Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Giveaway - Mennonite Community Cookbook




*This Giveaway is Now Closed*

 Forty years ago, my dad bought an Easter gift for my mother. It was only a few months before their wedding day and so he chose the perfect gift for any young Mennonite bride - the Mennonite Community Cookbook.

So when I was asked to review the new 65th Anniversary edition of the Mennonite Community Cookbook, I thought that Easter week was the perfect opportunity to give you a chance at this classic cookbook.

The Mennonite Community Cookbook was compiled by Mary Emma Showalter. She combed through old Mennonite cookbooks and favorite recipes from Mennonite cooks throughout the country to gather over 1,100 recipes.



I was worried that this new edition would have changed the cookbook I remember in my mother's kitchen. But no fear. I opened up the pages and felt like I was visiting an old friend. The creamy white pages, the font style, and every single recipe were still there. A few updates were made to the measurements to bring it to modern standards. The photos were also updated (though there are only few photos). The original photos are included in the back with historical information about the cookbook.



But the best change is the spiral binding. Now the book can lay flat. My mother-in-law, who said that she has had the Mennonite Community Cookbook since her marriage 55 years ago, has many loose pages in her copy. If my cookbook lasts 55 years, I think the spiral binding will hold up well.



I was particularly glad they retained the ink drawings along with Mary Emma's chapter headings. I remember reading through this cookbook as a girl. Each chapter begins with an explanation of grandmother's cooking. Sixty-five years later, Grandma is not great-great-grandma and her cooking is  even more unknown to us.



The first thing I did when my copy of the Mennonite Community Cookbook arrived was to go to my mom's house and flip through her copy of the cookbook. I noted the markings she had in her cookbook and made notes in my new copy. Mom usually marked the recipes that she tried with her comments. Some recipes had marks from doubling or tripling the recipe - such as the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. That is one of the first recipes I remember making as a girl so she had underlined some of the directions to make it easier for a new cook to follow. Other recipes, such as Pig Stomach, included the date she served it and details such as "made three stomachs with five pounds of sausage for Dad's birthday for 20 people."

Now I'd like to take a look at my grandmother's copy of the Mennonite Community Cookbook (Do you have it Jenny?) and see what notes she left in her cookbook. And maybe, someday, my own copy will be treasured by my own granddaughter.



I had to go to the bread section, of course. There I found, besides all the normal bread recipes, an old colonial Virginian recipe for a batter bread called Sally Lunn. It required no kneading. The batter was dumped into a bundt pan and the result was a similar to cornbread and a wonderful addition to a meal of soup. (Just a note: the bread recipes in this book call for fresh yeast cakes. I successfully substituted 1 T of instant yeast for 1 yeast cake.)



After my daughter made the chocolate chip cookie recipe that I remember making (and they tasted just the same as I remember) she chose a pie to make. This Funny Cake Pie had a gooey chocolate layer on the bottom and a cake topping.

I found some recipes like candied sweet potatoes and mashed potato cakes that I don't remember my mom using a recipe. When I asked, she said that she made them by memory the way her mom taught her - but likely Grandma had got the recipe from this cookbook. (And if you are wondering, those of you who know that I didn't grow up Mennonite, my mom grew up Mennonite so I do have a Mennonite Grandma.)

Some of the other recipes I've enjoyed trying since I had the Mennonite Community Cookbook are Corn Soup with Rivels, Porcupine Balls, and Beef Pot Pie. What struck me when looking through this cookbook is the basic ingredients required for most recipes. I love recipes that call for ingredients already in my pantry. I told Ed that some of the recipes call for a whole chicken - not a rotisserie chicken picked up at the store, or even boneless, skinless chicken breast! For the gardener/homesteader, this is old cookbook would have an advantage over some modern cookbooks with their exotic ingredients.



Order your own copy of the Mennonite Community Cookbook at Amazon or from the publisher. You can check out their other excellent cookbooks such as More With Less, Saving the Season, and Simply in Season.

I was given a copy of the Mennonite Community Cookbook to share with a reader. To enter the giveaway, write a comment telling what you remember your grandmother cooking. (If you are reading this by email, please click over to the blog to let a comment.) Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you.

If you want an additional opportunity, mention this giveaway on any social media site and include a link to this post and tell me about it in the comments.

This giveaway is open for one week and is open to anyone with an United States and Canadian mailing address.

*This Giveaway is Now Closed*



Thanks to Herald Press for giving a review copy and giveaway copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This post contains affiliate links.


133 comments :

  1. I already have a copy of this cookbook, but not one of the updated ones. Mine is already showing marks of wear and tear - especially specific pages with recipes I use more often. I remember my grandmother making sand tarts and sugar cookies. She made a lot of other traditional PA dutch Mennonite food, but I'm not really sure which ones would have come from this cookbook. I do remember her making dried corn and baked corn. She also made pig stomach for Easter meals and she always made sand tarts for Christmas.

    I'm more curious, however, about your comment saying that you didn't grow up Mennonite! Have you written about that at all on your blog?

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    1. Amy -
      You have memories of some of the same recipes as I!

      You can read some of my church background in this post.
      http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2010/06/q-mennonites.html
      Gina

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  2. My grandmother made the best peach cobbler! I've never been able to duplicate it!

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  3. What fun, Gina ... there is nothing like a tried and true cookbook!

