The Farmhouse Kitchen: Memories made around the table

I love old cookbooks. I have scads of them and read them like novels. One of my favorite things to do is pick up a vintage cookbook from years (sometimes decades) ago and search for lost treasures among the Jello salad and porcupine meatball recipes. Junior League and Auxiliary cookbooks always have those one or two “go-to” recipes everybody makes; if made often enough, they become our own favorites, finding their way into family celebrations and holiday dinners.

In my household when my kids were growing up, family favorites were defined by how quickly I could get dinner on the table. Convenience foods weren’t exactly a staple, but they were sure helpful when it came to throwing something together in a rush. Weeknight dinners looked a little different than Sunday sit downs, but were loved them just the same. Those dishes, many containing Cool Whip and Jello, instant pudding, and cream of anything soup, are still staples, and the must-haves for many of our family get togethers. They are the tried and trues.

Food follows fashion and just like fashion, food is trendy. Right now, vintage foods are all the rage. Why not kick off a new year with some old favorites? Maybe you keep your pantry stocked with everything convenient. Maybe you —like me —scour vintage cookbooks for old (and new) favorites and have a fondness for throwback recipes. One thing’s for certain — there’s nothing like a little stash of something easy to lighten the food load.

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