I've been a fan of Rawlings since I first read her as a teenager. Reading her biography many years ago, I learned of her pride in her cooking. I didn't even know she'd issued a cookbook until I came across this edition!

Upon reading the book I was immediately reminded of the "Alice B. Toklas" cookbook. The structure and literary emphasis are much the same. Thus, for the same reason, it's a joy to read even if one doesn't cook!

However, like "Toklas", the recipes are also a treasure. Many of the recipes contain ingredients too exotic for the average cook, but many more are easily prepared. This can also be a pleasurable and valuable resource for those, like me, who enjoy reading and preparing recipes from old cookbooks. Our eating styles have changed enormously in the nearly sixty years since Rawlings wrote this book.

If you are a fan of Rawlings, buy the book whether you ever plan to cook any of its recipes. Its reasonable cost is a further bonus!

As the other reviewer has mentioned, this is a collection of recipes, filled with anecdotes of central Florida life in the 1930s and 1940s. The recipes are fantastic and one wants to try all of them (although it may be difficult to prepare alligator-tail steak). And, what a pleasure it is to read a cookbook written by an accomplished author. You just keep picking it up.

It is evident from her cookbook that Marjorie tasted of nearly everything and learned to make delicious dishes out of some very odd things: Poke Weed (on toast), Pot Roast of Bear, Smother-Fried Squirrel, Gopher Stew, Coot Surprise, Jugged Rabbit, a host of Pilaus, and an infamous blackbird pie. Of course this book is not simply a culinary freak-show. There are dozens of recipes for desserts, seafood, meats-found-at-the-A&P, jams, and soups, featuring ingredients of which we are all familiar and unafraid. She was proud to share them and claimed each recipe was nothing short of first-rate. Included among these is her piece de resistance, Crab A La Newburg, and the best Strawberry Shortcake ever. Accompanied by anecdotes of Florida rural living in the 1930s and 1940s, this book is a delight and an excursion from a mundane kitchen

Cross Creek is located just south of Gainesville, Florida, and in spite of the urban sprawl the community is today almost as isolated as it was in 1928, when Marjorie Kennan Rawlings and her first husband Charles Rawlings purchased a farm house and citrus grove in the area. At the time of the purchase, Rawlings was a failed novelist in a bad marriage, and both farm house and grove were neglected. A decade later she was a respected writer on the eve of her most popular novel and happily divorced, and the farm and its citrus groves were very much going concerns.

Rawlings would eventually remarry, and both her second marriage and her literary success would gradually lead her away from both her farm and the Cross Creek community--but she would never leave them entirely, always returning for the inspiration that fed her best works. The property was still in her possession and still in use as both a citrus grove and occasional residence at the time of her sudden death of cerebral hemorrhage in 1953. Rawlings left the it to the University of Florida, and in 1970 the property was turned over to the State of Florida for restoration and management. Restoration was completed in 1996, and while the large citrus grove that once surrounded the farm house has been reduced to a representative portion, visitors can now see the property as it existed in the 1930s and 1940s.

Although Rawlings won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel THE YEARLING and would publish several other novels and short story collections, today her literary reputation rests largely on the book CROSS CREEK, in which she details both her own struggle on the land the lives of the community as she knew it during the 1930s. While the book is clearly autobiographical, it is not autobiography per se; she gives little attention to her personal history, preferring to focus instead on the landscape and the individuals that surround her. The stories she offers are by turns funny, sad, thoughtful, each informed by an intensely felt observation of her environment. And while critics may accuse her of having been excessively sentimental in her fiction, no such sentimentality besets this particular work. It is brilliant from start to finish.

CROSS CREEK was published in 1942, and while it is very much of its era in its depiction of rural society and racial considerations, it also proved very much ahead of its time. It is profoundly concerned with ecology long before the term was popularized, and not only are its characters vividly alive, they move against a landscape that is as alive as they, a landscape that at once harsh and nurturing, at once giving and indifferent, and throughout the text (and most particularly in its final chapter) Rawlings repeatedly takes the point of view that we are not the owners of the earth, but its trustees; its care is in our hands.

I have read CROSS CREEK several times, and I returned to it in the wake of a visit to the Rawlings farm in 2003--and while it is not necessary to actually visit Cross Creek in order to fall in love with this book, they each inform the other. The book is somewhat obscure; the community of Cross Creek is difficult to find on the map and awkward to reach, hardly a place you would stumble upon by accident. It must be reached in deliberation. The guide at the Rawlings farm told me that in spite of this they received some forty thousand visitors from around the world each year--visitors drawn by the power of Rawlings' work and a determination to share in the environment she so loved. That is both testament and recommendation enough.

