About - The Vintage Cook

Cooking Contest Beginning

Most recipes are pretty straight-forward and success happens with patience, techniques and learning the basic components of ingredients and flavor. I am fortunate to have won several national cooking contests. This gives me the opportunity to be the first to create interesting things like Blueberry-Almond Baklava with Orange Blossom Honey Syrup.

I spent 20 years living in Kansas with my husband where we raised three daughters. I love the sunshine, open skies, and sense of family that are so common there. However recently we moved to South Carolina. I enjoy going for long walks, visiting small towns, and perusing antique stores for hidden treasures. I also like to do volunteer work. I’ve been a Children’s Theatre Director, Girl Scout Troop Leader, and most recently an Area Director with the Doe Network for Missing Persons. My favorite though are all the bake-sales, food bank and community fundraisers I’ve participated in.

My Vintage Cookbook Library

I have been collecting cookbooks and recipes since I was 8-years-old (that was in the early 1980’s). The collection has grown to over 1,000 but who’s counting? Every time I find a new OLD cookbook that I haven’t seen before, I get a little twinkle in my heart. I truly love them and they bring me great joy. I want to share these books with you here on the blog and hope I can help you find those long lost recipes too! I like to bring old recipes back to life with new ideas and updated ingredients. I’m often asked, “How old does something have to be to be considered Vintage?” The answer is 20 years. Any book published before the year 2002, is considered vintage! I like to focus on vintage from the 1950’s to the 1990’s.

The Recipes

All of the recipes on this blog are either straight from the book, my own new creations or spins on classic recipes. Some are from recipe cards or clipped newspaper articles and I will do my best to find the original source. I will usually only offer one recipe from each book, in the spirit of Fair Use for the purposes of teaching and commentary. I will always provide full attribution and any links if available. Many of the books are also for sale in my Etsy shop.

Education

I earned a B.A. degree in Mass Media from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas.

As an entrepreneur and creative home cook, I’m always interested in new opportunities as well as helping people succeed in the kitchen. Feel free to contact me anytime.