Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook (2 page)
Read Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook Online
Authors: Debbie Macomber
As I’ve often said, I’m a frequent eater—but I’m a frequent cook, too! In fact, I spend more time in the kitchen than I do in the dining room. I remember, when I was only four, begging my mother to let me help her make dinner. She was a gifted cook who never let a recipe get in the way of being creative; not surprisingly, working in the kitchen (and enjoying it!) is part of my family heritage.
I think it’s fair to say that, thanks to my mother, I became proficient at cooking over the years. Good thing, too—in high school, the cooking part of Home Economics was all that got me a passing grade. I’m a terrible seamstress, so my ability to cook saved me from a certain F. (Who knew there were so many incorrect ways to sew in a zipper?)
In the days before the many cookbooks now available—cookbooks for every conceivable type of cuisine and diet and specialty—recipes were often preserved on index cards. My mom had several small green boxes stuffed with them. And after her death I found a notebook in which my grandmother had written down recipes and cooking hints she felt her daughter (my mom) should have when she left home. I savored every word and learned cooking hints I still use. For instance, I discovered how to gauge when bean soup has simmered long enough to reach its maximum flavor. According to my grandma, Helen Zimmerman, you can tell by the aroma. As a thrifty and inventive cook, she also had lots of suggestions for substitutes and alternative ingredients, and different spices to try in particular recipes.
Like my mother, I’ve collected recipes all my life—and yes, I have the same small green recipe boxes crammed with carefully handwritten notes that date back to my grade-school days.
Years ago, I chose some of those recipes and created my own envelope-size recipe booklets as a thank-you gift to my loyal readers at Christmas. In return,
readers sent me their own favorite recipes. This was my first venture into cookbook publishing—but not my last!
You may have noticed that meals play an important role in all my stories. This is certainly true of earlier series like “Midnight Sons” and “Heart of Texas,” as well as the Blossom Street books. But cooking and preparing meals, and sharing them with family and friends, is perhaps most significant in my Cedar Cove series.
If you’ve read any of these stories, you’ll recognize Charlotte Jefferson Rhodes. She’s known and loved by just about everyone in town. Not only that, her reputation as a superlative cook is well-deserved.
In this book, Charlotte’s going to take you on a tour of the kitchens and dining rooms of Cedar Cove. She’ll share her best recipes, including those she was given by members of her family and her many friends. She’s also going to fill you in on what’s been happening with the people in town—her daughter, Olivia Griffin, her granddaughter, Justine Gunderson, Zach and Rosie Cox and Grace Harding, to name a few.
Like Charlotte, I believe that food is central to the important relationships in our lives. Serving a meal is probably the ultimate expression of hospitality and friendship, and a good dinner sustains us in more than just the obvious ways. For me, for Charlotte—and, in fact, for most of us—the preparation of food is associated with enjoyment, comfort,
love
.
While sharing food is a social activity, sharing recipes can bind us with others, too—with friends and perhaps especially with our families. It’s about forming and nurturing traditions, which help us create a sense of continuity from one generation to the next.
Quite a few of the recipes I use today came from my mother and grandmother—recipes I’ve passed on to my own children. Just as some of Charlotte’s recipes come from her mother and were passed down to her daughter, Olivia, and now her granddaughter, Justine….
Justine, who’s opened a tea room in town, has asked Charlotte for recipes and menu ideas, hoping to make her restaurant as wonderful as a visit to the fragrant kitchen she remembers from her grandmother’s home. Happy to comply, Charlotte has collected her favorite recipes in this book. You might recognize some of them from scenes in the Cedar Cove stories.
Ultimately, the genesis of this cookbook is my readers’ requests for these very recipes, the ones I’ve mentioned in the novels. My goal is always to give you a satisfying reading experience—with something extra. I like to describe myself as a “value-added” author, and this cookbook is one way of offering you that extra value. So are Charlotte’s introductions, in which she reveals her insights about the people of Cedar Cove, and her personal comments on various recipes.
Please join Charlotte and everyone in town for lots of delightful adventures in cooking and dozens of memorable meals. I hope these recipes will be as treasured in your family as they are in Charlotte’s (and in mine).
It’s a privilege to share my own “kitchen heritage” with you—a heritage of good food and good times.
