senior Scoops

Free is good! Right?

Project Gutenberg is an online source for thousands of free e-books available to anyone. No registration is required—simply visit the website, browse the library, make your choices, and begin reading. They can be read online or downloaded to a Kindle or other reading app.

You won’t find the latest bestsellers or hot new novels from the New York Times list here. Instead, you’ll discover popular works from 1910, 1810, and other bygone eras. Most of Gutenberg’s offerings are works that have fallen into the “public domain,” which means they are no longer subject to copyright laws.

While browsing the site I came across this gem The Just-Wed Cook Book by E. F. Kiessling. The book was published in 1917 in Reno Nevada. It was sponsored by a group of local merchants and presented as a gift to newlyweds of the area.

From the cookbook, this recipe for Lemon Custard Pie:

Make a good pie crust and prick bottom. Put one cup sugar and one cup water in a saucepan and let come to a boil. Mix one tablespoonful cornstarch in a little water and add to water and to sugar on stove. When thick take off stove and add a small chunk of butter; stir it up. Stir in the yolks of two eggs and grated rind and juice of one lemon. Beat whites of two eggs until thick and spread over pie when cooked; then put in oven to brown.

Some other recipes included in The Just-Wed Cook Book:

• Mock Turtle Soup
• Pigeon Pie
• Cod Fish Balls
• Governor’s Sauce

Much more than cooking

Of course Gutenberg offers much more than old cooking books. Perhaps you want to dive into Plato’s Republic, or get started on War and Peace. It is there for you at no charge. What I found most fun was uncovering obscure works like the one I highlighted above. I mean where else can you find a good recipe for Pigeon Pie?

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