Celebrate 4-H by making a favorite 4-H recipe, such as snickerdoodles, wheat bread, funny cake, or brownies. Many 4-H members remember the treats while learning food skills as part of their 4-H project work. Over the years, the memories remained, but the recipes were lost. A new cookbook, Favorite Recipes of Illinois 4-H Through the Years, includes all of the most requested recipes from the past 60 years and is available from the Illinois 4-H Foundation.

Families and tradition are all part of 4-H. We want to celebrate the past, while we prepare today's youth for the future. Foods projects were part of many 4-H members' experiences and the cookbook allows those fond memories to be shared with current and future generations.

More than 150 recipes from 4-H foods project books such as You Learn to Bake, ABC's of Food, Adventures in Cooking, It's Fun to Cook, Milk and Eggs, Meat in Your Meals, Pastry in Your Meals, and Yeast Breads in Your Meals are included in this 8/12 x 11' spiral bound cookbook. Recipes are listed by book, alphabetically, and by food category for easy reference.

The cookbook costs $15.00 and the books are available at the U of I Extension – Macoupin County office located at #60 Carlinville Plaza.

Besides cherished memories, the cookbook can help teach youth. Illustrations from the Pastry in Your Meals book are included to show the different steps to make a pie crust. Also included are illustrations from the Yeast Breads in Your Meals book, which show how to knead bread and form different kinds of rolls.

Proceeds from the cookbook will be used to support current 4-H foods project resources and training for 4-H volunteers. "We think the cookbook is a wonderful way to reconnect with 4-H alumni. As part of this project we're collecting stories from former 4-H members to become part of the Illinois 4-H history," states Illinois 4-H Foundation Director Angie Barnard.

Favorite Recipes of Illinois 4-H Through the Years… would make a perfect birthday, holiday, or other special occasion gift for mothers, daughters, sons, grandmothers, 4-H leaders, or 4-H alums.

4-H delegates from across the nation will gather in Atlanta, Georgia for National 4-H Congress from November 27 – December 1. Illinois will be represented by 31 teens. Ashley Brim of Bunker Hill, Alyssa Cole of Girard, and Rebecca Wolff of Brighton were selected to represent Macoupin County at this year's National 4-H Congress.

Ashley Brim and Alyssa Cole were selected in the program area of Food, Nutrition, and Health. Ashley has been an active participant in 4-H for eight years and Alyssa has been a member for ten years. Rebecca Wolff was selected in the program area of Animal Science. Rebecca has been an active participant in 4-H for ten years. The three Macoupin 4-H members have excelled in several project areas and have developed strong leadership and citizenship skills.

National 4-H Congress offers states an opportunity to send outstanding 4-H youth to this event and provide them with an expanded educational experience through seminars, community service projects, and tours sponsored by local and national 4-H program donors.

All Congress delegates will participate in special cultural programs such as the International Dinner & Dance and a night at the Atlanta History Center. Other educational experiences during National 4-H Congress include delegate participation in workshops focusing on cultural differences, team leadership development, and the power of youth.

Several delegates will have the opportunity to tour locations around Atlanta, such as CNN, the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Aquarium, Turner Field (home of the Atlanta Braves), Cyclorama, The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and more.

National 4-H Congress is conducted by Cooperative Extension Service staff on behalf of the Cooperative Extension System of the state land-grant universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

If you would like more information on 4-H programs in Macoupin County, please contact the University of Illinois Extension Office at 217-854-9604.

On Sunday, October 11, Federation members gathered at the home of 4-H Federation sponsor Lisa Coort's home in rural Carlinville for a night of fun, food, and friends.

The evening started out with a Federation meeting in order to cover some important details regarding Federation. During the meeting, 2009-10 4-H Federation officers were elected. Your new officers are as follows: Alyssa Cole-President, Ashley Brim-Vice President, Rebecca Wolff-Treasurer, and Danielle Cole-Secretary. Other items of business discussed were potential community service ideas for Federation and future activity planning. A few members from the local American Cancer Society were on hand to present information about Relay for Life of Macoupin County. Federation is looking into having a team and joining in the fight against cancer as a community service project. The Relay for Life of Macoupin County is scheduled for the second Saturday in June. Look for future information regarding this event and other 4-H Federation activities.

After the meeting, 4-H members joined together around the campfire to roast hot dogs and s'mores. Many laughs and stories were shared, making the evening fun for all.

The next meeting will be in January. Look for more information to come!! Hope you can make it and join in the fun of 4-H Federation!