I was dusting my bookcase in a rare fit of cleaning when an old cookbook caught my eye. I pulled it from the shelf for a good look. Tattered and torn, with the back cover missing, the red bow and pine cone artwork adorning its front cover hinted of former glory. The title, Our Best to You, was proudly displayed along with the words, “Scandinavian and other ‘best’ recipes from Minnesota’s north shore country.”
I felt a wave of nostalgia at reading the words. This Congregational Church cookbook was once the most popular cookbook in town and was popular for at least three editions over three decades, from 1937 to the 1970s.
Turning the pages took me down memory lane back to a long-gone era when church ladies were proud to join groups like “circles” and ladies’ aids, and Women’s Fellowships. They met regularly in church basements or Sunday school rooms and cheerfully and efficiently took care of a myriad of tasks: funeral lunches, wedding receptions, tidying the sanctuary, and fund-raising rummage sales and huge dinners.
While many women of that era held down jobs, many did not work outside of the home and found outlets for their abilities in churches. They were only too happy to turn to churches for outlets for their talents. The church cookbooks required financial knowledge, artistic skills, and organizational know-how.
Nostalgia aside, delicious recipes were the best part of church cookbooks. Nothing beats a church cookbook for satisfying, tasty main dishes or sugary sweet buttery desserts. Open a church cookbook to almost any page, and you will find a great eating experience.
As I thumbed through this tattered copy of Our Best to You, I remembered many of the ladies, now long gone. I found a dinner roll recipe that I once tried unsuccessfully to emulate; I located a well-known local “fish cake” recipe and a popular chocolate cookie recipe named after its author.
Whereas the back cover is gone, the book’s last page holds a treasure, a handwritten meatball recipe for 25 people. Prepping food for large groups would have been no problem for ladies of this era. The cook’s name is mentioned and I plan to contact her daughter. I’d imagine she’d love to see her mother’s recipe.
As I closed the old cookbook, promising myself to continue preserving it, I wondered, are church cookbooks still produced?
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