Just before Christmas we received this kid-friendly recipe from Lillian Deedman. She writes that 12-year-old Megan McPhail enjoys making these snowmen.

MEGAN’S MARSHMALLOW SNOWMEN

White icing

Jet Puffed marshmallows

Oreo cookies or coloured sugar cookies

Decorating gel

Pretzel sticks

Red string licorice

Use Oreo cookies or coloured sugar cookies as a base. Stack three marshmallows on top of each other. Ice together. With decorating gel draw eyes, mouth, and nose. Insert 2 pretzels to make arms for each marshmallow snowman. Mini marshmallows work great for mitts. Cut a 6-inch length of licorice and tie for a scarf.

Kyla Orchard was a 4-H leader in 2003 when the Roland Home Economics Club put together a cookbook commemorating their club’s 90th anniversary.

Now head leader of a 4-H club nearly a century old, Kyla kindly responded to our call earlier this winter for community cookbooks and the stories they tell.

The Celebrating 90Years of 4-H cookbooks were a fundraiser for the Roland club, but much like cookies wherever kids are present, they didn’t last long. About 120 cookbooks were made and almost all sold, raising around $900 for the club. Kyla thinks three out of the batch remain. They’re still for sale at $10 each at the Roland 4-H Museum.

Every community cookbook is special, of course, but one from a 4-H club cookbook is extra special. That’s because it’s a promise there are more community cookbooks yet to come – from future generations that will still know how to cook. A 4-H cookbook represents an organization dedicated, among other things, to teaching children and youth many important and valuable skills, including how to cook. That’s so important in an era when not many kids are learning this important skill, either because parents haven’t the time or the skills themselves.

The Manitoba 4-H program’s cooking classes remain an invaluable place for young folk to learn all the basics of sourcing, preparing and cooking nutritious and economical meals.

Mind you, 4-H kids don’t usually lack good influences at home in this regard. The recipes in Celebrating 90 Years come from homes where families have, for many decades, faithfully sent their sons and daughters off to 4-H meetings– just before, or right after, supper. We’re always looking for favourite recipes from readers. Do you have one to share? Can we help you track down a specific recipe? Let us know if you’re looking for something and we’ll publish your requests.

It was in 1913 that the Department of Agriculture through the extension department of the University of Manitoba organized eight Boys and Girls Clubs in Manitoba. The first one, being in Roland, made us the Home of Canadian 4-H. Other clubs were organized the same year in Darlingford, Manitou, Neepawa, Oak Lake, Starbuck, Stonewall and Warren.

The department gave each new member one dozen eggs from a good breed of laying hens, good-quality seed of fodder corn and seed potatoes. The eggs were set in the spring under a hen and the corn and potatoes

ITALIAN PORK ‘N’ PEPPER PASTA

From Kaitlin Peirson A member in 2003-04

4 pork chops,

cut into strips Marinade:

1/4 c. oil

1/4 c. vinegar

4 tsp. Italian seasoning

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 c. oil

Marinate meat in marinade for as long as possible (in the refrigerator). Fry meat in oil, remove and fry onion, add mushrooms and peppers and sauté for five minutes. Add water and OXO, simmer for five minutes. Add spaghetti sauce and cooked pork and heat for one to two minutes. Stir in drained pasta and Parmesan cheese and serve.

BRAN MUFFINS

Combine and let soak

1 c. bran

1 c. water Mix:

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

Mix and let stand in fridge for 24 hours. Put in covered container and refrigerate. Bake in muffin tins at 350F for 20 minutes (as your stove heats). Good to cook in a microwave.

A note at the bottom of this recipe indicated that this recipe came from a family that’s had three generations involved in 4-H.

A Brief History of 4-H in Roland

1 medium onion,

finely chopped

1 pepper cut into strips

1 can mushrooms, drained

1 c. water with 1-2

pkgs. beef OXO

2 c. spaghetti sauce

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

4-1/4 c. cooked pasta

Velma Somers

1 c. vegetable oil

2-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 qt. buttermilk

2-1/2 c. flour

2 c. “All Bran”

1 c. raisins

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Box 1794, Carman, Man. R0G 0J0

or email

lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

were planted painstakingly in the corner of a field or garden and tended by the members. In the fall, the communities held a fair where the chickens and the produce were judged. In 1952, the name was changed from Boys and Girls Clubs to 4-H in keeping with the name of the 4-H Clubs in the United States.

Source: www.roland4hmuseum.ca/

Enjoy these recipes selected from Celebrating 90 Years of 4-H. They’re made with easily sourced ingredients and they have ageless appeal.

If you’re cooking for young people, count on a 4-H cookbook to please.

CHEESE-TOPPED VEGETABLES

2 c. broccoli flowerets

2 c. cauliflower flowerets

1 c. thinly sliced carrot

1/2 c. green peas Sauce:

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1 tbsp. flour

3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. chicken broth

3/4 c. shredded cheddar

cheese, divided

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Boil broccoli and caulifl ower for three minutes, add carrots and cook for a few minutes. Drain vegetables, add peas and set aside. Prepare sauce, heat oil in small saucepan, add flour and cook for one minute stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in milk and broth. Bring to a boil and cook three minutes, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 c. cheddar and pepper. Pour sauce over vegetables, stir until coated. Sprinkle remaining cheddar over top. Bake until cheese is bubbling, about five minutes. Serve immediately.

Colleen noted with her recipe that her children have grown up in a household with 4-H members coming and going for project meetings. Her children have both been members as well.

APRICOT BREAD

Myrna (Preston) Cobbledick

8 oz. dried apricots

1-1/2 c. raisins

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. orange juice

1 c. cold water

1/2 c. sour milk

1 c. margarine

1-3/4 c. white sugar

3 eggs

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

Cut up apricots into saucepan. Add raisins, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Cook and drain, saving the liquid. Measure liquid and add enough water to make 1/2 cup. Combine with milk (this makes the milk sour). Combine margarine, add sugar and eggs. Mix dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. Stir in apricots, raisins and vanilla. Grease two loaf pans and pour mixture into pans. Bake at 350F for 55 minutes.

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