“Mom’s Believe It or Not Recipe Book” is more than a cookbook.

Author, artist and retired teacher Connie Martinez, 78, set out to write a tribute to her family using recipes and stories of her experiences as a child. The result is a keepsake full of Spanish and Chicano culture and history from Colorado’s San Luis Valley.

Each recipe is accompanied by a story and a memory from Martinez’s childhood. The “believe it or not” in the title is not hyperbole—some of the recipes call for every part of farm animals, including eyeballs and innards, and are cooked in ways unimaginable in today’s kitchen.

Hardscrabble origins

“I was thinking about Mom, and what she used to cook and the process she used, and how it is not done or eaten today,” she said. “I had to get things down on paper so our grandchildren and great-grandchildren could know how different it was back then.”

Martinez’s family farm had no electricity or running water. They pumped their water by hand or used water from the Culebra River in Chama. Nothing came easily.

“Everything was made from scratch and everyone pulled their weight—even the kids,” she said. “We had to work at our grandparents’ farm in the bolita bean fields so that our family could have food all winter.”

A welcome reception

The book stemmed from a cookbook Martinez made for a family reunion. It was such a hit that she decided to enhance it. A former student of hers edited the manuscript.

“I was encouraged by family and friends, like local poet Luis Lopez, to publish it,” she said.

Full of fascinating recipes and surprising history, what really comes through is Martinez’s love for the life and family she had back then.

The book’s appeal is wide-ranging. A California man purchased it and recently called to thank her for writing it. He told her he’d never read a cookbook before, but said that hers took him back home to the San Luis Valley for a few hours.

Martinez is a lifelong artist. She had to be creative growing up on the farm, even making her own toys. These days, she crafts; draws; paints; sews needlework, embroidery and applique; uses pastels; creates art with mixed media; and upholsters and refinishes furniture. She gives her work away as gifts and participates in local art shows, including the Mesa County Fair. More of her artwork will be on display at the Art Center’s Members Exhibit February 2-24.

A picture of one of her embroidery and applique pieces adorns the front of her book, depicting life on her grandmother’s farm in Chama. It’s displayed beside other art pieces in her Grand Junction home.

Martinez said she enjoyed writing the book, despite the emotions it brought forth.

“It brought back so many memories—good and bad—and made me laugh and cry while writing it,” she said. “I think everybody has a book in them. Everyone has a story to tell.”

Purchase Martinez' book at Grand Valley Books or Crystal Books, both on Main St. in Grand Junction or call Connie at 241-5753 (home) or 216-6524 (cell) to order. Books are $25 each.