The Garden Club of Lexington, Kentucky; The Birmingham Symphony; The African American Heritage Cookbook from Alabama’s renowned Tuskegee Institute; Charleston Receipts, America’s oldest Junior League cookbook in print; Favorite Recipes from The Homeplace, the William Henry Thomas Family Cookbook; Virginia Hospitality from the Junior League of Hampton Roads; The Linley Heflin Cookbook, curated for a new generation in 1962; Well-Seasoned: A Southern Classic, by the Les Passees Women’s Service Organization, Memphis, Tennessee; Living Bread by Christine Whitehorn Stugard; The Bluegrass Cookbook, compiled by Minnie Fox with an introduction by John Fox; A Pinch of Soul by Pearl Bowser and Joan Eckstein; and the Christian Women’s Fellowship Cookbook of the Bethlehem Christian Church.
With a rich collection of cherished cookbooks at our fingertips, we have a wealth of recipes to inspire our return to home-cooked meals. As I pulled these volumes from the shelves—many handed down from my grandmothers, great-aunts, and cousins—I was reminded of my grandmother Laura, who once compiled a cookbook as a fundraiser for a civic group… Was it the Bowl and Blossom Club? Or perhaps the Fortnightly Club?
Cooking was once a shared tradition for many of us, and some even kept gardens. Now feels like the perfect time to revisit those traditions. Here are a few recipes to help you get started.