Column from January 28, 2010

This is a picture I took last year near Othello.
I wasn't able to get any bald eagle photos on
our recent trip because it was too dark.

Talking turkey

Last Saturday, we went along for the annual Bald Eagle Count at Northrup Canyon, led by Randy Hill, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There were nine of us there.

It was a gorgeous day – 50 degrees when Eric and I left Othello – so we were very comfortable sitting outside waiting for the eagles to begin showing up.

Eric and I got there about 3:30. The rest of the group had started out earlier in the morning and took a long route, stopping at several places to count other birds.

Northrup Canyon is just south of Grand Coulee Dam. Back in the day, there was a homestead in the canyon bottom. A few years ago, we followed the one-and-a-half mile trail to the site and looked at all the old buildings still standing.

If you take the upper trail, you will be walking along an old stagecoach road that ran from Almira to Bridgeport. It’s a tougher hike as the ascent is pretty steep.

Today, Northrup Canyon’s 3,000 acres are designated as a state park. They say at least 65 different species of birds live there, as well as deer, coyotes, bats and western rattlesnakes.

For our eagle count, we only had to walk about 100 yards to a viewing area. From that unique spot, you can watch the eagles soar into the canyon during the late afternoons in the winter.

I was hoping to get some photos, but by the time the eagles showed up, it was getting too dark.

By the time we left, our group had counted 18 bald eagles and two golden eagles.

There really is nothing like watching our majestic national bird. They are so graceful and look so regal.

The bald eagle was designated as our national bird in 1782 when the national seal was adopted. Benjamin Franklin, along with a few other men, was very much against the decision.

Franklin felt the eagle was a poor choice because of its bad moral character – the eagle had a habit of stealing food from other birds. He also claimed the eagle was a coward.

So what bird did he want to be our national symbol?

The bird with so much courage Franklin said could represent the new country was … the turkey.

Can you imagine? If he had his way, the turkey would probably be protected today and we’d be eating eagles at holiday meals instead.

Turkey noodle soup

2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth

3 cups water

1-3/4 cups sliced carrots

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 (12-ounce) package frozen egg noodles

3 cups chopped cooked turkey

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

2 (1-ounce) packages instant chicken gravy mix

1/2 cup cold water

In a large saucepan, bring the broth, water, carrots, onion and celery to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for four to six minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the noodles.

Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Stir in turkey and peas. Combine gravy mixes and cold water until smooth; stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened.

Cream of corn soup

One of my readers mentioned she wanted to try one of my recipes, but she can't find Cream of Corn soup at her grocery any longer. Of course, I hadn't made that particular one for a while, so I didn't realize I posted a recipe with ingredients that aren't available.

Well, I wrote an email to the most widely known soup company (you know, the one with the red and white cans) to see if there was any place it could be purchased. I also asked them if they had a different soup that would work as a substitute.

I received an automated response that someone would answer my question within 48 hours. OK, folks, it's been a week and nothing!

So, I am posting my own recipe for Cream of Corn soup. Use it as a stand-alone dish (yummy!) or in recipes. Enjoy!

Cream of Corn Soup

1 large can of corn
1 sliced onion
2 cups wter
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper

Simmer corn, onion and water together for 20 minutes. Strain and set aside.

Melt butter; add flour and stir until well blended. Pour melted butter mixture gradually into 2 cups scalded milk, stirring constantly. Bring to boil and add strained corn. Add salt and pepper to taste.

And to those readers who leave comments or email me directly: Thanks so much. I do appreciate hearing from you.

Column from Thursday, January 21, 2010

That's a lot of spuds!

A very special gift

A friend of mine gave me what I consider a late Christmas present – three old community cookbooks from organizations in Texas.

Darla is the design and layout artist here at The Othello Outlook. She lived in Texas for a time and while cleaning out some boxes, she came across these fantastic books.

Being the person she is, she thought of me when trying to decide what to do with them.

I’m such a fan of community cookbooks. People submit recipes they actually have tried and their families enjoyed.

Many of the recipes have been entered in county fairs; some receiving blue ribbons. And with my series of Othello-area history stories I’ll be writing over the next few months, old cookbooks will be fun contributions to my research.

The first books I used to learn to cook were in a set my mother had. They contained recipes folks around the country had entered in county and state fairs.

I constantly used those books – I learned to cook while still in grade school – and my mother passed them down to me. I still find recipes to try in them.

The books on my shelf all have a meaning. I don’t just select any community cookbook when buying a new one.

I must have a reason to buy or keep my cookbooks. Some are from places I’ve lived or visited, while others were given to me as special gifts, like the ones from Darla.

Where else would you find a recipe for elephant soup but in a community cookbook? (Seriously, you need an elephant, carrots and potatoes. It feeds 3,800 people!)

Speaking of potatoes, January 26 through 28 is the annual potato conference and trade show. This year, the Washington State Potato Commission is joining with its Oregon counterpart at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick (Washington).

It’s really a lot of fun and everyone should consider running down for a day. Even if you aren’t a farmer or a reporter there to cover the proceedings, you will enjoy perusing the vendors at the trade show.

Lots of goodies are there for the taking, including free potato recipes from the commission. I’m anxious to see what information the Oregon Potato Commission has to offer.

Here’s a great potato recipe from one of the books Darla titled “What’s Cooking in our Kitchens.” It was put together by the Potter County Extension Homemakers in honor of the Texas sesquincentennial. Enjoy!

