I make no secret of my love of community cookbooks. It is my thesis that no one submits an untested or nasty recipe, so there’s a low percentage chance of dinner being a horrible mistake, better as compost than as food.
Artful Eating, an undated but definitely vintage cookbook from the New Hampshire Art Association (NHAA), belongs to a delightful sub genre of community cookbooks–the creatively designed cookbook. Artists who submitted recipes did so by creating a piece of art. Below are a few of the most interesting recipes, both in terms of the food they produce and the graphic presentation. It was not easy to choose.
First a word about the NHAA. Founded in 1940, their mission statement is that “NHAA serves established and emerging artists to cultivate creativity, community, and culture through education, events, and exhibitions.” They are also committed to a vision that states “the confluence of art and community inspires conversation, bridges differences, and nurtures empathy.” (Editor’s note: good food shared together can do that too.) NHAA maintains a gallery in Portsmouth, NH.
Now on to the recipes.
Irish soda bread is not for everyone. It’s a hearty bread, at it’s best when eaten with tea, butter and maybe some jam. Of course, that applies to all bread. Erin go brahless, indeed!
This recipe for Green Rice is convenient. It sealed a place in my heart by including broccoli and Velveeta, a powerfully intoxicating combination.
Shrimp fanciers delight! Not only are these baked stuffed shrimp fabulous, they are also FAMOUS! Can YOUR baked stuffed shrimp recipe say the same?
We are a pickle forward house. We support the buying and/or making and eating of all pickles. This recipe is 1) beautifully drawn and 2) easy and 3) fast. Bookmark this is you have highly productive pickling cukes plants every summer.
Based on these samples, I hope you’ll agree that Artful Eating is an extra special community cookbook. If you try any of these recipes, let us know how they came out for you.
What’s your favorite community cookbook? It’s easy to tell which one it is, it’s the one with the most food stains on it. Tell us about it in the comments.
