Although Lori Milliman has resided in Seven Lakes, North Carolina, for the past five years, she and her husband, Jim, return to Randolph frequently to visit family and friends. They both grew up in the small New York town, where they are well known. Lori worked at the Randolph Academy for many years, later becoming the Clerk for the Town of Randolph and the Villages of East Randolph and Randolph. Her husband, a transmission specialist, ran a business in Waterboro for many years.

Just months before moving, they spent many hours working side by side in a vacant storefront on the town’s Main Street in order to ready it for the opening of The Pickle Barrel. The shop sold country decor and gifts, quilting supplies and pickles and pickle-related novelties.

“I had opened the Pickle Barrel, because I really wanted to improve the downtown of the town that I grew up in.”

Much to the surprise of both of the Millimans, change was about to come.

“Jim wanted to retire, so we decided to visit North Carolina and while we were there we looked at several houses,” she says. “He said, ‘but what about your store?’ I told him he had asked for very little over the years and if this is what he wanted, I could open a store anywhere.”

“He wanted a house on the golf course and by April we were moved. We were hoping the warmer climate would help my Lyme Disease.”

She now has booth space, a smaller version of the Pickle Barrel, in “Past Times” in West End, North Carolina, where she sells much of the same as she did at her original shop, as well as a few antiques.

After moving to their new home in North Carolina and being retired for just six weeks, Mrs. Milliman applied for work.

“I decided I needed something to do. I found a part-time job through the hospital. Come to find out they needed someone to organize and set-up the nursing area and do the files for the new Hospice house and to decide how the paperwork would be done.”

With her nursing degree, EMT training and town and village clerk jobs, she was perfect for the job.

“It was probably the most fulfilling job I’ve had in my life. It wasn’t just secretarial, but counseling, nursing and secretarial rolled into one,” she reflects. “I felt like it was me. It gave me a chance to listen to people at their time of need and (need of) comfort.”

“Everyday I felt if I didn’t make a difference in someone’s life, I didn’t do my job. It could be nothing more than putting a warm blanket on a family member waiting in the final days of a loved one. When a man wanted watermelon I told him he would have it the next day. The look on his face as he ate that watermelon, you don’t know how much that means.”

She worked at this job for three years, leaving only because it entailed far more hours than was originally planned.

Mrs. Milliman is known for her cooking, baking and entertaining in the Randolph area and has begun to make the same name for herself in her new surroundings.

“When I was a young girl, after my father passed away, my mother worked full-time. It was my responsibility to get dinner on the table. I learned by trial and error.”

“I loved to go to Aunt Margie’s because she would spend time with me in the kitchen. We would always make bread and pies and she always made her own pancake syrup,” she remembers. “I loved staying with her in the summer. I loved her beautiful vegetable garden. She always had a huge garden and canned. Those are wonderful memories of Aunt Margie. She really enjoyed being a wife and mother.”

“I enjoy doing new recipes and lately I love making layer cakes. I like to look at old recipes and add to them. Now I get requests for the cakes. When I do My Cream Cheese Frosting, I add vanilla, almond extract and squeeze in fresh lemon juice and thin it down with heavy cream. It gives it a nice consistency. The lemon juice makes it so it’s not so sweet.”

“I have been told I make one of the best pie crusts there is. This recipe came from (the late) Margie Mighells. My mother always made numerous pies and would freeze them. Sometimes I make my pies on a jelly roll pan.”

“My mom used to be the Stewardess at the American Legion and made all of the dressings for the salad bar. I took the Blue Cheese Dressing to my job at Hospice. They (the employees) started bringing the ingredients to me to make it, so now I use it for their Christmas gifts. I always make my own salad dressings, all three of my favorites.”

They couple keeps busy in Chapel in the Pines Church where she serves on the Church Council, is Chairman of the Benevolence Committee and Co-Chair of Farm to Table Program, where produce is distributed to families. She sings with Moore County Choral Society, a one hundred member adult choir that puts on two programs per year. She lists quilting, swimming, water aerobics and golfing as her interests. They have been married for 21 years and have two children. Rachelle is married, has three children and lives in Pennsylvania. Brad resides in Colorado with his wife and son. Randolph, the Milliman’s 18-month-old Shih Tzu, was named after the town the couple grew up in Western New York.

“I got him for my birthday after my husband said we’d never have a dog, but fell in love as soon as we saw his face peek out of his breeder’s jacket. I can’t imagine life without him.”

Milliman drives cars for an auto dealership.

“He tells everyone when they ask what he does ‘I’m working hard to make my golf game better.’ When asked if it’s gotten better he says ‘I guess I’ll still keep working at it.'”

“He’s my fix-it man for projects at the Pickle Barrel. We refinish furniture together. He does woodworking projects, my little elf in the garage,” she smiles. “He is a great asset in our neighborhood. The neighbor ladies call for him to fix (their things).”

Mrs. Milliman shares some of her most requested recipes.