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--

Cross Creek is one of the finest memoirs ever written, filled with the grace and beauty of fine writing from one of America's greatest writers, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Perhaps no other writer has so perfectly and honestly captured a place and time like Rawlings did in Cross Creek. It will transport you to that small acreage of backwoods Florida and cause you to wish for a life such as this.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings purchased a seventy-two acre orange grove in this remote area and fled her aristocratic life in the city to perfect her craft and get published. It is here all her beloved books would be born, including this memoir covering the years of hardships and beauty at the creek. Rawlings herself would become a part of the earth and land as she was reborn here in Cross Creek and would leave behind literary achievements such as South Moon Under, Golden Apples, When the Whipporwll, Cross Creek Cookery, and of course, her Pulitzer winner, The Yearling.

Her close relationships with her neighbors at the creek, both black and white, are told with humor and humanity. Their lives were often filled with hardships but serenity as well, for all of them had chosen to live this kind of life rather than conform to society. Especially poignant are Rawlings's observations of a young destitute (even for the creek) couple who would be portrayed so movingly in her short story, Jacob's Ladder.

Rawlings's recollections of her friendship with Moe and his daughter Mary, who was his reason for living and the only one in his family, including his wife, who cared when he came or went, are told with such beauty we feel pain ourselves when he takes his last breath at the creek. Her deep friendships over the years with Tom and Old Martha are told with humor, honesty and a gift for description few have ever had. Tinged with sadness is Rawlings's relationship both as employer and friend to 'Geechee. Rawlings would attempt to help her to no avail as this sweet personality slowly became an unemployable alcoholic, her mistreatment at the hands of a womanizer unworthy of her love at the heart of her problem. It is perhaps at the bottom of a few bitter comments from Rawlins.

But Cross Creek is about the earth and our relationship to it. When we stray from it we become less because it is a part of us. Rawlings came to believe over time that when we lose this connection to the earth, we lose a part of ourselves. The great and wondrous beauty of nature, from magnolia blossoms and rare herbs to Hayden mangos and papaya, are as much a part of this memoir as the people. Particularly hilarious are Rawlings's descriptions of a 'pet' racoon of mischievious nature and such cantankerous disposition as to almost seem human. Rawlings's world at the creek is perhaps her legacy, a gift given to the reader we can never forget.

In order to enjoy this memoir, however, one must read the entire book, taking into consideration a number of factors. Published in 1942 and covering many years prior in a backwoods area of Florida, at a time when racial equality was a distant dream, some may be offended by Rawlings's casual, though never mean spirited observations. Rawlings honestly relates actual conversations from this time and place between blacks and whites, and blacks to other blacks. Rawlings treated everyone fairly but a long string of farmhands prone to drink and violence, including the one who would destroy her friend and employee 'Geechee, prompted her to lump an entire race into one group, her friends at the creek being exceptions.

Her thoughts on the matter, which are included in one of the 23 chapters, do not really fit in with the rest of this memoir. Having first read this over twenty years ago I did not recall it, and it certainly gave me pause. It is only proof, that even someone as intelligent and literate as Rawlings, can intellectualize a misguided view until it sounds right. Taking everything into consideration I do not feel it should keep anyone from reading this most beautiful and heartwarming of memoirs. But others may feel differently, and have a right to do so.

Rawlings's graceful prose, whether describing a chorus of frogs singing at night as a Brahms waltz, the scent of hibiscus drifting through the air at dusk, or a myraid of dishes meticulously prepared and labored over for hours, is delightful and unforgettable. Cross Creek will make you hungry for succulent fruits, cornbread an hot biscuits with wild plum jelly, and most of all, life. Reading this lovingly written memoir will leave you with a wistful desire to walk away from society as Rawlings did and live the life we crave in our very being, even if it is not possible, and can only be lived in our hearts.....

"Cross Creek belongs to the wind and the rain, to the sun and the seasons, to the cosmic secrecy of seed, and beyond all, to time."
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
(1896-1953)

As a native Floridian (although transplanted now to South Carolina), I have found the works of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to be a welcomed homecoming and a delightful insight into the "frontier" Florida life of the 1930s and '40s. Rawlings' words are timeless because they animate a timeless period in Florida history--when things were still largely rural, natural, and undisturbed by capital investment and the tourism boon of the last thirty-plus years. "Cross Creek," moreover, is the perfect introduction to Rawlings for the uninitiated, a moving narrative of her life and career amid the backwoods and streams of a bygone Florida. Yet "Cross Creek" is not simply an autobiography; it is a lavish tale in itself. I highly recommend it.

