COOKING PLAIN A Treasury of Century-Old Family Recipes with a Selection of Natural Foods and Wild Game Cookery, and with Sections on Preserving Foods and on Household Hints - from the Illinois Country

Helen Walker Linsenmeyer

ISBN 10: 0809307820 / ISBN 13: 9780809307821

Published by Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale and Edwardsville, 1976

About this Item

**Bundle Up & Save On Postage** Price clipped dust jacket has edgewear damage, top edge of text is very lightly soiled, small spot on side edge, otherwise without flaw. 6 X 9" 275 pages, (1976). Family recipes from before 1900, perfected from generation to generation, mirroring the delicious and distinctive kind of cookery produced by the mix of people who settled the Illinois Country. Many reflect a New England or Southern influence, while others echo a European heritage. All hark back to a simple style of living, when cooking was plain, pure, and unadulterated and strength-giving food was essential to health and endurance.

Seller Inventory # 19610

Bibliographic Details

• Title: COOKING PLAIN A Treasury of Century-Old Family Recipes with a Selection of Natural Foods and Wild Game Cookery, and with Sections on Preserving Foods and on Household Hints - from the Illinois Country
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale and Edwardsville
• Publication Date: 1976
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809307820
• ISBN 13: 9780809307821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fair
• Seller catalogs:
  • Cooking : American
  • Cookbooks, Food & Drink

About this title

Synopsis

"Cooking Plain, Illinois Country Style "by Helen Walker Linsenmeyer presents a collection of family recipes created prior to 1900 and perfected from generation to generation, mirroring the delicious and distinctive kind of cookery produced by the mix of people who settled the Illinois Country during this period. Some recipes reflect a certain New England or Southern influence, while others echo a European heritage. All hark back to a simpler style of living, when cooking was plain yet flavorful. a The recipes specify the use of natural ingredients (including butter, lard, and suet) rather than synthetic or ready-mixed foods, which were unavailable in the 1800s. Cooking at the time was pure and unadulterated, and portions were large. Strength-giving food was essential to health and endurance; thus fare was pure, hearty, flavorful, and wholesome. a The many treasures of "Cooking Plain, Illinois Country Style "include a OCo basic recipes for mead, originally served to the militiamen of Jackson County; sumac lemonade, made the Indian way; root beer, as it was originally made; OCo soups of many kindsOCofrom wholesome vegetable to savory sorrel leaf, enjoyed by the Kaskaskia French; OCo old-fashioned fried beefsteak, classic American pot roast and gravy, as well as secret marinades to tenderize the tougher but more flavorful cuts of meat; OCo methods for preparing and cooking rabbit, squirrel, wild turkey, venison, pheasant, rattlesnake, raccoon, buffalo, and fish; OCo over one hundred recipes for wheat breads, sweet breads, corn breads, and pancakes; OCo an array of delectable desserts and confections, including puddings, ice cream, taffy, and feathery-light cakes and pies; OCo sections on the uses of herbs, spices, roots, and weeds; instructions for making sausage, jerky, and smoked fish and for drying oneOCOs own fruits and vegetables; and household hints on everything from making lye soap to cooking for the sick. a And there are extra-special nuggets, too, for Mrs. Linsenmeyer laces her cookbook with interesting biographical notes on a number of the settlers and the origin of many of the foods they used. There is also a wealth of historical information on lifestyles and cooking before 1900, plus helpful tips on the use of old-fashioned cooking utensils. a A working cookbook complete in its coverage of every area of food preparation, "Cooking Plain, Illinois Country Style "will be used and treasured as much today as its recipes were by families of an earlier century. The recipes are not gourmet, but they are certain to please todayOCOs cooks, especially those interested in using local ingredients and getting back to a more natural way of cooking and eating."