Cookbookaholic

Return to Yard Sales

It’s been forever. And I mean…For…Evah. Forever since I’ve been to a yard sale!

Have I missed getting up at the crack of dawn to drive to who-knows-where and look for cookbooks? Well, I have enjoyed sleeping in. And I’ve found a ton of cookbooks online to fill the bookshelves. Seriously, have you read the last few blog entries?!

So, not really.

But earlier this week, I was served up a notification about a local estate sale that featured cookbooks. I clicked on the photo gallery and didn’t see any images. Why no photos? You had enough of them that you thought to list them in the description, but no one thought to grab a photo? Well, there is a photo of two super cool ginger jars with cherry blossom designs. If they were still there, I might be interested in at least one of them.

But…the address was close. After mapping it out, the drive would be less than twenty minutes. I don’t think I can drive down to the fancy neighborhoods in Charlotte in that time! And it’s set to open at 9am so no need for getting up at the crack of dawn. I would see how I felt when I woke up and go…or not.

So, my plan was to set my alarm, get ready and head out the door around 8am.

Would you believe I actually woke up earlier than my alarm? After getting ready, I was out the door a little after 8am and arrived at the sale around 8:30am.

Of course, why would I be surprised that the garage door was open and people were already going through the items?

I found two boxes of books and cookbooks under the tables in the garage. I was able to pull out a nice stack. The lady running the sale saw me stand up with the stack and offered to place them in a plastic bin in the driveway. Then she told me that more cookbooks were upstairs.

After walking through to the living room, I spied the ginger jars and grabbed one. A helper offered to take the jar and put it with my cookbooks in the plastic bin outside. Nice!

A quick look upstairs finds a few more cookbooks. It’s probably time to head out as I noticed the prices are a little high and I never asked how much the cookbooks were! I could be over my budget!

One more walk through the kitchen and living room and I spot two Wedgewood jasperware trinket boxes. One has the profile of Queen Elizabeth II and the other had Prince Phillip; both were stamped 1953 for the Queen’s Coronation.

We’ve got another Coronation around the corner and these would be nice to get but they’re a little pricey and outside of my budget. Oh well, would’ve been nice!

I go to check out and I see that the lady running the sale has wrapped the ginger jar in paper. I thanked her for doing that.

I asked the price on the cookbooks and she said they were a dollar each. Great! All total, I would be within my budget!

After I paid for my items I asked if she would take a check for the other items I saw inside. She said that she would take a card. Nice convenience! I quickly walked back inside and picked up the two Wedgewood jasperware trinket boxes. Still overpaid for them, but I was low-key excited to find them.

Once I got home, I did an eBay search on the Coronation Wedgewood jasperware trinket boxes and I did alright!

Hubby was awake and as I was taking the ginger jar out of the paper wrapping, the lid fell on the kitchen counter top and broke! AHHHHHH!

We got out the porcelain repair glue and I was able to put it back together. But still…how disappointing! On the bright side, the sticker on the bottom of the jar says, “Bombay.” Bombay Company?

So, here’s the ginger jar…with the repair facing the back!

And here’s the two Coronation Wedgewood jasperware trinket boxes:

And without further delay, here are the cookbooks!

Giada’s Family Dinners (Giada de Laurentiis), Everyday Italian (Giada de Laurentiis), Whiskey in a Teacup (Reese Witherspoon) and Soul Food (Joyce White).

A Taste of Green Tradition and Other Favorites (Philoptochos Society, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Charlotte, NC), Food & Friends Forever: Favorite Dishes of the STARS of North Carolina (The Grand Chapter of North Carolina, The Eastern Star), Catering to Charleston: Cherished Recipes from a Premier Southern Caterer (Frances Ellison Hamby, Hamby Catering) and Seasoned with Life, Love and Light (United Methodist Women, Union United Methodist Church, McBee, South Carolina).

