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Volunteers fill cookbook

By Vera White

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

 

Barbara Cox (left) , Linda Vacura (center) and Fran Stegner donated recipes along with many other volunteers, for a new cookbook, “Our Volunteers are Cookin’” Photo by Kyle Mills / Lewiston Tribune

To say Barbara Cox is a dedicated volunteer worker would be an understatement. The Pullman grandmother is so involved in her work with the Senior Health Insurance Benefit Advisers,(SHIBA), she recently drove to Lewiston on a snowy day to assume her weekly duties counseling senior citizens at the Washington-Idaho Volunteer Center (WA-ID) on the intricacies of dealing with Medicare drug and health benefits. "I have been coming down every Thursday for the past 14 months," she said in a recent telephone interview. "I counsel people on - or ready to go on - Medicare, to help them make educated decisions and explain their options." Cox is one of an estimated 900 volunteers who donate time and efforts to WA-ID, headquartered at the Lewiston Community Center. The region covers Nez Perce, Latah, Idaho, Lewis and Clearwater counties in Idaho, and Asotin, Garfield and Whitman counties in Washington. In addition to offering SHIBA assistance, WA-ID volunteers serve other nonprofit entities in a variety of ways

ranging from senior nutrition programs to food banks, beautification projects and ushering at the Lewiston

Civic Theatre. Then in August, several dozen WA-ID volunteers and staff members joined forces to publish a cookbook titled "Our Volunteers Are Cookin': A Collection of Recipes and Memories."

Copies, $10.00,  are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lewiston Community Center at 1424 Main St. or you may order here. Shipped orders are an additional $5.

 

According to WA-ID Financial Manager Linda Vacura, 58 volunteers, plus staff members, contributed to this

spiral-bound, 215-page cookbook containing more than 300 recipes. "I thought it was a good idea for a fundraiser," said Vacura, who headed the project. "We sent out a letter to all our volunteers the first of August and gave them a month to respond." The response exceeded expectations and all recipes contributed were used.

 

The cookbook, published by the Lewis-Clark State College Graphic Arts/Printing Technology Division, came out Nov. 15. Cox helped design the colorful laminated cookbook cover, along with LCSC's Brian Koldstad, who donated his time.

 

In addition to recipes, "Our Volunteers Are Cookin' " also contains a history of WA-ID, pictures and stories about local volunteers such as Jim Bailey of Clarkston, who has volunteered at the Asotin County Food Bank since 1987, and was a winner of this year's Washington State Governor's Volunteer Award. The cookbook is dedicated to Arlene New, a longtime volunteer for the Lewiston Senior Nutrition Program who died suddenly in July. Many of the recipes have special meaning for contributors, like Scott's Enchiladas listed below. Scott is the son of Cox and her husband, Steve. Steve Cox works in the health services department at Washington State University. Another recipe shared with readers is Special Fruit Salad, a favorite of Fran Stegner's granddaughter. The 70-year-old Lewiston widow has been a WA-ID volunteer for the past four years doing a variety of jobs such as working a couple of days a week at the Habitat for Humanity Retail Store, helping out at the Lewiston Visitors Center during the summer and at the Nez Perce County Museum. She recently received a Volunteer of the Quarter award. "I wish more people would volunteer at WA-ID," she said. "It is a great program and has made a big difference in my life." Another recipe below and appropriate for the holiday season is for Nog, submitted by WA-ID Director Barbara Bush. She is the wife of Lewiston City Councilor Garry Bush. "This recipe became a family tradition shortly after we married," she noted in the cookbook. "It was a wonderful way to blend our respective families. "Each of us has our own nog mug and we use the same one every year."

 

"Our Volunteers are Cookin'" sells for $10 (tax included). Contributors receive a $3 discount on the first book they order. There is a $5 shipping and handling fee. Copies are available at the Lewiston Community Center at 1424 Main St.

 

Cookbook sales have been brisk. If the 500 copies of the original order sell, reprinting is a possibility, according to Vacura. Proceeds from sales will help fund WA-ID's annual volunteer recognition events. Vacura explains that even though some counties like Clearwater do their own, the valley has outgrown the venue at the Lewiston Community Center. "This coming year we intend to have one in Lewiston for valley volunteers, one in Moscow for Latah County and one in Pomeroy for Garfield," says Vacura, who lives in Winchester with husband, Bob Vacura. "It has been a heartwarming experience to be a part of this fun cookbook fundraising project."

 

As a grantee of the Corporation for National and Community Service, WA-ID sponsored the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) for people 55 and older. Membership in the Points of Light Foundation and 501(c)3 tax-free status status enables the Volunteer Center to sponsor volunteer programs for all ages. "Members of the Volunteer Center gave over $1 million in volunteer time to our community last year," Bush said proudly. "Volunteerism is truly the recipe for a healthy community and our volunteers are the finest ingredients."

 

For additional information, call the Volunteer Center at (208) 746-7787.

 

Scott's Enchiladas

1 to 1 1/2 pounds hamburger1 small mozzarella cheese block, grated1 jar salsa (see note)1 can cheddar cheese sauce soup1 small jar jalapeno peppers, sliced1 small can olives, slicedOne half onion, diced1 can tomato soup1 dozen flour or corn tortillasTabasco and/or cayenne to taste.Offer toppings such as sour cream, guacamole and jalapenos

NOTE: The amount of salsa can vary; I use the empty cheese sauce soup can to measure 1 to 1 1/2 cans of salsa.

Brown onions and hamburger, set aside. In medium-size saucepan, blend soup and salsa and heat on low until no lumps. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Cover bottom of pan with soup/salsa mixture. Roll meat mixture and a little of the

cheese in tortillas (if using corn tortillas, steam first). Place in pan, pour soup/salsa mixture on top and cover with grated mozzarella. Sprinkle jalapenos and olives on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Let set before serving.

 

Special Fruit Salad

1 large box Jell-O vanilla pudding (not instant)1 large can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve juice)1 large can

mandarin oranges, drained (reserve juice)2 bananas, sliced1 basket fresh strawberriesAny other fresh or canned fruit you want Mix together dry pudding mix and juices. If necessary, add water to equal 2 cups. Can microwave pudding on high until boiling (about 4 minutes), or cook on stove over medium high heat until thick and boiling. Cool and then add fruit. Stir and refrigerate until cold, at least three hours, or prepare a day ahead.

 

Nog

12 eggs (see note)5 1/2 cups rum1 cup peach brandy1 pound powdered sugar2 cups whipping cream, nutmeg, freshly grated

Beat the egg yolks until they are a rich golden yellow. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Slowly add 2 1/2 cups rum. Let this mixture stand for at least one hour to dispel the "eggy" taste. Add, beating continually, another three cups of the rum. Then add whipping cream and peach brandy. You can adjust the cream measurements (or substitute milk) to suit your own taste. Refrigerate, covered for three hours.

Just before serving beat until stiff 12 egg whites. Fold lightly into nog mixture. Sprinkle with freshly grated

nutmeg. Put into a large punch bowl and serve.

 

NOTE: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes on its Web sites, (www.fda.gov or www.foodsafety.gov), that eggs sometimes contain a bacteria called Salmonella enteriditis. The FDA suggests consumers prepare recipes that call for raw or undercooked eggs, like eggnog, with eggs that have been treated to destroy Salmonella or with pasteurized egg products.

 

White is food editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. She may be contacted at vnwhite@cableone.net.