Mother was a farm wife who could cook, bake and work outside helping Dad. Every Summer she & Dad butchered about 60 chickens so we could eat chicken 1x week & a few extra for company dinners. After I was married, that amount doubled but we came & helped. She had fruit trees, sweet corn patch, potato patch and a garden. She helped Dad milk about a dozen cows 2x a day for years. Anything she made was tasty & most of her recipes she carried in her head. Dad never went near the stove but in his retirement years he made soup occasionally.
I have many recipe books but I’ve weeded many out trying to simplify things.