Always Buy The Spirals

I have a love of cookbooks. I read them like a novel. I have my favorites for different reasons. I love Emeril Lagasse's Louisiana Real and Rustic (1996). All the recipes have Louisiana stories or history - inscription says...."To the people of Louisiana who shared with us their heritage and love of food. To those who are presently continuing these traditions and to those who will continue to preserve what has been passed down for generations." This cookbook pays homage to Louisiana - it's people, land, and resources.

I once overheard a woman at a Flea Market say 'always buy the spirals'. I thought about that for awhile and realized the truth of her words. Those little spiral recipe books represent the best recipes of the community. They are usually compilations of recipes from churches, schools, and organizations. They are also written by those who want to preserve the family recipes and history of the family through food. Cane River Cuisine is not known as a spiral (although it is bound by spirals). It is a great cookbook because of the awesome recipes, photography, and history of my home town. My very favorite spiral is big mama's Old Black Pot (1987) written by Ethel Dixon. I love that it  has great recipes and Louisiana folklore (If lost in woods, remember, moss grows on the north side of a tree.) It makes sure that the rural South's great history of living off the land should not be forgotten. Second..."an old black pot can't be beat when you want something fit to eat."

These are a sampling of some of my spirals. They are well read and remnants of flour or other ingredients can be found on some of the pages. I learned from my Maw Maw that cooking is a messy business! The woman's kitchen was always dusted in flour.

I know we have the internet to access every kind of recipe you could imagine - but that does not replace the beauty of a recipe book put together with love.

The blue cookbook (Compiled by Presbyterian Auxiliary - Ferriday, Louisiana) above was given to us by Michael's grandmother in 1981. She wrote the following on the front page... To Tina and Michael: These recipes were compiled during the depression in the 1930's. They have been tested and enjoyed for nearly 50 years. Hope you enjoy using them for the next 50. Love, Nena

The internet can't do that!

One Christmas some of our family members made spirals with recipes specific to their family and every family got a copy.  I think this is a great idea for families needing some fresh ideas for Christmas. I cherish those books.

Last but not least, I love these spirals that offer recipes for gifts in a jar - I have gift recipes for Soups, Bars and Brownies, Muffins and Breads, and Cookies. I hope you enjoyed this post and wish you would share with me some of your favorite cookbooks. I am always looking for great book or spiral.

Happy Cooking......................!