LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Food is something that always brings a community together.
Before handwriting became prevalent the only way to know how to make a dish was by oral tradition. Eventually, people started writing …
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Food is something that always brings a community together.
Before handwriting became prevalent the only way to know how to make a dish was by oral tradition. Eventually, people started writing down how to prepare a dish and created recipes.
People share recipes – sometimes individually with a card and sometimes communally with a cookbook.
Former Chrisman Public Library Board member Donna Malone was given the idea of creating a cookbook full of local recipes.
“Someone in the community gave Donna the idea as a fundraiser for the sesquicentennial,” said Chrisman librarian Beth Daily.
The Chrisman library board liked the idea and ran with it.
“We originally gave them a month to submit their recipes,” said board member Lori Mallory. “We ended up having to extend it to two months.”
Several local residents sent in recipe cards and emails, including several in memory of others and many vintage recipes.
“Many of the recipes are family recipes that go back generations,” said Daily. “We were blessed because many times those recipes are family secrets.”
Mallory added after the recipe deadline it took only a month to put the cookbook together.
“We put the book together pretty quickly,” said Mallory. “When I finished typing there were a total of 309 recipes.”
With recipes from Oxtail Soup by Phil Raimer to Mom’s Million Dollar Fudge by Anita Marvin there is sure to be something in the cookbook for everyone.
Recipes are not the only thing the cookbook, though. There are three individual indexes where someone can look up a recipe by name or by contributor as well as an index that includes items such as herbs and spices, napkin folding and measurements.
Since the release of the cookbook residents have increased their donations to the library.
“There is now a whole shelf full of cookbooks that have been donated to us for all to use,” Daily stated.
The library ordered 200 copies of the cookbook before the Chrisman Sesquicentennial in September 2022 and sold out. Another order for 200 more arrived four days after the Sesquicentennial ended, however those cookbooks are being sold in the library for $10 with all proceeds going to the library for future projects.