Oh, Those Farm Wives

I think in some ways I am a farm girl in a city girl body...at least when it comes to cooking. To me there is nothing more satisfying than a delicious hearty meal that sticks to the ribs, and is made with love and care. It's the kind of food I grew up on. Although I was raised in the city, all housewives seemed to prepare the same type of meals. I am now going to date myself...moms during my childhood were "June Cleaver", usually sans the pearls. Dinners were roasts, fried chicken, pork chops, meat loaf, stews...you get the picture. Fast food was just emerging, and was a treat, not a staple. And I don't even remember take out. As a teen, burger places were saved for date night. Now, homecooked meals are saved for special occasions. I find that somewhat sad.

With the kids all grown and out of the house, I miss cooking for a large group. Every now and then, I command them all home so that I can love them with my cooking. My meals are more Paula Deen than Iron Chef, although occasionally I try my hand at something "fancy". I have made Beouf Bourguignon (and that's really just a French stew). But I love good old fashion farm cooking.

That being said, I am rededicating this blog to the farmwives who made the Farm Journal cookbooks possible. And are giving me a plethora of cooking opportunities. Early last summer I started adding to FJ cookbooks to my collection. At this writing I have seven of them. And the majority of my postings will be those recipes. Those recipes that are decidedly dated I will tweak to give them a more updated presence, although I have found some that still are great as written. To be on the safe side, last spring I received permission to use their books as long as I credited them, which I have done in the past and will continue to do so. So, it's all good.

And because I do like making soups and stews, I will be posting those recipes, also. Heck, I have two new soup and stew cookbooks coming, thanks to Amazon used booksellers, and I most definitely have to put them to use.

So stay tuned for some hearty American cuisine that's sure to satisfy your palate and your belly. Isn't that what we all want?

I LOVE Cookbooks!

My hubby is often joking that he is going to have to build another room just for my cookbooks. I can't help it...I love to collect the buggers. I get bored easily and want to keep trying a new recipes. My collection includes very old cookbooks such as the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook we were given as a wedding present, a very old Farm Journal cookbook, and very new such as the newest edition of The Joy of Cooking. I even have a 3 inch 3 ring binder with all my finds off the internet. I am constantly perusing the internet cooking websites for new jewels. OK, so I'm obsessed. It's probably cheaper than shoes. (I'm a foody, not a shoey. I know, that was bad.)

So today, I want to share one of my favorite finds with you. A little back story is needed here. I am a diabetic, and I am not always the best about my food choices. And you aren't going to necessarily find diabetic recipes here, although I do try to keep the carbs in mind. But in an effort to control my blood sugar and lose weight I started trying to really lower the number of carbs I was consuming. I also wanted this type of food to taste good and be satisfying. Who wants to live without sugar and carbs? In my quest for low carb recipes I came across this gem of a cookbook...Carb Wars Sugar is the New Fat by Judy Barnes Baker.


This is a wonderful cookbook for making delicious low carb meals. It not only has delectable recipes, but is also very informative as well as educational (please don't let that work deter you...it is not at all like a school text). The introduction has a great deal of information on the low carb lifestyle as well as the history of low carb eating and the science of it. The Getting Started section lists a variety of plans for low carb eating if you are so inclined. Both of these sections are well-written and researched.

Then you get to the yummy part. Everything from soup to nuts is included in this book. It's easy to make meat dishes low carb, or veggie dishes. But Ms. Baker has even included breads, such as popovers, tortillas, cornbread and yeast breads. She has done a tremendous amount of legwork in searching out a variety of substitutes for the traditional whole wheat flour we are all so used to using.
Her desserts are amazing...lemon bars, cheese cake and even fudge. Included is a recipe for classic cheesecake cups that is quick and simple, and a really great sugar fix. In the condiments I particularly like the bar-b-que sauce. I always make a double batch of that. I really could go on and on about this book, but you should check it out yourself either here or here. I swear you will love this book. I wouldn't lie to you! Honest!