The Hungry Canary

Adapted from Ideals Family Cookbook · Francis Langbecker

Hearty Lunch Salad

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup grated carrots
  • 2 Tbsp finely minced fennel bulb (original: minced onion)
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • ½ cup creamy prepared salad dressing, such as Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise with a little apple cider vinegar and sweetener, to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp cream or milk
  • 2 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard (likely meaning of “salad mustard”)
  • 1 can salmon, drained (can size not stated)
  • 1 can crispy shoestring potatoes / potato sticks, for topping (can size not stated)

Directions

  1. Combine the grated carrots, minced fennel, celery, creamy salad dressing, cream or milk, prepared mustard and drained salmon. Mix gently until evenly blended.
  2. Chill until ready to serve.
  3. Immediately before serving, top with crispy shoestring potatoes so they stay crunchy.

Cookbook source

“Hearty Lunch Salad,” contributed by Francis Langbecker to the Ideals Family Cookbook. The original lists one cup grated carrots, two tablespoons minced onion, half a cup celery, half a cup “salad dressing,” two tablespoons cream or milk, two tablespoons “salad mustard,” a can of salmon and a can of shoestring potatoes. The first seven ingredients are mixed together; potatoes are added on top just before serving.

Vintage ingredient explanations and substitutions

Shoestring potatoes: Likely commercially canned crisp potato sticks, not fresh French fries. Salad dressing: Likely a prepared, creamy, tangy mayonnaise-style dressing akin to Miracle Whip. As a homemade alternative, season half a cup mayonnaise with apple cider vinegar and a small amount of sweetener to taste. Salad mustard: Likely prepared yellow/table mustard; the precise historic formulation is uncertain. Onion: Two tablespoons finely minced fennel bulb replace the minced onion in this version. Neither the salmon can nor the potato-stick can is assigned an invented size.

Serving note

To keep the potato-stick topping crisp, add it only when ready to eat. Check packaged dressings and toppings against individual ingredient restrictions.