One Cookbook to Rule Them All

50th Anniversary Favorite Recipes of Members and Advisors-Alabama Association Future Homemakers of America

Hey y’all!

This is coming to you a day late because I wanted to wait until my favorite cookbook of all time came in. 

I’ve been looking for this cookbook for years and years. It is one of the cookbooks my family used all the time growing up. It has one of my favorite cake recipes, Butternut Cake with Butternut Frosting. 

I wanted to make that cake a few years ago, so I called my mom to get the recipe. I knew she still had the cookbook and was already in the kitchen ready to bake. Do you know, this woman said it was not in the cookbook she had, just a Butternut Poundcake recipe? I knew there had to be a mistake but the cake was still butternut so I went ahead and made it. 

It came out delicious and beautiful. I decided to share the recipe with y’all. 

Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about the cookbook, the right cookbook. 

When I started this Substack, I knew I wanted to share food, recipes, and cookbooks from Alabama. I make sure to constantly be on the lookout for anything Alabama food related. 

Last week, I was looking for Alabama cookbooks and happened upon an Etsy list of cookbooks from Alabama. As I scrolled through, I came upon the book I had been looking for. It’s distinct red cover with gold writing. I knew it had to be it. I didn’t waste any time buying it; It was the last one in stock. 

I called my mom and little sister to confirm after I had bought it of course. I couldn’t take the chance. They did confirm afterwards it was (is!) the correct cookbook.

This is where my love of cookbooks comes from. A community cookbook from students, teachers and administrators of school Home Economics classes. 

It’s lovely knowing that this cookbook from 1993 is still getting love in 2023! 

Not to mention, it shows how important Home Ec classes are. 

I took Home Ec in 9th grade (in Ohio, not Alabama-a story for another day) and learned how to cook, (I already knew how but boy was I afraid of the stove, especially gas.) sew, love languages, I vs. Me messages, and read recipes, just to name a few. It was invaluable to learn that in an environment where messing up was okay. It’s quite obvious we still need Home Ec in our schools more than ever. 

And, we need to bring back the community cookbook! It wasn’t about the individual person getting money but about the community and what it could do for others. It’s been an idea I’ve had floating around forever but I want the story behind the recipe. I feel like that’s what’s missing in community cookbooks- The how and why of the recipe. 

Maybe that’s something you all would like to be part of? A perk of being a paid subscriber and you get a free copy of the book. Let me know your thoughts in the comments or feel free to send me an email. 

Until next time my loves,

Xoxo~Christilisa