Funny, I was just remembering that Jello (plain) was a novel at our home for a while. We also had the wonderful bananna nut cake with a caramel icing. Our food was pretty straight forward. They butchered a hog in winter and was used until all gone. My mom is 100 + years old now so I guess the fat didn't kill her. Do you remember when we were first introduced to marjorine? It came in a bag with a yellow bead in it that you had to knead to make the product yellow like butter.

When I was a child mom would fix a pineapple upside down cake for a last minute "Ups! I forgot to fix a dessert for supper " dessert. She could have it in the oven in 5 minutes. My all time favorite, usually fixed for birthdays only was a white 3 layer Baltimore cake layered with fresh Banana slices and vanilla butter creme icing, iced on the outside with 7 minute icing and covered with fresh grated coconut. The difference in the taste between already grated coconut and freshly grated coconut is like the difference between hamburger steak and porterhouse steak! So much trouble but so worth it. And I love homemade divinity and fudge candy.

I really like Spam as long as it is pan fried crispy on the outside. I enjoy it with eggs and toast for breakfast. Also, when I was sailing offshore in my sailboat, I would make fried Spam sandwiches with sliced cheddar cheese and onion. I like 'em. Now cold Spam out of a can makes my stomach roll.

Grandma used to make these cookies she called Tea Cakes. I loved to eat the dough raw. I have not been able to find her recipe, but it's taste was similar to a sugar cookie dough, except when cooked, they came out thick instead of thin.

I still have my Mom's old cookbook. It's called the "Searchlight Cook Book". I think it was printed in the early 40's. It has some really good old recipes. I was only about 10 in WWII but remember Mom making Tamale Pie a lot and yes, we are SPAM burgers too. I remember when margarine (or Oleo as it was called) came in one big white chunk and the coloring came in a little packet and you had to mix the margarine and the coloring so it resembled butter...Seems like a 100 years ago now....

When I was little (late 60's), my parents divorced. As a result, we were quite poor. My DM would spend $40 a month to take care of 3 of us. Mom would take a can of Spam, cover it with brown sugar/mustard glaze and bake it in the oven. She would even put a pineapple ring and a marichino cherry on it. Mock ham.