Press Release
Missisquoi Historical Society

The Missisquoi Historical Society's cookbook, Traditions of Home Cooking in Missisquoi County, is now available for purchase at the Missisquoi Museum office or by mail. The cookbook is a 200-page, spiral bound compilation of recipes - some old, some new - from the area's kitchens.

The informative volume begins with an extensive and entertaining opening essay by Anne Lipowski entitled 'In the Beginning', which explains the geographical, cultural and social forces shaping local cuisine. This is followed by 180 pages of time-tested recipes, some from the MHS collections, others submitted by local chefs and passed down from generation to generation.

The collection also includes recipes for practical gardeners such as green bean soup (prepared with ham, green beans, potatoes, light cream and spice), fiddleheads baked in cream and Parmesan cheese and apple omelets. It even features recipes for the hunter or fisherman (roast duck, stewed rabbit with dumplings, wild goose, perch cooked in corn husks) and, in keeping with local appetites, a healthy supply of desserts (hot milk cake, an heirloom wedding cake, maple dumplings and assorted squares).

Traditions of Home Cooking in Missisquoi County is rounded out by a number of recipes for beverages, including a traditional elderberry wine recipe, and an amusing final chapter, 'Early Fare from Long Ago', in which museum curator Heather Darch has pulled together frontier recipes detailing how to cook beaver, porcupine, squirrel, raccoon and small birds. All profits from cookbook sales benefit the Missisquoi Historical Society. Copies may be purchased directly from the museum (open daily Monday through Friday) or by mail. The price is $20 per volume ($4 postage and handling extra for mailed copies). Please note that the book is currently available in English only, but that a French version is scheduled for release later this year.

To obtain a copy, drop by the museum at 2 River St., Stanbridge East, or contact the museum during regular business hours at (450) 248-3153, or by email at sochm@globetrotter.net.