By Meg Favreau
Quirk, $14.95, 160 pages
ISBN 9781594745188

Here is a small-format, hard-cover, very cute book, a pleasure to read. Little Old Lady Recipes was written by a part-time comedian, and her humor makes the book what it is. The subtitle tells it all: “Made with love and lots of lard.” Otherwise, the book is hardly a useful cookbook; the recipes by little old ladies collected mainly in Meg Favreau’s neighborhood are all very, very simple and quite basic (pancakes, spaghetti sauce, deviled eggs). Any cook or novice – even non-cooks – can follow them. The instructions are in one short paragraph, many with funny introductions worth reading. Ingredients are few and easy to find. Both Tuna Surprise Casserole and Turnip Casserole have only four ingredients, for example. A recipe for grits and one for oatmeal has one ingredient plus salt. The index is fair and not cross referenced (you find Fried Chicken only under F).

“Simple, good and sassy: little old ladies know how to bring the goods to the kitchen.”

Yet this cookbook is a nice addition to a collection of coffee table books. With hilarious quotes from the ladies, it fun to leaf through and read. Wonderful full-page photos of many “little old ladies” brighten the pages.

Reviewed by George Erdosh