Jasper art, history in tasty cookbook

The Woman's Civic Club of Jasper limited edition cookbook arrived in stores last week, just in time for Christmas shoppers according to president Darlene Nolen.

Titled "They Cooked," book is more than recipes. The beginning of each chapter is illustrated with local artist Bill Wise's watercolors of old homes in Jasper, with a brief history of the families who lived in them.

Many of the recipes go back to early founders of the club

and have detailed directions for making family classics. One recipe calls for a three pound yard-bird (chicken), preferably deceased and defeathered.

Modern recipes by current members take advantage of pre-packaged foods and can be as simple as Heidi Meaux's two-ingredient "Surprise Crescent Roll Bread." The book also contains shortcuts to making your own Cinnabun clone or Popeye biscuit. The title of the book is a

quote from Nida Marshall describing The Woman's Civic Club in her book "The Jasper Journal." She says, "It was a matter of pride for these stalwart women that they never begged...They got it the old fashioned way. They earned it. They cooked."

The $20 keepsake book is on sale at the Jasper Public Library, the Jasper Lake Sam Rayburn Chamber of Commerce, and many of the galleries and shops around the square.