    My main memories of my grandmother's cooking involve big family dinners like Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. She did them superbly!

    But she also loved to bake and oh, how I wish I had a pantry like hers! It was a separate little room with a door into the kitchen and a pass-through window into the dining room. And it was fully equipped with cabinets for all of her baking needs, and countertops to work on. One of her favorite treats to bake was a chocolate cookie called Aunt Sally's Cocoa Drops. Frosted with shiny white icing, they were pretty much my Gram's "signature cookie".

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  4. My grandmother made pie! One day, my pie will be as good. Thank you for this opportunity to win such a wonderful cookbook.

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  5. I remember helping my grandma make cottage cheese. I've never found a recipe that tastes like hers though.
    Blessings,
    Betsy
    queenbetsy2@gmail.com

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  6. My grandmother made the best potato salad!

    Kelly

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  7. I am Brethren, through and through...so were my grandmothers! So some of their recipes came from the Inglenook Cookbook.
    I remember my one grandmother making delicious sugar cookies. The other grandmother made delicious apple crisp. I use her recipe to this day, and everyone enjoys it!
    I enjoy your Home Joys...thank you very much!
    Carol Fretz
    jandcfretz@windstream.net

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  8. Gina, I just love following your blog. You are so honest and strong and so very imaginative. I collect cookbooks and am making a family one of our own and I saw your give away and nearly screamed OOOOOOOOOO but then I saw that I had to write a tid-bit about what my Grandmother cooked...well, truth be told, my Grandmother, Bless her soul, could not cook her way out of a brown paper bag. I loved her dearly and miss her SO much but...Since I can't use her as an entry, I will tell you about something my Mother used to bake when I was a child. It was called Tzigania Pie or rather Gypsy Pie. It has a short paste crust in a beautiful fluted tart pan then a layer of raspberry jam in the center and on top a rich almond filling. I have such fond memories of that pie. I finally got the recipe about 2 weeks ago and I am 45 years old... :) Keep up the amazing work you do. Thanks so much for including me. And if by change you don't mind my Mothers recipe...my e-mail address is malucius@cottonwoodca.org

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    1. Memories of your mother's cooking is a fine entry!

      And for any of you others - if you don't have a Grandma who cooked - or don't remember your Grandma - you can still enter!
      Gina

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  9. Well since we share the same grandma you know she made lots of yummy things! I received one of these cookbooks when I got married, my mother used one too (one of my girls have that one). Love the spiral binding. Make sure to check out the recipe for scalloped corn and molasses crinkles....2 of my favorites from this cookbook.

    Maybe your hubby could spiral bind his mother's old version of this book.

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  10. I would love to receive this cookbook!!

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  11. My grandmother made the best bread with cracked wheat.

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  12. My grandma loved to cook.
    Big fat sausages and pancakes.
    Dressing for the turkey.
    Ice cream in the evening. She was always making food. My mother came from a family of 12. :)
    cbw2005@gmail.com

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  13. My Grandma had the teeniest of houses with a very large yard, so she only entertained once a year, on the Fourth of July. Her potato salad was always the star of the day. Her baked beans ran a very close second. I'm sure there were burgers and hot dogs too, but it's the side dishes that I remember.

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  14. I remember my grandmothers soup :) I would love to win this cookbook.

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  15. I honestly don't remember much about my grandmothers' cooking, but I know I have some hand written recipes from the Mennonite Cookbook...I call my mom and she looks it up and reads it to me :) The only chocolate chip cookies we make in this house is one of them! andycharity@aol.com

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  16. What a piece of history. I would really love to win this cookbook. It would surely be used a lot.

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  17. I have several recipes that were my grandmothers. One was for "Pennsylvania Dutch Baked Lima Beans" which I had only made once or twice years ago - my kids just wouldn't eat baked beans of any sort. Then about 5 years ago I attended a (genealogy) reunion in Pennsylvania and they had a tureen dinner. I have to say it took me a while to figure out what that was - in Michigan they're called pot luck. Imagine my surprise and delight when one of the dishes someone brought was the baked beans like my Pennsylvania-born grandmother's. I conviced my daughter to eat "just one" and much to my shock she was hooked. I still don't make them too often as only my daughter and I will eat then and the recipe, even when cut, makes soooo much. But they are sooo good!
    N. Moore
    nknmoore@aol.com

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  18. My grandmothers were great cooks, but I don't have lots of memories of what they made. :-( One lived over a 1000 miles away, so we did not eat there very often. Due to some church differences, we also didn't eat very often at my 'close' grandma's house. Plus, I have a poor memory when it comes to such. :-( I do know that my far-away grandma made a green peas with saltines and milk for breakfast sometimes. Blech!! She also made good scrapple...Yumm!! And cracker pudding...yumm! Guess I do remember a few foods! My mom has this cook book also...I was thrilled when I saw it on your post. I would LOVE to own one. I don't remember cooking out of it very often, guess partly because she has so many cook books! :-)

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    1. I'm sorry...I forgot to include my email. lmj.4589@gmail.com

      Delete
  19. I would absolutely love to own this cookbook! I am currently collecting Mennonite/Amish cookbooks for a home of my own someday. I remember my grandmother making me porridge every time I spent the night at her place. I dearly treasure those memories as she has since gone to be with Jesus now.

