I like to read old community-sourced cookbooks. You know the kind: the ones produced to raise funds for a church or civic group or school.

You can tell a lot about what people value based on what they put in their cookbooks.

Cookbooks created by university groups are obviously going to have plenty of tailgating foods. Community theatre troupes and civic clubs for women will produce cookbooks that usually include an assortment of cocktails, finger foods and plenty of make-ahead desserts.
But, for my money, the best community cookbooks are church cookbooks.

You obviously won’t find a section of cocktail recipes in a Baptist cookbook. You’re likely to find plenty of alcohol-free punches suitable for a crowd, though.

In an Episcopalian cookbook, you might find a recipe that incudes a little wine for a sauce, but nothing much heavier than that.
However, the real heart of a good church cookbook is the section for entrees.

The vast majority of those recipes will be hearty, tasty and cheap. You will seldom find pretentious recipes that require seven specialty ingredients and a mortar and pestle.

No, the church cookbook is a repository of recipes for tried-and-true slowcooker meals, slow-roasted meats, and unfussy casseroles.
The sauces will hold up to reheating, the leftovers will freeze beautifully… and the garnishes? What garnishes? Why would there be garnishes, for the love of Pete?

Actually, most of these recipes are downright ugly.

And I, for one, love that.

The women (and men, too, but mostly women) who submitted these recipes were, by and large, very busy people. They were raising children and cleaning their homes. They were often also teaching Sunday school and chaperoning youth events and taking food to sick neighbors and friends. We have lost a lot of that connectedness in recent decades.

I know that we could blame COVID. And full-time jobs. Whether we are or we aren’t, we really do believe we are busier now than any generation that has come before us.

But I think one of the real reasons we hesitate to reach out to one another is because we think everything needs to be Pinterest-worthy.
Why take a dish to a friend if it is too ugly to star in a social media photo shoot?

Well, I’ll tell you why: it’s because your friend still needs a little love, with or without a photo shoot. And it’s because ugly food is very often delicious.

Next time you have friends who are hurting, try taking a page out of the church ladies’ cookbook: make them something hot, filling… and ugly.

UGLY BEAN STUFF

Ingredients
1/2 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup white rice
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup salsa or 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (such as Ro-Tel)
1 1/2 cup water
1 packet taco seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 can ranch-style or chili beans
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions
■ In a Dutch oven or deep skillet set over medium heat OR in the cook pot of multi-cooker set to saute function, cook chopped onion, garlic, and beef together until beef is crumbled and no pink remains. Drain rendered fat from beef mixture. Place pot over heat again. Add rice to pot and saute until rice begins to toast. Add salsa or Ro-Tel, tomato paste, water, and seasonings. Mix well. Pour in can of beans.
■ If cooking on stovetop, mix well after the addition of the beans. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. (Turn heat lower if necessary to maintain the simmer.) After 10 minutes, turn off heat. Do not lift lid. Allow mixture to rest another 10 minutes without stirring or peeking. When time elapses, add cheese to mixture, re-cover, and allow cheese to melt.
■ If cooking in multi-pot, do not stir after the addition of the beans. Add pressure lid and set vent knob to Seal. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Allow to release naturally for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure. Open lid and mix. Add cheese and re-cover for a few minutes to melt cheese.
■ Serve in bowls, in flour tortillas, or as a dip for tortilla chips.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.

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