The old Cook Book

I have a good sized cookbook collection. I often pick up regional cookbooks when I'm on vacation, have some celebrity cookbooks, and specific cookbooks such as vegetarian, chocolate, and crockpot cooking. I even wrote a cookbook!

But one of my favorites is a much battered cookbook that my mother bought for fifty cents sometime back in the late sixties put together by a librarian at White Rock Elementary school - I think! The recipes were donated by parents in the White Rock/Surrey school system and typed, stenciled, and copied by a school secretary. The paper is held together by a ring (there used to be 2 rings) and some pages have been reinforced by me with those hole protectors.

At the front of the cook book is the dedication:

Ingredients:
1 Publisher
1 Typist
300 Recipes
696 Pupil Workers
11 Mothers
12 Secondary Students
1 tsp good luck

Method:
While the principal and staff are warming to the idea, gather materials and mix furiously for 3 months. Intense heat and pressure are required as deadline approaches. Edit, type, duplicate, bind and turn out on a prepared, receptive public.

And this is the cookbook that I most often turn to when I'm looking for some family cooking, particularly in the cakes and squares sections. Back in the days when most women stayed at home taking care of the house and family and had some well tried and tested recipes. The names of the contributor are listed below each recipe. Almost always a Mrs somebody or other. A few Anonymous - guess they forgot to sign their name when they sent in their recipe.

Today I was looking for an easy cake to bake. I settled on a fudge cake that takes half hour to cook. Well, I had to keep putting it back int he oven because my toothpick didn't come out clean. I'd say it took closer to 50 minutes. Some of these older recipes need a little fine tuning. Maybe the ovens heated hotter forty years ago. There's a few places where my mother has made some notes such as an icing that goes well with a bar or square.

About twenty-five years ago I was at someone's house and they served Waldorf Red Velvet Cake for dessert. Oh, it was so good. I came home and checked our recipe books and the old parent's cook book had the recipe in there. I baked it and iced it and it came out wonderfully delicious. The next time I baked this cake it didn't turn out so well, and the third time it was decidedly flat. I never baked it again.

But I think about, and with that recipe sitting in the old Cook Book, maybe I'll give it another try.