Mary Alden's Hall Of Oats

Oats. They're one of the most stable and wholesome breakfast and dessert ingredients to have on hand, but, even so, Mary Alden's My 40 Favorite Recipes (Quaker Oats Co., 1959) offers some surprising suggestions to spice up one of the most mundane of the pantry mainstays.

Tradition and ingenuity meet on the front cover. An inviting bowl of be-peached oatmeal holds its own between a post-modern hors d'oeuvre platter and holiday field hockey cookies.


The 'it' meat: Baby meat loaves were the food of the late 1950s!


Don your grass skirt and light up the tiki torches! Your luau isn't complete without island-inspired Tropicana Kabobs made with ham balls!


I wonder how Chicken Timbales compare to the greatest of diner dishes, Chicken Croquettes.


Frosted Meat Loaves: They're Grrrrr-eat! Can you spot the face in the tomato?


A good looking Stuffed Acorn Squash


Mmm, Baked Tuna Ring heaped with buttery lima beans! If you clean your plate, you can have dessert!


... Hmm, apparently no-bake cookies were Mary Alden's specialty.


Twenty-four hour Party Cookies and the Happy (Squirrel) Sundaes. (Those squirrel cookies are extremely cute; much cuter than the children-of-the-damned lollipop cookies)


Delicious Desserts Squared


Paradise Meringues: It sounds like the name of an MTV reality show.


A sight for sore eyes: The best looking dish of the book just might be the most simple, Peach Oatmeal.


They call it "Breakfast in -a- glass ...!". I'm not so intrigued about this being in -a- glass so much as that fact that this is a non-yogurt, all-oatmeal smoothie made using a rotary beater.

Young Moderns

If Curly Wurly was pressed to name its favorite writer, Mary Lee Taylor would be a contender for top prize. I've covered so many Taylor pamphlets here that she actually has her own tag. The most recent acquisition to the CW/Taylor archive is 1957's Cookbook For Young Moderns. What sets this cookbook apart from her earlier publications is her befuddling attempt at appealing to a younger generation. The result is a confused amalgamation of the old (stark wartime black and white photos of unappetizing mystery dishes) and the new (sumptuous colors and playful illustrations).

(Note: I'm trying out a different photo upload site. Let me know if you encounter problems viewing these images or the larger versions to which I've linked! This is only a test. BEEEEEEEEP!)

The front cover has some whimsical illustrations of kitchenware that looks like it's ready to dance right off the page! Also, have you tried the upside down cake?


PET Milk is, as always, a 'favorite "sparkle and vitality" drink for young moderns.' I can't help thinking this duo has to be more excited about something than the fact that the milk is Instant, though.


The drinks of the day at the Korova Milk Bar.


I'm sure any Frenchman would be offended by the notion of the 'Meaty French Cheese-Bake.' Especially since its main ingredients are the very American gummy white Wonder bread, processed American cheese, and canned luncheon meat!


PET Milk makes a Whipped Topping that is practically parfait in every way


FANCY FRANKS! This is the dance-that-could-have-been from the 'Tapioca' scene in Thoroughly Modern Millie.


There can't be too much of a demand for tutu-wearing potatoes! Not even among Fluffy Mashed Potato fanatics!


The Littlest Meat Loaves