Stirring Up the Past

Most of us eat day in, day out without giving a second thought to the wealth of history and culture that shapes our dining habits and taste preferences. Our recipes, menus, ceremonies, and etiquette are directly shaped by our country’s rich immigrant experience, the history and innovations of food preparation technology, and the ever-changing availability of key ingredients.

Stirring Up The Past, a cookbook created by the Butts County Historical Society, commemorates the Smithsonian Institute’s traveling exhibit, Key Ingredients: America by Food, which was on display at the Indian Springs Hotel/Museum last fall.  I was honored when my friend, Melinda Atha, Executive Director of the Butts County Chamber of Commerce, asked me to contribute to the monumental project. Five of my family’s favorite recipes are included in the cookbook.

Fond memories of good food are common bonds that unite the people of Butts County. Old family recipes, many with stories and memories, were submitted by local citizens and compiled into a one-of-a-kind cookbook aptly named, Stirring Up The Past. This collection of historical recipes has been handed down from one generation to the next. Recipes from the Native Americans who lived here long before the white man came to Indian Springs are included, along with memories of the grand hotels that once flourished in this middle Georgia resort community during the first half of the twentieth century. Old recipes from the Elder Hotel, (1879-1984), are also remembered in this cookbook.

Key Ingredients: America by Food will be traveling to more than 200 rural communities across the US through 2013.