Beans Cookbook Legacy

A Rage to Nosh...          Have you ever read a book and your inner voice takes on an accent to match? As I sat down to read A Rage to Nosh, by Ruth & Bob Grossman (published by Paul S. Eriksson, New York, 1966) I couldn't help but hear my mother and the paternal branch of her family all sitting around 'tawking' after Thanksgiving dinner with their New York accents and their hands flying. New Yorkers 'tawk' with their hands, really their whole bodies. They are animated, loud, and full of life.      It's especially funny since my Mom was just first generation Swedish-American. Her parents, and her fathers brothers all spoke with the familiar melodic, sing-song Swedish accent. By contrast their children, she and all of her cousins, spoke with the distinctive guttural New York accent. As a child it was quite an interesting backdrop of sounds and inflections to listen to. It was rather like trying to follow the strains of a lovely melody that you could ju

  I'll never forget the day Bean was gifted with this treasure of a cook book. The owner of the local used bookstore, Diane, who well knew Beans passion for cook books and who frequently kept back special books that came in just for her to have first perusal,  handed her this book. She explained she couldn't sell it as it was really in tatters but it was special and it was a gift to the one person she knew who would truly appreciate it. You could the hear the angel's singing I swear as my Mom held this book in her hands! The Buckeye Cookery Book.     Granted it doesn't look like much.  The cover, which is loose, is unreadable and actually looks as if brown paper was glued to it over a hundred years ago. The spine is broken, the threads holding it together are visible, and there is no title page anymore. But, it has a quirky dedication page:                               "To the                  PLUCKY HOUSEWIVES                              Of  1876.