Introduction from the Original Book

Ada Wesson Jones

In this cookbook, you probably won't see many terms such as au gratin, escalope, paté, sauté or étouffée. You will see fry, brown, sweet milk, stir with a big spoon, add a pinch of this, a teacup of that, or maybe what to cook on wash day while the sheets boil. That's because some of the recipes date back over 150 years. Our ancestors in the 19th and early part of the 20th century were almost self-sufficient. They raised livestock, grew their own vegetables and fruits, and all their jellies, preserves and pickles were homemade. Canning and "putting up" jars of food was an important part of their rural lifestyles.

When a farm family was forced to buy the few items they couldn't raise, grow, or pick wild, they bought in bulk. Apples came by the bushel, cane syrup in 24 gallon kegs, flour in 192 lb. lots and sugar came in 120 lb. barrels. At that time, one also easily could have the makin’s for rabbit stew, fried squirrel, or possum and taters. Famine turned to feast as the creative cook gathered her family around the supper table.

"We may live without poetry, music, and art;
We may live without conscience and live without heart;
We may live without friends and live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks."

Copied [Toasts for All Occasions (1903)]

The hard years of the depression produced, through necessity, some of our most wonderful food (with or without recipes). Who needed a recipe for left-over mashed potatoes, mixed with a little flour and seasoning to make fried potato patties? Who needed a recipe to tell you how to tenderize a piece of meat by pounding it with the side of a saucer? You could tell by the "thud" if the meat was ready for the flour and hot grease. Frying a piece of ham, frying potatoes, making a bowl of gravy, or cooking a pot of red beans came just as natural as breathing. The cook cooked with judgement.

An old story goes that a couple of generations ago, a young woman went to her grandmother to ask how to make a dish for which the old woman was famous. The first part went well enough, then the girl was told to add an ingredient "according to her judgement." Troubled, the girl asked what to do if one had no judgement and she received the curt reply, "If you have no judgement, you shouldn't cook." By judgement, one could tell –

Bread was done when it smelled right.
A cake was done when it felt right.
Gravy was done when it looked right.

Oh, there were times for the cook to shine and sometimes use recipes. Even through the depression, there was a time for feasting. During the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year's, the cook would produce the very best food she could as she drew her family around the table. Birthdays, and golden anniversaries were and still are special celebrations and times to get the family together again. The family gains strength (not to mention weight) each time it meets and comes together around the table. In the early part of the century our ancestors traveled by horse and buggy and then by Model T Ford to the rural church. They arrived with fried chicken, butter beans from the garden and banana pudding to spread on the makeshift tables on the church grounds. We still go, but travel on the super highways and maybe slip into an air conditioned building after we get there.

Everything may have changed around us but we still have the desire to return to our roots to share fellowship and food around the table. We cooks try to bring our "specials" to the church suppers, birthdays or family reunions. Our food tables are still much like they were 50-100 years ago. They are homey. Even though we have been exposed to sophisticated cuisine, we prefer and use the recipes that date back to our rural communities.

In the past, the recipes began with shelling the peas, shucking the corn, snapping the beans, bringing in the stove wood or plucking the chicken. Sunday was roast. Monday was hash and a pot of red beans cooking while the wash was on the line. Everything was made from "scratch." Food like my mother's famous banana nut cake or "cook the custard" banana pudding has changed through the years. When health, age, or just the passing of time makes its demands on us, we switch to convenience foods, meanwhile, trying our best to maintain our reputation as a good cook.

Sunday is still roast. No need for stove wood; just pop the meat into the oven and set the timer. The hash is the same except be sure and scrape off that excess grease from the gravy before mixing and putting into the microwave. The red beans can cook in the crock pot while we punch the buttons on the washer and dryer. Bread pudding may be made from the left-over bread which was made in the bread machine. One can make a cake starting with a cake mix, or make that delicious banana pudding using instant pudding mix and Cool Whip. We can turn out a tasty meal again and maintain our reputation as a good cook even though we make a few slight-of-hand changes.

One of the biggest changes in cooking brought about in our generation has been made by men. Men are cooking! They may be cooking in the kitchen or outside on the grill. It makes no difference. We welcome them with open arms.

"She that is ignorant in cooking, may love and obey, but she cannot cherish and keep her Husband."

From "The English Housewife", 1615.

That may have been true in 1615, but today we say, "Men who do some cooking are cherished and loved and will be held on to."

From "The Tired Housewife", 1994.

To the best of my knowledge, my mother never had a recipe box. She had recipe books and a collection of recipes. This "collection" was written on pieces of this and on the backs of that, and carried in her head. She rarely followed a recipe exactly. She cooked from the heart. In doing so, she shared her good food and her heart with everyone that came in contact with her.

The family recipes here are represented by cooks who cook with their hearts. They have practiced the art of turning common day ingredients into delicious nourishing meals. This practice has been handed down from generation to generation. With great pride, we boast about these good cooks. We think they are the best.

We are fortunate that Barbara and Jerry have collected these recipes for us to enjoy. Their time and effort is indeed appreciated as they have preserved part of our heritage.

The recipes in this cookbook are about love, happiness, generosity, faith, hope, friends and our families. I know they will bring back to you pleasant memories of times past.

I hope you have a warm, cozy and happy feeling as you read these recipes, share them, and enjoy the good food and fellowship around the table.

Please join us. The food is ready

Now, would someone say the blessing....

Ada Wesson Jones
Spring, 1994

About this site

This website was made with the goal of digitizing the original recipe book and making it easier for members of the family to extend it. Certain features of this site like creating and editing recipes are only available to family members. To be added as a family member you need to create an account. Then, contact Mattias or Ali to get added as a family member. After you're added, there will be a few extra links below this.