Hummingbird Cake

3 c flour

2 c sugar

1 T salt

1 T baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 c vegetable oil

1 Tsp. vanilla extract

2 c chopped Bananas

1 large can crushed pineapple with syrup

1 c chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients by hand. Grease and flour 3 round cake pans, placing parchment paper in the bottom (this helps to have less crumbs when frosting your cake). Divide batter evenly into the 3 pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. This cake freezes well for later use. Freeze before frosting.

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

1 c unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c granulated sugar

c light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 T vanilla extract

3 C sifted all-purpose flour (spoon and leveled after sifting)

1 T baking powder

tsp salt

1 c buttermilk

Zest and juice of 3 medium lemons

1 c blueberries, fresh works best, but frozen can be used if drained

1 T all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour 3-9 inch cake pans with nonstick spray.

2. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter on high until creamy-about 1 minute. Add sugars until creamed 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is completely combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed, set aside.

3. In a large size bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for about 5 seconds, then all the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Remove from the mixer, and stir lightly until everything is just combined.

4. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and fold in the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do NOT over-mix any time. Over-mixing will lend a tough, dense texture cake.

4. Spoon batter evenly into 2 prepared cake pans, Bake at 21-26 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

My Cream Cheese Frosting

(I always make a double batch. The larger amount assures I have the amount of frosting I want for my cakes. Refrigerate unused frosting for later.)

2 -8 oz pkgs cream cheese, not fat-free or reduced fat

1 c unsalted butter, room temperature

6 c confectioners’ sugar

1-2 T heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 lemon (when making the Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake, I just squeeze the required lemons used in the cake recipe)

Beat cream cheese, butter, heavy cream. Gradually add sugar and the remaining extracts and lemon juice.

Orange-Frosted Cranberry Cookies

1 c granulated sugar

c light brown sugar

c butter

c Crisco shortening

1 tsp grated orange peel

2 T orange juice

1 egg

2 c all-purpose flour

tsp soda

salt

1 c dried cranberries

c chopped nuts, if desired

Frosting

1 c powder sugar

tsp grated orange peel

2-3 T orange juice

Preheat oven to 375. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat sugars, butter, orange peel, 2 tablespoons orange juice and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix well with spoon. Stir in flour, soda and salt. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonful about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges and bottoms of cookies are light golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Frost. Store in airtight container.

Awesome, Easy Pumpkin Cookies

1 spice cake mix

1-15 0z can pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spices or cinnamon

walnut halves

Preheat oven at 350. Mix all ingredients by hand until combined. Drop by spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake until firm, about 8-10 minutes. Cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Top with walnut half.

Mom’s Apple Crisp

4-6 c sliced/peeled apple (I like to mix them up)

2 c sugar

2 T cinnamon

1 c flour

teaspoon flour

1 stick softbutter or Margarine (not melted)

Place sliced apples in an ungreased 13″x 9″ baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over the apples and bake at 350 until the top is golden brown and the apples are bubbling. Serve warm with ice cream.

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

(My mother always served this at the American Legion. This is a great gift for my friends.)

4 oz blue cheese crumbles

4 c mayonnaise (NOT MIRACLE WHIP)

1 c sour cream

c vinegar

2 T sugar

1 clove garlic, crushed

Mix Together and Chill.

Never Fail, Super Flaky Pie Crust

2 c flour

1 tsp salt

1 c Crisco

c cold water

Mix together flour and salt. Remove 1/3 of this mixture in a measuring cup and add cup very cold water. Cut shortening in the remaining flour mixture. With a fork add the paste mixture to the flour and shortening. Do not over mix. Roll out pie crust on a generously floured surface. Place bottom crust in pie pan. Fill with your favorite filling. Add top crust and seal. Bake at 350 until golden brown. I make pies up and put them in the freezer.

Apple Squares

Make a double recipe of never fail pie crust. Peel, core, and slice 6-8 cups of apples. (I use whatever mixture I have on hand) Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1 T cinnamon, and a pinch or orange zest.

1 cups corn flakes

1 egg white

Roll out the half of the dough to fit a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle corn flakes on crust and cover apple mixture. Roll out rest of dough to fit over the apple mixture. Seal around edges. Whisk egg white and brush over dough. Bake at 350 until golden brown. Mix a small amount of powdered sugar with butter, almond extract, and milk to make a glaze. Drizzle over the finished pastry.

Apple Nut Bread

1 c oil

2 c sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

3 c flour

1 rounded tsp cinnamon

1 c chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and sugar 2 large or 3 small loaf pans. Combine all ingredients. Batter will be very thick. Bake about 1- 1 hrs, depending on oven. Remove from oven and sprinkle the top with sugar. Let cool about 20 minutes and remove from pans. I take them out of the pans onto foil so they can be wrapped immediately. Best if left to set overnight. Freezes well.

Date Nut Bread

Sprinkle:

2 t soda over 2 c chopped dates

Add:

2 c boiling water

Let stand until cooled.

Combine:

2 eggs

1 c chopped nuts

1 c brown sugar

2 T shortening

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 large or 3 small loaf pans.

Combine egg mixture with dates after cooling. Add 3 cups flour and mix well. Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Freezes well.