Slovak Catholic Sokol Cook Book (Slovak Catholic Sokol, Passaic, New Jersey) and Recipes from Sweet Yesterday Volume 4 (Thelma Allen).

On the way home, I spotted another yard sale and decided to stop and check it out. I found a cool jacket and one of those oversized plaid blanket scarves and this:

Kitchen Keepsakes By Request (Bonnie Welch & Deanna White).

So, I dipped my toe back into the world of Saturday morning yard sales. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find myself going to a few more!

Trip to Lynchburg

It’s been so long since we’ve been on a road trip! As you know, we usually drove down to the in-law’s condo in Hilton Head, but that’s been sold. So, days off have become staycations, which is fine. Nothing wrong with that.

Luckily, this past fall, we got an invite to go visit hubby’s college roommate, Gregg, and his wife, Donna, up in Lynchburg, Virginia. You’ll remember them from passing along the most amazing Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe. It has become a Super Bowl celebrations standard. It’s that fantastic!

Anyways, our visit was timed to see the leaves changing color. And it was gorgeous! On the drive up, I think every road was lined with trees heavy with yellow, orange and red leaves. So beautiful!

Plus, we spent a day doing a tour of local breweries and a fun little winery that also specialized in meads. I’m not a big drinker so I was the driver and I really enjoyed the surroundings and the atmosphere. We covered a lot of ground and it was great catching up with old and dear friends.

But here’s where the cookbooks come in. I was looking over Donna’s cookbook bookcase, as one does. And a couple caught my eye.

But I’ve only been able to find one….so here it is:

Biloxi Seafood Cookbook (Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, Biloxi, Mississippi).

A quick Internet search showed that it was still available for purchase from the Museum. And, what luck! It was on sale! My birthday was approaching and I gave a heavy hint to my husband that this would make a great gift. Nice to see that it showed up! LOL!

Now for the other cookbook, I haven’t been able to find it online. If I ever do snag it, I’ll let you know.

Of course, once I got home, there was a search on eBay for Lynchburg area cookbooks!

I’ve already secured several copies of the Good Cookin’ from the Heart of Virginia cookbook from the Junior League of Lynchburg, Inc. That’s an especially fantastic cookbook due to the wonderful illustrations from artist Queena Dillard Stovall. That cookbook is probably one of the most recognizable Junior League cookbooks out there.

My searches landed on two very interesting cookbooks:

Country Cooking from Forest, Virginia (Jefferson Woman’s Club and Friends.

 

and

Generations of Good Cooking: A Harvest of Recipes from Rivermont Presbyterian Church (Lynchburg, VA). And look what’s on the cover! It’s another piece of art from Queena Dillard Stovall.

What a nice connection to have the art from the same artist with the Junior League cookbook!

The Big Dawgs

I can’t wait to show you these next cookbooks. I’m super excited to have them!

First up, Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking:

You’re thinking…she’s already got this one. And you’re correct. I have another hardback and probably two softcover versions as well. But, it’s autographed and that’s the primary reason I snagged this one. Bill Neal isn’t with us anymore and I don’t want his legacy to be forgotten. In fact, remind me to do a deep dive on Bill Neal.

Here’s part of the inscription:

“Best wishes & hold on to this one!”

Well, they didn’t but I will.

Here’s one I never knew about until recently:

Savoring the South: Memories of Edna Lewis The Grande Dame of Southern Cooking with Recipes (Angela Mulloy). I ran across this one while checking the new inventory of my favorite used cookbook reseller on Etsy, CookbookRescueShop. Amongst her listings, she’ll have a spot for the cookbooks she’s currently reading. I clicked on it a few months back and saw this one featured.

The thing is, it stayed in that section for weeks and weeks! And if it ever moved to be purchased, then I missed it. A quick search on eBay found it and I purchased it there. Lots of info from Ms. Lewis’ niece, a history on her and memories about her from the author, Angela Mulloy.