I also suggest the motion picture version of "Cross Creek," starring Mary Steenburgen and Peter Coyote (1982?). It has recently been re-released, so you should be able to find a copy easily. The movie is perhaps "even better" than the book, with its stunning cinematography of the natural beauties of Florida woods, creeks, rivers, and swamps. It stays fairly true to the book, as well, and Steenburgen and Coyote are endearing as Rawlings and Norton Baskin. Rip Torn is another wonderful addition to the cast.

Pick both of these up today!

The Cross Country Quilters are 5 people who meet at Elm Creek quilt camp and become friends. Donna and Megan have been internet friends for a few years but this is their first time meeting in person. Julia is an actress who needs to learn how to quilt for an upcoming role in a feature film. Grace is an accomplished African-American quilter who has lost her muse due to a personal matter that she wishes to keep secret. My favorite character is Vinnie, an 82 year old quilter who celebrates her birthday at Elm Creek every year. Each character has a conflict in their life that they need to face. At the end of quilt camp, they decide to make a challenge quilt--each participant contributing one block. One restriction is that they can't start their block until they have dealt with their personal conflicts. They agree to stay in touch and to meet at quilt camp the following year to put together the blocks they have made. This plot is very similar to what we read in "Round Robin". The main differences being that we are introduced to 5 new characters facing new sets of personal problems and they are making a challenge quilt instead of a round robin quilt.

My only complaints with this book are the proof reading and some minor inconsistencies. For example, I just get a little annoyed when I see things like "her Mother her Mother's". One of the inconsistencies is that Megan knows that Donna has a weight problem. But when they meet, Donna wonders if Megan thought she would be skinny. How can that be if Megan knew through their email that she fought with her weight for years. Overall, though, it was a really good book and I highly recommend it to all quilters.

It was wonderful!! My sister, Susie, told me about the books by Jennifer Chiaverini, said they were so special. She was right! I have just finished the Quilters Apprentice and have just this minute ordered Round Robin!! I can't wait to get it and dive right in. I have been quilting for about 15 years and it was exciting to read a book that named a lot of the squares I have used in my own quilts. Keep the great books coming!! I will have them all for my own collection!

The Cross Country Quilters is the first book by Jennifer Chiaverini I have read. I also know nothing about quilting. Quilting knowledge is not a prerequisit to reading and enjoying this book. Much like Julia, the newest quilter at Elm Creek Quilt Camp, I was slowly drawn into the world of material,color, and design. During a summer session of quilt camp a unlikely grouping of friends takes root, and they promise to continue their friendship through designing and completing their own block of a challange quilt. They plan to meet the following summer to piece the blocks together. The five women, Julia, Vinnie, Megan, Grace and Donna return home not only to face the challanges of the quilt blocks. They also must face the continuing challanges of their busy lives with work, family, careers, and illness. At times it seems that each woman has too much to deal with, without worrying about the planned meeting the following summer. Just as quilting combines materials which don't seem to have much in common, Jennifer Chiaverini, using the theme of quilting and friendship, intertwines these women's varied lives with warmth and believability. I look forward to reading the other books by this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip back to an era not- so- long- ago when Florida was still a frontier. Marjorie Kinan Rawlings had already enchanted us with her lyrical descriptions of Cross Creek. J.T. Glisson was part of that scene, and now he tells about the Creek from his own experience.

Glisson gives an entirely different perspective from the one that Rawlings painted. While it's not as lyrical, it's far more penetrating into the ways and mores of the cracker community. You'll find yourself laughing out loud at any number of places -- not in derision, but with heartfelt sympathy. The relationship between the game wardens and the cracker fishermen is a classic!

By the end of the book Glisson had so drawn me into the cracker world, that I was on the verge of tears as he described the demise of the Cross Creek community. I didn't want the book to end.

This book is a must-read for anyone who loves Florida, loves a simpler way of life, or loves Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Mr. Glisson paints a beautiful picture -- both literally and figuratively (his watercolors illustrate the book). This is one of those books that makes a great gift for native Floridians. A true treasure.

I recently spent a weekend it Micanopy on my anniversary, and visited Cross Creek. I had read Rawling's book and enjoyed it and it was nice to visit the place I had read about. While in Micanopy I saw Glissons book and took it home. What a great example of native Floridian history.Now i'm planning another trip back to Cross Creek to put Glisson's book in perspective. Maybe they should give out copies to all tranplants as they enter Florida on I-75!!!