Terrific Old Time Recipe Cookbook!

Book Review: Saltville Centennial Cookbook,
A Century of Good Cooking, 1896-1996

If you like my Heritage Recipe website, then you will want to get a copy of The Saltville Centennial Cookbook, A Century of Good Cooking, 1896-1996. Following a similar format to my Heritage Recipe website, every recipe has a story about a Saltville area person. Out of print for many years, cookbook has been reprinted by the Friends of the Museum of the Middle Appalachians, Saltville, VA and is available again at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians Store.

The cookbook contains over 110 old recipes, family photos and articles from and about the old time cooks in the Saltville area. This cookbook is a "must have" for collectors of old fashioned recipes. I have a copy of the book from its original printing in 1996 and it's a family treasure. Even though I don't know the people in the stories, I have really enjoyed reading them -- and re-reading them.

Here's the beginning of one of the stories, "Sarah Greer's mother died at birth. Her father had to go off to the Civil War and never returned..." If you want to know what happens to Sarah, you are going to have to buy the cookbook!

You can learn more about the Museum of the Middle Appalachians on their website. This is a terrific small, community museum, located in an area of Virginia that is rich in both American history and pre-historic history. If you are traveling on I-81 through Virginia, take a detour off the interstate and visit Saltville. It is located eight miles north of I-81 in the southwestern part of Virginia. Take exit 35 via Route 107 or Exit 29 via Route 91 for the short and scenic drive into Saltville.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy, contact the Museum Store at (276) 496-3633. The price is $20 per copy and supplies are limited. The museum doesn't have online shopping so you will need to call them. They are happy to take phone orders! The funds from the sales of the book go toward supporting the museum. Purchase this cookbook and you will help the museum continue to grow!

Disclaimer: In case you are wondering how I even know about the re-print of this cookbook, I'm the volunteer webmaster for the Museum of the Middle Appalachians.

Pioneer Vinegar Pie Recipe

This search is for my friend and third grade teacher, Wava, who will soon celebrate her 90th birthday. She remembers her mother making Vinegar Pie when she was a small girl and Wava’s grandmother made Vinegar Pie as a Kansas Pioneer, while living in a sod house in Western Kansas.

Vinegar Pie was a pie that pioneers made in the winter when the dried fruits had been depleted. I’ve included two Vinegar Pie recipes. The second Vinegar Pie recipe is very basic (the instructions are a bit vague) and probably more like what the pioneers made when supplies were low. The pie is suppose to have a rather fruity flavor. Click here to check out these Vinegar Pie recipes.

If you want to learn more about Kansas’ pioneer women, an excellent book to read is “Pioneer Women : Voices from the Kansas Frontier,” written by Joanna Stratton. If the book isn't available at your library, you can use the link on the Vinegar Pie Recipe page to order it from Amazon.

With the help of our visitors we have found:
Crumble Griddle Cakes (found by Priscilla)
Mustard Bean Pickles (found by Colleen)
Peanut Candy with Sorghum (found by John)

We also have a few new recipes that have been submitted with their memory to Heritage Recipes:
Grandma Smith's Icebox Cake
Mam's Banana Cake
Chunk Sweet Pickles
Oma's German Style Spare Ribs
If you have any recipes with memories that you would like to share, submit them to Heritage Recipes.

To everyone who has been helping me find recipes -- THANKS!

Cookbook Collector -- THANKS!

Quite a few recipes have entered the "Found" column, thanks to our visitor - Cookbook Collector. I can't begin to thank her enough for all the detective work she has done to find these lost recipes. Once again -- THANKS! You can use the links on the right to view the found recipes.

In the lost column, we have new new request from Leo:
"Having great difficulty finding the nuts and bolts to this great pastry my mother used to make back in the 30"s . I remember I used to have to pulverize the poppy seeds with a hammer then she used to cook this in milk etc., etc. and this is the part I don't remember. At the age of 83, sometimes the details have a tendency to slip away. Back in the 50's a Jewish bake shop used to make a great product . Basically the poppy seed mixture , usually with raisins added fills a cake type pastry shell ( yeast type pastry ,I think . ) Does this ring a bell with any of your old timers . Thanks for any help . Leo" This almost sounds like Butter Rolls with poppy seeds, although Butter Rolls are not a yeast pastry. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, please let me know.

In the "Maybe Found" column, we sent four prune pie recipes out following this request:
"I happened upon your site by chance and am hoping you can help me find a prune pie recipe for my aunt. Years ago her mother-in-law use to make a prune pie in which the prunes were cooked and possibly sieved before being made into the pie filling. My Aunt said the filling was very smooth and almost creamy. It was then served with whipped cream on top. Unfortunately her mother-in-law wasn't one to give out recipes so my aunt who is in her 80's has been looking for this recipe for a number of years. I do hope someone can help me find it. It would mean a lot and make her very happy. Thanks for any and all help you can give me. "

If you haven't visited our Heritage Recipe site lately take a look. I finished it's re-do so it has a new look, an easier to use navigation structure plus the recipes now have pdf files to make printing them easier. I'm always ready to read and post your old recipes and memories so please take time to submit them. If you are a knitter, take time to visit Confetti Creative Knitting -- it is from the sale of these felted bag patterns that I pay for the costs of maintaining the Heritage Recipe site.

And I'm still looking for the recipes listed in the previous posting. I am updating that post as the recipes are found. All your help is greatly appreciated. That Green Beans with Cream of Wheat has really got me stumped!

Have a totally terrific and safe Labor Day Holiday!