It’s a cookbook with an eye towards seasonality and menus. I wonder how many more cookbooks are out there that had Lewis’ heavy involvement?

Speaking of the Grande Dame herself, I wanted to get a first edition of The Edna Lewis Cookbook by Ms. Lewis and Evangeline Peterson. I saw a listing on eBay and it had the correct cover image but missed it. After I had saved it on my Watch List, it was gone.

The next day, it was relisted and I swooped in and got it. How exciting!

About a week went by and it still had not arrived…now I’m worried. For the price I paid, you’d think they would sent it overnight. They did not.

After almost ten days, it finally arrived. And then I opened it.

This is not the first edition, first printing I paid quite a heavy price for…

This is, in fact, the 1983 printing.

So mad! Even though this is a very pristine copy.

I reached out to the vendor and explained that this was not the version they portrayed in the listing. They apologized and offered a partial refund if I wanted to keep what was sent. And, like I said, it was a pretty pristine copy so I took the reduced refund and kept it.

I’m still on the lookout for the original But only at a reasonable price.

And finally, I lucked up on seeing this copy of New Orleans Recipes by Mary Moore Bremer on eBay. This one is everywhere but it’s hard to find an early edition. This one is a fifth printing. It’s showing some wear and a lot of tear…but what got me was this hand-written recipe for Angel Food Pie on the first two pages.

It’s hard to read…but I wonder if I can decipher it…

More to come!

Bunch of Betties

And wouldn’t you know, that during all this time of scooping up Moravian Church, Junior League, and New Orleans community cookbooks, I just happened to come across a few Betty Feezors.

And I know, I will tell you right now that I have more than my fair share of Betties. I think I’ve got one of each. But when I come across one at a low price, I feel the need to snag it!

Take a look at the recent additions to the Betty Feezor collection:

Betty Feezor’s Best (Green Cover, Fourth Printing, Enlarged Edition, 1962).

Betty Feezor’s Best (Red Cover, First Edition, First Printing, 1957).

And look what I found! The front cover is folded and these were tucked inside:

Christmas cookies and punch

and

Holiday Applesauce Cake, Cranberry Mince Turnovers and Tutti-Frutti Nut Cookies

“Here’s a Cake to Start Meal”—spoiler alert: it has deviled ham as an ingredient.

Old-School frosting recipes! Creamy Chocolate and Mocha

Eudora! Cool recipe for California Walnut Maple Tarts from Eudora Garrison of The Charlotte Observer.

That one was packed and working overtime for the lady who owned it!

Next up:

Betty Feezor’s Carolina Recipes: New Edition (Green Cover, First Edition, Third Printing, 1967).

And….it’s autographed!

And finally…

Betty Feezor’s Carolina Recipes Volume III (Sepia/Burgundy-toned cover image, First Edition, Second Printing, 1985).

As we know, this final Betty was compiled by her son, Bob, and released following her untimely passing in 1978. This final cookbook is a little harder to find so I was thrilled to find it offered together with the autographed Carolina Recipes.

Betty was such a pivotal figure in television history here in Charlotte for the programming and guidance she gave the women of the region. Her importance can not be understated!

If you have a chance, check out the episode that is on YouTube. If memory serves, Bob Feezor took one episode, digitized it and served it up in four sections. Also, if you can find a copy of her autobiography, A Life That Mattered, please do so. It’s a great read and takes you through her life and even into her final battle with the cancer. So sad…such a loss. I wish more people knew about her.

I wish WBTV would do a special on her. There are still people around that worked with her and would be able to give great commentary on her. I’d totally watch that!

Bunch of Junior Leagues!

So, I’ve mentioned a post or two back that I’ve been scooping up a ton of cookbooks lately.  There’s been an influx of Moravian Church, New Orleans and Junior League cookbooks over the past year.

Of course, being so busy and tired from work, they’ve piled up around the house. And I’m always like to blog about them before I find a home for them on the bookshelf or cabinet.

