In the beginning....

It has been 52 years since I graduated from college.  Yes, I'm "as old as dirt.":-)  The first year, I was employed by the college on the library staff and lived in a room in a house in the community.  

It was the next year that I ventured further down the road to Abingdon where I accepted a position at Abingdon Methodist Church to work in Christian Education.  That necessitated an apartment, which meant a kitchen!  Yay!

This is the first cookbook I bought:

It was the basis for much of my cooking those two years I lived in Abingdon.

This one was added following a move to Bristol, VA where I began teaching.

And there is a recipe for Corn Pudding, such an appropriate dish for this season.

Do you remember the first Thanksgiving dinner you prepared?  Mine was the first year I was in Abingdon.  My parents, sister, cousin, and great aunt came to visit on that first Thanksgiving Day.  

The guidelines I followed came from the Dinner for Two cookbook.

I even made the creamed onions.  The Pumpkin Chiffon Pie was repeated a few times - until the scare about consuming raw eggs motivated me to put it aside.  This recipe for Bread Stuffing has been the one I have followed through the years, varying it just a bit.  One year, I had an assortment of bits and pieces of homemade breads in the freezer, and that was probably the most flavorful.  In recent years, The Husband has requested Cornbread Stuffing, and that's what I make these days - no other bread crumbs included except cornbread.  That makes it a good gluten-free choice.  Using broth rather than butter for sauteing the onion makes it lower in fat.  Using vegetable broth rather than chicken broth makes it acceptable for vegetarians.

Here it is for this year, ready to pop into the oven!

Baking dish - Longaberger All-American series.

For a few weeks, on Wednesdays I will be sharing some of my cookbook collection with you.  

Happy Thanksgiving!