Memories of a Midwestern Farm: Good Food & Inspiration from Around Kitchen Table [Paperback]

Nancy Hutchens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

With a voice as warm as a summer breeze, Nancy Hutchens recalls afternoons in the shade of the back porch, snapping beans for canning...family reunions where the gossip was as good as the food...the serene beauty of the first frost of winter...and other cherished Memories of a Midwestern Farm.

Nancy Hutchens grew up on a southern Indiana farm in the 1950s, when horses still plowed the fields. Soap and butter were homemade, and success was a table laden with a hearty meal. Now she shares this bygone time in Memories of a Midwestern Farm, a celebration of country living sprinkled with irresistible recipes, reminiscences, and bits of timeless folk wisdom. Here are the charming poems and journal entries of Nancy Hutchens' grandmother, Mamaw Tribby; reflections on rural life from Willa Cather, Walt Whitman and others; and family photos and original illustrations that adorn the pages of this beautiful memoir.

And here are more than one hundred classic recipes handed down in the Hutchens farmhouse kitchen. From "Moist and Crunchy Fried Chicken and Gravy" and "Green Beans Country Style" to "Sweet Cherry Dumplings" and "'Get You a Husband' Apple Pie," these mouthwatering favorites bring back the sweet and savory pleasures of country cooking for any occasion and every season.

Memories of a Midwestern Farm is a delightful antidote to modern life, a tribute to the simple gifts that bring farm folks together -- hard work, close ties, and an abundance of good, wholesome food.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hutchens grew up on a large family farm in southern Indiana during the 1950s, but from her description, it could have been decades earlier?no telephone or television, dresses made from colorful calico feed sacks, before-dawn awakenings to prepare the food for the hay hands. In fact, some of her stories are reminiscent of the work of Jane Watson Hopping, the "Pioneer Lady" (The Many Blessings Cookbook, LJ 9/15/93; The Lazy Days of Summer Cookbook, 4/15/92), or even of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Family was important, and Hutchens includes poems, diary entries, and nostalgic memories as well as recipes?Mamaw's Raspberry Cobbler, Mother's Famous Apple Butter?from grandparents, parents, brothers, and sister. A period piece, for larger collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Jack Odle Progressive Farmer Don't read this book if you're hungry -- it will make you want to get up and start cooking. It's definitely one of the best on pure country cooking.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671510711
• ISBN-13: 978-0671510718
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,512,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's All Good, June 28, 2001

By 

Dennis Pierson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memories of a Midwestern Farm: Good Food and Inspiration from Around the Kitchen Table (Hardcover)

My grandmother was the best cook in the world. Thanks to this cookbook, I now know how she made those great lumpy mashed potatoes and homemade-tasting green beans and... It's too bad terms like "homemade" and "country" have been overworked by Madison Avenue types because those adjectives apply perfectly here. It's all good, but it's not all healthy fare. In fact, I eat pretty "clean" throughout the week but on my "free" day, this is the cookbook I reach for. The only drawback is the ingredients are not listed separately with the recipes. That can become a bit problematic for a person like me, when the stove is blazing and you've got three things going at the same time and you forgot how many cups of milk the recipe called for. Still, the food always comes out tasting great. Invariably, Hutchens' recipes are the ones asked for by guests. I share the name of the cookbook and its author's identity -- but I don't share the cookbook itself. It's one of the few I would truly miss if it didn't come back.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A yummy trip back to my childhood..., September 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Stamford, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memories of a Midwestern Farm: Good Food and Inspiration from Around the Kitchen Table (Hardcover)

This book is the real thing. Nancy Hutchens' stories and recipes brought back yummy memories of one of the thrills of my childhood - the day-long trips to my grandfather's Illinois farm. Growing up outside of St. Louis, life and mealtimes were pretty suburban. But meals at the farm were just as Nancy describes - two or three different meat dishes, numerous dishes of vegetables which we helped pick out of the garden that morning (no gardens back in the suburbs), several choices of pies and cakes for dessert all made that morning and LOTS of people sitting at one long table in the kitchen itself. My sister and I always requested our favorite meal from our grandmother for our birthdays - Chicky Noodles and Green Beans. This meal always was accompanied by the Angel Food cake because what else do you do with a dozen egg whites when you've used the yokes for the noodles? We've been looking for these recipes for years and thanks to Nancy, we've finally found them, just as we remembered them. Now our children can share some of the delicious and fulfilling dishes we grew up on - and we'll tell the stories. A wonderful way to pass on family history. Thanks to Nancy Hutchens for putting it all together.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hoosier stories that will bring back some good old days., December 7, 2008

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Memories of a Midwestern Farm: Good Food & Inspiration from Around Kitchen Table (Paperback)

If you grew up in Indiana, this book will bring back some of your own memories. Even if you didn't live on a farm, the stories of family life, and a good kitchen surely will delight you and spur your own recollections of times around the dinner table and kitchen preparations.

Nancy Hutchens was gifted with a fine family and pleasant times. She shares them with us. As a "Baby Boomer" this book inspires my own mind to recall many similar experiences. Not only does the writing make you wish you had been there, it seems to put you into the the kitchen at the time the event was happening, like a mouse in the corner. But this book offers more than crumbs.

A good portion of the book is devoted to recipes. They are presented in story form rather than just a list of ingredients with notes on making any attempt equal to the perfection that happened in Hutchens' southern Indiana. There is a few new twists from my own family's recipes, like the Dandelion Salad, Fried Ripe Tomatoes-instead of green, Deviled Eggs, Sweet Potato Pie, Wilted Lettuce, and Potato Cakes.

A fun read even if you are not the family cook at your house.