So, the good news is that I’m on vacation this week and this staycation is really more of a blogcation.

Instead of writing about each cookbook or the adventure I had finding them, I’m going to pile them all together in one fell swoop!

Pull Up a Chair: Southern Conversations & Cuisine (The Junior League of Columbus, Georgia), Roux to Do: The Art of Cooking in Southeast Louisiana (The Junior League of Greater Covington), Mardi Gras to Mistletoe (Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana) and Par 3: Tea Time at the Masters: Relaxed Entertaining Augusta, Georgia Style (Junior League of Augusta, Georgia).

Southern Born and Bread (The Junior Service League of LaGrange, Georgia), Plantation Country (Women’s Service League, St. Francisville, Louisiana), Southern Flavors from Plains 1885-1985 (Plains Junior Woman’s Club, Plains, Georgia), and Celebrities’ Culinary Classics (Greenville Junior Woman’s Club, Greenville, SC).

A Second Helping of Appalachian Appetites (The Boone Service League, Boone, NC), Southern Secrets of Statesville, North Carolina (Statesville Junior Service League, NC), Through the Years with Junior Service League: Celebrating 50 Years! (Statesville Junior Service League, Statesville, NC), Food Fashions (Junior Charity League, Concord, NC), Food Fashions II (Junior Charity League, Concord, NC), and Holiday House Traditions (Hickory Junior Woman’s Club, Hickory, NC).

And now for the biggies!

Santa Barbara Junior League Cook Book (Santa Barbara, CA), Old North State Cook Book (Junior League of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC) and Valdosta Recipes (Valdosta Junior Service League, Valdosta, GA).

Nice! These are really fantastic additions to the collection. I hope I have enough space on the shelf!

Original Cabbage Patch Cookbook

Throughout the years, I’ve seen the Cabbage Patch cookbook in eBay suggestions. If you’ve seen it you’ll recognize the white cover with the farming images within a green cabbage. Very iconic.

It’s from the Cabbage Patch Circle in Louisville, Kentucky and it’s actually called “Famous Kentucky Recipes.” I would consider this group a Junior League on steroids. Their organization is the faith-based Cabbage Patch Settlement and they formed in late 1910. A small group within became known as The Cabbage Patch Circle who seemed to be the core in making sure the Settlement’s mission of helping to meet the needs of their neighbors stayed on track.

The building they used, Cabbage Patch Settlement House, became a destination for those who needed help. And by the time they first published their cookbook, their organization had a well-earned reputation for helping the community. 

Their work is very impressive. In their first 50 years, here’s what they’ve been able to do:

• During the Depression, they remodeled a building into apartments and housed families in need
• Organized a commissary with wholesale prices to be paid by work
• Clothing League Project
• Large Garden Project: Enough crops for summer and canning for winter
• WWII: Overnight accommodations for soldiers
• Nursery School
• Cooking School
• Sewing School

Impressive, right?

Well, anyways, I spotted a version with a green cover and it got me curious about their cookbook. The green cover was the reverse of the familiar white one. But, as it turns out, wasn’t the first edition, first printing.

I did a search on eBay and found most are from a 1956 printing and after. Then, in the related searches, I found it. A first edition from 1952.

It looks absolutely nothing like the white cover with farm and giant green cabbage! And the price wasn’t too bad, either.

Who knows when another one will show up, so I decided to snag it.

And here’s what it looks like:

I love the dark green and the simple circle patch up in the upper left corner. And you’ll notice that the “Famous Kentucky Recipes” pops more.

Super excited to have found this one! The mark on the cover is actually the remnants of a price tag, but I’m sure I’d cause more damage if I tried to remove it.

Welcome to the collection!

End of Year in Savannah

It’s now been just over a year since the in-laws sold their condo in Hilton Head. I really miss the ability to have a quick getaway or vacation destination. But, as I told the hubby, we’ll get back there on our own terms someday.

