Nothing says the holidays like a good meal.
So December is an ideal time for the release of a new cookbook.
While there are literally thousands of cookbooks out there, this one; ‘Baba Josie’s Kitchen’ will be of special interest locally, as it highlights recipes collected by the late Josie Matsalla of Canora.
Over Josie’s 95 years, she amassed a lifetime of recipes from more than 90 friends and family, and now some 550 have been collected in the new cookbook.
Josie’s recipe collection stems from the communities surrounding Canora, as this is where Josie raised her family and made her home.
Josie was born in Hamilton, ON. She was the second of 11 children born to Joseph and Pauline (Belitsky) Zarazun.
“Joe Zarazun worked in a factory, and following an accident at the plant he moved his family back to Saskatchewan within the Tiny and Rama area,” reported her family.
“Mom grew up in this area and then met my dad (Joe Matsalla) and in 1943 they were married and moved to the Matsalla farmland north of Tiny, (SK.). This is where mom and dad raised their family of five children. Mom and Dad continued to farm until 1972 and when Dad passed away, mom continued to farm with her oldest son, James until she retired in 1985 and moved into a home in Canora”
In addition to farming Josie worked for homecare in the district well into her 70s.
She died in February 2020 at the age of 95.
Along the way, like many, Josie collected recipes.
But, why a book?
“I visited mom three years ago, and I told mom that I would like to take her treasured binder of recipes one day and type them into a digitalized version,” said son Brent Matsalla. “I explained that it would be online and a cookbook. Mom asked if future generations will be able to use the recipes and she smiled when she heard that it would be there forever.”
It was also a sort of tribute to their mother.
“Mom loved cooking and she cooked with love and we thought it was important to preserve the memories as well as the food with the world,” wrote her family.
“Sharing of the memories with our immediate family and extended families cherished our unity. Being together to share a meal and visit was always the most important.
“Mom and dad worked hard on the farm to provide for our immediate family but they would always take the time to share whatever was in abundance to provide to others.”
So how did the family select the recipes?
“Mom passed away in February and Brent flying back to Nanaimo didn’t have room for the cookbooks to be packed with him, so I was going to take the books to him,” said Theresa. “During the pandemic, I needed therapeutic fulfilment. I began typing the recipes from the binder and sending them to Brent. We collaborated our efforts and after many on-line hours (at least 1000 hours) we ended up with over 550 recipes.
“We used all the recipes within mom’s collection as well as adding some that weren’t written down, and our family sent us their family favourites that mom loved.”
Some are of course Josie originals.
“Many we had to document because she had the recipe memorized,” said the family. “We were fortunate that she was with us for 95-years. We were able to call her up and ask her advice to assist when we were cooking those recipes.
“Mom put her own spin on almost all the recipes creating a new taste that was more suited to who was attending the meal.”
One example was her Russian borscht where she boiled the whole potato in the soup and then mashed it within the broth.
“You wouldn’t think this is a big deal but it really enhanced the taste,” they said.
The book also pays homage to all the people Josie collected from through the years.
A thank you area at the back of the book lists all 90 names of each contributor.
“Most of the recipes mom knew by the name of the person that shared the recipe with her,” the family noted. “These recipes are noted in the cookbook at the bottom of the actual recipe with the person’s name that contributed the recipe.”
There are 17 categories in the cookbook and over 550 recipes, including hints and tips.
The cookbook also includes conversion charts, substitutes, some pictures of the dishes, and recipes for a crowd.
They also added a fun section in the back that is called ‘how to speak Saskatchewanian Farm Kid’ and the translation (such as: bunny hug and vico).
The collection is one the family is proud of.
“Yes we are, our intro to the book has 15 pages which covers our history and memories of our wonderful mother, farm life and Saskatchewan homesteading near Canora from the mid 1900’s,” they noted. “Food, family and friends were very important to mom and sincerely hope you enjoy as much as we have, and will continue to enjoy for the rest of our lives and for generations to come.”
Baba Josie’s Kitchen is more than just a simple cookbook – it is a large format (8 ½”x 11”) 263-page archive which includes many cherished memories and pictures of the farm life of the Saskatchewan homesteaders during the early and mid-1900’s.
The book was released just prior to Nov. 18, on what would have been Josie’s 96th birthday.
Over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sales catapulted the book into the top row of Amazon Best Seller’s in the Food History category.
The book Baba Josie’s Kitchen is available now for purchase online at Amazon.ca
One-hundred per cent of the profits will be disbursed to non-profit organizations that Josie supported most; for example: Canora Keen Centre, Canora Gateway Lodge Auxiliary and Canora Catholic Woman’s League CWL) depending on cookbook sales.
