ROXBURY — No self-respecting cook should be without the town of Roxbury cookbook, a collection of recipes from the River Valley area that began selling last month for $10 each.

Out of 220 books printed and sold starting last month, 30 remained as of Friday afternoon.

“We did well,” Jean Shaw said of herself, Elaine Beauchesne, Ruth Daniel, Helen Deanis and Nancy Lovelace.

They are Roxbury’s “Pond Purls,” or women friends working together to encourage and support creative efforts.

On behalf of the town’s 175th anniversary celebration, which is Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25, the group collected and compiled the recipes from January through March 31.

Then they had it published online through Morris Press Cookbooks of Kearney, Neb.

Advertisement

“This is the first publication for our group, and we did it because we thought this would be nice to help the town with the birthday celebration,” said Shaw, who sold 54 books herself.

The cookbooks are currently available at the Roxbury town office on Route 17 and Ellis Pond Variety on Route 120 at Roxbury Pond Village.

Those that don’t sell between now and the celebration will be sold during a bake sale at the town office on July 24.

Part of the proceeds go to the Roxbury Firemen’s Relief Fund; the rest will be used to replace American flags lining streets in town when they wear out or for flowers at the new town “green” at the triangle median by Ellis Pond Variety, Shaw said.

The 128-page cookbook contains recipes for appetizers and beverages, soups and salads, vegetables and side dishes, main dishes, breads and rolls, desserts, and cookies and candies.

Some of which are salmon chowder, Korean spareribs, ground elk, porcupine balls, Ray’s rabbit pie, Lou Lou’s fried squirrel, venison or moose backstrap supreme, smoked trout pate, sin on a plate (a scandalous devil’s food cake/instant chocolate pudding combination), earthquake cake, Sebago bars, pumpkin mincemeat pie and Canadian honey cookies.

Advertisement

“I’ve tried the Canadian honey cookies, and I love it,” Shaw said of her own recipe. “It’s a big recipe that makes a lot of cookies, and I will have some at the celebration. I like them with raspberry jelly.”

The cookbook even has recipes for horse and dog treats; Aunt Lucille’s jam using mashed green tomatoes, sugar, and raspberry or strawberry Jello; a whole page of s’mores recipes for campfires and more.

Additional sections include basics for pantries, herbs and spices, tips for baking breads and desserts, cooking and buying fruits and vegetables, napkin folding, measurement substitutions, quick fixes and a history of aprons.

“Obviously, it’s a good seller,” Shaw added. “We only did one printing, because we decided once is enough, but if the fire department decides to do another printing, it’s up to them.”

tkarkos@sunjournal.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.