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  20. Email is bonvie60@gmail.com, I am the one who's grandmother made porridge when I spent the night :)

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  21. Please enter me for the Cookbook giveaway! Thanks!

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  22. My Grandma always made the best pies. The crusts were always so beautiful. It's something I've never been able to recreate. I was able to spend a week with her in Florida last winter and I asked for some of her recipes. I found out that the secret ingredient in most of her cooking is Crisco, something I never use. (I use a lot of olive oil.) no wonder everything she cooks is fantastic!

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  23. My grandma always made homemade bread, rolls and pizza on Fridays.......so yummy. I really miss her!

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  24. Scrapple and homemade tortillas are the two things that stand out to me the most. She also always had a cellar full of canned goods. My Nana is 86 now. She no longer cans or makes scrapple (it was my grandfather's favorite), but she still makes the best tortillas. Thank you for the giveaway! wadeandkimd@yahoo.com

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  25. One thing I remember my grandmother making often was oatmeal cookies. Whenever I smell them now I think of her. My great-grandmother was known for her scrapple. I still love it to this day.

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  26. My grandma was a wonderful cook, and it is hard to mention just one recipe. Grandma had several recipes that were her specialty. One of my favorites was her cabbage rolls. She would always bring them to us in her very old enamelware baking pan.

    I would love to enter the drawing for this beautiful cookbook! I have pinned the contest here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/366761963380752247/

    Thank you!

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  27. I would luv this cookbook my mother uses it alot mrmrsbarryz@gmail.com

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  28. Lovely! My 95 year old grandmother has been an inspiration in the kitchen. Not over the top fancy, just plain old yummy cooking. One of her specialties was her Angel Food cake made for my grandfather and me on our birthday (today); another is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Thanks for sharing! cmcfaithingod@gmail.com

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  29. I love this book! And I've had one with a spiral binding for at least 15 years now.

    I make lots of recipes from it: Chicken and Dumplings, Porcupine Balls, Lemon Sponge Pie, Cinnamon Flop, Vico. . . . I could go on. My book has lots of pencilings in it :)

    Wonder what's new about this edition?

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    1. Margo, none of the recipes or even page numbers have been changed, and all of Mary Emma's chapter introductions are there--which people love. The only thing that is new is new (and more) photos of dishes, and a 12-page historical section giving the history of the book, much more about Mary Emma herself, various covers that were used over the years--if you don't win one, I hope you'll get one! You can also sign up to get new posts from the Mennonite Community Cookbook Blog, launched in Feb. 2015.

      Delete
    2. thanks for the info! I'm a cookbook editor, so my interest is also professional. I've done some work for Herald Press via Valerie.

      Delete
  30. One grandma was older and no longer cooked from scratch much due to health problems by the time I was born, I was one of the youngest grandchildren, but I have heard many stories about her fantastic chocolate chip cookies and her pineapple upside down cake cooked in a cast iron skillet. My other grandmother died long before my time, but I will always remember my step-grandma's fresh raspberry pies in the summer and all of the fruit jams she canned. I wish we had been close enough that I could have learned some of her skills in the kitchen, my mother has just never enjoyed cooking or cooked from scratch much. Now I'm teaching myself through the CLE Home Ec light units and looking for practical cookbooks as help, while I raise our family of 3, soon to be 4. I am excited about the chance to win this cookbook, I've heard a lot of good things about it. - Shannon F. in Ohio

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  31. I remember my grandmother making chocolate cake without a recipe. She just knew what to put in! She passed away several years ago but I do have some of her recipes that she did use. I would love to be entered in the giveaway. Thanks!

    Donna
    donnae@misn.com

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  32. Thanks for the giveaway! I remember my Grandmother making Dandelion soup. Good stuff :)

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  33. The first thing I think of my Grandma cooking is her custard pie. It was so yummy! She also made yummy sour cream cake. We lived right next door and she'd skim the cream off their milk because they drank it skim. Then we'd benefit because she'd make us cake once the cream soured.

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  34. I have such fond memories of going to my grandparents' farm growing up. Especially memorable were Sunday dinners (served around noon, of course). She was a great good always using ingredients from their farm or neighbors. Favorites of my young self was her homemade jams and jellies and pickles- always served in a glass container. I also just loved her mashed potatoes and corn picked and frozen in the summer to enjoy in the winter. And let's not forget walking through the meadow to the creek to pick mint which was made I to the best meadow tea! Oh such dear memories. Thank you for allowing me to walk down memory lane. Makes me feel like she is still with me when I make one of her recipes. :-)

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  35. I never spent time with either grandma (mom's mother died when she was just 12 and dad's he never spent time with). I learned to cook myself, mom was not interested in cooking like I am. My dh's mom is the one who showed me how to make my dh's chicken and dumplings and apple pie. Cheryl. email is aerodog@zbzoom.net

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  36. My Grandmother came from Holland with her family when she was quite young. Her mother made sure to teach her daughters how to make Danish Kringle which is basically strudel. My Grandmother always made it for special occasions and the taste brings back memories to my Mom to this day.

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  37. The first memories of my granny's cooking is helping her pick "cressy" salad (which just looked weeds to me!) and then filling the whole sink with water to wash them. I was in amazement as this huge batch of greens cooked down in the overflowing pot and then realizing how good they were. Yum. Karen
    karencersley@embarqmail.com

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  38. I would love to win this. My Grandmother always hosted holidays, for Christmas Eve she always made little sausages. I loved those, and it was the only time all year we got them.

