Voices of the Past

Good day. I am a bookaholic. Not in recovery, thank you very much.

That said, I should explain. I love the smell of old paper. And the iconic covers of older publications. I have also been known to buy old magazines simply because of the cover image. One of my weaknesses is cookbooks, particularly older editions passed down through the generations of my family. I have a really old one that talks about using scalded milk, or that refers to a pinch of salt. It even has little stories about the origin of the names of the towns in that part of the country. Fascinating reading while you wait for the butter to melt or the sauce to come to a galloping boil.

Here are some tidbits about recipes I learned during my recent research binge:

The first recorded cookbook is on four clay tablets from around 1700 BC in Ancient Mesopotamia.
For the next 3,000 years or so, recipes were stored on whatever was at hand, such as papyrus, leather, and paper.
Once the printing press came on the scene, collections of recipes were often compiled for kings and royalty to use as bragging rights. Servants, too poor to purchase these items for their own cooking, instead prepared them into delicious meals for the rich.
In the 15th century, publishers sought to increase the audience for cookbooks. With public literacy increasing, cookbooks became less of a luxury.
In the 17th century, women’s roles changed, with gentlewomen of landed gentry getting more involved in household matters. Recipe books appear that include information on cooking, brewing, baking, producing butter and cheese, making wine, dyeing textiles, and management of medicines.
By the 18th century, with more folks congregating in towns, the recipes also needed tweaking. Coal replaced wood as fuel, meaning many recipes needed adjustments.
In America, one of the first truly American cookbooks was published in 1896—The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Fannie’s cookbook popularized the modern recipe format which we use today.

Nowadays, I tend to ask my cell phone assistant for a recipe rather than look up a book, but it’s still fun to leaf through and recall the fabulous meals of my childhood or early years of marriage when I actually enjoyed cooking. Now, I stick to the tried and true recipes—but occasionally, I like to venture into unknown territory with a new recipe.

In my book Recipe for Disaster, the title recipe isn’t about food, but about the basis of a friendship—and maybe something more. In a situation where lying would be easiest, both my heroine and my hero must choose which path to take.

Favor: For a recipe booklet of dishes you can cook in a Dutch oven, cast iron skillet, or pie iron, please go here: www.DonnaSchlachter.com/freebies and download the booklet.

Giveaway: Leave a comment to enter a random drawing to win an ebook copy of Recipe for Disaster.  

About Recipe for Disaster:  A spinster sister, left behind by her four younger sisters, feels unwanted and unneeded. But when three orphans and a wounded soldier turn up on her doorstep, her life takes on new meaning.

A man in search of his family—has he found them at last? But something isn’t quite right.

Can God weave these five lives into something beautiful for His glory, or will half-truths and missing memories create a recipe for disaster? You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMGFKVKN  and you can find the rest of the series as it releases here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMM1CTLJ

Donna Schlachter

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. Donna also coaches writers who struggle to produce the first draft of their next book. You can check that out at www.DonnaSchlachter.com/Tapestry

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