Luckily, we were able to find an affordable condo rental on the island for a few days at the end of the year. I thought if we did a Tuesday to Friday, then we’d get a lower rate and avoid some of the New Year crowds that would inundate the area. And believe it or not, it worked out really well.

And thank goodness we were able to do a day in Savannah! I’m not going to shy away from telling you that I missed trips to my favorite used bookstore, The Book Lady, the most. It’s crossed my mind several times about the great cookbooks that have come in and been sold during the time that I haven’t been able to visit.

The trip over to Savannah included hubby and the two sons, so I knew that my side trip to Book Lady would immediately bore them. My plan was to do a quick scan and grab while checking out as quickly as possible. I would say from entering to leaving, it was about 20 minutes.

So, let’s see what I got:

Moon River Collection (Landings Landlovers Association, Savannah, GA), Moss, Marshes & Memorable Meals (Isle of Hope United Methodist Women, Savannah, GA), Rice: A Food for All Seasons (Compiled by Harold Deane Thomason Akins & autographed!), Royal Recipes from the Cajun Country (John and Glenna Uhler) and Piggin’ Out: A Southern States Guide to Bar-B-Que Eateries (Dr. Keith Johnson).

The two community cookbooks were no-brainers and the Cajun cookbook was published by Claitor’s which is the same company that printed the Mercedes Vidrine cookbooks. When I see this company as the publisher, I associate it with local knowledge.

Now for the big, big find:

The Dooky Chase Cookbook (Leah Chase). I could not pass this one up!

So, as you can see, I didn’t come away with a huge haul, but I think these are really great selections.

Can’t wait for another trip! Maybe I need to consider a day trip just for me?

Bunch of Moravian Cookbooks

So, I have been busy buying so many cookbooks since my last blog update. A ton of them!

This post will show you the Moravian cookbooks that I’ve found on eBay; well, most on eBay. These are cookbooks from churches in North Carolina; well, mostly from NC. Honestly, I can’t believe there were any left that weren’t already in my collection…but I was so wrong!

A Godly Heritage (New Philadelphia Moravian Church), Christ Moravian Church Cook Book, Friedland Cook Book: Past and Present (Friedland Moravian Church), A Collection of Recipes (Macedonia Moravian Church), Messiah Moravian Mart Recipe Book, Favorite Recipes from Our Best Cooks (Clemmons Moravian Church) and Mayodan Moravian Church Cook Book.

A Collection of Recipes by Bethabra Moravian Church 250^th Anniversary, Treasured Recipes Old & New (Clemmons Moravian Church, 1989) and Faith, Food & Worship Cookbook (New Philadelphia Moravian Church).

Here are the cookbooks from outside North Carolina: The Best of Busy Workers (Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem, PA) and East Hills Moravian Church: 50^th Anniversary Edition Cookbook (Bethlehem, PA).

And here’s the cookbook I actually bought by calling the church directly. I saw this one listed online but the publication date was really recent: 2021. Why didn’t I hear about this earlier? Plus, it’s from the church where my nephew is an associate pastor…so why didn’t I hear about this earlier?

Anyways, I thought I would give them a call to see if they had any left in stock. If they did, then I’m sure the money could go toward any current mission work they’re doing.

I called the church and spoke to the very helpful Jacob. He was able to locate a cookbook and was willing to ship it to me. We finalized the transaction through Venmo and a few days later, this arrived:

Calvary Moravian Family Cookbook (Winston-Salem, NC)

I can’t guarantee that I’ve covered them all. I have really stocked up on cookbooks lately!

If I find more as I continue to blog…I’ll let you know.

The Last Mercedes

One of the many benefits from organizing the bottom shelf was finding an old post-it note. This orange sticky note had the names of Mercedes Vidrine cookbooks as well as the year of their original publication.

Of the five cookbooks listed, I had check marks next to four of them. The only one without a check mark was “Demi-Tasse” and it had the year 1964 written next to it.