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  39. I remember my Great Grandma's overnight cookies. ehart1990@gmail.com

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  40. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to win the cookbook.
    I was very blessed to have known both my grandmas that lived till 86 yrs. and 98 yrs. of age. We were raised on a farm in rural NC where we grew most everything we ate. One grandma made the best fried chicken and strawberry dumplings, I have my grandmas skillets that she used to fry her chicken in and the other made the best biscuits and raspberry jelly which you could always find on the table covered with a cloth. What a blessing to have these memories and share them with you.
    sayward777@aol.com

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  41. I remember my Grandma Martin's chocolate cake with thick chocolate icing and her delicious yum-yum pudding. My Grandma Stauffer is known for her sugar cookies with white frosting. Those cookies became known to my extended family as "huntza" cookies because of a cousin who ate some of my Grandmother's cookies that were supposed to go to the dog! (:
    Teresa Weaver

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  42. Forgot to leave my e-mail address. ktweaverfamily@live.com
    ~Teresa Weaver

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  43. I remember my grandma's creamy old fashioned pudding. She served huge Sunday dinners to all the cousins, aunts, and uncles in their daylight basement. ( tried posting earlier, but couldn't seem to... Hopefully I didn't double up now!)

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  44. I am very envious of those that have memories of their grandmother and her cooking. I am one of the younger grandchildren and have none, this was made even more obvious at a recent family reunion.

    i love handed down recipe books like this

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  45. When I was a little girl (about 10 yrs. old) my grandmother started making us delicious Sugar Cream Pie! I remember as a young girl how I looked forward to pie baking day, which was usually on Fridays, so they were ready for the weekend. I have not been able to find this certain recipe, as I have been looking over the years. I am always checking in older cookbooks but have not found it yet. I wouldn't be surprised-maybe it would be in this cookbook! I use many Mennonite recipes I have gotten from church and also their cookbooks. Can you ever have too many cookbooks?

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  46. GIna
    I have been following your blog for months now. The bread recipes drew me to your site. My favorite memories of cooking with my Grandmother and my Mother were the times we made bread and cinnamon rolls. I believe this is partly why bread baking is calming to me. I have very fond memories of learning how to bake bread from my Grandmother.
    Thanks for offering a chance to win the cookbook. This is so nice of you.
    laichrobin@gmail.com
    Robin

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  47. GIna
    I have been following your blog for months now. The bread recipes drew me to your site. My favorite memories of cooking with my Grandmother and my Mother were the times we made bread and cinnamon rolls. I believe this is partly why bread baking is calming to me. I have very fond memories of learning how to bake bread from my Grandmother.
    Thanks for offering a chance to win the cookbook. This is so nice of you.
    laichrobin@gmail.com
    Robin

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  48. I would love this cookbook,please enter me in the giveaway!..I remember my grandmother making homemade pound cake.It was so good!..my email is jennacmason@yahoo.com

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  49. I remember Grandma's Montgomery Pies. I think of her when I make them. We had a wonderful Grandma that was a great cook.

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  50. My Grandma was a wonderful cook. Meals were always great and I now have her recipes/cookbooks/scratched notes as well as much of her kitchen items (frying pans, knives, etc...) As a child the one thing I most looked forward to at family gatherings was her mashed potatoes. They were so creamy smooth and I ALWAYS ate them plain. When I was grown I asked her what she put in them. Just butter and salt and milk. They were so yummy and I now do my best to duplicate them. I miss her so much. She died 2 weeks after she was told she was finally going to be a great grandma - something she really wanted. I'm glad for the wonderful memories I have of her.

    If you don't still have my email, please let me know and I'll email you with it. Thanks!

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  51. Things that come to mind thinking of my grandmother cooking are lard, sugar and melt in your mouth turkey. :). She is still living, but not doing big family meals anymore, but was known for her cooking. These kinds of cookbooks are the best! sheilaglaurence @ gmail.com.

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  52. I lost my grandma many years ago at age 8, but we made many wonderful memories before then! I remember her taking me to her garden to pick vegetables. She then let me make vegetable soup the way *I* thought it should be made (which was not the right way!), and then let me experience the unpleasant result. A good lesson in not getting above oneself and being prideful. All of her meals in the summer included a plate full of tomato slices and another full of raw kohlrabi slices. Delicious! She made the best Christmas sugar cookies -- thick and soft and covered with butter frosting and sprinkles. And I also loved her Oyster Stew on New Year's Eve. She is loved and missed by many ... <3

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  53. At Christmas my grandma would make fun breakfast pastries. I loved this because she would always try something new and us kids always loved everything she made :O)

    Patty
    sewsecret (at) g-mail (dot) com

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  54. My grandmother was a very young girl (15) when she came to this country from Germany. She traveled by herself by ship to join her older sister, who had come a year earlier. They were literally starving in Germany. She said they would get one potato a day each to eat. That was the meal for the whole day. When you have 17 kids to feed, yes 17, thats all they could get. This went on for quite a while, thus the escape to America. She cooked traditional german food. I learned to cook Spaetzle from scratch, lebkuchen, sulz, and a few other things. I absolutely treasure the spaetzle press she left me.

