Let’s say we’re playing a word association game. I say, “Cobbler.” You say . . . “Lemons”?

Maybe not now, but you just might after you try Marie Terrell’s Lemon Cobbler recipe, one of several recipes the Elmore Countian shares with Neighbors readers in this month’s “Country Kitchen.”

Marie says she became a Lemon Cobbler fan years ago when she discovered it at a cafe in her hometown of Sylacauga. When she happened to stumble across this recipe in a cookbook one day, it was like finding a buried treasure. Although it’s been a favorite in the Terrell household ever since, Marie warns that people tend to either really like it, or not—the latter group saying it’s a bit tart for their taste.

The Terrells—Marie and her husband, Doug—have lived almost all of their nearly 44 years of married life on their farm in Titus, where Doug raises cattle, hay and corn full time since his retirement several years ago from Alabama Power Co. Both Marie and Doug are active members of the Elmore County Farmers Federation, where Marie is serving what she believes is her fifth year as Women’s Committee chairman.

When the couple’s two children, a boy and a girl, were small, Marie was a stay-at-home mom. After the kids started school, she went to work for the state but later decided she wanted to teach. Taking classes first at Alex City Community College and then at Auburn University at Montgomery, Marie earned her elementary education degree in three years and began teaching second-graders at Wetumpka Elementary. She got her master’s degree in 1979 and continued teaching until finally retiring a couple of years ago.

Marie says she’s always enjoyed cooking and is forever on the lookout for recipes with a little different twist.

Besides her Lemon Cobbler, other favorites include a chicken salad that features “smashed” grapes and a delicious side dish that blends the flavors of apples, sweet potatoes and cranberries.

“I have a cabinet full of good recipes,” Marie says.
She also has grandchildren. “We have two children and two grandchildren, and those are the most important things you need to know about me,” she says.

Thanks to Marie for helping the rest of us enrich our files with these fantastic recipes.