If this was the last cookbook I needed from its original printing, why not do a quick search on eBay? Who knows!

I sat down and searched “Mercedes Vidrine” and saw several of the “Demi-Tasse” cookbooks for sale. Two of them were from printings in the 1970s. One said first printing and listed the year 1964. I clicked on it and looked at the pages. Luckily, they had an image of the copyright page…and 1964 was the only year listed.

I think that’s exactly what I need! It had a Buy It Now option and I quickly snapped it up.

After a few days, it showed up in the mail and here it is:

Quelque Chose Douce avec une Demi-Tasse (Something Sweet with a Cup of Coffee) by Mercedes Vidrine.

And it really is a first printing!

Organizing that shelf is the gift that keeps on giving! This should be the last first-edition Mercedes cookbook in the collection! 

Bottom of the Pile in Chester

I was looking through a gallery of photos for an estate sale down in a nearby city. And when I say nearby, it’s about 30 minutes away…in another state.

The auction company is out of Rock Hill, which is just over the border in South Carolina. So as I was going through one of their estate sales, I spotted a listing for a “cookbook collection.”

Clicking on the image, I see two small shelves of cookbooks and a cookbook stand inside a cabinet. The description read:

Cookbook Collection

Includes three cookbook stands & recipe card holder

SC First Lady Cookbooks from 1976-1991 & 1993

Better Homes & Garden, Chester County, SC

And more!

Interesting in that the image didn’t show much. When you have community cookbooks with plain plastic spiral spines, you’re not showing me anything when you photograph them from the side. Who knows what those cookbooks could be!?

The description was calling out a significant number of SC First Lady cookbooks. But what else could be in there? Was this collection old enough to have a Betty Feezor?  Should I take a chance and place a bid?

So far, there was only one bidder, so the price was super low. I kept my eye on it for a few days and then placed my bid.

As the days passed, I wondered if I should have bid at all. The estate sale company was in Rock Hill but it turns out the pick-up was not going to be there but at the home in Chester. Not too much further down the road, but a 30 minute trip was now looking to be closer to 45 minutes. And on top of that, the pick-up date was a weekday—Tuesday, my busiest day! If I won, I’d have to work ahead, clear out a chunk of time and try to sign-up for an early pick-up slot.

There were a few more bids, but I eventually won the lot. It topped out at my max bid of $15. As quickly as they would let me, I reserved a 10am pick-up and made it there in time.

I took two reusable bags and walked up to the house. There were tables set up outside and I see two stacks of cookbooks. I double-checked and the estate sale team had brought out all the items. No need for me to go inside and retrieve the items myself. Nice!

It will probably take me at least two trips. I can hopefully get the cookbooks in the reusable bags and then I’ll come back for the plastic bin of newspaper clippings.

And as I was loading up the bags, guess who showed up at the bottom of the pile? Click on the link to see the video I took:

Guess Who Was Waiting in Chester?

What a welcome sight! Glad I decided to place that bid! And I love that I was asked, “Are you the cookbook lady?” LOL! Why yes, I am!!

The gamble paid off…that is Betty Feezor’s Best,1962 Enlarged Edition, Fourth Printing. How about that? Betty was waiting for me on that shelf in Chester the whole time!

Here’s another thing about that little video…I saw my Mom’s hand. Looks like I need to moisturize more often.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the cookbooks!

Here are the South Carolina First Lady Cookbooks that were fundraisers for the American Cancer Society:

Here are the area church and community cookbooks:

I just don’t have the energy to list them all out. Forgive me.

But I will give a special shout out to Eudora, who was also uncovered in the pile! And, as it turns out, is an autographed copy!

And this one is pretty interesting as well:

Tried and True Recipes of the Clover Women’s Club (Clover, SC) all the way from 1956!

The big plastic bin of newspaper clippings is still in the back of my car. I think I’ll post about that separately…if I find anything interesting.