Lenora Mattingly, though born in Missouri, lived most of her life in Denver, Colorado. In 1916 she married Albert Herman Weber and was the mother of six children.
Weber's first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.
Lenora Mattingly Weber’s favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones, was published. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.
This is OK, but overall I was disappointed--I was looking for more of the classic Malone dishes, some of which are even plot points, like Noodles a la Naples and Lady Eleanor Cake.
There are very few recipes from this that I would ever even consider making, as most recipes rely on things like bacon fat, heavy cream, and lots of canned products and processed packaged foods. Some of the dishes sound truly disgusting (molded vegetable jello served with mayo, bacon and peanut butter sandwiches with mayo and pepper relish…you get the idea). But I’m not reading this for the recipes; I’m reading it because I enjoyed the Beany books and wanted to read all of them. Along with the food there are a lot of stories and descriptions relating to the books, which is why I picked it up.
I was really surprised that there was a chapter on "natural foods." Still, this is the '70s when things like brown rice were a novelty, but it was still kind of interesting. I loved that in that section they mentioned that Ruth and Magee rode their bicycles to cut down on pollution and used biodegradable soaps and stuff. Even some of the natural recipes sound a little odd, but I give Weber credit for including them in the first place (even if most, unfortunately, aren’t vegan, it’s a step in the right direction towards a more conscious—if not yet compassionate—lifestyle).
I really like how Weber weaves the characters into the recipes. There are also lots of notes and tips that give the book a personalized tone (“Hot cocoa seems to taste better out of a heavy mug”). For a cookbook, it's quite enjoyable to read. While I can’t recommend it for the recipes, I enjoyed the descriptions and stories.
P.S. When I read the part about how the Malones entertained the governor of Wyoming (242), who Martie went to school with, it reminded me of Something Borrowed Something Blue in which he tells how as a boy he went on a paper route with the boy that eventually went on to become the governor of Colorado. So two childhood acquaintances became governors? Hmm.
Edited to add (2014): I'm no longer vegan. I still like lots of vegan food and have nothing against it, but being vegan was not helping me get over my eating disorder (possibly quite the contrary). It's just so much more important to me to be happy and healthy and work toward a FULL recovery!
There is something warm and comfortable about this cookbook, filled with tales from the books. I love the money saving tips and ideas that Beany used laid out in this cookbook. It feels like a warm hug to read it.
I don't think I've ever actually cooked anything from this book, but it's fun to read Weber's comments, and the way she connects the recipes to various members of the beloved Malone family. Some of the recipes seem a bit dated now--there's a lot of reliance on things like canned mushrooms, where we would now use fresh--but I'm still tempted to try Mary Fred's meatloaf, Rosellen's birthday cake and several other dishes one of these days!
LOVE The cookbook! I will make peach petal pie, oatmeal cookies and swedish meatballs, chicken cacciatore and noodles and much more! I loved reading the passages that came with each recipe. It brought back memories of the wonderful Beany Malone series!