Introduction


Going through a pandemic as an ambitious creative type is a challenge.  I have always relished my time in my beautiful kitchen.  I love researching new recipes and planning weekly meals, and most of all I love cooking and baking.  

But lately I have felt flat in the kitchen.  I've tried new recipes and baked through the mandatory sourdough starter phase.  I need something to get me more excited about cooking again.

I've decided to cook my way through one of my cookbooks that my mom gave me.  It's one of those wonderful, community-written, midwestern town cookbooks that was published in 1977 and contains all the recipes that my husband and I grew up either eating or knowing about.



What I know about this cookbook: not much.  It's from the Coulee Region chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, which is the region around LaCrosse, Wisconsin.  My aunt is a nurse in Racine, and I'm 99% certain this cookbook came from her.  The AACCN still exists today, but the Coulee region appears to have rolled up into either the Wisconsin region or the Twin Cities region.

There is little information in terms of the publishing of this cookbook, but the forward resonated with me:

There are five chapters in this cookbook:
  1. Complete Meals
  2. International Cuisine
  3. Microwave
  4. Grandma's Favorites
  5. Etc.
I've decided to skip the Microwave chapter for a few reasons.  Microwaves are different today than they were in 1977.  I remember when they first hit the market and were the rage.  Everyone tried to cook EVERYTHING in the microwave just because they could.  That's not a good enough reason to make food, in my opinion.  This cookbook would have  you cooking full turkey dinners in the microwave, and I see no point in that when you have a perfectly good oven.  

I have three rules for this project:
  1. I will not make any recipes with shellfish (we have an allergy in the household).
  2. I reserve the right to adjust recipes as needed.  Some of the ingredients, especially brand names, don't even exist today.  And some can be substituted for healthier options, which I will do.
  3. I will not make anything that I'm sure my family won't eat.  I don't want to defeat the goal of trying something new, but we're on a budget and I do not want to throw away food.  If a recipe is called "salmon souffle" or calls for more than two cups of mayonnaise, I'm probably going to skip it.
Let's get cooking!



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