A Recipe Adventure Begins

I wasn't expecting to come home with such an incredible find when we helped our friends out with a garage sale in 2013. In the moments between customers, we would peruse each other's merchandise here and there. I was browsing the book shelf when I saw the artfully written words "Bay Leaves" on a brown plastic comb-bind spine. It looked almost like a spell book to me, tattered and decorated with drawings. but upon further inspection, I realized it was a cook book, compiled by The Junior Service League of Panama City, Florida.

Typically, I don't have much interest in cookbooks. They usually become clutter in my household, and any recipe I'm looking for I can usually find online. But these recipes were fascinating. They had names and ingredients that were from another time. The preparations sounded almost like they wouldn't even work, some sounded delicious, some sounded awful. Almost all of the recipes were footed with "Mrs. [Husband's Name]" despite the fact that the organization who compiled this is comprised entirely of women. Old school etiquette, I guess.

It was really quite fun to look at, even in it's lack of photos. In fact, the lack of photos made the recipes even more intriguing. I had flipped through the pages for a few moments before I asked my friend "How much for this!?" She had gotten it from a grandmother, who she suspected had picked it up on vacation. I don't know how much I paid, but it was worth it.

Weeks later, I picked up the book at home again, and found myself laughing out loud. While some recipes were classics, others seemed outrageous, and downright disgusting. There were The book was published in 1975, and included a wealth of vintage recipes, many including jello and canned goods combined in some decorative fashion. Recipes called for MSG?! Blasphemy! I researched the book a little, and some regarded it as the greatest cookbook of all time. I wanted to do more than just visualize these recipes, I wanted to make them.

WELL durn it, I'm GONNA. Join me if you will, as I (and my patient husband) taste the wonders described within the pages of BAY LEAVES.