My mother was a decent cook for the most part; we generally lived on basic farm fare: beef, pork, or chicken with mashed potatoes and a side of whatever vegetables. She was good with cakes and other baked goods. But I always hoped that if she fixed breakfast eggs she would scramble them; otherwise she would crack them in the frying pan and fry them to the consistency of tire patches.

So far as a recipe from hell back then, she brought home a great idea from a womans meeting once; along with fruit in jello, lay in a layer of graham crackers to dissolve into a gummy sludge. Fortunately she only served it once, so we forgave her.