Pleasures from the Good Earth

Ladies of Lake Park compile cookbook to raise funds for a Christian project

By Elizabeth Butler

LAKE PARK — A 125-year-old recipe for “Fudge Cake” as well as another for “Find A Husband” Chicken are among the offerings in a new cookbook called “Pleasures from the Good Earth” by The Ladies of Lake Park.

Lark Russell and Janet Copeland spearheaded the tome which features Southern home cooking recipes, easy enough for all ages. The duo had developed a friendship through their common interest in cooking and baking. After many long discussions and quite a few meals, they came up with the idea to put together a cookbook and use the profits to fund their favorite Christian project. They began collecting recipes from family, Christian friends and co-workers, with a final tally of more than 300 recipes for their 115-page cookbook.

“We had a good time doing it,” Copeland said. “There were so many recipes that our family and friends had that we wanted to put together.”

Russell echoed those sentiments.

“When I go somewhere and they ask for my recipe, I’ll tell them I can sell them a cookbook,” she said, smiling.

Russell’s adult son, Cory, got in on the fun and contributed some children’s recipes, Personal Pan Pizzas, Magic Cinnamon Rolls, and Taste Like Homemade Ice Cream. Copeland’s husband, Jim, offered his recipe for Crock Pot Beef Stew.

Fannie Mae Wisenbaker McMullen’s 125-year-old recipe for Fudge Cake was entered, as well the unusual Working Women’s Chicken by Mary Davis of Valdosta, which called for seasoning a chicken and throwing it in a crock pot — without any water or any other liquid.

“I thought I was going to burn down my house,” Lark said of testing the recipe.

Instead, she got a delicious chicken which made its own juices.

Before recipe contributor Julie McMullen Barrett married, she prepared a chicken dish for a family gathering that was so good it prompted a relative to advise her to prepare it for a prospective candidate. Thus, the name, “Find A Husband” Chicken.

After marrying her husband, Phil, she doctored that same recipe and called it “Keep A Husband” Chicken.

Five hundred cookbooks were published through Morris Press Cookbooks on the Internet at a cost of $1,500.

“The Lord blessed us,” Lark said. “All the production costs were paid for in less than a month.”

Two hundred of the cookbooks are left at a cost of $15 each and are available at Central Florist, 607 N. Patterson St. or by calling Lark Russell at 244-3960. Two or more books may be purchased for $12.50 each. The cookbooks will be delivered in town for free; those shipped will require an additional $3.

For our readers’ viewing pleasure, we offer the Brown Sugar Pound Cake of Janet Copeland, Moody Air Force Base medical coding auditor and trainer for providers; the sought-after Cream Pineapple Cake of retired landscaper Jimmy Guess (an 80-year-old recipe from his mother, Ollie Guess of Valdosta); the Cushaw Pie (cushaw is type of squash) recipe of Bonnie Hutchinson, retired parapro and bus driver for the Echols County School System; and Julianna’s Chewy Bars by Lake Park Elementary fifth-grader Julianna Barrett.

Cream Pineapple Cake

1 box Pillsbury Golden Butter recipe cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 pints heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

1 large Dole heavy syrup pineapple, crushed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cake mix as directed and bake in three 8-inch cake pans until done. Completely mix cream until foamy; then add 3/4 cup sugar. Mix until stiff. Smear on each layer at a time. Put little bits of pineapple about 1 inch apart on each layer. Then put cream on whole cake and decorate with remaining pineapple.



Brown Sugar Pound Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups packed brown sugar

5 eggs

2 teaspoons maple-flavored extract

1 cup evaporated milk

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time; then stir in the maple flavoring. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the evaporated milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 70 to 80 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Decorate with Brown Sugar Frosting.

Brown Sugar Frosting:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, the confectioner’s sugar, milk and vanilla. Cook over low heat, beating until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth.



Cushaw Pie

2 cups cooked and mashed cushaw squash

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 small can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1/2 stick margarine

2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together and bake in a 9-inch crust until toothpick inserted comes out clean.



Julianna’s Chewy Bars

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients, except chocolate chips, at once. After mixing, add chocolate chips to batter. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. These are super easy, yummy fantastic.

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