Storey - 500 Treasured Country Recipes from Martha Storey and Friends

With John at the farm.

My project and our reminiscing got Mother talking more about her own mother, Nora Carter Minchey, who taught her to cook in the early part of the 20th century. Now it is my pleasure to pass on third-generation recipes to my grandchildren at the beginning of the 21st century.

Over the years, Ive also learned about my husband Johns favorite foods from his mother, Helen Frances Huntsberger, who was a great cook. Her handwritten recipe cards remain treasures in my country kitchen in our home in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

The family recipe collection, which includes favorites titled after my childrens names for their grandparentson my side, Mimi and Grandpa, and on Johns side, MomMom and PopPophas expanded as each generation has grown up and started its own homes and food traditions. My sister, Margie, and brothers, Charles and Joe; Johns sisters, Helen and Judy; and our childrens spouses have all given me recipes that have found their way onto my familys table and into this compendium.

Some may find this cookbook a bit old-fashioned. Its meant to be. I strongly believe that passing along the arts, crafts, and skills of country cooking is an obligation, lest our heritage be lost as memories fade. Do-it-yourself techniques making cheese, churning homemade ice cream, and tapping trees for making maple syrupare certainly not necessary today. In most places, one can run out to a store; buy cheese, ice cream, or maple syrup; and be home in a matter of minutes. But slowing down, using nearly forgotten implements, and sharing the processes with family and friends bring us remarkable satisfaction, whether we are creating special foods and preserves for ourselves or as gifts. And each season brings a different opportunity: the first asparagus stalks pushing up in the spring; the unforgettable aroma of campfire cooking in the summer; a cider pressing in the fall with apples picked from our own trees; ice fish pulled from Lake Champlain, near our farm in New Yorks Champlain valley, in the winter.

In this book, we offer you dozens of family recipes. But this project couldnt have happened without an even larger circle: coworkers, neighbors, and personal friends whose culinary creations have made their way into my collection over the years.

Ive also chosen for inclusion in this book many of my favorite recipes, tips, and techniques from the talented authors and experts whom we have been fortunate to find over the years to share their knowledge with readers of Storey books. John and I founded our company, known today as Storey Publishing, in 1983 to bring to others our passion for country living. It has been a labor of love made easier by the quality of the authors and employees who have been a part of Storey. You may read about many of the authors whose work is included in .

The food and menus youll find in this book may not be as chic and trendy as those that appear on the cover of the latest food magazines. I read, respect, and admire these contemporary creations, but I find it soul-satisfying to go back to the family classics. Its both exciting and comforting to pull out that dog-eared recipe for sticky buns one more time, and to know without doubt that those warm cinnamon buns will be the best that can be made.