Feedback
The warm feedback we've received from across the country has touched our hearts. Here's some of what folks have shared...
(We'd love to hear from YOU, too! Share your thoughts at ala1879csu@gmail.com!)
*Click here to see what people have written: IN THE NEWS
“This cookbook, from the Department of Colorado, honors and celebrates the 100th Year Anniversary of the American Legion Auxiliary!! It’s like no other cookbook out there! This is an awesome book with many wonderful recipes along with the history of the Auxiliary!! I love mine and if you love to cook or know someone who does, I urge you to get your copy right away!”
—Carlene Ashworth, Past National President, American Legion Auxiliary
"Wally was very impressed with the cook book. He like me found it very interesting plus well done!!" 💕💕
—Patricia St. Onge Noel and Wally Noel, Colorado
"The book is amazing! The amount of history is mind blowing and the tribute to those who served is beautiful. Give your group a big thank you from me."
—Ellen Gossens Mucha, Minnesota
"I’m so happy that I ordered this cookbook! It is beautiful and so well done. Looking through it fills me with pride and reading the history within its pages transports me back through the years. How different it must have been then and how important it still is to keep those memories alive for future generations. As the daughter of a WWII veteran and as a veteran myself, thank you all for this beautiful cook book." ❤️
—Vicki McPherson, North Dakota
"I just received my cookbook. You ladies went above and beyond, from the division of war eras to the recipes to the photos. Everything is so cohesive and an easy read. I especially like the stories of the veterans and mention of our poppy program. I will be showing and advocating at Mid Winter this weekend. Will have on hand at all times. Thanks again for a job well done and including me in this project....
Just finished reading the book. It’s so much more than a cookbook. It is outstanding work. ... Love the narratives."
—Joanne Valletta, New York
"Enjoying my cookbook. It is fun to see the recipes that I tested and a few of my pictures."
—Marti Adkinson Demarest, Colorado
"A lot of love went into preparing the ALA SERVE Cookbook. I was super excited to get mine today! You can order yours online at https://store. alaservecookbook.com. Hooah!"
—Terri Clinton, Colorado
"Just received my new cookbook that my favorite cuz, Ann Diaz has a hand in bringing to fruition with the American Legion Auxiliary. Great art work and recipes throughout. Thank you... You rock!"
—Dr. Joseph Kools, Florida
"It is absolutely amazing. Haven't enjoyed a book like this in years. Thank you all for working so hard on this project."
—Yvonne Kirschner, Colorado
"I love it! I went through it and I will be making something from the cookbook this weekend and I will let you know how it turned out."
—Susan E. Abeyta, Secretary/Treasurer, Dept. of Colorado
"Arrived in the mail today. I just spent the last 2 hours with it; it is BEAUTIFUL. The recipes look SO good; the stories/histories (of individuals and the wars our soldiers fought are really interesting. I like the layout; the listing of foods by categories at the end will make it easy to look for a particular recipe/category of recipe. You deserve to be very proud of this accomplishment. Too bad Mom didn’t have a beautiful cookbook to look through on those long-ago Sunday afternoons. Bravo!!!"
—Audrey Frederickson, Minnesota
"I just wanted to say thank you again for the lovely cookbook! I read through the book and it is delightful! I can’t wait to make some recipes now."
—Nicole Ressue, Colorado
“Oooh, I just opened the package containing a gorgeous cookbook! Oo-la-la!”
—Stacy Moore, Minnesota
"Thank you to all for your hard work. I absolutely love my cookbook."
—Lynda Lancaster, West Virginia
"Will have to determine which recipe to try when I get home. Love all of the history and beautiful and memorable pictures!!"
—Jeri Brooks Greenwell, Florida
"Hope you enjoy your cookbook as much as I do...Some of my test pictures were used.. was excited to see them. I really enjoyed testing recipes that had been used by our ALA sisters...
It is beautiful! Love the stories and pictures! Thank you all for all the hard work that went into this Beautiful cookbook!"
—Linda Newman Smiley, South Carolina
"Received my recipe book today, can hardly wait to start making some of these amazing recipes. Marlys Aubol made one of her recipes that she let us have a taste of at our Winter Conference. So delicious."
—Sandra Petermann, North Dakota
"Mine was waiting for me when I arrived home last night! It's really beautiful!!! I'm looking forward to reading through in and trying some recipes." 😊
—Izzi Maria, New York
"Just received mine. Awesome. Can't wait to try all of these out. Taking it to Mid Winter Forum next weekend and share with the American Legion Auxiliary ladies of Kansas."
—Debbie Peters Evans, Kansas
"So excited I got my Cookbook today. Now I’m going page by page. Love it!"💕
—Toni Gimpel, Idaho
"This cookbook is so great! Love the test kitchen tips. The stories are so great as well!"
—Pam Ray, Illinois
"I love the book am anxious to try the recipes. Thank you for your hard work on making this a great book."
—Marilyn Miyazima, Colorado
“I have some exciting news. We had our Auxiliary meeting yesterday and voted to buy a centennial cookbook for our 91-year-old member who just went to live with her family in California.”
—De Leah Eavenson, Idaho
"Kudos to American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1879 of Colorado! The cook book they recently published is fantastic and well beyond words to describe the work and the stories that go along with all the recipes. The articles on each war will open your heart up, once again, to ALL who have served this great country and the sacrifices that their families made. Many of the great recipes (which have been well tested) will bring back memories that have long been forgotten. I love the cookbook and have shared it with many, including my unit members and others. It makes a wonderful gift for anyone, younger or older. Thanks again to the ladies of Unit 1879."
