Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale couple Robin and Bob Adams are still active in the community, years after their “For a Song” restaurant closed down.
Robin began a catering business during her restaurant days and still sells her tasty items around Oakesdale and surrounding towns.
Bob began his own business in 1983 and still makes cabinets and furniture.
The Adams moved to Oakesdale in 2005 with their two daughters, Taylor and Hailey, from North Bend.
They had been considering getting a home in Oakesdale and had friends in Garfield and Oakesdale whom they visited often.
Every summer the Adams came over from King County and looked for a place to live.
“We looked for four summers,” Robin said. They struggled to find the right combination of horse pasture, workshop and old farm house. They finally found their home in Oakesdale.
“I’ll die in this house,” she said. “I love this place.”
Robin, one of eight children, grew up in Redmond. She credits her mother with teaching her to cook. Robin recalled her mother never served plain fare. She had a gift with spices that enhanced every dish.
Robin earned her degree as a veterinary technician at Northwest Technical College in 1977. She then moved to Alaska and worked on three different commercial fishing boats as a cook and deckhand. They fished for black cod, halibut and salmon.
Bob grew up in Bellevue. He started doing woodworking right out of college and started his own business, Cougar Mountain Woodworking, in 1983. He makes cabinets and furniture.
He brought the business with him when the family moved to Whitman County.
“He’s done a lot of houses around here,” Robin noted. On the west side he did many high end homes, including mansions and yachts.
Shortly after moving, Robin opened “For a Song” restaurant in Oakesdale. Every Wednesday, she offered a free lunch to the first person who could sing a full song. People from around the area showed up and performed.
“There was some really good musicians around here,” she recalled.
She started a catering business at the same time under the same name and continued it after closing the restaurant. She said running the restaurant was a blast. It was a dream she was glad to have accomplished, she said.
Now she caters all kinds of events with some signature items people always request. They ask for things like salsa, select breads, crab salad and shrimp dip.
“I can’t go anywhere without my shrimp dip,” she noted, which includes playing card with friends.
Along with the cooking side of catering, Robin also arranges flowers. She plans to go back to school at some point for event planning and floral arranging.
Robin has worked at Crossett’s Grocery in Oakesdale for two and a half years. The store is where she sells her pumpkin rolls during the Thanksgiving holiday. She takes pre-orders and then has one available for tasting at the store. She said she always gets more orders than she can handle.
Robin also makes Yule logs out of white birch paper for the Christmas season.
People who buy the logs often use them for center pieces and mantle decorations instead of burning them.
Taylor is now attending college in Spokane and Hailey is in eighth grade at Oakesdale school. She is active in sports, 4H and student council.
Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta
I love to make this when I have fresh tomatoes on the vine but if you don’t grow them, Romas are the best You just need a few more of them.
5 to 6 lg. tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 to 4 lg. cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 to 3 TBS. olive oil
4 to 5 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 quarts prepared and drained bow tie or rigatoni pasta
In a large fry pan, heat olive oil at medium high. Add garlic, do not burn! add tomatoes, salt and sugar. Just as the tomatoes start to break down add basil. Pour over pasta and serve.
Harvest Pumpkin Soup
This soup is my favorite soup for this time of year. It really hits the spot on those crispy fall days.
1 medium onion finely chopped
2/3 c. butter
1 32 oz. carton Swansons chicken broth
2 1/2 to 3 c. pumpkin (I just use canned)
1 pint whipping cream
1 to 2 tsp. Johnnies seasoning salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
In a heavy soup pot, sauté onion till just soft. Add pumpkin, whisk till blended- Add chicken broth and whisk till blended. Add nutmeg and seasoning salt. Stir in cream and stir till hot do not boil. serve with a dollop of sour cream.
My best friend Vicky’s Zucchini Bread.
This is the best zucchini bread ever! It always turns out so moist and yummy.
2 c. Sugar
3 eggs
1 c. oil.
2 to 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. shredded zucchini
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 5” loaf pans. Whisk together wet ingredients, fold in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50 min.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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