Jo Ann Bender

Story Cookbook: Featuring Americana Basics from the Northwest Mountains Jo Ann Bender

A simple recipe story connects each recipe to life at the Lazy Bee Ranch. Clarion reviewer, Rachel Jagareski, says, "In the folksy Story Cookbook, Bender shares anecdotes about their home, neighbors, guests, and the attractions of their region. Her breezy, conversational style is very inviting, and her vignettes capture the rural beauty of the area. . . "The Story Cookbook is an appealing collection of recipes and memories from the author's interesting life. "Bender's Iowa roots are evident in a wealth of recipes that feature country cooking. These are the sorts of recipes often found in community cookbooks: crowd-pleasers that lack fancy ingredients or complicated cooking techniques. They run the gamut from everyday meals to special occasion treats, and Bender even shares a few heirloom recipes from her family and friends to make the collection unique. Most contain from-scratch ingredients, but there are also a number that utilize convenience foods, like cake mixes or prepared gravy. "The text is presented in a clean format and contains an index to the more than 120 recipes. Bender makes sure that each story and recipe fits on its own page; as such, some of the longer recipes are in a smaller font size."