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  55. I remember my grandmother making a huge pan of biscuits every day for breakfast. After breakfast she covered them with a tea towel. For snacks we ate them spread with peanut butter and honey.
    I'm not familiar with this particular cookbook, but it's very kind of you to give us the opportunity to win one.

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  56. I would love this cookbook! My mom has a copy from her mother, and I know there are a few recipes she uses it for, although I can't remember which ones specifically. I remember my grandmother making shoo fly pie. She made many other Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, but that's what I'm hungry for right now, but I know I'm the only one out of my family who would eat it...

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  57. Growing up we lived with my maternal grandparents . She , Leeni, was one of 10 children. She made kuchens all fresh fruit season. Couple times a week...peach, raspberry, cherry, gooseberry, whatever was ripe. I have her recipe box with her handwritten card in it and in the corner of the card is written "from Mrs Karl G*******" which was a woman from our church. I made a copy of it and gave it to her granddaughter Jodi who is my age. It's a very easy and quick recipe so we make it all the time. It is similar to a recipe in the MCC but not exact.

    My paternal grandma Trudi was know for her Boston baked beans ...She had 3 bean pots and many times depending on the size of the gathering she would have all 3 in the oven. One of my favorite easy meals is baked beans over buttered bread with a side of cottage cheese.

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  58. I can remember watching my grandma pinch off lumps of bread dough to form Zweibach or, closer to the Plautdietsch, “tweybach.” (I’m not sure how it’s spelled.) She did it so effortlessly, making the bigger balls of dough for the bottoms, and pinching from between her thumb and forefinger just the right amount of dough to make the smaller top balls. My kids have called them “snowman buns” when MY mom has served them. I have tried making them over the years, but not often enough to master the technique.

    What I remember even more is having Sunday “fospa” at Grandpa and Grandma’s house before the Sunday evening church service. The table would be covered with Saturday’s Twebach, butter and homemade jams, cold cuts and sliced cheese, and “pluma moos,” a cold fruit soup made from dried fruit, with milk stirred in just before serving it. I didn’t care for it all that much as a child, but I sure love any chance to have it now!

    shepherds_lamb2002@yahoo.com

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  59. I remember my grandmother making her special macaroni salad. She always added egg and diced tomatos. I've never been able to repicate the flavors even though I've tried many times.

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  60. Every fall my grandma would come to our house with her basket of vegetables. She helped my mom make chow chow. Mmm! Special memories. My email is daljan@verizon.net

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  61. I would love to have a new Mennonite community cookbook. I have my mothers book which I already used over 60 years and it was well used
    when I got it. Rachel - lorae@embarqmail.com

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  62. I have to confess that neither of my grandmothers were very good cooks. My mother learned to cook after she married my father, and she's now a wonderful cook and baker! My favorites are her cookies, I think she created 3 little cookie monsters in her children :-) Snickerdoodles, peanut butter, and chocolate chip are still my favorites to this day. Thank you for the opportunity to win this cookbook, it looks like a wonderful resource!

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  63. My Grandma made the best Peach Pie!!
    mheisey7@comcast.net

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  64. I don't remember my grandmother cooking anything (she was disabled and then passed away when I was in the 2nd grade) but my husband's grandmother cooked the best chicken and dumplings!
    nicolestory@bellsouth.net

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  65. My grandmother had 12 children and was an excellent cook. I especially loved her Polka Dot Pie. After she passed away, her daughters put together a cookbook of her recipes. I think she has several recipes in this very cookbook. My copy is from the 15th printing (1971) and is stained and has a duct taped spine! I love to win a new copy!
    gcbarnhart@yahoo.com

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  66. When I was 16 I went to all my great-grandmas and grandmas to ask them for recipes to prepare myself for being a wife. My great-grandma Zimmerman showed me how to make fried apple pies in her tiny little kitchen with a slanted floor. standandsee@outlook.com

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  67. i have fond memories of Sun. afternoon visits w/ my grandparents! we'd have potato soup or toasted cheese sandwiches w/ a tall glass of raw milk. yum! =) jeh4281@gmail.com

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  68. Im not Mennonite but would love a copy of this cookbook!!. Thank you for the chance to win! I didnt live close to my grandma but spent summers with her & my cousins. I remember she was a terrific cook although one recipe doesnt stand out over the others.. everthing she made was delicious! Ive followed your blog for several months now & find it inspiring. jlglynn71@gmail.com

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  69. My grandmother was a German immigrant who started cooking for her family boarding house in Germany when she was very young and by the time she was 12 years old, she was the main cook.

    My favorite recipe she used to fix was a nut strudel. I have not been able to find anyone who can replicate it anywhere. If I could find the recipe, I might be willing to try my hand at it.

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  70. While my cousin Randy, much to my dismay, inherited our Grandmother Grace's pie making skills ~ I got her cookie making gene. Her cookie jar was never empty and we could reach into it any time. Both Randy and I are still working on a biscuit recipe that would replicate her mile high fluffy biscuits.

