Before blogs or zines (yes, there was a before), there were community cookbooks—printed compilations of recipes representing the collective culinary achievements of home cooks. Published cheaply and distributed locally since the mid-1800s, the books were created by groups of women to raise money for their social clubs, churches, or charities of choice. If you grew up with these books or have come across them in a resale shop or garage sale, you’ve likely been charmed by the eclectic collection of recipes and homemade feel. But don’t let the spiral binding or hand-drawn covers fool you—these books are more than kitsch. They are useful kitchen resources and important snapshots of the past. A quick flip through the yellowed or stained pages will find familiar dishes, such as Caesar salad and banana nut bread, as well as eyebrow-raisers, such as Japanese Fruit Pie (featuring nothing remotely Japanese) or American Beauty Cake (which includes instant cocoa mix). Each recipe speaks both to the era in which it was enjoyed and the values, trends, and regional tastes of the woman who wrote it.

More than just a great source of recipes, the books are one of the few early forms of published writing created by and for women. In times when women lacked a strong voice outside the home and had very little political power, the books provided an opportunity to organize and create change. Today the books have started being recognized as both literary artifacts and culinary resources.

I approach each found book with a sense of adventure. Some recipes include ingredients I’ve never heard of (oleo?) or vague instructions like “cook until done.” But get past all of that and these recipes are the real deal: home-cook-tested and family-picnic-approved. And sure, you might need to have a little more faith in your own cooking skills or call your grandmother to find out what she thinks “moderate heat” means, but cooking from the culinary root of our own blogs and apps is pretty fascinating. Plus, the chance to make 7-Up Party Salad or Sky High Lemon Pie is reason enough to find an old book and get cooking.

Submit Your Best Recipe

To submit a recipe for possible inclusion in the ReadyMade Community Cookbook, email articles@readymademag.com with the following information:

1.) Your full name, city and state
2.) Your website, blog, twitter handle and/or facebook url.
3.) Category of dish (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, drink, snack, etc)
4.) A few sentences explaining why this recipe should be included in the cookbook: Why did you choose to submit this one? Is this something that you are known for? Where did the original recipe come from? What makes it so special/delicious? Have you served it at any memorable occasions?
5.) The recipe, broken down into ingredients and steps.
6.) A low-res photo if you happen to have one.

We’ll be working with our food bloggers and the test kitchen to compile the recipes, so stay tuned to see if yours makes it into the mix!

And for your cooking enjoyment, here are four of Tim Mazurek’s favorite recipes from his stash of vintage community cookbooks. Enjoy!

From Cooking With Love and Memories
The women of Munith United Methodist Church in Munith, Michigan, compiled their favorite recipes and simple tips for a successful kitchen into this cookbook to raise funds for their church in 1978.

7-Up Party Salad
From Albertine Monroe

1 (7 oz) bottle of 7-Up        
¼ lb marshmallows            
1 pkg lime jello
1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese
1 can large crushed pineapple (undrained)
¾ c chopped nuts
2/3 c mayonnaise        
1 c whipped cream or topping

Combine 7-Up, marshmallows in a saucepan, cook until marshmallows are melted. Add jello, stirring until dissolved. Have cream cheese at room temperature; add hot mixture slowly to cheese and beat until smooth. Add pineapple and nuts. Chill until partly set. Add whipped cream and mayonnaise. Blend and pour into greased mold.

Sky High Lemon Pie
From Lori Mays

2¼ c sugar                
4 T cornstarch            
4 T flour                
¼ t salt                
2 c water                
4 eggs, separated
1 T grated lemon rind
6 T lemon juice
2 T butter or margarine
¼ t lemon extract
4 oz can toasted coconut chips
1 recipe plain pastry (see below)

Plain Pastry
1¼ c sifted flour            
½ c shortening
1 t salt                    
3 to 4 T water

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl; cut in shortening with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle water; mix lightly with fork until pastry holds together and leaves side of bowl clean. Makes 1 (9-inch) pie crust.
2. Pie: Prepare pastry mixture. Roll on lightly floured surface to 12 inch round. Fit into 9-inch pie pan. Trim overhang to ½ inch; turn under flush with rim and flute to make a stand up edge; prick well all over with fork. Bake in oven at 425° F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.
3. Mix 1¾ cups sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in medium bowl; set aside remaining sugar for later.
4. Heat water to boiling in medium saucepan. Lower heat to medium; slowly add sugar mixture, stirring gently but constantly, 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture holds a line when cut with a spoon; remove from heat at once. Do not let mixture boil. Beat egg yolks, slightly in bowl; stirring in ½ cup of hot mixture; quickly stir back into mixture in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in lemon rind, juices, and butter or margarine until well blended. Pour into cool pastry shell. Beat egg whites with lemon extract until foamy, white, and double in volume in bowl. Sprinkle in ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating all the time until sugar dissolves and meringue stands in firm peaks. Pile onto hot filling, spreading to edges of crusts. This keeps meringue from shrinking. Sprinkle with coconut chips or place them in a pattern on top. Bake at 350° F for 12 minutes or until peaks of meringue are golden brown. Cool completely.
                      
Japanese Fruit Pie
From Pauline Clark

1 c sugar                
1 stick margarine, melted        
2 eggs, beaten            
1 t vanilla                
1 T vinegar
1 c coconut, grated
1 c pecans
1 c raisins
1 t flour (optional)

Bake in a 9-inch unbaked pie shell at 425° F for 15 minutes, then at 375° F for 20 minutes longer or golden brown and firm to touch.

From Family Favorites
This cookbook, compiled in the late 1960s, is filled with recipes from pastors’ wives and other women in the Southern Michigan Conference of Free Methodist Churches. The Cookbook Committee wanted to advocate simple living and the needs of the hungry of the world. Each section begins with helpful hints in the kitchen and closes with scripture. Proceeds from the sale of this cookbook went to the Southern Michigan Conference’s Fund Raising Programs and Programs of Service.

American Beauty
From Velma Abramson, Coldwater

2 oz red food coloring*        
3 T milk chocolate cocoa (instant, like Swiss Miss or other breakfast cocoa drink)
½ c non-liquid shortening        
2 eggs
1½ c white sugar
1 c buttermilk
½ t salt
2½ c sifted cake flour
1 t vanilla
1 T white vinegar
1 t baking soda

Mix food color with cocoa and let stand. Cream shortening with sugar; add eggs and color; mix. Beat very well. Add buttermilk, cake flour, salt, and vanilla. Beat again. Remove from mixer and add vinegar and baking soda. Mix by hand. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8-inch pans. Bake in a 350° F oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Cut each layer in half (lengthwise—use a thread to work well) to make 4 layers.

Icing:
4 T flour                
1 c milk                
2 pinches of salt            
1 c regular white sugar (not icing)
½ c margarine
½ c solid shortening
2 t vanilla (or other flavoring)

Mix flour and milk and cook until it thickens to consistency of cream. Mix well sugar, shortening, and vanilla. Add slightly cooked flour mixture and beat until very fluffy. This usually takes about 15 minutes for icing to turn from yellowish to white and get real thick and fluffy. Ice all layers; put them together; ice the top and sides of the whole cake. The icing makes it!

*Food coloring may be omitted but for Christmas or Valentine’s Day especially, the red color makes the cake special.