CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After two years in the making, First Lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin released her first official cookbook of West Virginia recipes.
The book entitled “The First Lady’s Cookbook: Recipes of the Mountain State” was made available Tuesday following an afternoon reception at the Culture Center.
“Hospitality is one of the things that West Virginians do best, so to me, this has just been a wonderful experience putting it together,” Tomblin told MetroNews.
Different family recipes from the First Lady, state leaders and their spouses make up the cookbook. Tomblin said she asked members of the Legislature, Supreme Court, previous governors and more to contribute their recipes.
“They come from all parts of the state and everybody has their own traditions and their own heritage,” she said. “That’s kind of all compiled together there.”
Before presenting her own cornbread salad dish to a group of audience members Tuesday, she told the crowd she created the book because of her love for gardening she shares with Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.
“We have a huge garden at the mansion in which we feed all of our guests plus ourselves every year. He does the gardening, but he also taught me how to can vegetables,” she said.
Some of Tomblin’s favorite recipes include her homemade Caesar dressing, meatloaf and several Italian dishes like manicotti and shrimp scampi.
Tomblin said while she hopes to be “remembered as a First Lady who really enjoys healthy eating and gardening,” her main goal is to help those in need by donating all the proceeds to the Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway.
“I really think that our food banks in West Virginia are so critical,” she said. “We have so many people that are hungry and I hope we can raise enough money to help them provide some food for these families.”
Chad Morrison, executive director of the MFB, said every little bit helps and he’s happy Tomblin recognized that.
“We need everybody to pitch in. We need everybody’s involvement in this, so whenever you have leaders step in, that’s great to see them step up and really contribute to the cause,” Morrison said.
Funds will be put toward food deliveries in areas that lack the resources, he said.
The cookbook can be purchased for $24.95 at the West Virginia State Museum Gift Shop in the Culture Center.
The state Division of Culture and History also helped put the book together.