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  71. The copy I have already was a Christmas gift from Mom the first year after we married--almost 35 years ago. Marble Cake was a childhood favorite. No frosting, just milk poured over. Mmm, good! When company was coming, Mom often made Porcupine Balls. We never tired of them. Smudges and splashes crisped the pages with recipes for Flannel Cakes and Meat Loaf, and many others. gwenhertzler@gmail.com

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  72. I just reread the instructions and I see it was supposed to be what I remember Grandma cooking. Well, you see, I am a Grandma. Does that make Mom's cooking good enough? Let's see. Grandma. Almost every time my family went there, she made the most amazing chili and blueberry cobbler. Often a good salad with tuna in it. Sometimes a horrid orange jello salad with celery inside and mayonnaise spread over, topped with finely shredded cheddar. Grandma was a wonderful cook, but when I stayed alone with her and Grandpa, we always had TV dinners for Sunday noon. We never had anything like that at home. I thought they were marvelous!

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  73. I remember my Grandma sending one of her numerous grandsons out to the coop for a pheasant. She'd pluck it and simmer for a couple hours to make the most delicious soup. Then shed whip up her dumplings to go with it. It only happened on special occasions but I spent a lot of time with her growing up so remember every step.

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  74. The favorite thing Grandma would make for us was unleavened dough. She would give us each a dough ball to knead and then we would shape it into the unleavened bread that we used at our church's love feast service. We enjoyed putting the fork marks in it. She also was famous for her sugar cookies. I just lost my grandma in Nov. 2014 so these memories are oh so fresh.... brintbyers@pa.net

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  75. My Grandma made the best potato salad! Of course when I asked her for the recipe it was basically and ingredient list because she didn't know exactly how much of what she used in the salad :)
    brooks.katie85@gmail.com

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  76. My maternal grandmother passed away when I was three and my paternal grandmother was not from Plain background and was used to eating out or getting meals from the store. My mother had this cookbook and it's one I'd love to have.

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  77. My email address is noahfaith1123@gmail.com

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  78. Wow, a giveaway will bring out the comments won't it. They are fun to read. I would love to win this cookbook.
    Nannie

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  79. My grandma just turned 95! She is famous for her eggplant parmesan. The whole family would go nuts for it. She would send me away with trays when I was at school. I wish I could make it just like her! This cookbook looks fantastic. :) I love your blog!

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  80. I remember my grandma made the best pineapple-cheese salad for every holiday. And she made the world's best mashed potatoes, she told me the secret is using evaporated milk. She knew a lot about cooking and stretching money.

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  81. Sorry, forgot my email. tpjpgby@gmail.com

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  82. My grandmother was from VA and I remember her making biscuits and gravy and fried pork chops for breakfast! I LOVE Amish and Mennonite cookbooks. donbethj@yahoo.com

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  83. I was reading a book today that mentioned this very cookbook! How exciting to enter for a chance to win! I'm sure this would be a great addition to my library of cookbooks.
    melodyhart7@yahoo.com

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    Replies
    1. We'd love to know what book you were reading that mentioned this cookbook. There are a number of them around, but would like to know what one YOU were reading! I am curator/editor for the Mennonite Community Cookbook blog.

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  84. My mother has this cookbook and More With Less. She loves them and I have lots of fond memories looking through them as a little girl.

    My earliest memory of being in the kitchen with my grandmother is standing on a stool at her counter, helping her chop the ingredients for tuna salad (I realize this is not technically "cooking"). I loved chopping the pickles and eggs, and watching her stir everything up with mayonnaise. She had a way of making me feel like I was such a good helper! :)

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  85. Plum preserves (red plums from the tree in her garden) and pies at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
    email: pastry_princess@hotmail.com

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  86. I have been working on some of the bread recipes on your site and this would be a great way to try even more delicious recipes! I'd love to receive a copy of this for our home!

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  87. She made chocolate pie filling in a cast iron skillet, it was so very good, and even the crust was from scratch.

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  88. I have an older copy of this cookbook and I love it! My mother made the best rice pudding and peach cobbler. We had a peach tree and were always picked peaches for cobbler. Of course we had to eat all our dinner first before we got dessert!

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  89. Oh and my favorite recipe and the family too is Mrs. Vera Heathole's pound cake. It is the best pound cake I have ever had!

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  90. My grandmother loved to cook. If you were at her house during mealtime she always made you a home cooked meal. Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Breakfast would be sausage, biscuits, gravy eggs. Egg salad for lunch. She made the best pot roast around. So many people today do not enjoy cooking like she did. Every Christmas she would make all of our favorite cookies. She had 5 children and 20 grandchildren, but she made every child their favorite cookie and candy every year. ON Christmas Eve she would make sloppy joes and italian beef, all from scratch, every year and then cook a huge dinner for Christmas Day. She did the same thing on every holiday. And every year she made everyone a cake for their birthday. And we all got together for everyone's birthdays, not like today when the miles separate us from doing these things. For easter, every year, she would make her grandchildren a special egg. Made with sugar and decorated or made with peanut butter and chocolate. I have very fond memories of her and how she loved to cook for her family. Today she is 93 years old and lives in the nursing home, but she would love to be in a kitchen somewhere cooking for all her loved ones. She misses it to this day.

