My favorite recipes

At a recent noon-time class at the library, the instructor asked who in the class loved to cook. One enthusiastic person raised her hand, while others waivered. Shannon Ashworth was in the class learning recipes for rotisserie chicken and could not deny loving cooking and all things food-related.

Beginning with watching her mother cook, she first made scrambled eggs when she was in third grade, and her cooking career took off from there. Shannon has always enjoyed cooking and trying new foods and recipes. When she had children, she thought she needed to be “knowing what’s going into my kids’ mouths,” avoiding additives and preservatives and focusing on good nutrition.

While growing up, Shannon was involved in 4H, took baked goods to the fair, and her grandma taught her formal table settings. She really enjoys baking. Frequently trying new recipes, she is aiming for a win in the Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate Contest, sponsored by the Whitman County Gazette, at the Palouse Empire Fair. Shannon serves as a foods judge at the fair each fall.

As she was growing up, Shannon lived in town but went to her grandpa’s ranch often, complete with a huge garden where she loved to wash produce and eat it fresh from the garden.

Shannon was born in Ephrata, then lived in Coulee City and then Moses Lake, where she graduated from high school. She moved to Whitman County in 2006. In Moses Lake, her parents bought a farm, which had fruit trees and big gardens. Now she has her own large garden and a great supply of fresh fruit and vegetables to work with.

After her divorce two and a half years ago, she has found more ways to garden. She uses leaves for compost and weed control. Food that can’t be eaten fresh is canned, dehydrated or frozen.

There are a variety of recipes for canning besides canned peaches and raspberry jam. Shannon advises friends to look for recipes for chutneys, sauces and so on. After finding a great barbecue sauce, she began canning it. Watching cooking shows and seeing friends’ ideas on Facebook gives her a constant flow of new recipes and things to try.

Shannon describes her cooking as down-home, farm-style, take-care-of-your-family cooking. Anyone who lives far from the supermarket also appreciates her ability to make a meal using what is available in the freezer and pantry. Her background is Slovakian, and she has some recipes from the past.

In the spring, Shannon starts with planting what she needs to can this year - carrots and peas, plus all the fresh food they like to eat - potatoes, onions, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, two types of peppers and tomatoes, plus her perennials - blueberries, rhubarb and fruit trees.

Shannon rotates planting spots for the different crops each year. She is composting an additional garden spot to improve the soil and prepare it for planting next year.

Each year Moses Lake has an awards banquet for volunteer firefighters, and her father is a volunteer who always attends. There are always raffle prizes, and she has won five fruit trees and seven blueberry bushes. This year her daughters won six more trees.

Locally, Shannon likes to buy food at farmer’s markets here and in Moses Lake and go to Penawawa for peaches. If she could, she would have her own little farm with cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens in addition to a large vegetable garden.

Shannon and her daughters, Erika and Grayce, live in Rosalia, and she works in Colfax at Colfax Monument. Working as a NAC for 15 years, she burned out and began working in an office. She is happy there, being a full-time mom, and taking care of her home and gardens.

Singing is another love. She belonged to jazz and select choirs in high school. Now she performs at various churches and other venues, most recently singing at Dusty Bible Church. Quilting is something she would like to learn next.

Recipes:

Kansas City-Style BBQ Sauce

2 Tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, such as grape seed or vegetable

6 cloves garlic, smashed

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 slightly heaping Tablespoon chili powder (optional)

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

pinch of ground cloves

2 cups ketchup

2 cups water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup dark molasses

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon kosher salt (I used regular salt.)

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons dried mustard

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, red pepper, allspice, cloves, and cook, stirring, until paste is a dark, brick red color, about 3 minutes.

Add the ketchup, water, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, black pepper and bay leaf. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the flavors come together, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf before using.

Pumpkin Brownies

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Beat together the eggs, oil, pumpkin, and sugar. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, stirring until evenly mixed. Pour into prepared dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the center springs back when touched.

Yield: 24 to 36 brownies

You can add raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips to the mixture. These brownies can also be frosted easily and go well with a cream cheese frosting. Whipped topping can also be used.

Orange Rhubarb Spread

4 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb

2 cups water

1 can (6 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin

4 cups sugar

In a large saucepan, bring the rhubarb and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 7-8 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid. Cool rhubarb and liquid to room temperature.

Place rhubarb in a blender; cover and process until pureed. Transfer to a 4-cup measuring cup; add enough reserved cooking liquid to measure 2 1/3 cups. Return to saucepan.

Add orange juice concentrate and pectin; bring to a full, rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to a full rolling boil; boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; skim off foam.

Pour into jars or freezer containers; cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover and let stand overnight or until set, but not longer than 24 hours. Refrigerate or freeze. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks and freeze for up to 12 months. Yield: 5 half-pints.