An Introduction During summer 2023, I am cooking my way through The Joy of Sharing: Oak Valley A.L.C.W. Centennial Cookbook, published in 1985 by the Oak Valley American Lutheran Church Women in Velva, North Dakota. Now a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or the ELCA, Oak Valley Lutheran Church is the church…
First, a description of the structure and content of the The Joy of Sharing: Publishing Details The copyright page states that the cookbook has been “published and printed by Cookbooks by Morris Press” based in Kearney, Nebraska. This publisher remains an ongoing concern: https://www.morriscookbooks.com/, and the banner on its website proudly proclaims its status as…
What’s not to love about glazed carrots? My family loves them, and we’ve been making the version from our Joe Beef cookbook, published by the chefs at the inimitable French bastion of beef in Montreal. Our summer evening at a table on their screened-in porch was one of the best meals of our lives, certainly….
Cabbage actually is…all around. Or is that love? Both really. But is there a movie about cabbage’s omnipresence yet? In addition to beloved cabbage-based delicacies like sauerkraut (yum….and it’s October! Grab an Octoberfest-inspired beer and a sausage to go with your kraut), coleslaw, stir-fries, and egg rolls, many varieties of cabbage can be found in…
Cooking and baking my way through The Joy of Sharing raises many memories of food from youth in central North Dakota. While recently reminiscing about my maternal grandmother’s sweet, gooey date cookies and her date bars with a crumble topping, I began looking through the cookbook to see what recipes involved dates. I picked up…
Last Thursday night I discovered one of the most delicious recipes I’ve made from The Joy of Sharing so far: Cheryl Vinesett’s “Taco Hot Dish.” I made it for a late supper on one of our later nights after dance, and it was satisfying and tasty. Pantry Staples? As do so many hotdishes or casseroles…
The two best hotdishes I’ve made from The Joy of Sharing were contributed by Thelma Lysne, lifelong resident of Velva, who has been so involved at Oak Valley that she now even leads worship services. Previously, I wrote about Thelma’s life and her recipe “Mrs. Nixon’s Hot Chicken Salad,” which is a salty revelation of…
Like many people who live in climates with multiple seasons, I use those seasons to guide my food habits. As Nancy Silverton remarks in The Cookie That Changed My Life and More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours, eating with the seasons changes our experience of food. Speaking…
As I noted in my post about “Irma’s Chicken Tortilla Casserole,” I prepared both that casserole and Susan Wolff Anderson’s “Fruit Dip / Fruit Platter” to serve to my daughter and her friend for a playdate lunch. This dip was a hit! Process The recipe for this fruit dip was very easy to both make…
When my daughter had a play date with her friend from down the street, I decided to make Mary Harness’s recipe for “Irma’s Chicken Tortilla Casserole” for lunch, along with Susan Wolff Anderson’s “Fruit Dip / Fruit Platter” to encourage ample fruit consumption (stay tuned). “Irma’s Chicken Tortilla Casserole” is quite a name for a…
To teach paragraphing strategies to college students, I use “When is a Paragraph?” published in College Composition and Communication by Arthur A. Stern in 1976. Weaving together a history of paragraphing theory and textual analysis of paragraphs in well-respected national publications, Stern helps students see that though they’ve been taught a useful formula for learning…
Looking for a quick way to make use of some thawed ground beef, I paged through The Joy of Sharing and realized I already had all of the ingredients in my pantry to make “Crouton Hot Dish Casserole.” Submitted by Irene Ave, this recipe is fascinating. It’s also surprisingly delicious. No wonder, since it’s full…