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  91. My Grandma made the best cinnamon rolls! I have been trying to make them like she did but just haven't quite gotten it yet! My MIL has a copy of this cookbook and I have looked thru it different times and was intrigued too already how the recipes use such basic ingredients. Thanks for the giveaway! s_peachey@yahoo.com

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  92. I remember my grandma's scalloped potatoes. I think the recipe might have been in her Mennonite Cookbook.

    wilkris@windstream.net

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  93. My mother-in-law makes a delicious custard from this cookbook. Just a plain vanilla custard and before serving she puts a choc. meringue topping on it. Very Good! - Stephanie, thehorstpack@gmail.com

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  94. I remember my grandmother being a terrible cook! ;) She always said it was because she never cared to pay attention to her mother (she consequently never cooked, but just let my GG do it). My great-grandmother. (GG)..she was an amazing cook! She would make everything from scratch, from memory and NEVER measured. As she cooked, she would always tell the best stories - stories of long ago - part of her past or things she remembered being told...some truths, some embellishments. My goal is to one day be able to make her family famous roll recipe. A recipe that was never fully written down because of her unique way of cooking. Figuring out how to make it work without a fresh yeast cake and a wood burning stove poses a challenge, but one I intend to accomplish - then...teach my children and Lord willing my grandchildren! :) Thank you for the giveaway!! (ruthannmarieh@yahoo.com)

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  95. Both of my grandmas were masters in the kitchen so it is hard to choose just one thing. Everything on their tables was excellent! I loved my grandma B's fried cornbread, oh and her fried chicken and butter beans! My grandma S made the best boiled peanuts, deviled eggs, broccoli casserole and red velvet cake. I would love to have just one more meal with each of them in their kitchens. While I am not Mennonite, a lovely young Mennonite family purchased my grandma B's house after she passed. I ride by every now and then and can tell that her house is still being loved and cared for and I just know that wonderful meals are still being prepared in her kitchen. That makes me so happy!
    anncstephens@hotmail.com

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  96. My Grandma always bakes wonderful pies for family events. Every New Years Eve afternoon we sisters go to her house and help prepare Swiss cheese fondue, meatballs, chicken, pound cake, and other things for a party in the evening. Working beside her is a time we look forward to. My grandma doesn't cook as much as she use to, but it is always delicious!

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  97. Growing up we lived close to my Dad's parents so we visited there often. The most outstanding foods i remember from grandma were homemade donuts, sticky buns, and sugar cookies. Often we would stop in there after we got off the school bus and it was a special treat to be there on the days she was making donuts or sticky buns! There's nothing like fresh baked or fried goodies still warm from the making!
    Elaine Lehigh

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  98. My grandma loved to cook and try new recipes. Two things I remember her making were a turkey rice casserole and maple cream rolls that were fried like doughnuts and then filled with a maple cream filling. My email address is becloach@gmail.com

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  99. A couple of favorites from grandmother's are egg custard and clam balls. Also loved grandma's lemon meringue pies using lemons from their trees. She taught me that when you mix the lemon juice with the egg yolks that it could be dumped right into the hot mixture without slowly adding hot to the yolks beforeally combining. A favorite recipe from this cookbook is Century Griddle Cakes. Melanie melanie2315@gmail.com

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  100. I remember Sunday dinner's at Grandma's - her famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, fresh tomatoes, and canned peaches and ice cream for dessert. She's 102 now, and isn't cooking anymore, but she's still an amazing lady! My email address is peteneros@gmail.com

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  101. My Grandma's cooking was the best! Her real mashed potatoes with butter were delectable. So many memories of delicious meals at her house!
    glendafayemiller@juno.com

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  102. This would be fun to have! I remember my Grandma making me a German Chocolate Cake, my favorite, and delicious fried chicken.

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  103. My paternal grandmother Lulu, was the most important person in my life growing up. Although she passed away when I was only 13, I've spent my life striving to be just like her. She was a true Scandinavian, Swedish by heritage. Every Christmas I cook and bake just like she did to honor and remember her. She was famous for her lefse, krumkakas, rosettes, rommegret, sandbakkels, swedish meatballs and even lutefisk! She was an anwesome baker! I still remember her monster cookies the size of the old tins (dinner plate size!) she put them in. They are memories I will treasure the rest of my life. :) Kristie Kuenkel brkwak@centurytel.net

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  104. I remember my grandmother's chicken casserole with buttered crumbs. She would always serve it with a side dish of broccoli and cheese casserole. Ma was not known as an exceptionally good cook, but she made up for it with her gracious, southern hospitality!

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  105. What a great giveaway! There is nothing like a tried and true cookbook. :)
    Mary Landis
    eatmoreeggs75@frontier.com

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  106. My grandmother makes the best cooked carrots. There is something magical about her carrots!!!

    determineddebby at gmail dot com

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  107. One of the dishes my grandma enjoyed making was Pineapple upside down cake. As a young girl, I thought she had a special gift to make that cake look so beautiful!
    I would love to have a copy of this cookbook. Its the main one that my mother used.
    lorendak@centurylink.net

