<!--Michele Deluca--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Michele Deluca</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:michele.deluca@niagara-gazette.com">michele.deluca@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
They got the easy part done. Now it’s time for the hard part.
The easy part was gathering a group of representatives from the Niagara Falls Boys and Girls Club to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist and pose for the back cover of the club’s new fundraising cookbook.
Easier than that was selecting what is going to be the cover photo for a book of Niagara Falls recipes. When book planners found a shot of Niagara Falls with a rainbow overhead, that choice was easy, too.
Now comes the hard part. The committee charged with planning the recipe book has to convince residents and restaurateurs to part with beloved recipes.
The more recipes that are submitted, the better the cookbook, planners said.
“We have to have at least a thousand recipes submitted,” said Sara Robins, who is in charge of the recipe committee and mother of City Council chairman Christopher Robins.
The goal is ultimately to have a wide representation of the culinary history of one of the most famous cities in the world in a book called “A Stir in the Mist: Tastes and Traditions of Niagara Falls.” The book will be printed in hard cover by a major recipe book publisher, with the hopes that it will become a treasure trove of area flavors.
In a photo shoot dampened only by the mist of the falls, a gathering of young and old club supporters stood in their blue raincoats and smiled their best smiles.
About half of the children riding with the club had never been on the boat before.
“It was cold, but it was fun,” said Sylvia Curtis, 12, of Niagara Falls, said afterward.
Professional photographer Michael Smith of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., took the cover photo for the group, patiently working around tourists with their own photographic agendas.
Wet and happy, the group posed again on the dock, before dispersing, and leaving recipe book coordinator Rita Majka and her committee to the hard work of convincing Niagara Falls residents to share their recipes.
There’s also a few thousand dollars left to raise before the $27,000 publishing fee is covered.
Marie Hare, vice president of philanthropy and civic affairs at Key Bank, was one of the first supporters of the project, and happily represented her bank in the photo.
“It’s a great project,” she said of the cookbook. “These ladies have been working so hard.”
When the book is published, the Boys and Girls Club should have a steady stream of income from the profits of the sales.
“We’re looking for ethnic recipes,” said Majka, whose group is also soliciting recipes from area restaurants.
Residents are urged to check their recipe boxes and send along a little family story with each offering.
Recipes can be sent to: The Boys and Girls Club, 725 17th St., Niagara Falls, NY, 14301.
Contact reporter Michele DeLuca
at 282-2311, ext. 2263.
