My Favorite Recipe 6/30/11

Jana Mathia | Jun 30, 20110

Meet Vicki Leeper, Pullman

Vicki Leeper vividly remembers the first time she saw lentils. It was at the National Lentil Festival in 1989, the year her family moved to Eastern Washington. She took her daughter to the Lentil Festival and there was a table displaying different varieties of lentils. Vicki thought they looked and felt cool.

“That kind of sparked my interest,” she said.

Now as the Tourism Director and Director for Special Events for the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, Vicki is known as the Lentil Lady on her blog and Facebook page for the lentil fest.

Vicki grew up in California and then moved to Lynden where she worked in the tourism industry.

“But there were no computers in those years,” she noted.

In 1989 Vicki followed her husband to Pullman and she met the lentil for the first time. She and her husband divorced and she chose to stay in Pullman. For 13 years she worked for an orthodontist.

“I enjoyed it very much. I miss the patients,” she said.

Over the years Vicki had seen the tourism director position at Pullman come open several times, but the timing was never right for her. The last time the position opened up, she felt it was finally her time. Vicki started the first working day of January this year.

“I never did this job with computers before,” she said. She noted the different ways computers and the internet have changed working in the tourism industry. She is used to having to correspond by snail mail and get information packets on musical artists. Now she is directed to the group’s website where she can download information and music clips. Having Microsoft Publisher makes ads much easier.

Even with the advancements computers have brought, the industry is still pretty much the same as when she worked in Lynden.

“Event people are event people wherever you go,” she said.

Another notable difference is that here Vicki is focused more on food and promoting it, especially with the National Lentil Festival in August. The Lentil Lady is busy booking entertainment and collecting recipes for the lentil recipe contest.

“We’ve got fabulous entertainment lined up this year,” she said, noting the chamber spent more on entertainment for Friday night and Saturday than in past years.

Vicki has set a goal to have recipes submitted from all 50 states. She is using the festival blog and Facebook page to meet that goal, getting the information out as much as possible.

She has also posted the contest on a website for cooking contests and contacted national media networks. So far she has only garnered responses from 27 states. The recipes are open to any food category and have to have half a cup dry lentils or one cup cooked lentils and no more than 15 ingredients. As of last week, she had received more than 30 entries.

“I would love to have more,” she said.

There is even an I Hate Lentils contest. Pullman radio proprietor Bill Weed once commented on air that he hates lentils, so he now judges entries intended to please people who don’t like lentils. He will deduct points when he can see, smell or taste lentils.

The lentil fest plans to serve more lentil chili on Friday night and all the bowls and plates will be 100 percent recyclable. A wandering comedian will entertain people standing in line waiting for their free bowl of lentil chili.

Vicki is also overseeing other Pullman Chamber events such as Wine vs. Beer tasting, Art Walk, Holiday Fest and, currently, the Fourth of July celebration. Once again she spends a lot of time on food.

To raise funds for the Monday fireworks display, the chamber sells desserts at Sunnyside. The desserts are donated, and Vicki is still looking for volunteers to donate any dessert, except cream pies, that can be cut up and shared.

Lentils have proved to play a big role in Vicki’s home life as well. She remarried 10 years ago and now has a son, Sam, who does not like meat or beans, but likes lentils.

“To him they’re better than hamburgers,” she said. Her husband, Mark, keeps trying the lentils, but is less enthusiastic.

Vicki has long loved cooking and having lentils enriches that. She noted that beans take forever to cook, but lentils are fast.

“For a son who hates meat, it was a God-send,” she said.

She also loves to garden and her family likes to do outdoor activities such as camping, four-wheeling and taking their Labraddodle swimming.

Vicki is looking forward to experiencing the whole lentil fest. For the past 10 years her involvement has been limited to sitting at one booth during the events. She admitted she is still trying to imagine what the whole thing will look like.

“I haven’t been through the entire event before,” she said, conveying her excitement and nervousness.

Recipes:

How to Puree Lentils

In medium saucepan, add 2 cups water per 1 cup rinsed lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-20 minutes for skinned lentils or 35-40 minutes for whole lentils. Add more water if needed. Stir a few times. Cook lentils until they are very soft but just short of falling apart. When cooking is complete remove from heat and let cool slightly - but do not drain. In small batches puree the lentils with a food mill, blender or food processor. Puree should be the consistency of canned pumpkin. Add water to thin if necessary.

BBQ Lentils

2 1/2 cups dry lentils, rinsed

5 cups water

1/2 cup molasses

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. minced onion

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)

*Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine lentils and water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender but still whole. Add remaining ingredients to cooked, undrained lentils.

Turn into a casserole and bake for 45 minutes.

Lentil Apple Muffins

1 egg

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup lentil puree

1 cup canned apple pie filling

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon