Fran Miller believes in spreading the wealth when it comes to her cooking. “The best part of cooking for me is to share my home-canned goodies with others,” she says. “I might make up a basket of jams for a Christmas present or take a jar of relish as a hostess gift.”

Retired after working in Auburn as a reading recovery teacher, canning is one of her favorite pastimes. “Both my mother and mother-in-law made pickles, relishes and jams, and taught me how to process those. In retirement, I find I enjoy making these the most. I’m thrilled to be sharing my recipes with others!”

Fran’s start in cooking was simple. But simple doesn’t guarantee success. “When I was young, I made cookies. My first disaster was with those,” Fran recalls. “My dad asked what kind of cookies had I made – chocolate? ‘No,’ I said, ‘Burnt!'”

When she grew up and got married, Fran improved her skills in the kitchen, using Betty Crocker’s “Cooking for Two” cookbook as a guide. “I did not like meat, potato and vegetable meals, so casseroles of all kinds were my favorite.”

In her kitchen today, Fran said, “I don’t have a fancy kitchen. Just a food processor to use for chopping up the pickle and relish ingredients, a wide-mouth funnel for filling jars, and an old coffee pot for melting and pouring wax on top of the jam. I don’t use the hot water processing for my pickles – just metal lids that seal when they cool down.”

Fran suggests that a cook should never skimp on ingredients. “I discovered that my chocolate chip cookies were not as good as others because I tried to save money by only putting in half the amount it said in the recipe.”

She jokes, “My husband says my biggest challenge in cooking is to use as many pots and pans at one time as I can. I have tried everything from homemade breads to soups to Danish pastries and chocolates.”

Fran lives in Lewiston with her husband of three years, Bill. She has three children and five grandchildren. In her spare time, Fran enjoys reading, knitting for the grandchildren, making blankets for St. Mary’s hospital – particularly for the babies, making quilts for Advocates for Children, and going antiquing with her husband.