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BARBECUED HAM, by Betty Poulin
ASPARAGAS/PEAS CASSEROLE, by Shirley Patterson
DUMP CAKE, by Natalie H. Johnson

BEST COOKS IN TOWNE

RECIPE ARCHIVE

Anadama Bread

Molasses Drop Cakes

Spiced Pecans

Apple Bread

Different Apple Cake

Irish Bread

Corned Beef Casserole

Cabbage Plate

Do you have a special family recipe that you would like to share? Send it to us and we will feature it here.

townefolk@allies.com

Barbecued Ham
Betty Poulin
5 lb. ham (serves 10-12 people generously)

Remove ham from the can. Cut 5 lb. ham diagonally into 2 slices. Larger hams make 3 slices. Make a large "boat" for each slice from two thicknesses of heavy-duty foil.

Marinade sauce:
For each slice mix:

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. worcestershire

1 c. catsup

Mix well and pour over ham slice. Wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 6 hours (overnight is better). One hour before serving time unwrap ham and place on prepared grill with slices still loosely wrapped in foil. Cook 40 minutes basting occasionally if you like. Remove from foil and place directly on grill, turn and baste for about 15 minutes until meat is brown and edges barbecued. Serve in "chunks" or wide strips rather that trying to slice. Really delicious with chilled pineapple slices, ice cold potato salad, pot of beans or 5 bean salad, vinegar cucumbers and cold beer! Betty said, "We get so hungry for this ham in the winter time that I bake it in the oven, then open the foil and finish it in the broiler. Almost as good!"

Graphic compliments of Carole Towne Seaton

Best Cooks in Towne

Selected recipes from cookbook compiled by TFA members in 1992

Check back every month for a new recipe!
You will also find a different recipe in each issue of our quarterly newsletter, About Towne.

APRIL FACTS AND LORE - "SPRING"
"The first of April some do say, is set apart for 'All Fool's Day'
But why the people call it so, Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent, On purpose for pure merriment."
-- Poor Robin's Almamac, 1790

"Spring in the world! And all things are made new!"
-- Richard Hovey

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."
-- William Shakespeare

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want -
oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache,
you want it so!"
-- Mark Twain

"April showers bring May flowers"
April's Birthstone -- Diamond
from "Adamas," greek for unconquerable, diamond is referred to as the "King Gem."

April's Flower -- Sweet Pea

April's Full Moon -- the "Wind Moon" 6 April (3:19 pm)

No one knows for certain how April got its name, but it may have come from the latin word "aperire" which means "to open." April is, after all, the month when in the Northern Hemisphere buds begin to open and things start to grow again after the winter.

Eostre monath or Eastre monath was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month. The name of the Christian Festival of "Easter" comes from this Anglo-Saxon word. Easter usually comes in the month of April. It is what is called a "moveable feast" because the date of it is fixed according to the moon. Easter Sunday has to be the first Sunday after the full moon after the Spring Equinox, which means that Easter Sunday can fall as early as 22 March or as late as 25 April.

Daffodil Sunday - the first Sunday in April is called Daffodil Sunday. In Victorian times families picked daffodils from their gardens and took them to local hospitals to give to the sick.

April Fool's Day - April begins with a day of fun and jokes - no one really knows when this custom began but it has been kept for hundreds of years.

The Cuckoo - The arrival of the Cuckoo is the signal that spring has come. It arrives sometime in mid April.

April Anniversaries

April 1969--Concorde's maiden flight
5 April 1640--Pocahontas got married
6 April 1909--Robert Edwin Peary reached the North Pole
7 April 1827--first matches sold
12 April 1961--Yuri Gagarin made the first flight into space
15 April 1912--R. M. S. Titanic struck an iceberg and sank
21 April--Queen Elizabeth II was born
25 April 1953--DNA, the building blocks of all life forms, was discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick, their achievement was recognized in 1962 when they received the Nobel Prize in Physiology
27 April 1791--Samuel Morse was born, learn and practice the "Morse Code."

Happy Spring, Happy Easter, Enjoy! Susan and Rebecca Yatsinko

Asparagas/Peas Casserole
Shirley Patterson

1 pkg. (8 oz.) frozen peas

1 can #2 asparagas or 2 to 3 c. boiled asparagas cut in small pieces

1 can cream of celery (or cream of mushroom) soup

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. buttered crumbs

Thaw the frozen peas in hot tap water. In a greased casserole dish, put the asparagas, peas and can of undiluted soup. Mix. Season to taste. Top with buttered crumbs. Bake at 375 about 30 minutes or until browned.

Nurse Homestead in Danvers, MA: TFA Reunion 2007
Photography courtesy of Stablegirl Cindy

Dump Cake
Natalie H. Johnson

1 large can crushed pineapple, juice and all

1 can cherry pie filling, juice and all

1 large box white or yellow cake mix, dry

1 1/4 sticks margarine

Into a 9" X 13" pan, pour the canned pineapple and cherry pie filling. Mix well in the bottom of the pan. Pour cake mix evenly over all. Cut margarine into small pats, and place these over the cake mix. Do not mix together. Bake in a 350 oven for about 1 hour. Serve plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.
Natalie got this recipe from her duaghter-in-law, Joanne Brown.

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Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, MA: TFA Reunion 2007
Photography courtesy of Stablegirl Cindy