Instant minced onion, cheddar cheese cubes, and packed meat–all the ingredients of a classic ’70s meatloaf, with a twist. Or should I say, a ring.

These peanut butter bars were a staple of San Diego public school cafeteria lunches from the 70s through the 90s (or so a quick internet search told me), and I remember them well. I loved these sweet, peanut buttery treats so much that I asked the cafeteria ladies for the recipe. The backside of the card notes the cooking temp (350-degrees) and the time (20-25 minutes) and I was very surprised to see coconut in the ingredients list. That I don’t remember.

I was curious to see how they lived up to memory, so last night we baked up a batch and wow, are they ever sweet. Definitely satisfied my recent craving for a peanut butter cookie, but I think I’m good for another forty years.

Another from the old family recipe box. There are a couple of things to puzzle over in this cornbread recipe, starting with the very questionable name. Gringo? Really? And is that because of the wimpy combination of cheddar and Jack cheeses? Then there’s the strange #303 delineation for the can of creamed corn. Now we’d identify the can size or amount by ounces.

Finally, I can’t say I remember ever eating this. I’m going to guess from the huge serving amount, that it was saved for large gatherings. If at all. What I do remember is the family going through many boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, baked in corncob-shaped muffin pans.

Here’s another from the green plastic recipe box archive, which I have no recollection of ever eating. Yet another recipe featuring cans of things rather than fresh. So much cream, so much mayo, so much white bread filler, and, with only a teaspoon of shredded (??) onion and half as much salt, so little flavor! Finally, nothing says 1970s like a cornflake crumble crust!

Is anyone else nervous that you let this dairy and crab concoction sit on the counter for an hour before you bake it?

Many years ago, while home over Thanksgiving, I came across my mother’s plastic green recipe box, crammed full of probably twenty years’ worth of culinary delights. My mother died in 1980, so when I pulled this box from its drawer (where it had been hiding in plain sight for a couple of decades) and finally delved in to see what was there, it was like opening a time capsule. A familiar, dated, comforting, and sometimes repulsive time capsule of cooking.

As we went through the recipes and pulled out some real gems, many of which I’d never seen (let alone eaten) before, we were howling with laughter, so hard at times it brought tears. I vowed to scan these recipes for safe keeping and to share them with friends. Many years after lugging this recipe box home on the plane, it seems the time is right. Here is the first of many edible (that’s debatable) delights (also debatable). Bon appetit!

I give you Eleanor’s Luncheon Salad. It’s an entire luncheon in a salad! I dare you to get through the ingredients list without feeling a little queasy.

Hey Cubs fans! Some good news. We may not have 2020 baseball (yet) but we can feed our souls with the sweet sounds of the game beginning April 1, when 670 The Score will begin broadcasting the entire 2016 postseason, one game each night. They’ll also have Pat & Ron giving some live thoughts before, during and after each game. Should be a treat.

Here’s a link to a schedule of the games.

The first game is on Wednesday at 6pm CST. I plan to treat it like opening day, wear my Cubs gear all day, maybe order out hotdogs for dinner, crack open a beer, and listen to the game. Who’s with me?

I had a bumber crop of volunteer sunflowers come up in the yard this year. It’s been a lot of fun watching the plants shoot up all summer long. For the past three week, the blooms have been opening up–how we marveled at the slow release of the first one–one by one, and the subsequent appearance of bees, butterflies, and goldfinches have been a welcome next act of the late summer show.