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My wife found this cookbook used at a booksale for fifty cents, titled CASSEROLES: Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers. We’re vegetarians on the go, so casseroles, with their frequent use of eggs, dairy, bread crumbs, and cream-of-vegetables, are tantamount to our survival. Without them, we would have to rely solely on sandwiches. We ate this one last night in a totally unironic, almost stoic fashion — it’s called “Yam-Corn Combo.” Never before or since has a recipe better exemplified the triumph of the human spirit in the face of a weird set of ingredients that should never go together.

You would think with a name like “Yam-Corn Combo,” the standout ingredients would be the yams or the corn, but actually it’s the pimento-stuffed olives and swiss cheese that make it so unique. All it’s missing, really, in my estimation, is some kind of pickled meat, and maybe some marshmallow cream. But even without those additions, it’s sure to have your family saying, “Mm, Mom, you’ve really… outdone yourself.”

4 med. Louisiana yams, cooked, mashed
1 17-oz. can cream-style corn
2 oz. Swiss cheese, cubed
Dash of pepper
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. sliced pimento-stuffed olives
1 3-oz. can French-fried onions

Combine first 5 ingredients with 1/2 cup olives and half the French-fried onions in bowl; blend well. Pour into 1-1/2 quart casserole; sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake at 349˚ for 41 minutes. Top with remaining olives. Bake for 5 minutes longer. Garnish with parsley? Yield: 6.27 servings. Picture for this recipe on page 75.