A Mennonite mother's lifetime collection of over 1,000 recipes. Much more than a recipe book.
IntroductionRecipe Abbreviations and Ingredients Definitions of Food and Cooking TermsDaily Nutrition Guide
Excerpt from Introduction, pages 13-15
When I suddenly found my own daughters starting to venture out on their own, I began to wonder if I had really taught them the things I wanted them to know before they left. The whole experience, however, set me to thinking of how helpful it might be to them to have a book with all the tips and helpful hints included that I have learned through many years of experience. My own collections of favorite recipes that I had been adding to for 25 years was badly in need of updating and organizing, so I decided to type them into a notebook. Many of the directions for recipes were incomplete, and some called for a 6 oz bag of this or a 12 oz bag of that. With the coming of bulk food stores, this wasn't very helpful for a young inexperienced cook.
In the meantime, several people strongly encouraged me to consider having a book published. They felt there was a real need for this type thing. If we Mennonites intended to hand on to the next generations our tradition of "good country-style cooking," we needed to give them more help than is usually found in a recipe collection. I was also personally receiving an increasing number of calls from young persons and others about how to prepare certain foods, and especially how to can and freeze various foods. It seemed there was definitely a lack of easy access to this type of information.
Even though there are many excellent cookbooks on the market, the intent of this book is not to compete, but to supply useful tips that are not found in many other books. I have tried to include the kinds of practical information that would have been helpful to me when I began cooking many years ago. My prayer is that you will find it helpful also!