The Hungry Canary

Adapted from Ideals Family Cookbook · Iris Garrison

Hearty Ham Supper

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups cubed cooked ham
  • 1 can whole-kernel corn, drained (can size unspecified)
  • 1 cup diced cooked potatoes
  • ¼ cup minced parsley
  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fennel bulb (original: chopped onion)
  • ¼ tsp paprika
  • ¼ cup butter or margarine
  • ¼ cup sorghum flour (original: wheat flour)
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup shredded American cheese

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking dish.
  2. Make the cream sauce: melt butter in a saucepan, stir in the sorghum flour and cook briefly while stirring. Gradually whisk in the milk, cooking until smooth and lightly thickened.
  3. Combine cooked ham, drained corn, cooked potatoes, parsley, chopped fennel and paprika in the baking dish.
  4. Pour the sauce evenly over the ham mixture and sprinkle the shredded American cheese over the top.
  5. Bake at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Makes 4–6 servings.

Cookbook source

“Hearty Ham Supper,” contributed by Iris Garrison to the Ideals Family Cookbook. The original calls for two cups cooked cubed ham, one can drained whole-kernel corn, one cup cooked diced potatoes, quarter cup minced parsley, one tablespoon finely chopped onion, quarter teaspoon paprika, quarter cup butter or margarine, quarter cup flour, two cups milk and one cup shredded American cheese. Make a sauce from butter, flour and milk; combine other ingredients in a baking dish, pour sauce over and top with cheese. Bake at 350°F for half an hour. Yield: 4–6 servings.

Hungry Canary substitutions

Onion: Replace the original one tablespoon finely chopped onion with one tablespoon finely chopped fennel bulb. Flour: Use one-quarter cup sorghum flour to prepare the white sauce instead of wheat flour; whisk well and adjust thickening as needed after testing. Corn: The original does not specify can size, so no definitive modern can weight is assigned. The paprika is retained from the original for readers, even though some households may omit nightshades.

Preparation note

The potatoes and ham are already cooked before baking. American cheese is used as the original topping, rather than mixed into the white sauce.