There is something special about a hand-me-down cookbook. Being the repository of the most cherished items of my mom, and 2 of her sisters has had me end up with 3 copies of the very same cookbook. My Aunt Sylvia Bradshaw's copy has neatly cut out newspaper and magazine recipes slipped inside. Her sister, Jewel's copy was absolutely spotless, but my mother's copy? the one I grew up using? Stains throughout. My mom and I marked recipes to try again and big X's on ones that just didn't work and should never be tried again.
The Women's Council First Christian Church's Welch, Oklahoma Cookbook is entitled, "The Way to a Man's Heart" helped me learn to cook, if I wanted to cook a rabbit or make Fried Birds without the birds, or Baby Porcupines without the porcupines. The cookbook is a slice of history, though it does not have the date in it, the recipes are dated with types of ingredients used and the frugality of the times, coming out of the Great Depression and right into the rationing that occurred in WWII. The advertizing included Welch Post Office, Patch Coal Mines: Custom Coal, even "If Nott, Why Nott... try NOTT'S GROCERY 604 South Main, Miami, OK Phone 399" while Chet and Gertrude's Cafe in Welch: A Good Friendly Place to Eat, listed the phone number as simply 3-6.
The other 2 things to mention about this remarkable cookbook: There is a quote on the top of every page. I love quotes and love these because none of them come with the author. But absolutely all of the recipes were submitted by women who listed their name under their recipe. Back in the day, when making something, I would have to call out who's recipe it was and would immediately get grief for using it or acclaim for the reputation of the cook.
If wine was called for in a recipe, like the one for Uncooked Fruit Cake, sweet pickle vinegar or of course peach juice could be substituted. Lard, raisins and brown sugar were necessary for the Black Cake. My Mother's Jam Cake (not my mother's) required "Enough flour for stiff batter" allowing you to judge how much that was. A few grains of salt, lots of sorghum and molasses were called for, and one cup of hot mashed potatoes went into the Potato Cake. If the cream was sour, use 1/2 teaspoon soda and on more than one occasion directions called to add butter the size of a walnut.
My older brother is a died-in-the-wool vegetarian, so my mother was always looking for ways to add protein to meals without using meat and she found a recipe to make a meat substitute using peanuts as the base ingredient in this very cookbook. I have modified that recipe to make it my own. In fact, there hasn't been any beef cooked in my home for over thirty years.
But lots of burgers have been cooked and eaten here, and most people who consumed them were shocked after learning the meat was made with PECANS.
Why not give pecans a try, simply takes one cup to make a meal for 4.
While my son was in Law school at OCU, clubs and organizations had fundraisers and he used the recipe and made pecan chili, he said, "Man they loved it! I never forgot them saying, what, NO MEAT? We were Hip with the times, before the times."
Pecans can be as expensive as beef, but if you GROW pecans, or know a tree that lays them out on the ground for the picking, you might pick them up for free. You can plant a few pecans and grow your own!
Pecans can decrease total as well as LDL or “bad cholesterol” and increase HDL or “good cholesterol” levels in the blood and are excellent sources of vitamin-E and other important nutrients including protein.
We are on the "cusp of the most consequential disruption of agriculture in history." It is predicted in 10 years the U.S. cattle industry will be effectively bankrupt. Unsustainable livestock production will give way to plant-based agriculture movement as farmers adapt to a changing society and an environment under threat. Farmers are transitioning from animals to more plants according to Civil Eats.
Vegetarian is in. Vegan is coming. Get with the times.
Respectfully Submitted ~ Rebecca Jim (recipe follows)
BETTER BURGERS
1 cup chopped or broken pecans 1 large egg (2 if small)
Oats, corn meal, bran meal, or bread crumbs 1/3 cup cheese, grated or cut in small pieces
Combine pecans, egg, and cheese. Add enough dry ingredients to dampened them. Mold into patties and cook on a lightly oiled skillet, brown both sides. These cook quickly and will be enjoyed warm.
For chili use the same ingredients and add chili powder and cumin to flavor, spread the whole mixture on the skillet and scrabble like eggs. Add more chili powder and cumin to pot of beans for a delightful pot of chili.
