Soucheray: Throwback recipe book stands the test of time

This summer, I discovered a new recipe in a cookbook I purchased over 30 years ago. Some of my favorite recipes, and those of my family members, have come from this cookbook, so I know I can trust it to deliver delicious, mouth-watering menu items everyone will love. You know the kind of cookbook I’m describing: one put together by the church ladies of a small town, with favorite recipes included from potluck dinners that have won the hearts of everyone who has tasted the delectable dishes. Yes, that kind of cookbook.

I remember purchasing the cookbook at the Stillwater Mall from a small group of ladies, from whom I requested their signatures on the inside front cover. Mind you, this was an impulse buy for me, which is so rare that I can remember the times I have exceeded my budget for just such an endeavor nearly every time since college graduation 35 years ago. The reason being, that my first teaching job paid me dollars equal to the number of feet in a mile.

Can you believe that? So to part with the $8 required to purchase this treasured item was significant for me, a poor church-mouse, living in a small, rented apartment in the back of a house, paying for my car and car insurance, doctor and dentist visits, food, clothing and college loans. You get the picture.

Of course, by this time, the paperback cover is missing, along with the signatures of the church women, but the pages on which our family’s choice recipes are found are splattered and messy, indicating their favored stature. This recipe will undoubtedly find its way to a similar state within a few years, as it has become a frequent request item of those who have tasted it. So much so, that I typed and printed it out and now simply hand over a copy when it is asked for.

The recipe is for Blueberry Cobbler. There. That’s it. And when you make it yourself, it will taste like it came from a little diner on the street of some small village in southern Minnesota. And certainly, but you knew this, the blueberries must be fresh, not frozen. It seems that no matter when I have served it, whether for an impromptu family gathering at our house, at an outing to a friend’s cabin up north, or simply in a plastic container of shared dessert with a neighbor, the reaction is the same: may I have the recipe?

This is the season to head to the kitchen yourself to whip up a pan of “Fresh Fruit Cobbler,” submitted by Joan Mowrey, over 30 years ago in the Trinity Lutheran Church cookbook from Stillwater. Be sure to have whipped topping or vanilla ice cream on hand, as your guests will let the cinnamony blueberry syrup, topped with the dairy addition, run down the corners of their mouth and not even attempt to wipe it away. Here’s the recipe, and thanks Joan!

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