“Give Us a Vote and We Will Cook…”

Thanks to the Feeding America archives at Michigan State University, I discovered Washington Women’s Cook Book, compiled by Linda Deziah Jennings and published by the Washington Women’s Suffrage League in 1908 or 1909.  Delightful!

The book was part of a fundraising campaign. I can’t say whether sales were successful, but Washington State men did give their women the vote in 1910. Smart move.

The book has hundreds of recipes for “old-time” favorites and a bunch I never knew existed. Ever heard of Sea Pie, Hot Pot Tom Bowling, or Bubble and Squeak? The book lists which items to take on a one-month hiking trip in the mountains and advises women that “cotton undergarments will be more serviceable if made of colored gingham.”

Suffrage is first on the menu. Chapters start with pro-vote quotes, and there’s a chapter on voting rights campaigns in Washington. The book’s title page notes:

Give us a vote and we will cook
The better for a wide outlook

Not the best rhyme. But if you have the urge to make Lightning Cake, Marshmallow Cream, or Banana Charlotte, you’ve come to the right book.

In the spirit of Blue Thread, every so often I’ll be posting recipes from at least a hundred years ago, most for foods mentioned in the story and some from Washington Women’s Cook Book. I’ll also add some modern versions. And you can bet your Apple Brown Betty you’ll find something delicious.