Buy your copy of “Nurturing Neighborhoods” now!

“Nurturing Neighborhoods,” the Junior League of Pelham cookbook, continues the proud Junior League tradition of featuring time-tested favorite member recipes. With 125 dishes, Junior League history, and a place to document your own best recipes, the JLP cookbook “Nurturing Neighborhoods” is special in many ways. And best of all, it was created specifically to raise funds for a long time to help keep the Junior League’s good work going.

The cookbook is the work of President Amy Platt, who conceived of the idea and ran it start to finish. Here’s her story:

Q: What gave you the idea?

A: I swear this idea has been bandied about every year I’ve been on the board. Everyone was always on board, it’s a great idea, etc and then nothing would ever happen. I got tired of waiting.

Q: When did you really get going?

A: Amanda Star and I were having a conversation last year around March about evergreen ways we could fundraise. This idea has been floating about for a while and I decided to make it happen. Amanda has been my biggest cheerleader and the best person to bounce ideas off of during this process. (Former President) Aileen Dose gave me an enthusiastic yes when I basically told her I was going to do this.

Q: Any favorite recipes? 

[DIAD Chairperson] La-Donna Lawrence submitted a recipe for a Jamaican style bread that I can’t wait to try. 

Q: Did you look at other Junior League cookbooks across the nation for inspiration?

A: Someone gifted me the NYJL cookbook from the 90s that is a beautiful work of art. I drew from that a lot, as well as my huge collection of cookbooks. I love collecting and cooking for them.

Q: What surprised you/what did you learn?

A: I was surprised by how many different designs I’d cycled through until I landed on the final one. I knew I wanted it to feel like a modern version of something you would find at Grandma’s house, but the amount of trial and error to get there was a lot.

Q: Did you make all these dishes yourself so you could photograph them?

A: I did not make all of them, but I made a LOT! Sometimes I’d beg people for a photo. Other times I’d ask if they could make the recipe and take a photo. On the photo contribution page my list of pages takes two lines!

I just have to send a really big thanks goes to everyone who submitted! It wouldn’t have come to life without them.

You can purchase “Nurturing Neighborhoods” here on the JLP web site or at Flour Power, located in the Four Corners shopping center.