do it up right. Bet I'd "overhear" something about that!

[mlipps]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus th they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

Umm, how about eating the JELLO as a treat?! Vegetables and jello... gross.

Did you guys ever consider it might be a bit rude to call something gross that another person explicitly explained was a treat for them growing up? When did we become a bunch of foodie snobs around here?

[dragoncar]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus th they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

Umm, how about eating the JELLO as a treat?! Vegetables and jello... gross.

Did you guys ever consider it might be a bit rude to call something gross that another person explicitly explained was a treat for them growing up? When did we become a bunch of foodie snobs around here?

Well people like different things so.... no?  I think bananas are gross, but I'm sure someone had them as a treat growing up.  Is anyone here offended?

[Daley]

We grew up poor.  These jellos were our desserts, plus th they used up the older vegetables rather than waste them.  Green jello with celery and olives was a treat.  I didn't like the tomato jello with vegetables, though.

Umm, how about eating the JELLO as a treat?! Vegetables and jello... gross.

Did you guys ever consider it might be a bit rude to call something gross that another person explicitly explained was a treat for them growing up? When did we become a bunch of foodie snobs around here?

Well people like different things so.... no?  I think bananas are gross, but I'm sure someone had them as a treat growing up.  Is anyone here offended?

J'ACCUSE...!