Welcome to Frontier Wife!

I come from a long line of cooks, bakers, and moonshine makers*. My great-grandmother loved to bake, my grandmother was an excellent candy maker, and my mom makes a badass pie crust. Most of my cooking memories come from time spent with my Grandmother (Nana - seen here with my Grandpa). We would stay with her over summer vacation, and she would make home-made doughnuts, or enchiladas, or (my favorite) liver and onions. She's the one who taught me about following a recipe and not following it; making substitutions for taste or frugality or just for the adventure.

Collecting cook books and recipes has also been a passion of mine. My treasures include The United States Regional Cookbook (circa 1947 - its recipe for possum starts out with "scald possum in lye water and scrape off the hair, taking care not to break skin"), a "Prudence Penny" cookbook published in 1952, and Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book from 1961. Recipes from family & friends, however, are my greatest treasures. This blog is dedicated to them, and intended mainly for the next generation of cooks - my children who seem to be following in my footsteps.

P.S. Why "Frontier Wife?" It's a nickname my husband gave me, because most of the time I like to cook the old fashioned way. I like making bread from scratch, and I usually work without Cuisinart (tm) or other highfalutin' gadgets. In part it's because cooking that way is like a meditation for me. That, and because I'm kind of cheap.

*My dad's side is responsible for the moonshine. He's a pretty awesome cook, too.