Column from August 12, 2010

 Naomi Reynolds

Sharing recipes with friends

There’s something about a friend giving you a special recipe that has been in their family for generations. It really shows they care about you.

Last week, Eric and I took a road trip. We stopped to visit his mother’s best friend, who is also the daughter of one of Othello’s earliest pioneers. They went to school together and graduated in the same class.

Naomi Reynolds Adams will be 95 years old this weekend. Her mother Sara Little Reynolds came to Othello in 1903 and helped prove up three different homesteads – with her parents, grandmother and husband Earl, whom she married in 1910. She was a much loved member of the community.

Sara and Earl raised eight children in Othello. She loved gardening and had a beautiful yard on Cedar Street. She taught both her children and grandchildren to appreciate nature, to fish and to hunt. She also taught them to embroider and quilt.

Naomi lives in a beautiful home her husband designed and built himself. It features an awesome fireplace made of petrified wood from the Saddle Mountains west of Othello.

You would never know she is 95. She gets around great and still lives on her own, although her children check in on her several times each day.

We had a wonderful visit and Naomi shared lots of stories about the early days of Othello and her friendship with Eric’s mother. We gave her the current copy of The Othello Outlook and promised to send some of the back issues that talked about the centennial celebration as some mention her mother. Sara was one of the women the museum highlighted for its special display that weekend.

I’ll also send her this week’s paper because Table Scraps includes a couple recipes she shared with us.

One of her favorite recipes is for lemon cheese. The recipe is originally from England and came through Canada to her friend Esther Porter, another woman who lived in Othello years ago.

Naomi said she likes to spread it on toast and it’s also good between cake layers or on top of a poppy seed cake. It will last for about two weeks in the refrigerator or can be frozen.

Lemon cheese

2 eggs, beaten

Rind (zest) and juice of two lemons

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Melt butter in double boiler. Add remaining ingredients and cook until thick. Cool before refrigerating.

Crème fraiche

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix together and let set at room temperature for 24 hours before refrigerating. This will last for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Naomi said to add a layer of both the lemon cheese and crème fraiche in a rolled up crepe. It’s one of her favorite breakfast dishes.

She said the crème fraiche is excellent on gingerbread.