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Thanks to their cookbook sales, volunteers with the Reily Presbyterian Church women's society have served up $1,700 for local charities.

All proceeds from the "Reily Presbyterian Church Recipes & Memories Cookbook" are donated to charity.

"We started with 324 cookbooks and have 100 left," said Hamilton resident Joan Fasick, who's president of the church's women's society and cookbook committee. "The proceeds are used to help people in need and shut-ins."

So far, they have given donations to the McCullough-Hyde Scholarship Fund, Serve City in Hamilton, One-way Farm, the Salvation Army, the Reily Fire Department and EMT and several other local and national organizations.

One local family needed money for fuel during the last cold blast of winter; some of the money from the sales of the cookbook kept them warm.

With 100 hardbound cookbooks left to sell, at $15 each, the church volunteers are eager to aid more of those in need.

This church was founded in 1836 and it's still going strong. Church members have done many other service projects for the community, but this is the first time they've done a cookbook.

"We have spent many hours on this; it took at least six to eight weeks to get it together," said Betty Updike, a longtime church member, vice president of the church cookbook committee, and cookbook contributor.

According to Fasick, each cookbook contains around 400 tried-and-true recipes — many which have been made and taken to church suppers and other occasions.

Church member Sarah James, of Darrtown, contributed her recipe for sweet poppy seed bread. It's a bread she's been making and selling for at least 20 years at the original Oxford Farmers' Market in the Talawanda High School parking lot.

For more information or to buy a cookbook, call Joan Fasick at (513) 523-8534 or Sarah James at (513) 524-9591 or Betty Updike at (765) 647-4732.

California slaw

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 packages Ramen beef-flavored noodles

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup slivered almonds

6 green onions, chopped

1 (16-ounce) bag cole slaw

Make the dressing by combining the sugar, vinegar, oil and the flavoring packets from the 2 packages of Ramen noodles. Put in a jar and refrigerate until well-chilled. (Note: The dressing mixture can be processed in a blender if desired before chilling.) Brown slivered almonds and sunflower seeds in a small amount of oil. Drain and reserve. The almonds are likely to brown faster, so do them separately from the seeds. When ready to serve, combine the Ramen noodles, chopped onions and cole slaw. Mix well. Add dressing and toss until well-combined. Garnish with toasted seeds and nuts; then serve. Yield: 20 servings.

— C

ontributed by Jean Eich and Connie

Southerland

More Reily recipes

Fruit pizza

1 Pillsbury already-made pie crust

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

kiwi fruit

peach slices, drained

strawberries

blueberries

2 heaping tablespoons of apricot preserves, for glaze

hot water, for glaze

Take the pie crust and lay into a pizza pan. (Note: You can substitute crescent roll dough for the pie crust.) Prick holes in crust and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool. In a bowl, whip together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Spread over crust. Top with the following to form a bulls-eye effect: kiwi fruit, outside ring, next the peach slices, then the strawberries, and last, the blueberries in the center. To make the glaze, in a small bowl, mix apricot preserves with enough hot water to get a glaze-like consistency. Spoon over fruit. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 16 - 20 servings.

— Contributed by Lola Hively

Pasta salad

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons parsley

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon Accent

1 teaspoon minced onion

2 teaspoons Salad Supreme seasoning

1 box rotini macaroni

fresh vegetables

Cook macaroni, Drain and cool. In a bowl, mix all ingredients (except fresh vegetables) together. Add any fresh vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, celery and/or tomatoes), chopped, diced or cut up. Let set overnight in refrigerator. Yield: 20 servings.

— Contributed by Connie Southerland

Sweet poppy seed bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup cooking (vegetable) oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon almond flavoring

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine eggs, oil, milk, vanilla and almond. Combine the egg mixture with the dry ingredients. Pour or spoon batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes. (Note: This is James' recipe for her locally well-known poppy seed bread that she's been selling for 20 years at the original Oxford Farmers Market at the Talawanda High School parking lot.) Yield: 2 loaves.

— Contributed by Sarah James

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