| Nancy Boswell prepares her carrot cake in her kitchen. She says this cake is a favorite of hers and all those who tried out this divine baking agree that it is one of the best carrot cakes they have tasted. |
“The way into heaven for Methodists,” says the Reverend Nancy Boswell with an impish smile “is with a covered potluck dish in your hands.”
Nancy’s potluck dishes are well known in Carbon County. She has an entire bookcase in her kitchen filled with neatly organized binders that contain her favorite recipes, some well used cookbooks and recipe boxes containing large quantity recipes.
“I cook for the church camps and for church functions, so those recipes really come in handy.”
Also on the shelves is a twin to the very first cookbook she and her sister Nola cooked from.
“Our mother, who was a librarian, found a discarded copy of a boys and girls cookbook and brought it home. We poured over it, and must have made every dish in it!”
She says the reason she doesn’t have the original book is that she and Nola argued over it, so their mom decided to keep it at the family home in Denver. Nancy and Nola learned to cook standing on kitchen chairs on either side of their mother and would switch sides back and forth so they could help equally. By the time she was in the 6th grade the two were doing a lot of the cooking.
Nancy started her professional career as a nurse, but after 15 years found her call to the ministry was so strong she could not ignore it.
“Everything just fell perfectly into place, and I knew what I was supposed to do.”
She served in a couple of other Methodist churches before coming to Price in 2000.
“As of July I am the second longest tenured minister in the history of the Price Methodist Church,” she says with pride, adding that she loves her job and the congregation. “It was a bit of a shock, as a single woman, coming from Denver to Price,” she says, but adds that she has settled in nicely and enjoys the community.
Nancy likes this carrot cake recipe because it is different from the standard recipes.
“You use a glaze instead of cream cheese icing. You just pour it over the warm cake and you’re done! It’s really moist and is a real crowd pleaser. You can also use a sweetener (like Splenda) in place of sugar to make it diabetic friendly.”
Carrot Cake
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup salad oil
8 � oz can crushed pineapple
2 cups raw grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
Glaze
1 cup sugar
� cup orange juice
Sift flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add sugar. Add eggs, oil and undrained pineapple. Beat well. Add carrots and pecans. Pour into a greased and floured tube or bundt pan. Bake at 325 for 1 � hours (if you want to use a 9×13 pan, bake for 1 hour). Make the glaze by combining the sugar and the orange juice in a pan and bringing it to a boil. When the cake is slightly cooled, pour the glaze over the top of the cake while it is still in the pan. If using a tube or a bundt pan, invert the pan onto a plate after the glaze has soaked in. Serve when cool.