Prairie Cooks: Glorified Rice, Three-Day Buns, and Other Reminiscences

This book was very dear to my heart as both my parents were of Norwegian descent and grew up close to where the author did in Western North Dakota. It's a wonderful portrait of what life was like in the rural Great Plains in the early part of the 20th century and a thought-provoking contrast to our lives today. And I never did get Mom's recipe for Glorified Rice so I was glad to find not one but several ingredient lists for this nostalgic dish!

Let's just put it this way, I read the whole book in one sitting. In fact, I couldn't put the book down. The author wrote short histories and included recipes to go along with the family history. Of course along the way, she told some mighty funny stories, especially about how one of her sisters managed to set the out house on fire. Really funny. I haven't laughed so hard while reading a book in sometime. A definite buy --- even if I haven't tried her recipes. Most recipes are common to Scandinavian cooking and Scandinavian American cooking.

This is a great book for Scandinavian recipes used EVERYDAY in America. There are tons of cookbooks for those special occasions, but the recipes which are hard to find are the ones that grandma didn't write down; she used them everyday; no need to refer to a recipe card! I found SIMPLE recipes that were used when the goal was to just feed the family, not to "entertain." But these are GOOD recipes, quite literally, like "Grandma used to make." If you're looking for a recipe that isn't fancy, but a family favorite, this is the place to find it!

You won't be sorry you picked up this book. I've read two other books by Carrie Young, and they are all just a treat to read. I grew up eating this kind of food, lovingly cooked by my Norwegian grandmother. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these recipes and accompanying stories. The stories are often hilarious, and they all ring true for those of us with similar backgrounds. I'm picking up another copy of this book as a birthday gift for a relative, I know she'll love it!!! A great book for Scandinavians, for persons from the midwest, or for anyone else!!!