My favorite recipes

Connie McBride was born in Colfax and now lives about two blocks from her childhood home. Her husband’s mother grew up in Colfax. Connie’s father farmed on Parvin Road southeast of Colfax. Her grandparents were Shelby and Delia Parvin.

When Connie was four, her father added land in Potlatch, and the family moved there. Her father raised crops and registered Hereford cattle. Connie was promoted from the kitchen to a truck, but was scared to death on some of the hillsides. Her brother was 10 years older, and for many years was an assistant parent, not a sibling. That changed over time, and they became very close.

One day during harvest, her father had two combines break down and came to ask if they could have lunch earlier than usual. Her mother said that she had just put potatoes on to boil, so it would be half an hour. He lifted the lid, looked at the potatoes coming to a boil and dropped the lid onto the pan. Her mother said that was unacceptable. That was the biggest fight she ever saw her parents have, and she retreated to her room to cry. She knows now what a lucky child she was.

Their community was tight-knit. A favorite memory was when there were Grange events, and Rhod McIntosh came with his parents. He would read books to her while the adults were busy. Connie Largent and Ed McBride met in first grade in Potlatch. He grew up on a farm seven miles from theirs. In sixth grade she hated him for breaking her pencils and nabbing her erasers.

She and Ed’s mother knew each other well before Connie and Ed ever started dating which began when they were juniors in high school. Connie planned to go to Deaconess in Spokane for nurses’ training, but she didn’t want Ed to go to the University of Idaho alone.

Two weeks before classes started, she decided to enroll at the University of Idaho. Conveniently, she had taken the entrance exams when most of her class had. So, she became a teacher instead of a nurse. She joined Alpha Gamma Delta and Ed was a member of Phi Kappa Tau.

Ed and Connie were married Dec. 22, 1963, in Moscow at the United Methodist Church. Their first home was in Yakima, where she taught at Washington Junior High and he worked for Montgomery Ward. Ed was drafted and sent to basic training, followed by Officer Candidate School. They were apart during that time, so her college roommate came to live with her. They hung out with another couple of college friends, so she was preparing to be a military spouse.

Second Lt. and Mrs. McBride were stationed at Fort Knox when their first child Shannon was born. The baby suffered a broken arm and clavicle plus cerebral palsy at birth. Shannon was eight months old when they heard the CP diagnosis, and her parents were there beside them the next morning.

Ed finished his military duty and they returned to the Palouse. He graduated from law school at the University of Idaho, passed the Washington bar exam and went to work with Wes Nuxoll in Colfax. After about 15 years of private practice, he moved to the University of Idaho development office, retiring recently at the same time as Connie.

Shannon began pre-school at Washington State University and had physical therapy to loosen the extremely tight muscles on the right side of her body. Her thought processes were fine, and she learned to type with her left hand in school at Pullman’s Jefferson Elementary and Lincoln Middle School. Art Powers, now in Colfax, was her teacher there, working miracles.

Shannon was six years old when they adopted Steve, age three. They had a foster daughter then, who was placed with them because her mother was ill. So they had two quiet little girls and one busy, loud little boy. He made the house much livelier. One year later, Shelby was born. Dr. J. T. Person in Garfield told Connie, “The best fertility pill in the world – adoption.” She spent four months on bed rest with two young children. Her mother came every Monday morning and stayed until Friday evening which was a genuine blessing.

Their good friends, Al and Sandy Adams, have children near theirs in age and they lived nearby. Sandy explained that it was their custom, so every year before the children went trick-or-treating together, they went up the hill to the Catholic rectory. The priest happily blessed the group and they were on their way for a night of fun. When they were a little older, they mentioned the blessing to find that no other Catholic kids in Colfax did this! The Methodist kids were blessed, while all the Catholics except the Adams kids were totally unaware.

Retirement for Ed and Connie looks a little busier than the average retirement. Ed does foundation work for the Northwest United Methodist Foundation. Both are active in the United Methodist Church in Colfax where Connie has Bible study and is the kitchen manager. She also has a Bible Study with Onecho Church friends. Serving on the Board of Laity for the Northwest United Methodist Church, Council for Older Adult Ministries for Washington and North Idaho, and Conference Lay leader keeps her busy, too. They are active in the Gideon organization.

As Christmas approaches, Connie is busy making dolls for grandchildren. They enjoy attending Vandal games and events. They get to make choices, but are still busy. She does miss teaching, since she loved her students so much.

Their children are grown with grandkids for the McBrides to enjoy. Steve, a graduate of Eastern Washington University, and his wife, Juhi Bahtia, who was born in India but came to the US at 10 months, adopted two little girls from India, who are now ten and eight years old. Juhi teaches science at an alternative school in the Puyallup School District. Steve works for a restoration company.

Shelby and Jeff have two children, ages three and five. Shelby, an Idaho graduate, is a stay-at-home mother now. Jeff is a public relations person for Sound Transit, a very busy job. Shelby’s little boy is really into dinosaurs now. On a recent trip to the zoo he wouldn’t leave until he saw the dinosaurs. It took a lot of work for Shelby to convince him that there are no living dinosaurs. He was quite skeptical.

Recipes:

Breakfast Pizza

This is Steve’s favorite breakfast. It has been a tradition in our house since he was a little boy, but he campaigns for it any time his family is here. I fix it Christmas morning, and we eat it while we open our presents.

1 pound bulk sausage

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup loose packed hash browns

1 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

5 eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a skillet cook sausage until browned. Drain off excess grease. Separate crescent roll dough into eight triangles. Place in an ungreased 12-inch pizza pan with points toward the center. Press over bottom and up sides to form crust. Seal cracks.

Sprinkle with hash browns. Top with sausage, and then with Cheddar cheese. In a bowl beat together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour evenly into crust. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all.

Bake in 375 degrees F oven for 25-30 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving. Makes 6-8 servings.

Red Hot Salad

This recipe is from my mom. She made it often when she served either pork or turkey.

1 cup boiling water

1 cup red hot cinnamon candies

1 1/2 cups applesauce

6 ounces cream cheese

1 small package lemon Jello

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup minced celery

Pour boiling water over candy. Add lemon Jello. Stir until both are dissolved. You may need to heat the water again to get the red hots to dissolve. Add applesauce, nuts and celery, and stir. Chill 1/2 of the Jello mixture in an 11 x 13-inch baking dish. Blend mayonnaise and cream cheese. Spread on top of chilled Jello. Add the rest of the Jello and chill to set.

Note: You may use 1 large package of Jello, 1 extra cup of water, and 1 extra cup of applesauce to expand this recipe, but I prefer to simply double the recipe.

Tomato Aspic Salad

This recipe was from my good friend, Verna Brost. It is milder than most aspic, so people that do not normally like aspic often like this. Some people prefer the salad without olives.

2 packages lemon Jello

2 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cans tomato soup

1 c. diced celery

1 small jar stuffed green olives--optional

1-2 cans crab meat or tiny shrimp

Dissolve Jello with water; add lemon juice. Add the tomato soup and stir until well mixed. Chill until the mixture begins to set. Then add celery, olives, and seafood. Place in refrigerator until set.

Church Dessert

This is a popular dessert at our church meals. I think it originated with Mae Claypool. It is one of my favorite desserts.

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar.

Mix well. Place in a shallow pan and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, stirring every 5 minutes. Put these crumbs in a 9x13-inch pan, saving a few crumbs to sprinkle on top of the dessert.

2 packages frozen strawberries, thawed

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 pint cream, whipped

Beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form. Add berries, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until bowl is full, about 20 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spread evenly over crumbs in pan. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top. Refrigerate to set. May be frozen. Place in refrigerator to set.