It’s happening. Those sneaky intimations of a waning summer: golden afternoons, longer shadows, geese cutting though the sky in blade-like precision, cooler nights, and green fields gone flaxen. Farmers offer for sale the last of the tomatoes and corn, and that’s okay, because I find myself drawn to butternut squash and parsnips. I forgo peaches and melons for apples and pears. And, of course, there’s that hankering for oatmeal and stew, stick-to-your-ribs fare, old-fashioned, comfort food.
On one of my “off” days this past week, I settled into the corner of the couch with a cup of Earl Gray and a stack of my most tattered and stained cookbooks. The kind that service organizations put out for fundraising purposes—the kind I call Church Lady cookbooks. These tomes offer up recipes for the tasty fare you find at potluck suppers, family reunions, and very often funerals, where the spread spans two 8-foot folding tables and ends with a large urn of coffee perking away, puffing out a heavenly aroma. I thought I would simply look up some old favorites and adapt them to suit my sugar-free, low carb diet. What an adventure, as I sought the best of both worlds: comfort and better health!
I read numerous classics calling for such ingredients as canned soup, boxed cake mixes, Tater Tots and Jell-O, but I also discovered recipes with humor: Whiskey Wieners, Hasty Tasty Kraut Casserole, and Fun Buns. The bizarre: Pickled Bluegills (Bluegills being a panfish you catch in Wisconsin), Rabbit & Squirrel Meatloaf (Again, I’m from Wisconsin.), #2 Pea Can Pie, Scalloped Pineapple, and Ants on a Log. The irresistible: Nana Susie’s Banana Bread, Chocolate Gooey Bars, and Slow Cooker Chicken with Cracker Dumplings. I salivated over the whimsical: Snow Pudding, Fairy Food and Snickerdoodles, only to be put off by Trout Log, Liver Paste and Hot Milk Cake. And of course, I was humbled by the pious: Scripture Cake, Heavenly Hash, Black Monk’s Mustard, Angel Food Delight, and Sinful Easy Kolachky Cookies.
I spent a good deal of time poring over these coveted books. Enough time to actually think about preparing something, as I’ve been in a bit of a culinary slump. Perhaps I’ll whip up a late summer batch of succotash, or I’ll dilly some beans, or I’ll ditch that sugar-free, low carb mindset and indulge in a French Silk Pie!
It would be thoughtless not to share my bounty, so here is a comforting, handed-down-through-the-ages recipe just for you. Bon appetit!
RECIPE FOR KINDNESS
(author unknown)
Fold two hands together, and express a dash of sorrow.
Marinate it overnight, and work on it tomorrow.
Chop one grudge in tiny pieces. Add several cups of love.
Dredge with a large sized smile, and mix the ingredients above.
Dissolve the hate within you, by doing a very good deed.
Dash in some help for any friend, if they should be in need.
Stir in laughter, love and kindness, from the heart it has to come.
Mix with genuine forgiveness, and give your neighbour some.
The amount of people you can serve from the recipe above,
Is in the quality of its ingredients, and unlimited amounts of love.
Sign up to receive notifications of my blog posts by email!
The names of recipes made me chuckle, some made my mouth water and at the recipe in the end, my eyes watered and my chest felt full of love. Perhaps being kind will lesson the need for sugar and carbs!
Oh, what a good thought!!!
Lovely recipes. Great good for thought.
Thank you, Bonnie. Just in time for fall and then….winter!
Got me right in the feels! Thank you!
And you are feeling a lot. Sending tons of love.
Thank you, Heide, for this tribute to the waning days of summer and Church Lady cookbooks!
They deserve so much credit for their creativity, ingenuity and mothering. They constantly give me comfort.
Once again I am touched by your blog posting. I remember those cookbooks that my church churned out dutifully every year to help raise funds. My mother’s were well-loved and stained with soy sauce (many Asian recipes). My favorite is a cookbook of Japanese cuisine. I had inherited a previous copy from my mother, dog-eared and her go-to. We had a house fire and lost everything including the cookbook. Years later my aunt (my mom’s sister) gave me another copy as a remembrance of her. Touched my heart as did your ending recipe. Blessings! Ellen
I definitely need to do a recipe exchange with you. I love Asian food, but being brought up by a German based family in a rural northern part of the country I’m most comfortable with mashed potatoes. That cookbook your aunt gave you is a treasure. One of my favorites was my Aunt’s from her church. I still make cranberry torte from that book. Thank you for always supporting my writing efforts. It’s greatly appreciated.
I have some of those cookbooks, too, and they are such treasures! I also have a a small receipt book from “Hauser Brothers Fine Groceries”. that contains recipes that I’m quite sure were written by Grandma Eva. It’s a small receipt book from Hauser Brothers Fine Groceries. I’ll show you when you visit. I do have to warn you that I am known for my jellies and breads, which might not go so well with your sugar-free, low carb diet. We’ll figure something out!
Pat, I will eat homemade bread and jam any day. I try to keep it at a minimum as I am pre-diabetic. I can’t wait to see your cookbooks and especially the Hauser Brothers Fine Groceries receipt book.
TROUT LOG!!!!! TROUT LOG!!!!!
It’s just perfection.
And so is this beautiful story!!!
XOXOXOXO
Yes, trout log does capture one’s imagination. I will make it for you some day. : ) Thanks so much for reading. It makes me happy. XOXOXOXO right back to you.