#32 The Ladies Aid Cookbook

#32 The Ladies Aid Cookbook

I mentioned I was going to a potluck last night and it was great, as usual. I picked this cookbook for today because it was usually the ladies at church who organized the potlucks where I came from. They have different names for their groups, guilds, circles, societies, auxiliaries but many were know as "Ladies Aid". They could organize potlucks with military precision. Today these events are more free style and no one assigns dishes. There's still always a great variety at these things and always some of the traditional favorites.

One of the husbands had emailed that they would be bringing a "bean casserole". I knew this family had spent time in the States so a bean casserole could be either, Green Bean Casserole with the soup and onion ring topping or it could mean the Calico Bean dish that I was thinking about bringing. Turns out it was the Calico Beans so I was glad I had changed my dish to a Chicken Gumbo. It's not as bad as wearing the same dress to a party but that would have been a lot of beans.

Potlucks are a great way to socialize but have you ever considered how dangerous they are? I remember a potluck I went to when we were newlyweds, living near Chicago in Barrington Hills. Barrington is a very posh community and there were a lot of fancy dishes at this gathering that I had never seen before. Of course I tried everything and enjoyed it all. A couple of hours later at home, I noticed an itching on my hands and a red rash had started to appear. Now this is the strange part, the rash became raised and it started to move. Yes move, you could actually see it moving and spreading. It moved up to my elbows and then on to my shoulders and next to the neck. When it had almost reached my face, I started to panic and made my husband call his Dad, the doctor. He informed me, "it must have been something you ate." Of course, I had eaten a bit of everything and didn't have a clue what might have triggered the reaction. I still don't know to this day since it has never returned in over 30 years but I know that danger lurks at every potluck I attend. I could get the rash again!

It is almost a game of Russian Roulette with all the food allergies people seem to have now a days. Last night, there were people at the dinner that needed to stay away from flour and one fellow didn't want to eat shell fish. Someone else mentioned they couldn't eat cherries and others didn't want to run into any nuts. My daughter's lips swell up and blister if she touches a mango, it's not a pretty sight.

Anyway, maybe the time has come for us to type up a little ingredient card and place it next to the dishes we bring for potlucks. Or maybe a warning sign with skull and crossbones. Gee, come to think about it, we'll all lucky to be alive but that won't stop us, we'll be right there for the next one. So the cookbook for today is #32 The Ladies Aid Cookbook by Beatrice Vaughan.