I found my version of gold tucked away in an old drawer. It was a tiny black book. And when I read the cover, I had to know more.
So I investigated, and guess what I discovered… this was my great-great grandmother’s recipe book!
Her name was Evelyn Day Bruner. She lived in Brooklyn but was born in the mid-west.
It’s tattered in a charming kind of way. “Well-used” shall we say…
It’s frayed in all the right places, peeled and chipped to reveal the red under the black cover and gold script. I loved it immediately. I had to know more.
It has a tassel for marking your place.
And in case you were wondering, it is an “Elite” cooking recipe book. Not just an average one. I wonder if they sold a “non elite” version back in the 1800′s…
She made all kinds of notes in here. One about silver polish. Maybe she read somewhere that it was a good kind. I think it says “Greenland’s?” I couldn’t find it online… maybe other people didn’t think it was as good…
The book has all sorts of tabs so that you can categorize your recipes by type. She was very orderly about it and kept her recipes all in sections. I don’t think I inherited that trait.
I have heard about this Brown Bread recipe my whole life. My great-grandmother made it also. I have never actually tasted it though. My grandmother makes something called Quick Bread, which I think is similar. I think I will finally make it.
She has several Brown Bread recipes… steamed as well. She was really into this particular bread I think.
And a simple dessert of tapioca, lemon juice, alcohol, sugar (or not!) and cream or milk. I like how she suggests no sugar. That definitely has been passed down through the generations, as seen in my grandmother’s love for stevia.
Oh look, pot roast and my personal favorite, lamb stew. I wonder how it compares to the one I recently made…
Chicken Croquettes. It looks like she make some and dripped on the page.
And an extra note she inserted into her book… I wonder what it is…
Someone else’s Brown Bread! Someone named Mrs. Core. “Sometimes we cram as many chopped raisins and chopped nuts in as our conscience will allow.”
Watermelon Pickles. I used to make these when I cooked in restaurants. They are pretty delicious and a way to save your watermelon rinds and do something useful with them. I’m glad she was so frugal and pickling things like that back then. Or rather I should say I’m glad we’re still pickling things now. They seemed to know how to save a preserve everything in those days…
Another recipe for Tapioca. I like how she wrote “good” next to it. Her seal of approval.
Cabbage Salad. And then another article she’s pasted to a page…
…”Everything but Spinach.” What a great name for a recipe. “It practically pops with good health and is good, to boot.”
Egg Salad, one of my favorites. Two dressings. Pineapple Salad, Waldorf Salad, and Tomato Salad. My grandmother makes pretty excellent dressing… I wonder if it’s this kind.
Three more Brown Bread recipes! I guess they weren’t into the low-carb craze back then.
Oyster Stuffing and Escoloped Oysters. Now we’re talking…
I like these simple ingredients… cracker crumbs.
Milk Toast! It’s not just a word to describe a bland person, it is in fact a recipe which includes “scalded milk.” And if she was feeling fancy, she had Tomato Cream Toast.
Have you ever come upon family treasures like this before? It is like stumbling upon a bit of a time capsule, don’t you think?
I’m going to make some of these for you and we’ll see how they turn out… over 100 years later.
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I wonder what her favorite dish was. How mant sections are there?
What a find! Lots of material there for you. I look forward to reading about your adventures cooking the recipes and connecting with family history. I'm just curious whether this old book has a smell of its own.
It has that sort of old cool metalic smell of dust and must… if that makes any sense : )
Brown bread is very big in Ireland – was she Irish at all?
I think there was some British in there… I bet Grandma P, would know…
Oh my gosh, how amazing! I found a single recipe once from my great grandmother and it was thrilling but a whole book…wow!
What a treasure to come upon such a book. Georgia, I imagine you read the whole thing in one sitting and didn't realize how many hours went by until after you put it down…. My mother created a mini-cookbook for my brother when he moved away from home for good in 1977ish. It wasn't big or elaborate; it was for a guy in his early 20s who liked homemade food and didn't know how to make it. The recipes were pretty basic, too: meat loaf, beef stew, biscuits, spaghetti. My favorite parts were when my mom made little remarks that made perfect sense: "Simmer the green chile until it smells heavenly." See? Perfect sense.
Greg – It is a real treasure. The kind of stuff you can't buy, you know? A family member of mine in Texas just spearheaded a family recipe book project and collected recipes from all the family members still alive. We do it about once every 20 years so he used recipes from the last book for those who had passed. I think everyone should do it! My great great grandchildren will discover it one day : )
Brown bread was a big deal with my grandmother. Seems like she always had some around.
What is brown bread? Really quite an amazing find Georgia. I was thinking you should write down all the recipes in a computer so you have them & then have the recipe book preserved in a case or have it coated. It looks like time has already had it's way with the little treasure & you don't want it to wear any further!
Louis – that's a great idea. I'll have to look into how to best preserve it.
I'll chime in: so incredibly cool! You are so lucky to find such a treasure.
An absoulte treasure, enjoy!
There is a small community in Christian Co. Mo named Bruner. It’s about 25 miles S.E. of Springfield. I wonder if there is a connection?
I want to be like your grandmother in another 25 years.
That’s interesting… I’ll have to ask her. And I’ll tell her you said that, it will make her giggle : )
PURE AWESOMENESS!!!! I have a few similar!!! It’s hard decoding their handwriting, right? Or is that just me?
Would you possibly share the watermelon rind recipe? I’ve always wanted to try it.
This brought tears to my eyes. I have planned a trip in June to visit my Grandmother in Wisconsin, for gardening and cooking time. Your found recipe book got me all excited all over again. The handwriting looks similar to my grandmother… and I never want her recipes to be lost.
Have so much fun with the ‘Brown Bread” too… I bet it is rad!
I just came across this post about the long lost recipe book. Looking at her handwriting and remembering my own grandmother’s is haunting. The style and script if you will came from a left-handed person being forced to write right-handed. To teach my stubborn grandmother, she said hot irons were put on her left palm so that she could not hold a pencil. As a result, the rest of her life was spent doing everything left-handed except writing. That book of yours is identical in penmanship to all my birthday cards and letters I received as a child. Your great-great grandmother may well have been left-handed!
Wow, you’re probably right. My grandmother was left handed but was forced to write with her right hand and she said to this day she says left when she means right, and says right when she means left. This was her grandmother so it makes sense
What a treasure! You’re so lucky to have found it. I wonder, have you make her brown bread yet? The water mellon pickles sound interesting and delish at the same time, thanks for sharing!
~Caroline
Yep, I’ve made the brown bread! I posted a recipe for it if you want to try it. It’s under breads in the recipes section.
I found my greatgrandmothers cookbook too! I love how similar the handwriting is. Back when people actually learned to write and had penmanship you could read! What a great piece of family history!. You know who their friends were,and what they served on special occasions.
My father liked Milk Toast. First time I have thought about Milk Toast in a very long time. He especially liked it when his stomach was ‘sour’ (sour stomach=acid indigestion) or he wasn’t feeling well.
That’s cool
Maybe I’ll start trying it.