For your bookshelf

A Recipe for Memories

Joanne Good’s new book will inspire you to create your own family cookbook.

Story by Daneda Russ

When Joanne Good’s teenaged son, James Craig, prepared to leave home, he wanted to ensure he could still get his favourite home-cooked meals. So, he charged his mom with putting together a collection of family recipes. That initial project became the idea for Good’s recently self-published cookbook, Hand-Me-Down Delicious: A Legacy of Most Loved Recipes.

An assortment of recipes that draws on a colourful variety of sources, from friends and family to other published authors, Hand-Me-Down Delicious also provides tips to help readers compile their own family cookbooks.

Good knows her way around a kitchen. A professional home economist and parenting columnist for the Calgary Herald and CanWest Global Communications Corp., the Priddis-based author has earned her culinary stripes guiding Alberta families (including her own) through the daily challenges of meal-making, amongst other topics, over the past 27 years.

As she discovered while putting together her cookbook, having an arsenal of favourites is the secret to easier weeknight meals. “When you get it together in a binder, let me tell you, it’s way easier to get supper on the table,” says Good. To make it into a busy family’s repertoire, a dish has to be good enough to serve time and time again – as Good puts it, to “cook, eat and repeat.”

Creating a family cookbook is also a wonderful way for children to get to know a departed relative and to remember special occasions and traditions – “collecting the heart and soul of what family is about,” she explains. To that end, Hand-Me-Down Delicious is sprinkled with stories and family photos that capture the spirit of each recipe

While there are dishes fancy enough to serve to your best company amongst the collection’s 114 recipes (think Grilled Salmon on Cedar Planks or Month-of-the-Wild-Rice-Moon Salad), everything in the book is meant to be served any night of the week. From breakfast dishes and skillet suppers to soups, salads and sweets, readers will find a wide variety of fare, along with time-saving preparation tips and ideas for turning an everyday meal into a “fiesta.”

A second edition of Hand-Me-Down Delicious is already in the works.

Bonnie Hewson’s Taco Soup

This was the recipe that got the book started.

1 lb (500 g) lean ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) stewed or diced tomatoes, including juice
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) tomato sauce
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) kidney beans
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) black beans
1 can (12 oz/340 mL) kernel corn, drained (or use frozen corn)
3 cups (750 mL) water
1 envelope (1.25 oz/35 g) taco seasoning
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) salsa (or more)

In a large soup pot, crumble and cook ground beef with onion (or garlic) until meat is no longer pink. Drain off fat, as needed. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a bubble; adjust heat to gently simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour 30 minutes.

If freezing, set pot in sink of cold tap water and allow soup to chill for several minutes, stirring often to release heat. Freeze in freezer-proof containers for up to 3 months.

To serve, reheat soup until piping hot and serve with corn chips or crumbled tortilla chips, grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Serves 6 to 8.

Note:  Hand-Me-Down Delicious is not sold in stores – contact Good directly to order books (see Web Wise).

Now We’re Cookin’

Joanne Cook offers these tips for putting together a do-it-yourself cookbook.

1. Set a deadline: Whether it’s a family reunion or another special event, a deadline will help you stay focused.

2. Select the best: Include only personal favourites that you cannot cook without.

3. Kitchen test: Cook up the best recipes and type them up, with adjustments as required. Cooking with the recipe originator is sometimes the only way to get the “real” recipe for special dishes.

4. Organize it your way: Is every Friday night a pizza party at your place? Perhaps you need a whole section devoted to the perfect slice. Compile your binder or sort your electronic files according to menu or food categories that make sense for your family.