Junior League Cookbooks

Dreaming of the West

Here's a breaking news story: When I get hot, I get cranky. Remember that. It will be important later.

It was July 16, just the second day of our vacation to Colorado. The destination was Michael's idea. After pricing flights to both coasts, we decided that a driving vacation was our cheapest option. I lobbied for Chicago with its museums and shopping, but he was insistent that he wanted to see mountains. His sister was generous enough to offer us her condo outside of Vail. I knew better than to get between Michael and a deal, so I relented.

And then so did the air conditioning in our car -- in the middle of Nebraska --with the heat index hovering somewhere between surface of the sun and the fires of Hades.

For those of you keeping score, that's two years in a row that our car's AC died while we were on vacation. In 2010, we were just outside of Kansas City when the compressor in our Honda CRV exploded leaving a path of shrapnel along the freeway that probably shredded tires for days.

This year was far less dramatic. This compressor (in a different car this time) went out with a whimper rather than a bang, gradually petering out until we were left with nothing but hot air blowing from the dash. We tried coaxing it back to life by giving it periodic time outs and words of encouragement, but it was to no avail. It was dead, and we still had at least four hours of driving to go.

Michael kept telling me that all would be well once we reached Denver. He explained that as we began to climb toward the Rocky Mountains, the humidity would disappear. That meant that while the thermometer might say the temperature was 95 degrees, it wouldn't really feel that hot.

He lied. As I told a friend the next day, this stuff about dry heat is a load of manure. Ninety-five degrees still is 95 degrees with or without humidity. Sure, it may not feel like 110, but it also sure as heck doesn't feel like a cool morning in September, either.

Remember what I said earlier about getting cranky?

I reminded myself that this was not my first time traveling without air conditioning. The first car I remember my parents driving was a 1967 Ford Galaxy. My sisters and I were crammed into the back bench seat with no power windows and no AC. All of our summer trips back then -- whether it was two blocks to Al's Grocery or 30 miles to grandma's house -- were long, sweaty ones. Yet somehow I'd survived. I probably even built a little character, too.

Junior League Open House at Mia Cucina on Friday | Modern Belle

. It’s quite a process to put a cookbook together, so I can’t wait to get a copy.

This Friday, the JLC is partnering with Earth Fare and Mia Cucina for an open house at Mia Cucina at Hamilton for cocktails, sampling of the recipes and cooking demonstrations on Friday night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Per the Facebook note :

The JLC is partnering with Mia Cucina & Earth Fare to bring you ‘Seasoned to Taste: Cooking with the Junior League’ on Friday, August 5 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The event will be held at Mia Cucina and is a free, open-house style event so grab some girlfriends and stop by! Some League ladies will be cooking up a menu sampling all four seasons of our cookbook, plus providing tips, tricks and shortcuts to great dishes! A few signature cocktails will also be served. Thanks to Mia Cucina for hosting us and to Earth Fare for providing groceries. We hope you will share the details of this event with friends & family and join us as we find more ways to Savor the Scenic City!

I imagine this would also be a great opportunity to learn about the League if you’re curious about joining at some point.

The Southern Junior League cookbook

The Junior League celebration cookbook

Western Junior League Cookbook

Eastern Junior League Cookbook

Party receipts from the Charleston Junior League, hors d'oeuvres, savories, sweets