CREATIVE COOKBOOK

 

Once upon a time we treasured the handmade ornaments given to us at Christmas by young grandchildren. We still do.

But adult grandchildren have stepped up the creativity. Carmen and I received a cookbook for Christmas which we have quickly come to treasure.

The cookbook contains recipes contributed by members of the Allen family. Lanie Allen did much of the work of collecting and compiling those recipes. We’ve already tried Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad and Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls and look forward to taste-testing the rest.

Breana Hanson came up with the idea for the cookbook and illustrated it with dozens of her “Empty Spaces Art.” Go to Instagram to see her excellent art work.

One of our favorite pages lists pizza preferences for all twenty-eight of us. Since Carmen makes pizza every Friday night for any family members who can come, that page alone is worth the price of the cookbook. (Yes, I know it was a gift without price, but the old expression still rings true.)

Just reading through the book produces a smile. For example, in Chris’ recipe for Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie the instructions include this admonition. “Use any old pie crust you want. The crust is not the star here and should be treated like a Victorian era child with low potential and ignored.”

Thank you, Breana and Lanie. And thanks to the entire Allen clan for this creative cookbook.