Salmon Pea Wiggle at the Fairlee Diner

ood, like fashion, has trends and cycles in and out of popularity. In New England, our diets change with the seasons. We feast on fresh vegetables, grilled meat and fish in the summer, and lean toward roasts and winter vegetables, squash, carrots, and other vegetables that last for months, during the cold winter months.

Then there are the trends in food. Remember when everyone had a typewritten copy of

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies, the “secret” recipe for an immensely popular cookie. Or the moment when quiche — with a glass of Chardonnay — became popular and was served at most dinner parties.

Driving along the Connecticut River on a cold, rainy Sunday, we decided to have lunch at the Jan’s Fairlee Diner in Fairlee. If you haven’t been there, it’s just across the Connecticut River from Orford on Route 5 N. Although it hasn’t been open continuously since the Roberts family built it in 1939, it has a long history. You can find an article by Ellen Steese about the diner in the June 28, 1987, issue of the Wall Street Journal.

Ducking through the rain and trying to avoid puddles, we headed inside and found a booth near the back. The waitress, with a kind smile, dropped menus on the table and just as we had started making our choices, returned to read us the daily specials.

First on the list was Salmon Pea Wiggle. We looked up and smiled. Salmon Pea Wiggle? Wasn’t this dish from the 1950s? Our mothers often prepared it for a Sunday supper or a winter lunch. It had been decades since we thought about this dish.

This, of course, sent me immediately back to Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook, published in 1950 by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., and General Mills. More than 75 million copies of the book have been sold since it was first published.

Although Betty Crocker was “named the second most popular woman in the United States after Eleanor Roosevelt,” she wasn’t a real person. In fact, she was a character created by General Mills. Learning this is like learning that Santa Claus doesn’t travel on a sled pulled by reindeer, the Easter Bunny doesn’t hide chocolate eggs and the Tooth Fairy isn’t the person who leaves coins under your pillow when you lose a tooth.

I still occasionally use the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, because it shows you visually how to prepare food, a sort of YouTube in print. A few months ago, I made a lemon meringue pie that got rave reviews, certainly a credit to the recipe and the instructions for each step.

Interestingly, I couldn’t find a recipe for Salmon Pea Wiggle. However, under Supper and Luncheon Dishes I did find a few interesting recipes. Remember, this was when we didn’t have DoorDash, UberEats and other opportunities for having food delivered to our homes. Mother had the full responsibility for three solid meals a day – shopping, preparing, setting the table and probably washing, drying, and putting the dishes away.

In a listing of menus, Welsh Rarebit was suggested as a dish for “some Sunday evening.”

For a “cozy family supper,” one might consider creamed tuna and peas, Wheaties muffins and baked pink rhubarb. There were many recipes I hadn’t ever heard before.

Monday Macaroni suggested using leftovers from Sunday. Rum Tum Tiddy, which was served in the Boston Athletic Club, is essentially tomato soup, shredded American cheese, one egg and dry mustard served hot on toast points or crackers. Salmon Au Gratin also included Wheaties on the top. Tuna-Potato Chip Casserole used chips instead of crushed cheese crackers on the top.

One of the most popular recipes, indicated by a star, is the Toasted Pimento Bars.

In her letter at the beginning of the cookbook Betty Crocker wrote, “We hope this book will bring you more fun in cooking and deeper joy in your homemaking.”

These words were before robots, technology, and fast foods. My suggestion is to drive along the Connecticut River either in New Hampshire or Vermont. Then enjoy lunch at the Fairlee Diner. You will be greeted with a smile, a menu that is authentic and food that is just as you remembered it should taste. It will, as Betty Crocker promised, “bring you joy.”

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Elizabeth Howard is the host of the Short Fuse Podcast, found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or through the Arts Fuse. Her career intersects journalism, marketing, and communications. “Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back,” a book she edited, was published in May 2016. She is the author of “A Day with Bonefish Joe,” a children’s book, published by David R. Godine. You can send her a note at: eh@elizabethhoward.com.