Herstoryan's Hearth: The Rural Cook Book (1907)

Excerpts from The Rural Cook Book (1907):

For many years The R. N. Y. has been collecting tested recipes from an immense army of practical housewives. Some are entirely original; others are doubtless modifications of familiar practice. 

"Here are some certain rules of health; 

Take them - they're better far than wealth: 

Don't overeat, don't overdrink, 

Don't overwork, don't overthink, 

Be not afraid of honest sweat; 

Run like a deer from shame and debt. 

Beware of bigness of the head. 

Get bigness of the soul instead."

Macaroni with Cheese. - Throw one-half box of macaroni into boiling water and cook 20 minutes. Never let the water stop boiling, or the macaroni will be soft. Drain and pour into a buttered baking dish. Have ready one cup of cheese cut into small pieces and stir this through the hot macaroni together with salt and pepper to taste and a lump of butter the size of a small egg. Add enough sweet milk almost to cover and sprinkle the top with more grated cheese. Bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. A good supper dish on a cold night. (p.187)

Okra, Creole Style. - Wash, trim and cut into slices a quart of young, tender okra; place in a granite saucepan two teaspoonfuls of butter, a medium-sized onion, a medium-sized green pepper, both minced fine; stir over the fire until a golden brown, then add three large tomatoes peeled and cut into pieces, three tablespoons of Spanish or some hot pepper sauce and salt to taste, and the okra. Cover the saucepan and simmer gently for half an hour. Turn out on a hot dish and sprinkle over with a teaspoonful of minced parsley and serve. (p.118)

•  The Rural Cook Book. The Rural New Yorker: New York. 1907 (pp 7, 118, 187)
• Image from: Hall, Eugene J. Poems of the Farm and Fireside. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg & Company. 1875 (title page)