Date: Fri 24-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

VFW-cookbook-Staudinger

Full Text:

Star-Spangled Favorite Recipes From Local VFW Ladies, Their Families And

Friends

(with photo & cookbook cover)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

When Joyce Staudinger needed to submit a favorite recipe for Favorite Recipes,

the new cookbook produced by the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post 308 in Newtown,

she knew just what to do.

She looked through all the recipes she had collected from her son-in-law, Mark

Mancusi.

"My son-in-law is the cook in his family," she explained. "When he and my

daughter, Terri, wanted to lose weight, the doctor gave him a 1,000-calorie (a

day) diet. Mark started to develop low-fat recipes and I asked him to give

them to me."

Many of the recipes, such as Pasta with Clam and Vegetable Sauce, Stir-Fry

Beef Or Chicken with Broccoli, Shrimp Scampi, and Microwaved Haddock Supreme,

are in the auxiliary cookbook. Joyce also contributed many of her recipes as

did other auxiliary members and their families. The book was so popular when

it was published earlier this year that it quickly sold out; a second printing

has just arrived in Newtown.

Besides Mark's low-fat fare, there are recipes for appetizers and beverages,

vegetables, main dishes, breads and rolls, desserts, and condiments like sweet

pickles and cranberry-orange relish.

There isn't a complicated recipe in the book, a feature that is a boon for

today's busy cooks. Many recipes rely on convenience ingredients like jarred

spaghetti sauce, packaged cake and pudding mixes, and packaged stuffing mix.

There are old favorites like Rose Holland's Irish Soda Bread, Sharon Kindle's

Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Cheryl Lockwood's Tuna Noodle Casserole, and Kim

Peck's Grandma's Tomato Soup Cake. For more exotic fare, try Elton Sykes'

Pecan Rice, Arline Shanley's Eggplant Hors d'oeuvres, or Ethel Peck's Waikiki

Meatballs.

Besides a flag on the cover, the book has red, white and blue "stars and

stripes" dividers between the pages. There are blank pages for notes and in

the front is a place to list your favorite recipes from the book plus the page

numbers for easy reference. There are pages of helpful information including

an equivalent measure chart, substitutions for missing ingredients, meat and

poultry roasting guides, and microwave hints.

In the back of the book is a lot of information about how to lower the fat

content in your diet, how to calculate the percent of fat in foods, "heart

healthy" recipe substitutions, food labeling definitions, sodium, food safety

guidelines and nutrition.

According to the auxiliary's cookbook committee, one purpose of the cookbook

is to raise money to assist the post and veterans and their families who may

need help. The cookbooks are $7 each and are available at the VFW hall on

Tinkerfield Road or by calling Evelyn Urban at 426-4339 or JoAnn Peck at

426-6299