My favorite recipe - Nov. 25, 2010

Six days a week Robbin Weatherly commutes from Lewiston to Uniontown where she operates the Uniontown Mini-Mart. She makes the trip, because she loves what she's doing and the people she's serving.

"I love it up here,Ó she said. "I have made some awesome friendships up here.Ó

Before opening the mart, she was a grocery merchandiser. When she drove through Uniontown, she would think about how the town needed something.

Robbin always wanted to open her own store and saw a building on the main street of Uniontown for rent. She decided it was now or never and took the plunge, opening a deli, coffee shop and convenience store. At the time gas was $4 a gallon and she knew people needed something closer to home.

She had experience running a deli and coffee shop, but she had never operated her own store. She also wanted it to be more than a store.

"The customers decided they needed coffee and a place to sit,Ó Robbin said. Day after day, locals come into the store, sit, sip and chat. Some will stop by multiple times a day to sit and visit.

While her heart has gone out to the seniors that almost constantly occupy her store as a place to convene, she has also kept the younger generation in mind. She wants to be open in case someone needs a gallon of milk or one of the other basic groceries.

Robbin opened the mini mart Jan. 4 of this year and the townspeople have accepted her with open arms. She offers breakfast and lunch deli items, coffee, basic groceries, snacks and drinks. She and her husband have eight children between them with two still at home. The whole family has been very supportive.

"This has been a joint family venture. Everyone has helped out in some way,Ó she said.

While sometimes things don't go wellÑlike the day when the air condition went out and she lost $400 worth of chocolate to 90 degree temperaturesÑthe friendships she has forged have been worth it.

Robbin and Cheryl Walle started a catering business and have served at the Dahmen Bar and Robbins son's wedding.

"No woman in her right mind should cater her own son's wedding,Ó she remarked.

The two have also come up with another idea and want to showcase local products. Already a shelf has been set up and stocked with local jams and spreads at the store.

Robbin has done a lot of cookingÑhearty cooking. Her grandparents came from Oklahoma and New Mexico, so she learned to make stick to your ribs cooking.

"That's my thing, the old homestyle cooking,Ó she said.

Robbin especially loves to bake, but with her working six days a week, she doesn't cook as much as she used to. One day a month she cooks like a mad woman to prepare lunches for her husband.

A few years ago she and her sister put together a cookbook of family recipes. The cookbook includes recipes from five generations and a foreword expressing love and encouragement for the recipients.

"All the world's problems are solved at the kitchen table,Ó Robbin quotes in it. A similar theology could be applied on a smaller scale to the mini mart. All a town's problems can be solved over a cup of coffee at the store.

Robbin gets one day off and spends it catching up at home or enjoying it with her family. In the summer she and her family like to float the river. In the winter she and her husband like to camp and hunt.

Recipes:

Carrot Cookies

1 cup Crisco (or 1/2 cup Crisco and 1/2 cup butter)

2 eggs

1 cup mashed cooked carrots

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Add carrots, slowly stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Blend well.

Optional: add 3/4 cup shredded coconut.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes; cool and frost with OJ Frosting.

OJ Frosting

Cream 1 cube softened butter, add about 2 Tbsp. Orange Juice; add about 2 cups powdered sugar mixing until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Russian Tea

2 cup Tang

1/2 cup instant tea

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup sugar

2 cup lemonade powder

1/2 tsp. cloves

Mix together in an airtight container. When ready to use, mix tablespoon tea into a cup of hot water. Add more or less tea to taste.

Fireside Coffee

From Grandma Bishop

2 cups Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. each nutmeg and cinnamon

1 cup instant coffee

1 cup creamer

Mix together, store in tightly covered container. Makes 5 cups of mix.

Add 2-3 Tbsp. to cup of hot water, more or less to taste.

Lemon Cottage Cheese Dessert

1 lg. pkg. lemon Jello

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 lg. can crushed pineapple (drain and save juice)

1 cup mini marshmallow

2 cup hot water

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped raisins

In bowl dissolve Jello in hot water, add remaining ingredients to Jello, pour in shallow dish (Tupperware bacon saver about 7 x 10) and let set up. While setting up, fix topping.

Topping:

Pineapple juice and water to equal 1 cup

1/2 cup sugar

1 beaten egg

2 Tbsp. Flour

2 Tbsp. butter

Cook on med/low until thick, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Cover. Completely cool. Spread over Jello mixture.

Option:

Add 1 cup cool whip to topping before spreading over Jello.

Pumpkin Bread

2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Sift together in bowl. Set aside.

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

Mix together, then add 1/4 cup butter and add dry ingredients. Mix only until flour is moist. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.