Potato casserole

5 medium potatoes
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1-1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 green onions, chopped (with tops)
2 cups grated cheese
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes

Cook potatoes with jackets and bay leaf until just tender. Cool, peel and dice (grate coarsely).
Add butter to soup, heat and stir. Blend in sour cream, salt, pepper, onion and 1-1/2 cups cheese. Combine with potatoes.

Bake in uncovered casserole at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Mix ½ cup cheese with corn flakes. Use as topping. Bake 10 minutes more.

Seven to 12 servings. Will freeze well.

Column from January 14, 2010

This picture can be found in the 1930 New Delineator Recipes cookbook. It shows how “canned vegetables provide a splendid variety for every day in the year.”

A look back at history

I’ve begun writing a series of articles in this week’s issue of The Othello Outlook about the history of the city. The first one deals with the Homestead Act, which is what brought many of the original settlers to the area.

Some of you know I’m sort of a history buff. My bachelor’s degree is in social sciences and I took many classes in history to earn that degree.

Currently, I’m the archivist for the Othello Community Museum, where I take care of over 100 years of photographs, articles and personal documents.

Washington history is a little different than most states. It’s very unique in the fact that our state was settled from the west to the east. After all, what was here in the 1800s?

Well, we had rattlesnakes, jack rabbits, mile after mile of sagebrush and not much else. There was little water, resulting in devastating dusk storms.

Without the Homestead Act, there was little reason for anyone to attempt to farm the area.

My husband’s family did, indeed, make a go of it. It wasn’t easy and they struggled daily, but they helped establish Othello.

If you travel northwest along McManamon Road, you will come to Morgan Lake Road and Morgan Lake. These were both named for Eric’s great uncle Simon Morgan. His homestead was at the base of the Indian stone face seen from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife maintenance shops.

Eric’s grandparents homesteaded just south of there. I have a 15-page document by Eric’s father detailing some of the family’s personal history during that time period. Hopefully, I will be able to include some of that in my series of articles.

Today, we live in one of Othello’s original houses. Eric purchased it some years ago from Will May, who many still remember. It is next door to where the May Dairy used to be.

My hope is to also share some vintage recipes in this column in celebration of the city’s 100^th anniversary. If you have a recipe passed down from your parents or grandparents, I’d love to include it.

I have several recipe books written early in the 1900s. They are really fun to read and many contain words of advice on how to set a table, caring for the family, entertaining guests and more.

One interesting cookbook on my shelf is “New Delineator Recipes,” printed in 1930. It includes several simple menus for each meal and some amusing pictures, such as items that can be found in grocery stores and what a well-stocked pantry should look like. Most of the recipes are very basic and simple to prepare.

Cakes were typically prepared from scratch, rather than with the mixes we use today. Here’s one that is easy to make and you can top it with your favorite frosting.

Golden cake

1/4 cup butter or shortening

1/2 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon orange extract

Cream the butter or shortening and add the sugar gradually. Beat the yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Mix and sift the dry ingredients and add to the first mixture alternately with the milk. Flavor. Bake as loaf or layer cake in a moderate oven (380 degrees) for 45 minutes.

Of course, at today’s oven temperatures, moderate would be 375 degrees … unless you can move your dial just a little past that temperature or you use an oven thermometer.

Please share your vintage recipes. You can email them to me at labordi@hotmail.com. Or leave them in the comments on this post!

Column from January 7, 2010

Warming up on a cold winter evening

Is there anything that says “comfort” like a warm bowl of homemade soup?

I love a warm meal of soup inside when it’s cold and wintry outside.

By the end of the 19^th century, soup was an important part of most Americans’ diets. It was both economical and nutritious.

Stew, a close cousin to soup, was common during the Great Depression. A little meat and vegetables could be prepared to go a long way when there was very little money to feed families.

In fact, my father once told me he hated stew because he that was pretty much all they ate during the Depression. He shared that with me after he had devoured a bowl of stew I made for him.

“That was really good,” he said. “I can’t believe I liked that as much as I hate stew.”

Good thing he didn’t tell me that before I made it or I would have prepared something else and he would have missed out!

Here in the Columbia Basin, we have such a great variety of crops to make into soups – potatoes, carrots, onions, beans, corn and more.

Corn chowder is known as the “king of farmhouse chowders.” It’s mellow flavor and pale golden color is comforting and it’s a big favorite with children and adults both.

Hundreds of recipes for it have been published over the years, but since corn has always been a staple of the American farm, it is likely corn chowder was being enjoyed long before any recipe was ever printed.

Although the main ingredients vary from recipe to recipe (i.e. canned or fresh corn, evaporated milk or cream), the popular Shaker-style recipes are the most widely used. Of course, they use only the freshest ingredients, which aren’t as easy to come by in the winter.

And it’s in the winter when I enjoy soup the most. Here’s an easy recipe using ingredients available this time of year.

Corn chowder

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups potatoes, diced

2 cups water

1 can (16-ounce) cream style corn

1 can (16-ounce) whole kernel corn

1 can evaporated milk

Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, sauté onion and celery in butter until onion is translucent. Add potatoes and water; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in both cans of corn and evaporated milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Simmer 15 minutes and remove from heat. May be served warm or cool.

This recipe freezes well, so you can make extra and not worry about leftovers going to waste, although I wouldn’t worry about that too much with this yummy recipe!