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Braselton resident shares fathers love of cooking in Relay for Life cookbook
Recipe a way to honor his memory
1124 Relay Cookbook
Kim Bauman with her father, Harold Tollefson, around the family’s grill. In his honor, Bauman donated several recipes to the Relay for Life of Braselton-Hoschton’s cookbook.

Some of the more cherished moments Kim Bauman shared with her father involved food.

"I always say he was like Susie Homemaker and Betty Crocker in a man’s body," she said. "My best memories are on Saturdays (when) he would cook. He’d always find a new recipe. We went grocery shopping every Saturday, just my dad and I."

Bauman’s father, Harold Tollefson, died in December 2007, six weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic, liver and prostate cancer.

His daughter chose to remember him in the best way she knew how. She submitted several of his recipes to the Relay for Life of Braselton-Hoschton’s cookbook, "Hope.Cook.Cure."

More than 100 people contributed 473 recipes for the $10 cookbook, a 208-page collection of appetizers, beverages, dips, soups, salads, breads and rolls, vegetables, side dishes, main dishes and meats, desserts, cookies and candies.

Bauman, a Braselton resident, gathered favorite recipes from friends and family members, some as far away as northern Idaho or Illinois, as well as Michigan, her father’s birthplace.

One of Bauman’s submissions, the "Northern Michigan Pasty," is a staple dish in the upper Michigan peninsula. She donated it in memory of her father and uncle, Cliff Taeger, who also died from cancer.

The dish, a meat pie, was prepared for miners working in the region’s copper mines, according to the recipe.

"The baked pasty would not spoil while the miners were below the earth in the coolness of the mines," the submission notes. "It provided a hearty meal during the time (when) there were no microwaves or refrigeration."

For Bauman, getting involved with the cookbook project was an easy choice.

"This is a cause I believe in," she said. "This, to me, was a no-brainer. It was really easy to do."

Victoria Patrick, community manager for the American Cancer Society, said the cookbook is a great way to raise money for Relay.

This is the eighth cookbook Patrick has helped produce. Barrow County has published three cookbooks and Jackson County’s other relay — Relay for Life of Jackson County — has published two.

"It’s a good representation of Relay, of everybody being able to be a part of something," she said. "Not everybody may can be on a team or come to Relay, but they can submit a recipe and they can sell cookbooks."

Braselton resident Glenna Maney also submitted several recipes, her favorite being Tina Cole’s Pancakes, an easy dish to prepare.

"I hope they (customers) enjoy the recipes and as they do each recipe, maybe they can pray for the person who submitted it and pray for those of us who have experienced cancer," said Maney.

Proceeds from the cookbook will benefit next year’s Relay, set for May 4-5 in Hoschton Park. Next year’s theme will be "Stay Tuned for a Cure" and teams will choose a favorite TV show to emulate.

For more information, contact Patrick at victoria.patrick@cancer.org, 706-549-4893 or 770-307-7956, co-chairwoman Erma Denney at bhgarelay@gmail.com or 678-561-3366 or co-chairwoman Jennifer Dees at jdeesrelay@gmail.com.