My mother was a creative cook and could make anything taste good.
Like
many farm wives, my mother was part of the Home Extension Association.
Once a month the farm women would meet at one’s home, listen to a
lesson presented by two of their group about foreign countries and
foods.
It was a time to socialize, eat, and bring home interests, and some gossiping.
My
mother was part of a committee that put together the first cookbook:
Pick County (Illinois) Homemakers’ Favorite Recipes, 1982.
I hope the recipe shows. Top of left page: Molasses cookies,"Irma Peck, Nebo, Illinois"
On
winter afternoons, Mom, my sister, and I made massive amounts of
these. When one brother cut through the kitchen to the porch, he
grabbed two handfuls. He had big hands.
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| Please note: heavy wear |
Cookbooks were more common when Mom was a young mom. and liked to use different books. One of the older books, the pages were fragile, couldn't be used. Most of the time, Mom didn't use them. She had them memorized.
Does any blogger here remember cookbooks, had some?
This is a post that I write, and re-write. This was 2012, I think. I'm going to make mincemeat pie. It is raining outside, time to preheat the oven.
My mother had a cookbook that she used so much, it was falling apart, not to mention stained. So yes, I do remember those old cookbooks. Thanks for sharing this about your mother, too. Blessings, Susan!
ReplyDeleteMom's book was disintegrating. the pages were crumbling. Sad.
DeleteMy mama like yours if she used a recipe, it was from memory and how strange it is for those wonderful ladies who could make anything taste good.... Even Hoover Gravy was looked forward to.
ReplyDeleteLove from Florida
Hoover gravy? We called it milk gravy back then. Best gravy.
DeleteMom had cookbooks. I had cookbooks. And of course there were hand-me-down dishes that had no book. They were made by someone in the family way back when and taught to daughters through the years. And don't forget the recipes on boxes and cans. Some of them are the best.
ReplyDeleteI remember Grandma showing me how to make egg noodles. No measuring cups needed.
DeleteMy wife has a bunch of them, but she tends to gravitate toward the cookbooks of recipes she wrote down. We have several of those as well.
ReplyDeletesame here. some pages get splattered with ingredients.
DeleteMy Mom had a cookbook like that, with all the yellowing pages and clippings falling out.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good memory.
DeleteI don't remember mum ever having a cookbook, she made things from memory, like her apple strudel, or just cooked things where a recipe wasn't necessary, like meat and vegetables meals. Cookies, which we call biscuits, were bought from the grocery shop, but not every week, they were a treat rather than a daily "fill-them-up". I saw recipe books in friends houses and years later bought a few myself, but wrote down any recipes that became popular with my kids and gave them copies when they left home. These days I have a whole shelf of recipe books that I've bought, mostly to drool over the wonderful pictures, but I have made a few things from them.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in your mincemeat pie, is that a fruit mince such as is used in Christmas mince pies? Or is it a ground beef pie?
I posted about making mincemeat pie some time ago. But in my day, mincemeat was made with an asst. of meat, fruits, etc. Now it is vegan.
DeleteI still have cookbooks. I don't use them, but I still have them.
ReplyDeleteI have a number of cookbooks, can't bear to get rid of them.
DeleteYou brought back memories of my Mom today. She also was a really good cook and could make anything taste good. She had cookbooks too but I think mostly she had her recipes memorized. I have cookbooks and enjoy them and try to use recipes from them instead of just trying out one and done! I also use the internet!
ReplyDeleteMom taught us girls to do almost everything. This cookbook is the only left from her house.
DeleteThe most famous one from around here was River Road Recipes, and yes, I have a much stained and much loved copy.
ReplyDeleteMom's most used cookbook was falling apart. the pages are crumbling. I sent it to my brother to preserve.
Delete