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  108. My grandmother was raised in Darke County, Ohio ( home of Annie Oakley ) near the Indiana border. Her cooking was a combination of Southern and Amish. Her depression era meals were passed down for four generations now, and my two granddaughters who love to cook are the fifth generation. The meal that was the entire family's favorite was her " potpie ". When people hear the word potpie, they think it is a crust covered meat pie. But in Darke County, Ohio potpie is what your blog calls slippery noodles. In fact, that is how I came to find your blog; I was researching the origin of slippery noodles, when your site popped up. My grandmother made potpie from ham , chicken, or beef. Her famous saying was " the soup is only as good as the stock ". Hence, we all have learned the secret of soup stock is the marrow from the bones. As the years rolled by ( she lived to be 95 years old ), potpie was HER specialty. None of her offspring learned how to make it. I feared after she was gone that we would never have potpie again as she did not use a recipe. She did it by feel as so many old time cooks did when working with dough. Shortly before her death, I was determined to get the instructions down on paper. She cooked while I wrote down her directions. " break one egg into a tea cup. Fill the rest of the teacup with water. Beat in a dash of salt. Add flour to make a fine dough. ( we measured each handful she placed in the mixing bowl to find it was one and a half cups of flour ). Work in one teaspoon of lard." I still keep a china teacup for making the potpie noodles. The only substitute I have made is Crisco in place of the lard. As children, we all stood beside her at the stove and helped her drop the potpie squares into the boiling meat stock, but we had never learned her method of making up the dough in the morning, chilling it, rolling it out, stretching it, drying it, cutting it out. My grandmother died 25 years ago and I have been making her recipe since. They say that no one is really gone as long as someone remembers them. I would be most interested in the cookbook give away as it would further remind me of my beloved grandmother. Linda DeLine. lkdlake@yahoo.com

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  109. My mom gave me her worn copy. It has the best chicken corn soup recipe. Neither of my daughters have a copy....yet!

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  110. I bought my grandmothers cookbook at the family sale. It is old and falling apart, but I like that it that she has hand written notes in it. My favorite recipe is the Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings. Jewel Nolt singin4Jesus10@gmail.com

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  111. My favorite meal of my grandma's was her chicken enchiladas. I never had them homemade unless I was at her house and she'd remind me over and over to be careful not to swallow the toothpicks she used to hold them together. :)
    meems_shabeems@yahoo.com

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  112. My grandma was known for her homemade rolls and brown beans. Every Saturday her house smelled of fresh baked bread. What good memories!

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  113. Lovely drawings in the cookbook. My Grandmother made coconut bars with a graham cracker crust and chocolate frosting--similar to a 7-layer bar. I also make her Spritz cookies at Christmas.

    Lorraine

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  114. About all I remember her making is pickles! I'm pretty sure there were lots of other things! It's been a long time! LOL.
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

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  115. I posted this on Pinterest
    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/138204282291474685/
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

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  116. I remember Grandmas warm yeasty smelling rolls. And ham. And pies. And cookies... she was a wonderful cook. katmcgarry99@gmail.com

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  117. I love Amish cookbooks.
    amdamsteegt@gmail.com
    Alice

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  118. My Grandma has been gone for many years 31 and we only saw her once each year I remember her making cookies that were good. But the thing I remember the most is what we call "Grandma Martha" supper. At least once or some times twice in the week we were at Grandma's we had Hamburgers, Fried potatoes, tomatoes and corn on the cob. It was all from her garden except the hamburgers and it was so good.

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  119. My Grandparents lived in a different county than us, so my sister and I would spend a week with them in the summers. We always begged her to make homemade French fries...they were THE BEST!! We were usually there when she was canning pickles, so now I have a love for her banana pickles, which I now make for my family.

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  120. My grandmother made the best bread. I love using her recipe.

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  121. My Grandma's lived 15 hours driving time away from us. We always visited at Christmas and a week in the summer. Grandma T. made wonderful meatloaf. She would also start baking Christmas cookies in October and freeze them in cookie tins in her deep freezer in the concrete basement. One particular cookie is the Confetti or Gumdrop cookie. Her pie edging was always so uniform! My Grandma R. always seemed to have Milano cookies to eat with fruit cocktail, and Mrs. See's candy at Christmas. When I lived in Lancaster, PA during college I was introduced to chicken corn soup. During my teacher training I taught in Hinkletown. hall fam 805 (at) juno (dot) com Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes, Lorinda

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  122. I fondly remember my Grandmother's pirogies and cabbage rolls, as well as her strudel.
    She loved feeding people and seemed to be in the kitchen most of the time when we would visit.
    When asked what her recipe was she would say a little of this, a hand full of that, a pinch of this etc. I don't know if she ever followed a written recipe.
    It would be wonderful to sit in her kitchen one more time and smell the wonderful smells and see her smiling face!

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  123. Hi Gina! I have fond memories of my Grandma making Cherry Pie, Coleslaw and Jell-O Salad. I also have enjoyed her scrumptious jams and canned fruits. My e-mail is jenritter1971@gmail.com.

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  124. Hi Gina, my favorite food memory of my grandmother was her fried apple pies and a black walnut cake, which was made without a mixer and all from scratch, even down to picking out the walnuts. (hmm, funny my favorites are desserts, lol) I would love to win this cookbook. Thanks for the chance. Cindy in Alabama cnrclc@teleclipse.net

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  125. Chocolate chip cookies and white bread were a couple of my grandma's specialties! My mom is not a cookbook kind of cook, but as a girl I used her Mennonite Cookbook to bake Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies! Carmen 7happylappys@gmail.com

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  126. Chocolate chiffon cake and strawberry pie. And my great-grandma had a baked goods stand at Lebanon (PA) Farmer's Market. :) I would love to win this book. I think my mom has one like it. Chris Williams

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