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Beany Malone
The Beany Malone Cookbook
The Malone kitchen, dining room, and family meals were an integral part of the Beany Malone series. The Beany Malone Cookbook offers many wonderful recipes intertwined with the stories and characters who made them best known and loved.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
5 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Lenora Mattingly Weber
43 books56 followersLenora 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 12, 2007
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.
September 8, 2016
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!
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!
January 2, 2026
Personal copy that I have apparently had for a while, since I found a copy of the invitation to my 40th birthday luau inside of it, and I just turned 60!
If this isn't a snapshot of 1972, I don't know what is. The way to a man's heart is still through his stomach, but now you can do it with modern convenience products! Also, gravy is still really, really important. The recipes are a bizarre mix of Lipton's Onion Soup Dip, "Company Hamburgers" spread with horseradish and cream cheese, and molded salads, but also recipes for scrambled eggs and creamed new potatoes. I don't know if there are more than about five recipes in the entire book that I would make today, although the cookie recipes fare a little better. Oh, and if I need to make "Yum-Yums", here's the recipe. (I know them as Chow Mein Noodle Cookies or Butterscotch Haystacks. They've got- believe it or not- both chow mein noodles and butterscotch chips, along with peanuts and chocolate chips. Which is just wrong.)
My favorite chapter was "Not too refined" which elaborated on the character of Magee, who was living in an old stable with his true love Ruth and eating a lot of brown rice. And bean sprouts. There's also a bit about Mu tea and making one's own yogurt, which makes me wonder what Weber was up to in the years right before her death. Hanging out at health food stores, apparently.
Of course, the reason I reread this was not for the recipes, but for the anecdotes. Sometimes, the stories with the recipes just reinforce the stories from the books, but sometimes, like with the Magee entry, we find out more about the characters. If you've just finished all of the books and want more Beany, this is the book to read.
It's been a while since I've read the 1964 For Goodness Sake! cookbook, but I think it had more of the recipes that actually get served in the books. It was written with Greta Hilb, a good friend of Weber's and a home ec teacher. While The Beany Malone Cookbook is still available from Image Cascade Press, For Goodness is hard to find, and will set you back quite a bit even for a 1970s era paperback.
Horribly enough, I have a friend who would gladly eat the Frankfurter Mix-Up, with it's odd mix of hotdogs, canned corn and green beans, ripe canned olives, and a cup and a half of catchup. Oof, Beany. Not sure that would be the way to Carlton's heart anymore!
If this isn't a snapshot of 1972, I don't know what is. The way to a man's heart is still through his stomach, but now you can do it with modern convenience products! Also, gravy is still really, really important. The recipes are a bizarre mix of Lipton's Onion Soup Dip, "Company Hamburgers" spread with horseradish and cream cheese, and molded salads, but also recipes for scrambled eggs and creamed new potatoes. I don't know if there are more than about five recipes in the entire book that I would make today, although the cookie recipes fare a little better. Oh, and if I need to make "Yum-Yums", here's the recipe. (I know them as Chow Mein Noodle Cookies or Butterscotch Haystacks. They've got- believe it or not- both chow mein noodles and butterscotch chips, along with peanuts and chocolate chips. Which is just wrong.)
My favorite chapter was "Not too refined" which elaborated on the character of Magee, who was living in an old stable with his true love Ruth and eating a lot of brown rice. And bean sprouts. There's also a bit about Mu tea and making one's own yogurt, which makes me wonder what Weber was up to in the years right before her death. Hanging out at health food stores, apparently.
Of course, the reason I reread this was not for the recipes, but for the anecdotes. Sometimes, the stories with the recipes just reinforce the stories from the books, but sometimes, like with the Magee entry, we find out more about the characters. If you've just finished all of the books and want more Beany, this is the book to read.
It's been a while since I've read the 1964 For Goodness Sake! cookbook, but I think it had more of the recipes that actually get served in the books. It was written with Greta Hilb, a good friend of Weber's and a home ec teacher. While The Beany Malone Cookbook is still available from Image Cascade Press, For Goodness is hard to find, and will set you back quite a bit even for a 1970s era paperback.
Horribly enough, I have a friend who would gladly eat the Frankfurter Mix-Up, with it's odd mix of hotdogs, canned corn and green beans, ripe canned olives, and a cup and a half of catchup. Oof, Beany. Not sure that would be the way to Carlton's heart anymore!
December 27, 2021
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.
February 14, 2008
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!
September 23, 2012
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!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews