Belle McDonald cookbook, circa 1913-1938

The Belle McDonald manuscript cookbook contains handwritten entries for various recipes created or collected by McDonald. The book was designed to house handwritten recipes, with a handcolored cardboard covered entitled "Recipes" and depicting a steaming chafing dish, a spoon, and a woman in an apron holding a book. The title page is headed "Recipes: Worth While" and there are labelled for a variety of different types of recipes. McDonald has used the sections for bread, soups, meats, salads, and cakes, with the bread and cake sections filled with recipes. Breads includes several types of loaf bread as well as waffles, pancakes, gems and muffins, and biscuits. The cakes section also includes recipes for several types of cookes as well as pastries such as doughnuts and cream puffs. Recipes under salads are salad dressings. Many of the recipes consist solely of ingredients and amounts, with only occasional brief instructions included. There are several loose pages inserted in the back of the book consisting of additional handwritten recipes as well as small printed brochures or clippings of recipes. Also included in the collection is a 1938 Retailer's Edition of Modern Homemaker, which provides tips and instructions on food preservation and canning, as well as recipes for assorted canning projects.