Cook Book Compiled by Zion L.W.M.L Terra Bella, California

Self Published. Near Fine. 1976. First Edition. Softcover. Red stiff card with red comb binding; the comb is somewhat flattened, otherwise a bright solid copy. This is quite a unique, fundraiser church cookbook. There are no preliminaries - title page, copyright etc. no foreword or introduction. Throughout the book are local advertisements for business. All the pages are hand numbered, and the recipes - one per page - are handwritten in the contributors handwriting, each bordered with the same graphic decorative boarder. There are blank bordered pages to write additional recipes. Sections seem typical starting with Bread and ending with Jellies and Pickles, however that's where 'typical' ends. I found very few actual bread recipes but many coffee cakes, bars, torts, and even cookies in "Bread" including German Apple Cake, Very Good Apple Cake, Banana Cake, Humming Bird Cake and of some interest to me, Persimmon Fruit Cake. "Bread" is followed by "Desserts and Pastries" where entries vary from Mystery Pudding to Pink Stuff. "Meat, Fish, Game" offers a great sounding Sauerbraten, Lake Success Baked Bass with Success Lake Tarter Sauce, "Vegetables & Salads includes Beet Salad, Chili Beans, catsup, Yule Log, and Lime Pickles! You get the picture. This is a delight. The many writing styles, names, recipes, the odd entries all create a very quaint read from this small Central Valley community. For those familiar with the area, there are ads for Bullard's, Smiths Complete Market, Faggart Buick, Wayne's Music and many more. The Terra Bella Zion Lutheran Church & School is still in operation. "Zion is one of the few Lutheran churches in California that has not been relocated from its original rural setting. To our knowledge, Zion is the only California LCMS congregation located outside a general town site." ; 8vo .