My favorite recipes

When Julie Green was a little girl, she began playing violin. After her class gave a recital to students at Jennings Elementary in Colfax, Keith Niehenke went home from kindergarten and announced that he wanted to play violin like that little red-haired girl. She was four years old, and he was five when they met in Suzuki violin lessons.

Good friends since violin lessons, they grew up playing for all kinds of groups and events like benefit dinners, Rotary meetings and Chamber of Commerce luncheons. She began voice lessons with Liza Dailey when she was eight years old. They remained good “music buddies,” playing instruments and acting in school musicals all the way through high school.

After high school they went their separate ways, but kept in touch because of his music. His big break came when he became a regular in Nashville. Keith played with many of the big names in country music and played in the American Music Academy Awards show.

Fast forward to 2008, and he was touring with the Doo Wah Riders, with whom he spent 13 years. The Riders were playing in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Julie’s friend who had seen them the year before urged her to go. She arrived late at the outdoor concert venue, and Keith came walking off the stage, playing “The Devil Came Down to Georgia” as he walked. He handed her the violin and hugged her. The crowd was stunned, and Julie was even more stunned. She hadn’t imagined that Keith would recognize her in a crowd.

After the concert, they had dinner and a chance to visit. Julie was accepted by the TV show “America’s Got Talent” and needed to record a CD to submit. Ten days later she was in Los Angeles making the recording, and they’ve been together since then. “America’s Got Talent” was a fun experience, and although she didn’t win, the exposure brought a lot of contacts and jobs.

Julie began singing some with Keith’s band, gaining experience. They married, and she moved to Los Angeles from Jordan Valley, Ore., which was a true culture shock. Soon Julie was expecting twins, so she again put the singing career on hold. When the twins were born, Keith was playing 300 dates a year.

Keith not only had a busy musical career, but the fiddler with a bachelor’s degree in electronics completed a bachelor’s in network engineering and administration just four days before his mother passed away. His mother had urged him for years to finish this degree.

Keith began to find it hard to leave his family in order to tour, and it also became less attractive financially. The recession cut the number of concerts available to play and many concerts actually cut pay for performers.

Keith and Julie planned to move home eventually, but they did not know exactly when. Keith began applying for positions and found nothing anywhere because of the economy. He applied at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. They flew him to Pullman, and they offered him a job and helped them move.

“How in the world did it happen, for the two of us to get together, come home, support our family, and still be able to do our music!” They have played with the Barley Bashers for the Odessa Oktoberfest. Keith used to play with Kelly Hughes’ band right after college. They will tour as Border Patrol when Kelly retires.

They play dates most weekends in Montana, Spokane and eastern Oregon.

“It’s been great. It’s as much as we want to do with our kids,” Julie said.

Her mother, Carleen Bennet, is with them most of the school year, a great help when you have young children.

Julie and Keith play the same type of concerts as when they lived in Los Angeles. They still get to see Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn, and it’s nice for them to keep in touch with the musicians they played with before moving back to Whitman County.

“It was such an exciting life,” so it was a big change, but Keith was ready for the change.

Keith and Julie will appear October 12 at the Tekoa Harvest Party in Tekoa, and on October 25- 26 at the Slab Inn at Post Falls, Idaho.

Julie’s daughter Emelia is 20, Elizabeth, who is called Elle, is 17 and a senior at Colfax High School, and twins Cash and Rye are three years old.

In the kitchen, the Niehenkes share duties. Julie loves to do the baking, and Keith enjoys cooking.

Recipes from Keith:

Red Beans and Rice

I got this recipe from one of my favorite Cajun chefs, Justin Wilson (I gar-on-tee). This dish was a favorite of the band on long road trips. I would make a big ol’ pot and a mess of rice and it would be finished by the time we drove from Los Angeles to Phoenix. This is always good served with some corn bread or fresh made biscuits. A person can make this very mild or as hot as the deep south in August. Of course, other ingredients can be added, but this is the basic recipe that I use.

1 pound of dry red beans

1 large onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 cup green onion

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1-2 Tablespoons crushed garlic

2 mint leaves

1 cup of red wine

water

1 ham bone, ham fat, bacon, etc.

2 pounds of andouille sausage, sliced

Cayenne pepper or Louisiana hot sauce

salt

black pepper

Soak the beans overnight with the onion, green onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley, mint leaves, red wine, and enough water so there is 1/2 to 1 inch above the beans.

Cover with plastic wrap and soak for 15 hours plus.

Keep adding water as needed to keep the beans soaking.

I like to put my cayenne pepper into the bean mix now so it as a chance to soak into the ingredients, but that will be up to you.

I do not use Tabasco sauce for my Cajun cooking, since it can become overwhelming and take away from the natural flavors of Cajun cooking.

Regular Louisiana hot sauce works well, but I always just use cayenne pepper.

But of course, you can always add your hot sauces to taste when it is served.

When the beans are ready to start cooking, heat up a stock pot and take the ham bone, ham scraps, bacon, etc., and brown in the stock pot. Take the Andouille sausage slices and add to the pot. Keep browning the meats. Take the entire bean mixture and add to the pot. Add water so that it is an inch above the mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.

To thicken the beans, take out a cup or two and mash them. Return to the pot and stir. Serve the red beans over rice.

John Wayne Casserole

2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained

1 (1.25-ounce) packet taco seasoning

4 ounces sour cream

4 ounces mayonnaise

8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 cups biscuit mix

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 (4-ounce) can sliced jalapeno peppers

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and water, according to packet instructions; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, 4 ounces of cheddar cheese, and half of the onions; set aside.

3. Stir biscuit mix and water (directions on box) to form soft dough. Pat dough on the bottom and one-half-inch up the sides of an 9 x 13 in. greased casserole dish.

4. Sauté remaining onions and bell peppers until slightly tender.

5. On top of biscuit mix, evenly distribute ingredients in the following order: ground beef, tomato slices, green peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, sour cream mixture and end with remaining shredded cheese.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges of dough are lightly browned