My First Cookbook

It was called Mary Alden's Cookbook for Children, published in 1955, and I learned to cook by following its picture instructions. My favorite recipe was for "Eskimo Cookies", made from butter, powdered sugar, oats, and cocoa. Made into balls, rolled in powdered sugar, and chilled, well, there's no way to describe their deliciousness!

I also remember baking cakes, cornbread, and cookies, all from scratch. Egg salad sandwiches, cut into thirds diagonally, just seemed like the perfect lunch. Breakfast items included pancakes, puffed eggs with cheese sauce, and the "reddy grapefruit", a neatly-cut half topped with a maraschino cherry. And the "snuggled franks with cheese"! I can still taste those bacon-wrapped juicy, cheesy dogs! The tuna casserole and meatloaf recipes gave me confidence to fix supper for our family, even when I was ten years old.

But the best part might well have been the diplomas, one to be awarded upon providing evidence of being able to return the kitchen to its spanky-clean state (the "Clean Kitchen Cook Diploma"), and the second upon preparing every recipe in the book (the "Super Cook Diploma").

I have no idea what became of that little book, which had such an impact on my childhood. But thanks to eBay, I have a copy once again! I'm currently bidding on a couple more, so that I can share those recipes with my grandchildren one of these days. And I want to be able to put a copy in the kitchens of each of my grown-up children for those little grandbabies to use and enjoy as I did.

A Life Ends Too Early

Hannah Landers died this week. She is the seventeen-year-old daughter of our church administrator, Richard Landers, and she was fatally injured in a one-car accident. She was the driver. A passenger was killed as well, and two others were hurt.

I never met Hannah, but I've learned a bit about her this week. She was beautiful, intelligent, and funny. She was a fierce friend, willing to share the griefs and sorrows of others. A missions-minded young adult, she was planning to attend Queens College in the fall. Her life touched many youth and adults, a number of whom are sharing their memories of Hannah on the local newspaper's website. It breaks my heart to read them.

But the thing I'll remember most about Hannah is that she has given gifts of life to an unknown number of people. She was an organ donor. And someone in Cleveland now has Hannah's heart beating in his or her chest! Praise God for the generosity and selflessness of this amazing young woman!

Her parents and her younger sister Emma are the focus of the prayers of friends and family as they struggle to deal with their loss. I am among them.