Back-to-School, Part One

The 1962 Lunchbox Edition, with Recipe

Aladdin Brand Plaid Lunch Box and Thermos. Photo: Shutterstock

If you grew up in the 1950’s or 60’s, there’s a good chance you had one of these plaid Aladdin Brand lunch boxes, complete with ‘Safety First’ instructions on the inside of the cover.

Also on that cover was an illustration of two happy children on either side of a wooden plank seesaw, a type of seesaw that has mostly gone the way of the dinosaur because of, well, safety.

My sandwiches were always wrapped in waxed paper. Chocolate milk was in my thermos, but often I requested cold tea (I drank tea as a kid) and maybe a Twinkie or a Ring Ding as a treat was in there, all of it neatly packed in this compact metal box.

There was one sandwich, however, that never appeared in my lunch box. I didn’t like peanut butter. I wasn’t allergic, there was just something about it that left me cold. No peanut butter and jelly for me.

Now this was unfortunate news for my mother who was also tending to the needs of (at the time) my three younger brothers— my youngest brother would arrive three years later.

My mom had to come up with something for my lunch on Fridays that didn’t include meat.

The reason for this Friday abstinence was that Catholics weren’t supposed to eat meat on Friday. I attended a strict, all-girls Catholic school that was not just a school, but a century-old convent.

The convent was like something right out of “The Sound of Music” complete with giant clanging metal gates and a chapel full of postulants singing Gregorian Chant in Latin, the sound of their voices gorgeous and otherworldly.

There would be no getting a bologna sandwich past this fleet of nuns on a Friday.

More plaid. 1962 photo from the yearbook of the Academy of St. Joseph on Long Island. I’m in the front row, middle, with the extra-short bangs. This was the ‘duck and cover’ year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. These desks would save us from nuclear annihilation.

So my mom got out the Ritz crackers, cream cheese and grape jelly and made six little ‘kid canapés’, and filled my thermos with cold tea. I loved this. While my classmates ate their pedestrian PB&J sandwiches, I smugly enjoyed my own little Friday lunch party with these dainty, delicious treats.

Dramatic Re-enactment of my Friday Elementary School Lunch. Ritz, Cream Cheese, Jelly,. Still good, still like them! Photo: Jolene

All Grown-Up

I’d been thinking about this childhood lunch last week when, Voila! I stumbled upon a recipe for beautiful crackers from King Arthur Baking Company and I thought I’d make them and put together some grown-up canapés.

At this point you may be thinking: Do I really need to make my own crackers? Of course not. But there is one very good reason to make them: they are extra delicious. I asked my brother Bill (who owns a restaurant and is one of my go-to taste-testers) to try them and he thought they were great. Crisp and buttery and just the right amount of sweet and salty. In fact, he took some home with him.

They were a breeze to make, no special equipment needed, one bowl, a whisk, a biscuit cutter, a rolling pin — I think you’ll love them.

These were fun to make —- and eat. Photo: Jolene

Thank you to King Arthur Baking Company for permission to share this recipe for their Buttery Rich Crackers.

For recipe, Click Here.

Practice party

Practice Canapés. Photo: Jolene

Since this is the long holiday weekend it’s been fun to make and share some practice canapés, one tasty bite to go with a cocktail, mocktail or wine.

The crackers from the King Arthur recipe really held up to whatever I put on them. They stayed crisp with no sogginess.

I’m putting together a cocktail and mocktail party newsletter for the end of the year, so this weekend was the start of some delicious retro ‘research’. I also love the old-school look of canapés. Nothing too fancy (maybe a little fancy.) Just great with drinks.

Pictured above from left to right, front row are: Olive and artichoke tapenade; feta with pimento. Back row, left to right: Mozzarella, Pesto, chopped plum tomato; Lemon Chive Chicken Salad; Prosciutto with Pineapple.

If you have any favorite hors d’oeuvres I’d be really interested to hear what they are. I would love to include them in the newsletter I’m working on, so leave a comment!

I hope you’re having a great long weekend and I’ll see you again Friday, back to the regular weekly schedule.

A warm welcome to new subscribers to Time Travel Kitchen and a big thank you to all subscribers.

See you Friday with Part Two of Back to School.

Jolene