November and December bring thoughts of feasting and holiday cooking as favorite recipes are revisited and new ones join the old ranks. La Jollans in the early 1900s had their own thoughts about recipes, to the point that in 1908 leading residents of the village formed an organization called the Social Club whose functions were public dances on alternate Thursdays and the publication of a cookbook. The cookbook — officially titled “La Jolla Directory and Special Recipe Book” — was published in a single and only first edition. It consisted of 17 pages bound together with string and a quote on the cover from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”: “Now good digestion wait on appetite and health on both.” Recipes came from leading pioneer La Jolla residents, among them Nellie and Ellen Mills, Olivia Mudgett, Eliza Virginia Scripps, Jane Easton, Mary Good and Helen Hannay. Entries were divided into soups, relishes, fish, meats, vegetables, salads, bread, pies, cakes, desserts, beverages, breakfast dishes and a catch-all called fragments that included oddities such as guava jelly and Indian meal gruel. As in today’s trend of eating local, early La Jollans shared an interest in things they could harvest and prepare from nearby farms and, of course, the sea. Mrs. James Wilson, wife of “Squire” Wilson, who built and owned the Cabrillo Hotel, offered Abalone Chowder, with the recipe starting with “clean and prepare the abalone.” Nellie Mills, who ran a La Jolla rental and real estate business, proposed an old-fashioned apple pie as well as orange marmalade. Mrs. Walter Lieber, wife of another prominent Realtor, contributed several recipes, including one for White Stewed Fish. Helen Hannay of the well-known Hannay family that started Spindrift Inn in La Jolla Shores shared a recipe for Deviled Lobster. While many of the recipes have real downhome sense, others indicate that La Jolla in the early days had a few fashionista foodies as well. The booklet includes esoterica such as Norwegian Meat Cakes, Vanities (tiny doughnuts), Impernarda (a fish casserole layered with pogies — West Coast perch — and potatoes) and Sweets a la Parisienne (a mixture of figs, dates and nuts daintily sprinkled with sugar). Simplicity was important in some recipes as well. Alice Dickey’s Celery Dressing for Ducks reads “mostly chopped celery, very little bread, poultry seasoning, one large onion, pepper and salt; moisten with milk.” For Economical Soup: “Cut into small pieces three good-sized potatoes, one large onion, one head of celery, four small tomatoes, one sweet pepper. Cover with quart of salted water and boil until vegetables are well done. Add a pint of milk and a lump of butter. Boil up and serve hot.” While Ellen Browning Scripps was known for her love of simply prepared foods such as biscuits and baked potatoes, she failed to make a contribution to the recipe booklet. Her half-sister, the ebullient Eliza Virginia Scripps, however, offered her recipes for Curry and Walnut Cookies. Besides the recipes, the 1908 booklet contained many advertisements for local businesses as well as several in downtown San Diego. The La Jolla Merchandise Co., a grocery and restaurant, ran a full-page ad reading, “When in La Jolla DO NOT COOK. Have breakfast and lunch at the La Jolla Merchandise Co.’s lunch counter or take it home with you from our fine delicatessen table. The big white store has everything good to eat.” — “Reflections” is a monthly column written for the La Jolla Village News by the La Jolla Historical Society’s historian Carol Olten. The Society, dedicated to the preservation of La Jolla heritage, is located at 7846 Eads Ave. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.