Memories Stored in A Recipe Box

For the past thirty years I have spent my weekends wandering through estate sales hunting for objects of opportunity.  I avoid any that are advertised as "designer" houses preferring to look for the homes that have been lived in for many generations.  I love these small glimpses into the past.  To see and hold what people have cherished.  To reclaim these items and give them a new home to be loved for another generation or two.  I use what I find daily and have decorated my renovated farmhouse with age-appropriate decor scored from these outings.

Last week, while junking, I stumbled across an old metal index card box in the kitchen of the home I was in.  It's not something I tend to reach for, but I was compelled to open it and see what recipes were within.  The first recipe immediately transported me back to the 70's - Thanksgiving with my father's family... a recipe that sounded so much like my grandmother's ambrosia... a dish I'd kill for as a child, and often have wondered if I would ever exactly replicate.  I peeked at a few more recipes and decided that this box needed saving.  You don't see that little unassuming box on the counter in most houses today.  Not when you can just google how to make an item and have it at your fingertips in a second.  There's something to be said for looking for that handwritten card in the family box.  Each one holds a memory that comes from pulling it out and using it anew.  

I decided I would attempt to make most of the recipes Edna kept.  While following the instructions on the first card, the forming of a new blog began in my head.  Follow me as I go on a journey of this woman's prized meals.  I'll let you know how each recipe turned out and suggest what I would do differently if I were to make it again.   

My first recipe from The Vintage Recipe Box was Congealed Salad from Zellna Shaw.  I'm pretty positive that today no one would buy or order a desert with the word congealed in its name, but I saw Eagle Brand in the ingredients and well... I've never had something bad made out of sweetened condensed milk.  I didn't put the pecans in the recipe, but I now understand why it's an option.  Probably cuts the sweetness down a smidgeon.  This is not a dish for diabetics.  Nor do I think it's something that should be served on it's own.  It.is.VERY.sweet.  A scoop of it would be great with a slice of cake - in place of a scoop of ice cream.  It would be amazing served on a slice of pound cake.  This is a "SALAD" that children would not complain about eating.  If you put this bowl on a table near children, they would devour it rapidly and then be running on a sugar high for two days. 

If I were to make it again, I think I would add more fruit - perhaps chop up some strawberries and fresh pineapple.  I remember my grandma put in mixed canned fruit in her ambrosia.  We have access to fresh fruit year round now, I think it would be better with fresh vs canned.  

Rating this recipe...

I'm going to give it a 3.5.  It's easy to make - literally 5 items stirred together and chilled.  I am going to chew on this for a couple of days (truly as I have enough for an army) and decide if I want to tweak it and try it on pound cake.  I also saw a similar recipe that called to be frozen... I may take half of it and freeze to see how it works as a sort of ice cream.  

Rating System:

1:  Inedible

2: Someone else would like it but not me

3:  I'm neutral

4:  Needs some tweaking but could be a winner

5:  OMGEEE this card is being transferred to my own recipe box