Old Family Recipes!

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Comment by Nancy Allen on September 20, 2009 at 6:57pm

Theresa , Yes I still make some of her recipes .In the next few days I'll try to get some posted Nancy

Comment by Teresa McVeigh on September 20, 2009 at 6:09am

Nancy, it would be lovely for you to share some of the reicpes from your grandmother's cookbook. Do you continue to make them?

I ordered "Foods to Die For" since it sounded incredibly interesting to me, as does the old graveyard-garden.

Comment by Nancy Allen on September 19, 2009 at 7:17pm

I found this article on "Foods To Die For" very interesting. I grew up in a small town where food was carried to the family and I find the tradition very comforting and a way to express caring. I also have my grandmother's hand written cookbook, with some of the recipes being passed down from earlier family members. It is fascinating to read them. Most have very little in the way of instructions and some have no time or temp listed indicating they were first used with a wood stove.

Comment by Teresa McVeigh on September 19, 2009 at 5:54am

I found this book review of "Food To Die For" on the Old City Cemetery site (Lynchburg, VA): www.gravegarden.com It not only has heritage recipes, but explains funeral etiquette.

Review by Rowena T. Morrel
From In the Kitchen, Lynchburg Edition, September 2004

The second best time I ever had in a cemetery, I spent with Jane White, Jessica Ward and Tom Burford in the Old City Cemetery. I had come to Lynchburg to learn more about Food to Die For, a cookbook filled with funeral lore, etiquette and history about the old cemetery and how it came to be living testament to the willful ways of five women determined to honor their dead, clean up the place and create an organization that would perpetuate the Old City Cemetery, the nucleus of a group known as The Southern Memorial Association.

All of us have been at a loss from time to time as to what to say or do when confronted with the death of a friend, relative or acquaintance. I always head for the kitchen where I find solace preparing food for the bereaved and expressing sentiments not readily spoken.

Jessica Bemis Ward follows a similar direction. She married into a large, aging and well know Lynchburg family over 40 years ago and is an experienced funeral goer. Jessica applies her sense of good taste to the delicate task of burying the dead and now shares sage advice with good humor. She compiled over 100 recipes she calls funeral food and created a unique and much needed guide for the bereaved. From my search, I found no other cookbook that deals with the practicum or mourning—filling this not so obvious void is Food to Die For.

I asked Jessica where the idea came from. “The phrase came to me during a funeral and I thought it would be the perfect title for a cookbook to raise funds for SMA.”

Where did the recipes come from? “Many are my own tried-and true recipes; others were contributed by friends who have both experienced the comforting generosity of friends and prepared food themselves for such occasions, still others are keepers of those recipes traditional to the area and the times—like pimento cheese and corn pudding and country ham. Funeral food recipes are not easy to come by, not because good cooks withhold them but they are usually recipes, reserved for such occasions, which cooks know by heart, without need for measure or written instruction. Funeral food must be familiar, delicious and portable, foods that escape the bonds of ‘piping hot’ as well as dishes that can be stored and served again with safety and ease.”

Jane White’s Corn Pudding fits the criteria: prepared in one dish suitable for transporting, made easily in any season of the year with fresh, canned or frozen corn and includes only ingredients that are normally in her kitchen.

Jane White is the director of Old City Cemetery; she is a gardener and planner with long and wise vision not just for the cemetery. The philosophy she lives by, she calls “in dying order” (I call “drop dead ready”), meaning that she is ready to go—all things are in order, all of the time. It is an enviable position—my silver isn’t polished, but my dresser drawers are straight. Under her astute management, Old city Cemetery has four museums, beautiful gardens and ongoing plans for its beautification and growth. You will want to ask about the beehives and the goats located on the premises when you visit.

Jessica has included other useful information about funeral etiquette, expressions of condolence, writing an obituary and lingering expressions of condolence over an extended period of time as well as helpful handy tips. Recipes are prefaced with helpful, sometimes humorous remarks about the contributor, the origin or ingredients. Wonderful old photos punctuate the book embracing its history, personality, functions, occupants, visitors and events through the years. Food to Die For is helpful and handy, historically enriching and traditionally rewarding.

Comment by Kathleen Fox Allen on September 16, 2009 at 2:46pm

What a lovely idea for a group, Linda! I'll post at least one recipe as soon as I get home tonight.

Comment by Debbe Hagner, AG on September 5, 2009 at 5:43pm

http://www.foodtimeline.org/

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HistoryIndex.htm