My favorite recipes - Meet Teresa and John Keene, Colfax

Jana Mathia | Jan 13, 20110

Teresa Keene always wanted to practice law in a small town. With her own practice, Canyon Law Office, she is able to get her wish as well as help people from all across the state.

Teresa was born in Spokane, but when she was 8 years old her family moved to Sedro Woolley. She didn’t return to the east side of the state until after marrying her husband, John.

A civil engineer, John worked from their home in Spokane where they lived for 11 years. One of the projects he worked on was the grounds for the Whitman Hospital and Medical Center. Although he had done the engineering, he had never seen the fruits of his labor.

In 2006, John and Teresa were on their way to Walla Walla and decided to swing through Colfax to see the hospital he had helped design. On the way Teresa saw a house for sale and decided to stop.

“We were not looking to buy or sell a house,” she stated. But when they saw the flyer showing the inside of the house, they knew it had to belong to them. Within a day they made a down payment on the house and started the process of selling their house.

Teresa at that time was still in law school at Gonzaga. From March to May of that year she commuted to Spokane. They managed to sell their house in Spokane five months after moving to Colfax. Three weeks after the sale, the housing market crashed.

Fortunately, Teresa was able to get a job right out of law school. She worked for one year at the Whitman County Prosecutors Office.

“It was a good job, they were nice people,” she recalled. She was then offered a job in Spokane where she had interned. She made the commute to Spokane for one year, surviving a very tough winter which sometimes forced her to stay in Spokane.

She decided to open her own practice in Colfax which initially was located in the former Webster Law Office building. “Out of desperation; I just couldn’t take the commute anymore,” she said.

She and John remodeled an office space on Spring Street and they opened Canyon Law Office June 1.

“I literally could not run this business without him,” Teresa said of John.

Up to this time John had been working out of their house, but with the downturn in the economy his workload slowed. Once they finished remodeling the office, John stayed at the office as Teresa’s assistant. He also designed her Web site and set up the computers.

Having a web site was a good attraction for clients. Teresa also credits local lawyers for getting her business going. When she started, almost all the local lawyers referred clients to her.

“I don’t think I would have gotten through the first six months without that,” she said.

“It’s a real legal community,” John added.

Teresa also had help from out of the area. She belongs to a couple of defense lawyer groups. Teresa has had several west side lawyers seek her help when dealing with east side issues and court appearances.

“Lawyers love to mentor other lawyers,” she said.

Teresa credits local judges with keeping the law atmosphere here amiable.

“This is just a wonderful place to work,” she said.

When not working, Teresa and John like to work on their home.

“Our house is kind of our hobby. The house and the dogs,” she said.

They have already done some major work on the landscaping by removing juniper bushes they estimate were 100 years old. In the process they discovered snakes, skunks and wasps.

John also likes to read and research, especially history.

“John got really interested in the history of this house,” Teresa said. Once he learned all he could about the previous tenants, he broadened his research to their new town.

“You can ask John anything about the city of Colfax,” she added.

On her web site, John included a page of Teresa trivia which includes accomplishments like writing a gardening book, a science fiction magazine, and qualifying as a master gardener. He also noted they met in a community theater.

They have two adult sons. Josh is attending Texas A&M to get a doctorate and Alex is pursuing Russian studies.

Recipes:

Crab and Broccoli Quiche

3 eggs

1 cup cream

1 Tbsp. butter

4 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups crab meat, real or artificial

1 1/2 lb. broccoli florets (no stems)

1 wedge Jarlsberg cheese, grated (no substitutions)

Pie crust in a pie pan, baked about 5 minutes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil broccoli florets in water for 4 minutes. Drain and place in the bottom of a partially baked pie shell.

Sauté crab meat and green onions in butter until browned. Place on top of the broccoli.

Mix eggs and cream with a whisk and pour over vegetables in pie shell. Sprinkle with the grated Jarlsberg. Bake 35 minutes.

Allow to cool 10 minutes on a trivet before eating.

Grandma’s Chicken and Egg Noodle Soup

Put a whole roasting chicken, gutted, into a big pot, cover with water, boil 2-3 hours or until all the meat has come off the bones. Pour through a sieve, catching the broth in another big pot. Let the chicken, bones and skin cool enough to touch, then sort through, picking out only the meat. Throw away the bones and skin. Make sure the meat is in smallish pieces.

Put the meat back in the broth and salt to taste. Set aside.

For the noodles, you will want to make a very stiff dough. Combine 3 eggs, a pinch of salt, one Tbsp. milk and about 2 cups flour. Roll it out on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a knife or a pasta cutter into thin 1/2 inch wide strips, about 4-8 inches long as you prefer.

Bring broth and chicken to a boil, dump in the noodles and simmer for about 8 to 12 minutes. The noodles should fatten up and get chewy, but not too chewy. The flour in the noodles will thicken the broth as well.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Lasagna Belmonte

1 can black olives, crushed

1 med. Onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 lb. lean hamburger

1 clove minced garlic

16 oz. tomato sauce

6 oz. tomato paste

1/2 cup each dry red wine and water

Salt to taste

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 lb. Lasagna noodles

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

1/2 lb. mozzarella, thinly sliced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook onion in oil until soft, add beef and garlic, cook until brown and crumbly, drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, water and wine. Add salt, oregano, pepper and sugar, stirring until mixed. Cover and simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hour. Add olives to sauce.

Cook noodles according to package directions and rinse in cold water. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles in the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan, crisscrossing in a basket weave for a solid layer. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles. Top with 1/3 cottage cheese and 1/3 mozzarella. Repeat this layering process two more times. Top with Parmesan.

May be refrigerated until ready to bake or bake immediately, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Great with Mushroom Salad:

Iceburg lettuce

Fresh mushrooms, sliced

Parmesan cheese

Chopped green onions

Lemon juice

Salt to taste

Toss all together and serve at once.

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups flour

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 tsp. salt

0 to 1/2 cup sugar to taste

4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients and sift. Work in shortening with a pastry knife or fingers until mix is formed in pea-sized crumbles. Add milk and gently press into a ball. Overwork will make biscuits tough.

Place on floured surface and press out until 3/4 inch thick.

Cut in 9 circles. Bake in ungreased 9 inch square or round pan for 12-15 minutes. Make sure biscuits are touching.