Cookbook Reviews...Farm Journal's Country Cookbook

My 1959 Edition

When we returned to small town Iowa after spending the first 5 years of our marriage in Germany, I started vegetable gardening, canning, baking even more and cooking more foods available in the Midwest.  The perfect cookbooks for my kitchen were being published at the time by the Farmers Wife magazine inside the Farm Journal.  I have collected most of them, especially those edited by Nell B. Nicholls, which are much better than later versions.  I think Myrna might have shown me these and I had to have them.  In the Seventies, you could order from a list of books available directly from the magazine.

My 1972 Edition

The first of these books was published in 1959, The Farm Journal's Country Cookbook.  A later version was published in 1972.  I have both copies, and Myrna has the later version as well.  I didn’t find my 1959 first edition copy until about 5 years ago and was amazed to find chapters devoted entirely to “butter and cream” and “milk and cheese” and “eggs”.  Now that we regularly get “farm” eggs, I understand why a farm wife would want plenty of recipes to showcase their delicious, REAL farm products.

There are also chapters for “money-making” recipes for bake sales and organization or church dinners, and recipes for large quantities, recipes for fish and game, farm meats and poultry, garden and orchard produce, canning, freezing and food preservation, regional dishes, and my favorite:  Old-fashioned recipes – those recipes Grandma may have made that use old-fashioned ingredients like lard.

I could probably cook forever with just this cookbook.  Coffeetime, desserts, make ahead recipes, potluck dishes, dishes to make your reputation as a good cook, they are all in there!  If you see one of these Farm Journal's Country Cookbooks at a thrift shop, book sale or flea market, my advice:  Buy it and use it!

Jellied Beef Mold

Rice Delight

Lemon Cookies

Provincial Potatoes

Crispy Sundae Crunch

Swiss Steak with Chili Sauce

Pineapple Date Loaf

Rice Bean Salad

Creamy Thousand Island Dressing

Lemon Coconut Bars

Cashew Tuna Luncheon

Green Beans in Sour Cream

Mashed Potato Salad

Orange Lard Cake

Creole Pork Chops