Power of a Cookbook

Spring Market is the Junior League of Shreveport's biggest fundraiser of the year, and funds the many community projects that are done throughout town. Just imagine a huge room (Bossier Civic Center to be exact) filled with all kinds of shopping venues. Let me just say, it is what I envision heaven to be like. :) I love it. However, this year I didn't go to shop. Instead, I took Thursday off from work to spend my day working a shift at Market. This is one of my (many) JLSB obligations that I have had to fulfill this year. Regardless, I absolutely LOVE the Junior League, and I loved this shift.

I took the 9:30am-1:30pm shift. Two of my friends had signed up for the same shift, thinking we would be together during this time.... of course, we were separated and didn't get to spend hardly any of our shift together! No worries though, we made up for it afterwards. :) Anyway, that morning before the Market opened, there was a sustainer breakfast. In the Junior League once you turn 35 or give 10 years of service (which ever comes first), you become a sustainer. Naturally, this breakfast is filled with blue hairs that are just as sweet as they can be! Once the breakfast is over, the sustainers are free to go and shop as they please.

Ok, so I was asked to man the cookbook table. I know that the JL has cookbooks, because I had to buy some to fulfill my ways & means obligation... but I really didn't go and study them... So, when I was asked to go and fill in at this table, I was kind of lost. I quickly got the scoop and was left by myself. I have to be honest, I was kind of disappointed since my friends and I had planned to spend the next four hours together, and now we were all separated, but as the sustainers came in, my disappointment diminished.

The JLSB has finally reprinted "A Cook's Tour" Cookbook that was originally printed in 1960. Don't you know every single one of those sustainers came by my table and would pick up that cookbook (the JLSB has 2 other cookbooks too) and would flip a couple of pages and then point out their recipe. Of course, each recipe came with a story. It is incredible to me the power of a cookbook, and the recipes it contains. I have "A Cook's Tour" and "Mardi Gras to Mistletoe" cookbooks and coming home, I couldn't wait to look through the books to review the recipes so many of the ladies had told me about. I am excited to cook using these books now, because they have become personalized. I have a very special cookbook that my 2nd cousin made that has all my family recipes in it, and I use it all the time. I feel like these ladies gave me that same since of 'family' with my new cookbooks from the JLSB. Each one of them were so sweet and genuine. I feel so honored to have been able to sit at that table for four hours, and learn the stories (and recipes) of the dinner parties thrown for the governor, or husband's getting promoted because of the recipes those ladies used that night. How cool? In some weird way, I feel like those elite women have passed the torch allowing us to be a part of their memories but use the same recipes to make our own. One precious women said her mushroom dish was sure to get any girl pregnant, while another told me her dish was always 'good luck'! I told them all I would promise to try them, and I can't wait. Also, there were several samples from the "Mardi Gras to Mistletoe" cookbook out for customers and the pineapple mango salsa, olive cheese balls, and spicy cashews are all to die for!

If you are interested in purchasing your own little piece of Shreveport, please visit http://www.jlsb.org/.