Anne Goodwin’s award-winning new book reveals the life-affirming lessons that her favorite lush, scenic vacation spot give her, along with the innovative yet traditional family recipes that fuel her family on vacation. The beautiful photos and insightful essays in Come to the Lake: Reflections on a Cottage Life transport the reader to Anne’s 1920s lakeside cottage whose inhabitants abandon technology, social media, and the frantic pressures of modern life to reconnect with nature and reclaim a balanced, rested, and fun lifestyle. Vacationing at lakeside cottages is a long-standing tradition that is quickly fading as cottages are replaced by full-season homes that bury their rich history. In Come to the Lake, Goodwin immortalizes this quaint yet spectacular tradition.
Anne’s intimate, award-winning book concludes with 30 pages of colorful, flavor-filled recipes for meals that she cooks on the lake. The recipes are interspersed with inviting photos of delectable dishes that include:
● “The Bomb” French Toast
● Nanny’s Cucumber Salad
● Purple Cabbage Slaw with Granny Smith Apple
● Ruth French’s Vidalia Onion Dip
● Nancy’s Party Steak Platter
● Lea’s Grilled Bacon-Wrapped, Bourbon-Glazed Shrimp
● Fresh Lake Pan Fish Corn-dusted and Pan-Fried
“‘Come to the lake’. Four words I have enjoyed as both guest and host for decades on Pleasant Lake. Early on, I started taking notes. These notes have been tucked away for years with me occasionally feeling compelled to add to the pile. The pile evolved into a book. After helping me sift through my notes, a friend suggested that I write three separate books with all my segmented and sentimental musings. I explained why that idea didn’t work for me: Life at Pleasant Lake is a jumble of friends, families, adults, children, routines, traditions, activities, games and gatherings thrown together with endless communal meals amidst the magical backdrop of cottage lake life. Adding additional texture to this fabric is my singular relationship with Nature’s daily offerings. It is my hope that this lake life potpourri provides you with a pleasurable pause as you choose to sit a spell with us at Pleasant Lake.