—Sue Patterson, Past Department President, Dept. of Colorado (as published in the national Auxiliary magazine)
"I got it yesterday and it's AMAZING!! And I haven't even gotten to the recipes yet!! The pictures, the history. . .it's unbelievable!! I will be using this as more than a recipe book!! JOB WELL DONE!!!"
—Jane Ridenour, Ohio
"Oh, Karen, where do I begin? I love cookbooks, and typically scan through each new one and find, if I am lucky, 5-10 recipes I want to try and that I think my family can and will eat. The SerVe cookbook is such a treasure. Found so many wonderful recipes to try that I had to make lists rather than sticky notes on specific pages, and loved all the pictures to help inspire what the finished product can look like. Even more important, thoroughly enjoyed feeling connected to my grandmothers, my mother and even my younger self as I read the many chapters of our history. What a wonderful tribute to our veterans, this is a perfect gift for anyone with a tender spot in their hearts for the men and women who have served. I am so glad I purchased one for a family member as well, this is truly a unique and amazing volume. Many many thanks and congratulations to you and your committee for not only a fabulous cookbook but also a memorable way to honor our country's heroes."
—Coreen Boeding, Colorado
"For starters I absolutely love [the cookbook] and when I gave it to my mother she literally couldn’t stop looking at it. The recipes look amazing and I’m excited to try some out. This is definitely a cookbook I will purchase again as gifts. Keep spreading the goodness that the Lord shines upon you!"
—Kaitlin, Colorado
"Ahh! The cookbook is amazing. Today I moved the package from the garage interim resting place and opened it with much anticipation. The cookbook is beautifully laid out and the pictures are so well done. The very first thing I did was go through the list of recipes to see if there was anything with only three cups of rhubarb because the rhubarb I bought from On the Vine Farm didn't make the four cups I needed for rhubarb custard pie. I was in luck...the rhubarb-blueberry bars will be perfect because I have blueberries in the freezer.
This evening I will sit down with the book and start reading some of the stories and scan the recipes. I found the Facebook page, joined the group, and will start promoting the book as soon as I can."
—Pat Stoltey, fiction author, Colorado
"In mail yesterday and it’s just amazing. SOS was first breakfast food that Pat wanted.😘
...SOS was a total turn on. We did a few mods. Butter for bacon fat. Real cream for Carnation. USMC was on target. Enough to freeze for our next meal. Pat commends soft boiled eggs to array on top. Will explore book some more."
—Gaylen Fischer
"This is so cool! I especially enjoyed seeing my walleye picture on page 175. I’ve been looking over recipes and I’m certainly going to be trying many!"
—Scott Buss, Wisconsin
"I may not have mentioned that my father served in the Army. There were no conflicts when he was enlisted, so he never went abroad, but he always taught us that people who served deserved support long past the time their active service was over."
—Matt Sartwell, Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore, New York City
"I’m sending a check for 6 cookbooks. Please use the balance of the funds to help with postage account of your unit. One book is for myself, one is a wedding present, and the others are Christmas gifts. You all did an amazing job. Thank you."
—Donna Rae Smith, Chaplain, TALA Dept. of CO
"We got the cookbook and it's AMAZING. Truly such an awesome book that you should be so so so proud of. We are in awe and so happy to be part of it!!!... Excited to have this in our home. Thank you for including us!"
—Leah and Blake Nolan, California
"Your SerVe cookbook is beautiful in every way. The stories are touching and remarkable. Yesterday the corn beef recipe was in my crockpot...yummy last night with more today. Anxious to try more."
—Nancy Lucas, Wisconsin
"I got your cookbook. I've got goosebumps! It is beautiful and the recipes... everything about it is wonderful. We have a display in our village clubhouse on the 3rd of July and we're doing military and I'm going to include your cookbook. Thank you, thank you!"
—Mary Lamers, Wisconsin
"I am finally sitting down to thumb through your cookbook and love it. Dog-eared several pages. The walleye you recommended for sure!"
—Barb Rueth, Illinois
"I need 5 copies of your book...ASAP! Bill is giving two to grad students from CSU who are lieutenant colonels who are going to West Point to be faculty and are finishing PhDs in environmental engineering. Graduation gift. Then two more are for my girlfriends who love to cook and we are going to prepare a meal from selected recipes from the book. ...
Thought you might like to see evidence of our WWI Valentine's dinner last night. All menu items from your cookbook and the books itself my valentine to my friends. "
—Dr. Sue Doe, Director of Composition, Colorado State University
"I'm really thrilled about your cookbook... it arrived today and it's an incredible work of art! Y'all should beam with pride as it's a great tribute to our country. I love it."
—Kevin Kools, Florida
"We just made our first recipe from SERVE—macaroni au gratin (with personal adaptations like dairy free cheese and mushrooms, etc). Very tasty dinner. The cookbook is beautiful! ...
We made cowboy cookies (subbing out the items we didn't have for the ones we had) — taking them to work today to boost morale. Putting the cookbook to work!"
—Julia Innes, Colorado
"OMG. Just received my cookbook and couldn't put it down! It is gorgeous and made me really hungry!!!! Great job!"
—Judy Gregory, Florida
"I've made the Artisan Bread recipe six times already."
—Malgorzata Broussalian, Colorado