Happy reading…and happy eating!
at
16
LIGHTHOUSE ROAD
with
Olivia Griffin
I
should begin by introducing myself in case we haven’t met before. I’m Charlotte Jefferson Rhodes and I’ve lived in Cedar Cove for much of my life. My beloved first husband, Clyde Jefferson (may he rest in peace), has been gone about twenty years now. We had two children—Will, our oldest, and Olivia Griffin (formerly Lockhart). Olivia lives in Cedar Cove and Will, now retired and divorced, recently moved back here. I remarried a few years ago, and Ben and I are very happy. There you have it—my personal history in one short paragraph.
I’m going to take you around Cedar Cove and share recipes I’ve accumulated over a lifetime—recipes I’ve discovered or created and many that have been passed to me by family and friends.
My daughter, Olivia, a big believer in the value of a nutritious breakfast, so I think it’s appropriate to start our journey of food and cooking at her house.
I’ve noticed, and I’m sure you have, too, that children develop their own personalities very early in life. Even at the
age of two, Olivia was an organized little girl. One day I found her in my closet straightening my shoes. At
two!
That same year at Christmas, she took charge of clearing away the wrapping paper.
From the time she was three or four, Olivia decided she wanted to help me in the kitchen. I let her, although she couldn’t bear to crack an egg—for fear of dirtying her hands. She never licked a beater or a spoon, either. Several of the recipes I’ve included here are favorites of hers from childhood. Dishes she made herself from a young age. By the age of five, when Olivia started school, she could already read and do simple math. Clyde was convinced she’d grow up to become an engineer. Back then, there were few women in such professions and as her mother I dreamed lofty dreams for my daughter. But I never would’ve guessed she’d become a family court judge!
In high school Olivia and her best friend, Grace, used to hang out at the Pancake Palace (established, as the sign proudly says, in 1950). In fact, the girls still meet there at least once a week. I replicated the Palace’s pancake recipe for Olivia because she liked it so much, and I included it here.
Shortly after they graduated from high school, Grace married Dan Sherman, while Olivia went on to college, where she met Stanley Lockhart. I will say one thing, and only one thing, about my daughter’s ex-husband. Stan turned out to be a bitter disappointment—to Olivia, to the kids and to me. Enough said. I may not have a high opinion of Stan but he is, after all, the father of my grandchildren. The Sour Cream Coffee Cake you’ll find in these pages was one of his favorites, and it makes a nice addition to Sunday brunch.
Soon after her marriage, my daughter had twins, Jordan and Justine, followed by younger brother James. Olivia had set her sights on obtaining a law degree and with her usual sense of purpose she pursued this, all the while juggling family responsibilities and numerous other commitments. Thinking back on those early years I stand in awe of her.
I can hardly believe how much she accomplished—and how effortless she made it look.
A few years later, Olivia was practicing law in Cedar Cove, and Stan was working
in Seattle, taking the ferry into the city every morning and coming home at eight or nine in the evening. Efficient as ever, Olivia managed to keep the household running smoothly and still do well at her career. Then in August of 1986 our world was turned upside down. On a bright summer’s day, Jordan and Justine went to the lake. Jordan dove into the water, broke his neck and drowned.
Olivia rarely mentions Jordan, although I know he’s always in her thoughts. The death of a child forever scars a mother’s heart. A grandmother’s, too.
I was desperately worried about Olivia the year after Jordan’s death. At the same time, Stanley chose to announce that he wanted out of the marriage and quickly filed for divorce. As you can imagine, Justine and James both faltered under the weight of these losses. But even then Olivia held the family together. Thankfully, Grace was there for her. During that horrible year Grace was the one constant in Olivia’s life. I’d always liked her but that’s when she won my unflagging love.
Despite the tragedy my daughter experienced, let me reassure you that Olivia’s story is by no means depressing. She became a judge when Justine was still in high school. I like to stop by the courthouse now and then to watch her in action. (Frankly, I get some of my best knitting done there!)
A real turning point in Olivia’s life came when she met Jack Griffin almost ten years ago. If ever two people were polar opposites it would be Olivia and Jack. He’s the editor of
The Cedar Cove Chronicle
and about as disorganized as any man I know. The word
slob
must’ve been invented for him. He fell in love with Olivia so fast I still shake my head in wonder. I was delighted by their marriage, although it got off to a rocky start. Can you imagine my methodical, organized Olivia married to Jack? Still, their love is strong enough to allow them to compromise and they’ve figured out routines that work for both of them. Like eating a healthy breakfast. Jack used to grab a coffee and a couple of doughnuts on his way to work and call it breakfast. Olivia’s finally persuaded him to have some granola or her Good Morning Strawberry-Banana Smoothie instead.
Remember Olivia’s little saying: The better your breakfast, the better your day!