One thing stood out as I chose a recipe from Our Best Home Cooking (Roosevelt County, 1997): these ladies loved canned food and convenience. 

The book’s contributors were members of the county’s homemakers clubs and contemporaries of my grandma, who was born in 1924. In rural New Mexico, that was more than a decade away from having electricity, running water, or telephones in their homes. Add to that the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Life was hard. 

It’s no surprise then that they seem to be enamored with processed shortening, baking mixes, and microwaves. The Pioneer Woman’s cookbooks call for less processed food than the real pioneers of Roosevelt County circa 1997!

I should note that my grandma used bacon grease or butter more often than Crisco. She made biscuits and pie crust from scratch and still put up (that means canned) grape juice, preserves, and black-eyed peas. I tend to cook the way she did. I keep a jar of bacon grease in my refrigerator, I refuse to replace my cast iron skillet, pressure cooker, and Dutch oven with the Instant Pot, and I don’t remember the last time I used a can of cream of mushroom soup. Life is full of irony.

Coming soon: Italian Broccoli, shared by Agnes Jordan of the Bethel Club.