Are you ready and able to jump out of bed each morning and cook breakfast? Our Cook of the Week, Sheila Sylvester, not only is, but she’s also prepared more than most people.

“Our car trunk carries my omelet pans, poached egg pan, Bundt pan, loaf pans and springform pan just in case I’m called upon unexpectedly to whip up something.” Before you think to ask for a house call, Sheila doesn’t do this for just anyone. She works part-time at the Ware Street Inn in Lewiston.

Sheila’s interest in cooking started after she became engaged. “I had no clue about, nor any interest in, cooking; perhaps I should. I enrolled in the Fannie Farmer Boston School of Cooking and learned the basics. I still really had not much of an interest in or time for cooking, but did manage to cook adequate meals for us.” Her love for cooking developed when she was working part-time and started collecting cookbooks.

Now, Sheila’s specialty and passion in the kitchen is bread. “I get enormous satisfaction from kneading bread and following the process from beginning to end. Even though the King Arthur Flour catalogue (my favorite of the dozens I receive) insists that bread machines do a better job of kneading, I’ll have none of it!”

When Sheila retired from Bates College, where she worked as an administrative assistant, her colleagues (both faculty and administrators) surprised her with the perfect gift. They gave her a collection of their own favorite recipes, along with many photos and reminiscences. “Called ‘Cooking Without Her Faculties,’ it is a special book that I often refer to when looking for something to cook or a memory from the past,” says our Cook of the Week.

Sheila has lived in Maine since 1969, when her husband, Sawyer, took a teaching job at Bates College. Her definition of retirement is working at the Ware Street Inn, as well as volunteering at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, where she enjoys participating in the HealthSteps program.

Midwest Chowder
Ingredients:
2 cups diced potatoes

½ cup sliced carrots

½ cup sliced celery

¼ cup chopped onion

1½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup margarine

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

10-ounce stick sharp natural cheddar cheese
2 cups cream-style corn (1 pound can)
Method:
In 2 cups boiling water, simmer first six ingredients 10 minutes. Do not drain.

Make cream sauce of margarine, flour and milk. Add cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Add cream-style corn. Put all ingredients together. Do not boil.
Sheila’s notes:
I find it helpful to grate the cheese (can be low-fat cheese) in large pieces before adding. It melts more quickly. I also include more veggies than the recipe calls for to make it thicker. I have prepared this dish for many luncheons.
Sally Lunn Bread
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 cup milk, scalded

½ cup butter

¼ cup sugar

3 eggs

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Method:
Soften yeast in water in small bowl. Cool milk to lukewarm. Add cooled milk to yeast mixture and set aside. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time, mix well after each. Add flour and salt to creamed mixture alternately with yeast mixture, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth.

Cover; let rise until double, about 1 hour. Beat down and pour into a well-greased Bundt pan. Let rise until double, about 40 minutes. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.
Sheila’s notes:
Margarine can be substituted for the butter, but it’s better with butter. It may be cooked in an angel food cake pan, but the Bundt pan gives it more of a festive look. Goes very well with the Midwest Chowder.
Chocolate Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

½ cup margarine, softened (1 stick)

3 cups sugar

½ cup cocoa (Hershey’s)

5 eggs

3 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
Method:
Cream softened butter and margarine. Add sugar and cocoa. Add eggs, one at a time. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Stir milk and vanilla together. Alternately add flour mixture and milk-vanilla mixture to the creamed mixture.

Grease and flour Bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before removing from pan.
Sheila’s notes:
I have taken the bread and cake to many occasions where guests were asked to bring food. They travel well and always have been well-received.
One final tip:
I don’t know what I would do without my countertop convection oven. I bake all my breads in it as well as my roasts, poultry, etc. Convection cooking is the best as far as I’m concerned.