Betty and Me

When one gets to be a teen, spending Sundays at Grandma's isn't as much fun as it used to be!

In fact, it was like "not again"

For you see there wasn't cousins to play with --

it was just my brother and I -- just like it always was at home

And although I had a doting Grandma and Aunt,

it was like I wished I were anywhere but there!

But we went

Because we had no other choice

(and I must admit that the fried chicken or Sunday roast dinners were wonderful

complete with homemade rolls)

And to entertain myself,

I sat in my Uncle Clinton's recliner

and read my Grandma's cookbook

It had sort of stories and there was a section on meal planning with meals from famous people, 

It's circa 1956, Second Edition, First Printing

I'm sure my Aunt Pearl got it for Grandma

And as far as I know, it was Grandma's only cookbook!

And when I got married in 1969,

my mother gifted me with my very own Betty Crocker Cookbook

It was the "New" Picture Cookbook

And it was the book that I cooked from in early marriage

My book is a little the worse for wear

Having been used to a gas stove, we lived in a house with an electric one

I didn't realize that when you turned off the burner it was still "on" and "hot"

My cookbook has a lasting memory of that!

I have my grandmother's book now and I treasure it

Like mine, it has been well used

And like mine, it is precious to me

And like, mine, I still use it!

For there are some recipes in the old one that aren't in the new one

(as there are some recipes in the new one that aren't in the old one!)

The first meal I ever cooked

was from the pages of 

The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook

Grandma's copy

The family took a trip to Colorado

leaving me and Grandma at home

Grandma consented to let me cook.

I even made a grocery list and we went to the grocery store

and brought back bags of provisions!

It's the Spaghetti and Meatballs

As you can see there are stains on the pages

Stains I made!

When I fixed that dish!

And I still make it every once in a while.

Sure it's easy to buy frozen meatballs and jarred sauce

But the "real deal" tastes so much better!

 And it looks so appetizing on a big platter

Meatballs I now bake in the oven instead of on top of the stove

Less spattering and more even "balls"

Served "family style" after a salad dressed with Wishbone Italian dressing

and some old fashioned "garlic bread" to go with!

It makes for a good fall supper

When the temperatures fall!

My other favorite

is also my Daughter Sarah's favorite

Lasagne!

We've made this "forever"

Since early married days I think

And in early married days we could never find the ricotta

and always used cottage cheese

Now Ricotta can be found at Wal Mart!

Sigh!

This for years was Daughter Sarah's birthday dinner

And I still make it occasionally

It's a good company dish

And everyone seems to like it.

Betty calls for serving meatballs along side

We never do.  Preferring the lasagne alone.

I think perhaps Daughter Sarah took pity on me

and my fall apart Betty Crocker books

For I have the brand new reprint

of the original

The 1950 first edition

of Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook

It was groundbreaking at the time

For most cookbooks were just the printed recipe

This had pictures of "how to's", finished dishes, table settings

The one is pristine

For I still prefer to use my original or Grandma's!

I adore my three Betty Crocker books

And they have a special place on my cookbook shelf

And Betty Crocker has a special place in our lives

For Daughter Sarah works for her!

Well, sort of, I guess --

she works for General Mills

which is Betty's company!

One of the things I liked about the cookbooks

was a peek into the "test kitchens" at General Mills

And one was very modern, very 50s!

When Daughter Sarah first started working at the General Mills headquarters,

she got to visit those kitchens -- those test kitchens from the 50s

And she, too, thought they were cool!

But somewhere along the line, they decided they needed to be more updated
And so tore out the old and remodeled into efficient modern kitchens!

So our relationship with Betty goes back a long way
And often, for a new bride, if I'm invited to a shower, I gift a Betty Crocker Cookbook.
They're good basic books with lots of pictures.
Just the thing a new bride and perhaps novice cook needs!