A Madison County Community Cookbook
A group of Madison County homesteaders on Facebook recently initiated the idea for a county-wide community cookbook. “When someone chimed in and said we could sell it to benefit Beacon of Hope food pantry, I volunteered to be ‘ringmaster’ of the project,” says Karen Governo Ingraham.
The project involved gathering family recipes (nothing that had been previously published in a copyrighted book), curating them and editing accompanying essays. “The recipes are diverse,” Ingraham says, “everything from standard salad dressings and homemade ginger ale to more traditional Appalachian fare such as fire cider and venison meatloaf. We even have a recipe for dog biscuits.”
All net proceeds from the book go to help cover expenses for Beacon of Hope, which serves the county seven days a week and finds its services especially essential during this time when the pandemic has created food scarcity in the lives of so many. “The benefit of the MadCo cookbook is not only that the net proceeds benefit Beacon of Hope’s mission of providing good food to those in need,” says Ingraham, “but for me, personally, it gave me a connection to community that I sorely needed in times of social distancing.”
A Taste of Madness: A Madison County Community Cookbook, March, 2021, cookbook, paperback, $21.95, edited by Karen Governo Ingraham with contributions by Madison County residents, and independently published. To learn more, visit Facebook.com/ATasteOfMadnessCookbook. Orders are being taken via Facebook messages or by calling Beacon of Hope at 828.649.3470. Shipping is available with an additional cost of $3.95. The book is also available at Beacon of Hope Thrift Store and other Madison County stores.
