Deadline for library cookbook recipes is Aug. 25

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  If you have not yet submitted recipes, stories or pictures for the Colfax Public Library’s  commemorative cookbook, “A Thyme to Remember,” it is not too late.

The deadline for submitting recipes and other material is August 25.

“We still need appetizers, breads, and beverages,” said Lisa Bragg-Hurlburt, director of the Colfax Public Library.

The Colfax Public Library is gathering recipes for the cookbook from residents in and around Colfax in the library’s circulation area.

The cookbook will be published this fall as part of the celebration of the library’s 100th anniversary of opening in the Colfax Municipal Building.

“We would like more ethnic recipes, Norwegian or other cultural recipes. We have lefse, but maybe there are more out there. Old-time recipes. We have a few of those, but any that there is especially a little family history behind the recipe, like your mother used to make this for whatever event,” Bragg-Hurlburt said.

“What we cannot use are copyrighted recipes, such as a Sara Lee recipe. You also cannot take a big section of a published cookbook [such as a Betty Crocker cookbook] and use that in your cookbook,” she said.

After the first Colfax Messenger article was published about the cookbook, “we got a lot of responses. I have probably entered 70 recipes already, but there’s more. I’m not done yet with what we already have. I’m thinking this is not going to be a skimpy little book,” Bragg-Hurlburt said.

Although Bragg-Hurlburt had initially thought the cookbook would be priced at $9 each, “we may have to charge a little bit more for it if it turns out bigger than I anticipated … as long as we are making the effort, let’s make it a really good one and include some of the extra (material),” she said.

Although the library has received many dessert recipes, there is room for more of those, too.

“Go ahead and submit your dessert recipe if you’ve got a really good one,” Bragg-Hurlburt said.

“I’m excited. This is really fun. I don’t know what cookbook technology used to be like, but now, it is so slick. You’ve got all the templates. And it’s so easy. It must have been horrible to have to type them all up with a typewriter,” she said.

In a Facebook posting, Bragg-Hurlburt noted that some of the recipes have been rather unusual.

“Some of the more intriguing recipes we’ve received include ‘Pork ‘n’ Bean Bars,’ ‘Rhubarb Cheese Pie,’ and ‘Bread of Barbados.’ But we need more … salads, soups, breads, and main dishes. Also we would love to include any food, cooking or library-related anecdotes and photos that would help bring our topic to life. This commemorative cookbook is to celebrate 100 years of the Colfax Public Library in the Municipal Building. Think about all the meals, snacks, and potlucks this building and community have seen over the years!” she wrote.

Bragg-Hurlburt is anticipating that the cookbook will be available for purchase in October.

Anyone with recipes to share can e-mail the recipes to the library at hurlburt@colfaxpubliclibrary.org, drop them off at the library or mail them to Colfax Public Library; P.O. Box 525; Colfax WI 54730.

Bragg-Hurlburt says it does not matter what form the recipes are in — handwritten, photocopied or typed on a sheet of paper.

If you have questions about the Colfax Public Library’s commemorative cookbook project, you can call the library at 715-962-4334.