Ohio, 1993

Treasured Recipes from Mt. Zion United Methodist Church and Community

Treasured Recipes is a slim collection of recipes from the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Kenton, Ohio.  Kenton is a small agricultural town of around eight thousand people in central Ohio; home to a sizeable Amish population, but also enough Methodists to keep two United Methodist congregations in business.  Roundhead United Methodist Church, Mt. Zion’s ‘sister congregation’, is a ten minute drive down the road in unincorporated Hardin County. 

Like nearly every community cookbook in my collection, Treasured Recipes appears to be part of a fundraising effort driven by women lay leaders in the congregation.  It may have been part of a centennial celebration: the opening insert contains a list of Mt. Zion’s ministers from its founding in 1892 through the cookbook’s publication in 1995.  This, and a vintage picture of Mount Zion church are the only historical information in the cookbook.  

There are a few inserts from the cookbook’s publisher with the usual helpful hints, such as “how much soup do I need to serve 100 people?”  (Answer: 6 gallons) or a handy chart of “common kitchen pans”, which includes ringform and Bundt cake pans in a half dozen different sizes.  The remainder of the book is wall-to-wall recipes. 

The Recipes

For a recipe collection published in the mid-90s the recipe selection is decidedly old school.  The salads and dessert lean heavy into the gelatin salad and main dishes feature a half dozen variants of a chicken-in-condensed soup casserole.  Aside from a few Americanized Mexican foods, including a pretty tasty Mexican Lasagna, there’s not much resembling ethnic cuisine at all.   The vegetable section is almost exclusively corn, potatoes, and/or broccoli topped with sour cream and cheese.   This is good old-fashioned pot luck food cover to cover.

Selected Recipes 

Connoisseur’s Casserole

Mock Turkey Dressing

Never Failed Popcorn Balls

Potato Chip Cookies

Scalloped Corn (I)

Scalloped Corn (II)

Scalloped Corn (III)

St. Tropez Holiday Cranberry Mousse

Zucchini Beef Bake