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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Wolf once believed to be dead shows up near Crater Lake ... One of Oregon's two health insurance co-ops says it will shut down ... Rogue Valley gubernatorial candidate blasts Gov. Brown on climate change ... Wolf once believed to be dead shows up near Crater Lake ... One of Oregon's two health insurance co-ops says it will shut down ... Rogue Valley gubernatorial candidate blasts Gov. Brown on climate change ... Page H. Onorato: Cookbook offers old friend in the kitchen today Comment By Page H. Onorato More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Page H. Onorato More Content Now Posted May. 13, 2015 at 8:00 AM By Page H. Onorato More Content Now Posted May. 13, 2015 at 8:00 AM » Social News Edgar had died by his own hand those many years ago, and Irma was left alone and distraught in her St. Louis apartment. There wasn’t much money to live on — about $6,000 in savings — and Irma wasn’t trained to be a teacher, nurse or secretary, practically the only jobs available back then for women. She had spent her adult years looking after her husband and two children, doing housewifely things as well as entertaining at luncheon and dinner gatherings. No doubt she lay awake at night now that Edgar was gone, wondering, “What can I do with the rest of my life?” Her friends were surprised and a bit dubious when Irma Rombauer announced she was going to write a cookbook, for although she was resourceful and clever and a delightful hostess, she was not known for her culinary prowess. Nevertheless, she proceeded to gather recipes from family, friends and her own collection, organized them, wrote chatty comments and directions and paid her own money to have 3,000 copies of the book published by a local commercial printer. With the help of her daughter, Marion, she sold “The Joy of Cooking: A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with Casual Culinary Chat” by word of mouth from her apartment, local gift shops and book stores. Its success encouraged her to seek out a big-time publisher, and in 1936 Bobbs-Merrill boasted sales of almost 7,000 editions. My mother bought one and no doubt yours did, too, for “Joy” soon became the kitchen bible for many housewives, young and old. It was the “turn to” book, for the recipes were practical as well as diverse, the directions were easy to follow, and the remarks and anecdotes added charm and fun, or “joy” to kitchen duties. A friend of mine and I discovered recently that as young wives, unknown to one another then, we had both prepared Irma’s recipe for sauerbraten, allowing it to marinate for three days on top of the refrigerator, as suggested by the author. Mary served hers with Dutch egg noodles; I preferred the potato dumplings (recipe on page 33). Eight editions have been published, beginning in 1931, with sales of over 18 million copies. The latest, the 75th Anniversary Edition, which came out in 2006, contains 4,500 recipes, so you probably don’t want to endeavor to try them all, like the ambitious blogger in “Julie & Julia.” I’ve owned at least four of the versions. My first one was held together for years with duct tape and rubber bands before it gave up the ghost. The second, inherited from my mother-in-law, was missing its cover and half of the index before number three came along, which was lost when I moved back South. The 2006 “Joy” now occupies a place of honor on my cookbook shelf, and you can learn all kinds of things from it, like how to skin a rabbit (page 525) and make jugged hare from the results. And — hooray — there’s a recipe for making your own marshmallows at home on page 869. Did you know there are 28 different kinds of salad greens and 20 pasta shapes, from angel hair to ziti? Irma died in 1962, but her family has kept the book alive. She was down to earth, often using shortcuts and substitutes. Shucks, she even included recipes with ingredients such as canned cream of mushroom soup and instant rice. The new version is updated with menus that reflect the times. There are suggestions for Super Bowl parties, Cinco de Mayo fetes, outdoor entertainment, vegetarian dinners, even backpacking menus. Sorry, no paleo plans yet. Nobody had thought of it in 2006. My favorite index entry is Southern Cuisine, which includes things like crackling bread, beaten biscuits, black-eyed peas and greens and North Carolina Barbecue Sauce. Her fried chicken recipe is almost the same as mine, except whoa, she forgot to remind her readers of the cardinal sin of chicken fryers: never, ever, crowd your chicken. It’s fun to have a cookbook with a history around, especially when you don’t want to be overwhelmed with 4,030,000 Internet recipes for pulled pork. It’s like having an old friend in the kitchen. Lexington (N.C.) Dispatch correspondent Page H. Onorato is a retired teacher. By Page H. Onorato More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Page H. Onorato More Content Now Posted May. 13, 2015 at 8:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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