Libraries like to have something for everyone including now, from the Capital Area District Libraries, a new compilation of recipes for strange and delicious food. They’re pulled from the Lansing Area Cookbook Collection.
Ben Ackley is a Local History Outreach Librarian at CADL. Since he started in the position this summer, he’s found inspiration going through the archives.
He says a zine, which is a self-published magazine that often uses photocopies, collages and drawings, was the perfect way to bring everything he’s found together.
"We really want to have a physical presence in this town because I think CADL History has been hidden in the basement for too long. "
This first zine is called Obsoleat.
Ackley poured over hundreds of cookbooks to find recipes like Chicken Michigan which features red tart cherries and a pound cake from Lansing icon Alfreda Schmidt.
He says he tried to find recipes with a local connection or a personal touch like one for Laredo Ranch Beans.
"I really liked that recipe because it has a note at the end. Mr. Harry Galloway contributed it, and it mentions that he learned how to cook it when he was in Vietnam."
There's also a section Ackley has put together at the end with an "Eat At Your Own Risk" warning.
That includes dishes suspended in gelatin, a laxative candy and a circus peanut salad.
Ackley says he tried to be sensitive when putting together the recipes because food can be a personal part of culture, but some of them were definitely out there.
"The vast majority of us who are on the grid can agree that raccoon meatloaf is probably not what we want to have for dinner tonight. "
Ackley has been working on the next edition of the zine series.
"It's all about weirdness in our archives, so paranormal stuff. There's a touch of true crime, but it's really rather tame, UFOs, hypnotism. "
Just in time for Halloween, find It Came From Lansing at CADL branches.
Capital Area District Libraries are a financial supporter of WKAR.
