My favorite recipes

Dr. Lori King, DVM, has been in the Spokane area for several years, and she recently began seeing patients at Colfax Cat Clinic in Colfax. Her practice is Mountain Springs Veterinary Clinic.

A graduate of Bethel College in St. Paul, Minn., she graduated from veterinary school at the University of Minnesota, also located in St. Paul. They came to Hood River, Ore., right after she finished vet school, and she worked there in a mixed animal practice for four and a half years. The mixed animal part was alright, but she found being on call difficult.

They had an opportunity to come to Washington, and she practiced in the Spokane area for several years. They moved to Farmington in 2012. They attend First Baptist Church in Colfax and met Brian and Becky Elfers, DVM, there.

Lori found that working Mondays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Colfax Cat Clinic was an opportunity that worked for her. The clinic’s new sign is in place, so pet owners can see “Mountain Springs Veterinary Clinic” is open now.

The Kings live between Garfield and Farmington with two young children, four cats, one dog, and two horses. Their daughter is three and their son is nine months old. She rides for pleasure whenever she is able. Since they have lived near Farmington, she has filled in at the clinic where she worked in Spokane.

Lori enjoys horseback riding, reading, gardening and being a mom. Their large vegetable garden has been a lot of fun, but they had a bad surprise four weeks ago: frost finished off the pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, corn, peas and beans.

Growing up in a family with three children, she has an older sister and a younger brother. Lori and Doug try to go back to Minnesota once a year to visit family. They drove back this year with their two young children in a pickup with a camper.

When they fly home, they have a three to four hour drive from the airport, or they have to change to a small commuter plane.

Their parents come out several times a year. Her mother, a nurse, retired a few years ago. Her father just retired, and he helped install the vet clinic sign.

As a practicing veterinarian, Lori’s goal is to decrease stress for pets when they come in for office visits. She is relaxed and low-key, with plenty of treats. Her patients include dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets and guinea pigs. Reptiles and birds require very specialized training that not all vets have.

Doug and Lori met at summer camp when he was 12 and she was 14. They started dating on and off a few years later. They were married between her sophomore and junior years of vet school.

The camp is the center of a favorite family story. His family saw an ad for 100-year-old chickens, which his mother bought and prepared for the freezer. They were shocked to discover that the chickens were incredibly tough, and wondered if the chickens were actually 100 years old. In order to get rid of them, Doug’s family gave some of the frozen birds to the summer camp, and the joke was that if a camper needed discipline, they were served the tough chicken for dinner.

Lori decided in high school that she wanted to be a veterinarian when she was inspired by James Herriot’s series that begins with “All Creatures Great and Small.” She's learned actual veterinary practice is quite different than depicted by Herriot, but she remains pleased with her choice. She advises would-be vets to job-shadow a veterinarian if the career seems interesting.

Recipes:

Tender Slow Cooker Chicken

(adapted from 100daysofrealfood.com)

1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons thyme

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

Combine seasonings in a small bowl. Remove giblets from chicken cavity, rinse, and pat dry.

Loosen skin of chicken and rub seasoning mixture over breasts and thighs of chicken; sprinkle any leftover mixture inside the cavity of the chicken.

Place chicken in 3 quart slow cooker and cook on high for approximately 4 hours or until done.

Praline Squash

1 medium butternut squash (will need approximately 2 cups cooked flesh)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Heat whole squash in microwave 1 minute. Trim stem and blossom end slightly, stand on end and slice in half. Remove seeds.

Place in baking dish with 1/2 cup water, cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until fork tender.

Scoop flesh from peel and cool to room temperature.

Combine squash, eggs, milk, salt, 1/3 c melted butter, and 1/2 c brown sugar and stir until well blended. Spread in greased 1 qt casserole dish.

Combine cinnamon, 1 tbsp. melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and pecans and sprinkle over squash mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

1 package graham crackers, crushed to yield 1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup butter, melted

2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

12 ounces chocolate chips

Combine graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, and melted butter and mix thoroughly. Stir in powdered sugar. Pat into 9x13-inch pan.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Place under hot broiler to melt chocolate chips, checking every 1-2 minutes until they are just able to be spread evenly over surface.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, cut into bars, then place back in refrigerator until set (usually 1-2 additional hours).