Recipes 6/9/11

Meet Sheli Gibson, Colfax

Growing up Sheli Stoner Gibson knew how to sew, but as an adult she has learned many other skills and handcrafts including Brazilian embroidery and glass blowing.

“I just see something I want to learn and try it,” she said.

With her dad in the Army, Sheli’s family lived in Washington, Oklahoma, Germany and Hawaii while she was growing up. They moved to Lamont for awhile before settling in Colfax in 1979. The next year Sheli graduated from Colfax High Shool and married Rick Gibson. The couple lived in Colfax for a few years before moving to Steptoe where they lived for 25 years. They raised their three children, Stephanie, Eric and Jessica.

While the kids were little Sheli stayed home, but she has done a bunch of other jobs as well. She worked at Decagon and the Cougar Food Mart when her father owned it. She and Rick took over the store for about two and a half years. Before she became pregnant with Eric her dad took the store back and she continued to work until Eric was born. She was a caregiver for Ray and Shirlee Nelson the last four years of his life and an additional five years until Shirlee died. In 1999 she started working for the Steptoe Sewer and Water doing billing and paying bills. She now works at the Bank of Whitman where she has been for two and a half years.

“I really enjoyed taking care of Ray and Shirlee,” she said. “That was the most meaningful one (job),” she added, noting the difference they had made in her life and her in theirs.

Sheli learned to do tatting and Brazilian embroidery from Rick’s step-mother. Sheli saw her doing the different handcrafts and asked to be taught. Tatting is handmade lace. Sheli has made collars, earrings and an altar cloth.

“It takes a long time to do tatting,” she noted.

Brazilian embroidery is a style of three-dimensional embroidery that comes off the fabric. Sheli mostly does flowers, but the style can be used to portray many things.

Sheli began oil painting in 1994. She went to the fair and saw a painting by Laura Dailey, then nine year old.

Sheli thought it was cool and called Laura’s parents to ask about it. She then started to take classes from Vicki Brockel and has done many paintings, mostly of scenery.

Sheli also does ceramic painting, primarily using a particular brush stroke to make little flowers and leaves to decorate the ceramics.

“I was very shocked that I could paint, because I cannot draw a straight line,” she said.

Like her other skills, when Sheli saw some blown glass items, she wanted to learn how to do it herself. At that time there was a glass-blowing shop in Palouse. Sheli took a beginners and advanced class then did some “apprentice” work. It takes two people to do the glass blowing, so Sheli would help the people at the shop and they would help her. Since the shop closed she hasn’t been able to do any glass blowing due to the cost of a studio, but she still has most of the items she made with their varying hue of colors twisting around like exotic dancers.

In 2009 Sheli and Rick divorced and she moved to Colfax and started working at the Bank of Whitman. She now has a granddaughter, Abbie who is 11 months old. She enjoys dancing, hanging out with friends and spending time with Abbie.

Not all of Sheli’s hobbies are done by hand. She also likes to do genealogy. She has done much of her own and helps other people as well. She did a lot for her boyfriend before he went to Germany and he was able to visit places of his family’s origin.

“I really like doing the research and finding things we’ve been looking for a long time,” Sheli added. She finds stories through county histories, family letters, family books and obituaries. When she started doing genealogy, she was able to find out a lot for her grandmother whose mother and grandparents had died when she was young. One of the things she learned was Sheli’s grandmother’s grandfather had lived in three houses that had burned down.

Globetrotting is another of Sheli’s favored pastimes.

“I love to travel,” she said. She has been to France, England, Italy, Spain and Morocco where she stayed the night in a tent in the Sahara Desert and rode a camel. Her favorite place so far has been Italy, especially the southern parts.

This year she went to Japan with her dad to visit a brother and his family. They returned to the US six days before the earthquake and tsunami hit.

Recipes:

12 Hour Butterhorns

1 Tbs. yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup margarine

3/4 cup milk, scalded

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs, well beaten

4-5 cups flour

1/4 cup margarine, softened

Soften yeast in water.

Put margarine and milk in a microwave proof bowl.

Microwave until margarine is melted; pour into mixing bowl.

Stir in sugar, salt and eggs.

Male sure milk isn’t too warm or it will cook the eggs.

Cool.

Stir in softened yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough.

It may take more flour, but keep the dough soft. Cover and allow to rise in a cool place for 5-6 hours.

Turn out onto lightly greased countertop.

Divide dough in half.

Roll each half into 14 inch circle.

Spread each circle with 2 Tbs.

softened margarine.

Cut pie fashion into 16 pieces.

Place on a cookie sheet.

Allow to rise in cool place 5-6 hours.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

These may be frozen ahead of time by shaping, then freezing individually on cookie sheet. When frozen, remove and place in freezer bags. They only keep about 2 weeks when frozen.

Chicken Stuffed Manicotti

17 manicotti noodles, cooked for 8 minutes, drained and rinsed with cold water

4 cups chicken, (boiled with dry onion and garlic to taste—save broth) chopped finely after cooked

2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 Tbs. parsley flakes

Combine chicken with the remaining ingredients. Stuff the manicotti.

Sauce:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup flour

4 cups water + 1 Tbs. chicken bullion

1 1/3 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Melt the margarine in a sauce pan and slowly stir in the flour, cooking three minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, cooking three minutes more, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Add the cheese and cook until the cheese is melted. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon a light film of the sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Make a single layer of manicotti, leaving room for expansion, and spread the remaining sauce over it. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes.

Best Grape Salad

2 lbs. green seedless grapes

2 lbs. red seedless grapes

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Wash and stem the grapes and set aside. Let dry to coat better.

Mix sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla by hand until blended –or use a mixer, it’s easier. Stir grapes into mixture and pour into large serving bowl.

Combine brown sugar and nuts. Sprinkle over tops of grapes to cover completely. Chill overnight and serve.

Snickerdoodles

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

2 3/4 cup flour

Cinnamon and sugar mixture

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Add eggs and dry ingredients, mix well.

Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and then roll balls in cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake 8-10 minutes, until light golden brown.