Hot Off the Presses!

With over 200 recipes contributed by over 100 cooks, the latest cookbook from the Methodist Women has plenty for everyone.

This is the third cookbook that the UMW has produced. The oldest is the green cookbook, well-known around these parts for containing a recipe for sea turtle. Yum! It was published in the 50's before the Endangered Species Act made turtle stew a delicacy only outlaws can enjoy. Both the green cookbook and the yellow cookbook (from the late 70's) are available at local stores. Collect all three!

With the new cookbook, the UMW "will be replenishing the coffers," said Kay Riddick, who gathered the recipes. (Luckily, she contributed several of her own to the cause, including her Chocolate Fudge Icing.)

The cookbooks help to support the UMW's many projects. Recently, their biggest project was the renovation and maintenance of the Church Rec Hall, which is used by the church and by the community for public and private events. The Women have also helped fix up the parsonage, contributed thousands to charitable causes on and off the island, and now have their minds set on getting the church pews repainted later this year.

A call for recipes went out last fall, and the responses filled Ocracoke Island Recipes with appetizers, side dishes, main dishes, and twenty pages of sinful desserts. Did I mention there are five recipes for pimento cheese? Do we need a cheese-off to determine the best? I volunteer to be a taster.

Trudy Austin's photos also make this cookbook special. Her beautiful images of the island grace the cover and the divider pages between categories of recipes. 

"That's what's selling it," said Kay Riddick. "People flip through and see Trudy's pictures and they want the book." 

Oh. I thought what's selling the cookbook is my Pineapple Casserole recipe (page 27). 

At only $17.95, the cookbook is a great souvenir for visitors who want to take home a little piece of Ocracoke. It's available at most island gift shops, but you don't even have to visit the island to get yours; the Methodist Women will take mail orders. Just send a check or money order for $20 ($17.95 + $2.05 for shipping) to: Ocracoke United Methodist Women, PO Box 278, Ocracoke, NC 27960.