MY FAVORITE RECIPES - May 20, 2010

Jana Mathia | May 20, 20100

Meet Amy McNelly

When Amy McNelly was 15 months old, her father finished his degree at WSU and the family moved away from Pullman. It wasn’t until 2006 that Amy found herself back on the Palouse, this time with her own family in tow.

“I never thought I’d be back in Pullman again,” she confessed. She and her husband are now the co-pastors at Pullman Presbyterian Church.

After leaving Pullman, her family moved to Massachusetts where they lived for 10 years before moving to Spokane. Amy married Matt McNelly and they lived in New Jersey and California. Pullman wasn’t even on the radar, Amy said, although both were from the Northwest.

Amy earned a degree in education and taught sixth grade for a couple of years. She has always been passionate about her faith and decided she wanted to go to seminary to get a PhD and be a professor like her father. Amy had no intention of being a pastor, but she was required to take a preaching class. After hearing her, members of the class told her she needed to be a pastor. After some praying and soul-searching, Amy found her path diverging from what she had anticipated.

“I went to seminary with one thing in mind, but God had something else in mind,” she said.

Amy became a pastor in 2004 and first served as an assistant pastor in southern California. She and Matt wanted to find a place they could both work as pastors and would be a good environment to raise their children. With both of their families still in Washington state, Pullman turned out to be the place that fit their needs.

“We really felt like it was a good fit for our gifts and who we were,” Amy said, adding they felt like God was calling them.

Amy and Matt share the pastoral duties of preaching, offering guidance and counseling and administration. Amy said it is nice to be able to share those duties and team to reach more people.

“Being a pastor requires a lot of skills in a lot of different areas,” she noted. Their congregation is unique with people from all ages and backgrounds including families, farmers, business people and faculty. Sitting on the edge of the WSU campus, they are able to reach out to college students. While those students may move away, Amy likes knowing they were able to be a part of their lives at such a transitional phase. The influence of their church has reached around the world as those college students graduate and move away.

Amy and Matt have two daughters, Lydia, 6, and Grace, 4, with a third daughter due in August. They are getting the congregation involved with naming the baby. Anyone who makes a donation can suggest a name for the girl. Those donations will then go to Haitian relief aide. Amy noted that while she can’t travel right now, she still feels it is important to teach her children about having compassion for those in third world countries. Before her pregnancy, Amy traveled to Uganda for a mission trip. She has also gone to Guatemala and done many in-state trips.

Matt is also the director and guitarist of the praise band and volunteers as the chaplain for the Pullman Police Department.

While pastoral duties, children and pregnancy take up a lot of Amy’s time, she still manages to fit in a few things for herself. She loves to garden—although she admits she is still learning. She is a member of two book clubs. Amy also loves to visit with friends which can be challenging in a community like Pullman.

Amy loves to travel and is sharing that love more with her children now. The family loves to camp and has made it a goal to visit and camp in all the national parks. Each summer they try and take on one or two parks. Last year they visited two in South Dakota. With the baby due in August, they’ll stay close this year, but they’ll still get to at least one.

As a pastor and mom, Amy is learning different stages in life have different emphasis. At one point she was able to travel a lot and get out, but now she is more home bound.

“This is the time I get to really invest in my children’s lives,” she said.

Recipes:

Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole

1 cup brown rice

1 1/2 cup lentils

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, chipped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 1/2 cup water

grated cheddar cheese

Rinse lentils. Soak lentils and brown rice in water for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours for maximum nutritional absorption.)

Combine all ingredients in a 9x13 pan. Add 2 1/2 cup water. Stir and cover with foil Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until lentil s and rice are tender. I usually sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of casserole and return to the oven for a few minutes to let it melt.

For faster version that’s nearly as good, simmer all ingredients in a pot on the stove for 45-60 minutes. This works well is you’ve forgotten to soak the lentils ahead of time.

This tastes great as a casserole or can be served as a filling for tortillas. It’s really best with chopped cilantro on top.

Rhubarb Crisp

Filling:

1/4 cup flour

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 2/3 cup rhubarb cut into 1/4 inch slices

Mix flour and sugar together, then beat eggs. Add rhubarb and mix. Pit in 8x8 pan.

Topping:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup flour

Mix together and crumble over top. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown.

If you double the recipe, you can use a 9x13 pan. However, I don’t double the topping ingredients, but only increase them by half, i.e. 3/4 cup of each.

Black Bean Dip

2 cans black beans, rinsed

2 cans corn, rinsed

1/2 cup scallions (green onions)

1/2 cup red onion

1/2 cup cilantro

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup limes juice

1 tsp. cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let marinate. Add 2 diced tomatoes at the last minute. Serve with corn chips.