Extension Homemakers seeking recipe favorites for upcoming cookbook
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Growing up in Whitley County, there have been countless family gatherings from summer campouts to holiday get-togethers bringing together our extended family. Each time we’d gather, there were certain dishes I’d always hope somebody would bring – the deviled eggs, the cherry surprise and others. Then, there are the recipes I remember from home: my mom’s curried chicken, her spaghetti sauce, my grandmother’s gravy.
I’m sure every family has recipes the generations look forward to enjoying together. Unfortunately, if we don’t share them and pass them along, they’re lost to the ages.
The Whitley County Extension Homemakers are in the midst of a major project to preserve 600 of the community’s best recipes for creation of a cookbook.
The book will be the fourth major collection of recipes gathered by the Extension Homemakers.
According to Cindy Barnett of the Purdue Cooperative Extension, the first one was published in 1976. Another one was published sometime in the late 1980s and a third one was put together around 2000.
Barnett said that recipes of all kinds are being sought for this edition, but should fit into the following categories: appetizers & beverages, soups & salads, vegetables & side dishes, main dishes, breads & rolls, desserts, cookies & candies and this & that.
The Extension Homemakers have been distributing pink slips to record recipes on for several months. The deadline to submit a recipe is Jan. 2.
“It should be available for sale in mid- to late March,” Barnett said.
The cookbooks will be sold for $10 with proceeds benefiting 4-H scholarships.
For more information or to submit a recipe, contact the Whitley County Extension Homemakers at 244-7615.