For Italian meatballs, add Italian seasoning to the mixture, mold into balls and brown on the lightly oiled skillet.
If you are cooking for a vegan, the egg and cheese can be substituted with steamed okra to bind the dry ingredients. Use usual method for mixing. Cook until done.
The Women's Council First Christian Church's Welch, Oklahoma Cookbook is entitled, "The Way to a Man's Heart" helped me learn to cook, if I wanted to cook a rabbit or make Fried Birds without the birds, or Baby Porcupines without the porcupines. The cookbook is a slice of history, though it does not have the date in it, the recipes are dated with types of ingredients used and the frugality of the times, coming out of the Great Depression and right into the rationing that occurred in WWII. The advertizing included Welch Post Office, Patch Coal Mines: Custom Coal, even "If Nott, Why Nott... try NOTT'S GROCERY 604 South Main, Miami, OK Phone 399" while Chet and Gertrude's Cafe in Welch: A Good Friendly Place to Eat, listed the phone number as simply 3-6.
The other 2 things to mention about this remarkable cookbook: There is a quote on the top of every page. I love quotes and love these because none of them come with the author. But absolutely all of the recipes were submitted by women who listed their name under their recipe. Back in the day, when making something, I would have to call out who's recipe it was and would immediately get grief for using it or acclaim for the reputation of the cook.
If wine was called for in a recipe, like the one for Uncooked Fruit Cake, sweet pickle vinegar or of course peach juice could be substituted. Lard, raisins and brown sugar were necessary for the Black Cake. My Mother's Jam Cake (not my mother's) required "Enough flour for stiff batter" allowing you to judge how much that was. A few grains of salt, lots of sorghum and molasses were called for, and one cup of hot mashed potatoes went into the Potato Cake. If the cream was sour, use 1/2 teaspoon soda and on more than one occasion directions called to add butter the size of a walnut.
My older brother is a died-in-the-wool vegetarian, so my mother was always looking for ways to add protein to meals without using meat and she found a recipe to make a meat substitute using peanuts as the base ingredient in this very cookbook. I have modified that recipe to make it my own. In fact, there hasn't been any beef cooked in my home for over thirty years.
But lots of burgers have been cooked and eaten here, and most people who consumed them were shocked after learning the meat was made with PECANS.
Why not give pecans a try, simply takes one cup to make a meal for 4.
While my son was in Law school at OCU, clubs and organizations had fundraisers and he used the recipe and made pecan chili, he said, "Man they loved it! I never forgot them saying, what, NO MEAT? We were Hip with the times, before the times."
Pecans can be as expensive as beef, but if you GROW pecans, or know a tree that lays them out on the ground for the picking, you might pick them up for free. You can plant a few pecans and grow your own!
Pecans can decrease total as well as LDL or “bad cholesterol” and increase HDL or “good cholesterol” levels in the blood and are excellent sources of vitamin-E and other important nutrients including protein.
We are on the "cusp of the most consequential disruption of agriculture in history." It is predicted in 10 years the U.S. cattle industry will be effectively bankrupt. Unsustainable livestock production will give way to plant-based agriculture movement as farmers adapt to a changing society and an environment under threat. Farmers are transitioning from animals to more plants according to Civil Eats.
Vegetarian is in. Vegan is coming. Get with the times.
Respectfully Submitted ~ Rebecca Jim (recipe follows)
BETTER BURGERS
1 cup chopped or broken pecans 1 large egg (2 if small)
Oats, corn meal, bran meal, or bread crumbs 1/3 cup cheese, grated or cut in small pieces
Combine pecans, egg, and cheese. Add enough dry ingredients to dampened them. Mold into patties and cook on a lightly oiled skillet, brown both sides. These cook quickly and will be enjoyed warm.
For chili use the same ingredients and add chili powder and cumin to flavor, spread the whole mixture on the skillet and scrabble like eggs. Add more chili powder and cumin to pot of beans for a delightful pot of chili.
For Italian meatballs, add Italian seasoning to the mixture, mold into balls and brown on the lightly oiled skillet.
If you are cooking for a vegan, the egg and cheese can be substituted with steamed okra to bind the dry ingredients. Use usual method for mixing. Cook until done.
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