Art in the Park: Local artist illustrates, compiles cookbook
Staff reporter
It's a compilation of 50 years, and four years of writing and drawing.
Family recipes and recipes from friends are included in Frances Turner's cookbook.
So, it's another cookbook, right?
Wrong.
Each recipe in this cookbook was handwritten by Frankie, as she is known to most.
From cookies to soups to entrees to vegetables — if it was a favorite of Frankie's, her mother's, grandmother's, mother-in-law's, grandmother-in-law's, or friends', it's in this book.
"I had been collecting these recipes from family, friends, and potlucks," Frankie said.
The 70-something-year-old great-grandmother of rural Marion, did this book for her children and grandchildren, and for herself.
She had the idea of compiling them into a cookbook but it was friend Marie Lake who suggested she hand-write the recipes.
Frankie's friend told her she had beautiful penmanship and no one else could do the illustrations quite like she could. So Frankie took her friend's advice and did just that.
Frankie pulls out a fountain pen which is THE pen she used during those four years she was writing her cookbook.
She tells the story of how she received a fountain pen as a gift more than 40 years ago. The pen had a lifetime warranty. A few years ago, the pen was dropped and the tip was damaged. Frankie sent it with a note to the Schaefer pen company, asking if they could repair her prized possession.
"I wasn't sure if they would honor the warranty after all this time," she said.
Low and behold, a few months later, a package arrived from the company. A letter in the package explained that they tried to repair the old pen but couldn't so instead they sent back the old pen along with a new one.
So that was the pen she used to write her book.
In the front of the book, she dedicates the book to her friend Marie, and to her husband, Bob, and family "who were always my greatest fans when it came meal time."
So, where did she get these culinary talents?
"Well, my mother cooked because we had to eat," Frankie said with a smile. "I learned a lot from cookbooks."
She doesn't recall her mother ever baking bread but she likes to bake and includes bread-making hints in the cookbook.
Another page is full of hand-drawn illustrations of different kinds of pasta.
"Recipes can call for pasta most of us aren't familiar with, so hopefully this will help," Frankie said.
Frankie said her old cookbook had greasy fingerprints from being used so much. It was time for a new one.
She started her collection of recipes when she and Bob first moved to Marion more than 50 years ago. Frankie purchased a recipe book and filed her favorite recipes.
"Most people clip out or write down recipes and stick them in a drawer," Frankie said. "I didn't want to do that."
When that book got full, she started over with a different binder.
And now, Frankie's favorite recipes are in one book for all to enjoy.
So, what are some of her favorites?
"Bob loved my graham cracker custard," Frankie said. A crowd favorite was a chocolate sheet cake she and Bob took when they roller skated in Salina and would celebrate someone's birthday.
There's also a pineapple sheet cake that bakes quickly.
"Bob and the children were sweet-eaters," Frankie said, when asked why many of the recipes she mentioned were desserts.
There also are common recipes which include chili and vegetable soup.
"I wasn't sure if I should include such basic recipes," Frankie said, but then her son said to because they have his mother's ingredients that make them taste like home.
For instance, Frankie included a curry soup from a houseguest from The Netherlands who stayed with the family in the 1970s.
"She made a soup with little hamburger balls but I thought it was too bland," Frankie said. "So I changed the hamburger to sausage which makes it have a little more flavor."
Another different recipe is Green Bean Soup. Frankie and a friend first had a taste of the unusual dish at Hillsboro. They were able to figure out the ingredients except for one flavor. Frankie finally asked a friend and discovered it was Summer Savory, a German herb often used in beans.
The illustrations in the book add a personal touch.
Frankie began her enjoyment of painting when she took a correspondence course 45 years ago. A few years ago, she took a course from local art teacher Jan Davis, who taught her pen and ink, acrylic, and oil painting.
"I always wanted to learn watercolor," Frankie said, and took classes from Pat Wick through Butler Community College of Marion. "Watercolor is my favorite medium of all."
Frankie's talents have earned her work Grand Champion recognition the past two years at Marion County Fair.
Since Bob died last October, Frankie spends much of her free time painting.
Their children aren't too far from home — Sandra Kay Sloan lives in Willow Springs, Mo., A.J. lives in Emporia, and W.R. in Lincolnville. She also has eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
She also has drawn illustrations for a Christian children's book her daughter wrote which hasn't been published.
The cookbook by Frankie will be available to purchase from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 at Central Park, Marion.
