My favorite recipes by Linda Marler

May 13, 20150

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Barb Kinzer

Barb Kinzer is one of the few women around who enjoys both horses and decorating cakes. Raised as the oldest “boy” in a farm family, she quickly showed an aptitude for mechanical things and animals, but the cooking side was nurtured, too.

Loving to make custom cakes for friends and family, she enjoys the creativity and artistic fun of baking and decorating. Baking and icing cakes were how her mother lured her into the kitchen to learn to cook. Once there, she learned to cook other foods, too.

With photo books of cakes she has made, her range of creativity is evident. Cakes that look like tractors, a cake that looks like little pigs in mud (and all of this edible), cakes with edible, colorful rice paper butterflies, and cupcakes mounted on light tree limbs arranged on a table--all are evidence of enjoying her work.

Baking and decorating cakes is a cool weather enterprise, as transporting decorated cakes on their gravel road in hot weather can slide the icing right off of the cakes. Sometimes she assembles a cake when she arrives at a friend’s home. For her neighbor girl, now an adult, Barb recalled making her high school and college graduation cakes as well as her wedding cake, a real labor of love.

A horse lover, Barb grew up riding on big black horses, Hamiltonian-Morgan crosses that look like light draft horses. They are tough, smart and fast. Hamiltonians are used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and in the UK by the Horse Guards. The Horse Guard horses are amazingly gentle and friendly, standing on a London sidewalk, being petted by everyone who comes along. In parades, they are calm with music playing, sometimes from the soldiers riding them.

Skittles, Barb’s saddle horse, is also calm and gentle. He has visited Vacation Bible School and loved the kids who were all over him. The feeling was mutual. Barb also drives a Meadow-brook cart with her larger horses and participates in the plowing bee and harvest bee at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds. She also rides with the Whitman County Sheriff’s Posse.

Barb drives a senior citizens bus periodically to concerts at Clearwater River Casino at Lewiston. A recent performer was Mel Tillis, country singer who is now eighty-two and still has a wonderful voice. She bought his cookbook, which has Southern recipes, and they became Facebook friends.

For 13 years she drove Pullman school buses and loved it. She is also Facebook friends with many of those now young adults.

“I’ve watched their lives develop--love those kids!” Her favorite kindergarten kid bus story happened the day she complimented a little girl with beautiful braided hair. The girl said, “Yeah, my mom made me cornfields this morning.”

Barb carried extra fruit, snacks and water for basketball players who might not have eaten, or eaten enough, before they left for a game. Many times, she noted, the bus drivers and other school employees can give a smile or encouragement that helps children have a better day.

Barb grew up near Deary, Idaho, and graduated from Deary High School. She went straight to work, as she is a hands-on learner and enjoys operating machinery. A true country girl, Barb loves the smell of dirt turning over, the first cutting of hay, horses sweating and the scent of new babies, confessing to tears whenever she holds a new baby.

Dean and Barb have two daughters. Joy was an Army Black Hawk helicopter crew chief and did two tours in Iraq. She is now a civilian inspector at Fort Carson, Colo.

Both Joy and Erin were skilled at operating equipment while growing up on the farm. Erin graduated in music and theater and earned her CNA license. Barb remarked that she is a very compassionate caregiver. They both showed lambs at the Palouse Empire Fair and were grand and reserve champions several times.

Dean Kinzer serves on the Pullman School Board and is a Whitman County Commissioner. Barb still makes his lunches every day--lunches are her specialty. One non-veggie lover who worked for them in harvest was surprised to open a full lunch box of fresh vegetables. He was happy to exchange it for his regular lunch.

After having a Japanese exchange student and traveling to Japan three times, Barb loves Japanese food and there are Japanese mementos in their home. She makes smoked salmon and other types of sushi and is picky about her soy sauce.

In the kitchen, Dean is a kitchen gadget guru. They have an induction burner, which uses magnetic forces to cook. Induction is popular with cooks who like the speed of gas ranges but lack access to a natural gas line. A Sous Vide machine is their newest acquisition. It uses a water bath to cook sealed packages slowly, leaving very tender meat inside. It’s as convenient as a crock pot for leaving something cooking during the day to be served for dinner.

Recipes:

Sautéed Asparagus

garlic oil for cooking

3 cups asparagus, diagonally sliced in 1-inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 cup peanuts

Yamasa soy sauce (or your choice)

Heat garlic oil in a sauté pan. Stir fry 3 cups of asparagus, adding garlic, cooking until tender-crunchy. When nearly done, add peanuts and soy sauce to finish.

Different Every Time--Soup/Stew

In a very large kettle, place:

1-3 pounds of meat--chunks of stew meat, steak, bacon pieces, sausages, roast, leftover pork chops, lamb, etc.

Brown in bacon grease drippings; cover with water to boil/simmer for an hour.

Cool overnight.

Next day--Skim hardened fat off from top and discard. Keep stock (gelatin or broth) with the meat.

Add to taste:

onion--one large chopped, green onions and tops or onion soup mix, sautéed in 1/2 stick margarine or butter.

Water: 4-8 cups

Au jus or gravy mix: 1-2 packets of dry

Tomatoes: 2-3 cans stewed Italian with oregano and basil or fresh, peeled and chopped

Corn: 1-2 cans of whole or fresh cut from the cob (approx. 16 ounces)

Celery: chopped, most of one bunch, especially leaves and large stalks

Carrots: 6 large peeled and chunked, or a sack of baby carrots cut up

Baby peas: 1 16-ounce package

Any leftover veggies from the fridge, such as canned water chestnuts, green beans, lima beans, anything you like.

Seasoning to taste: All purpose seasoning (1 Tablespoon) such as “Simply Organic”

Garlic salt or a few fresh minced garlic cloves

1 teaspoon oregano

salt and pepper

Pearl barley: 1-2 cups, added dry

Bring all ingredients to a boil, turn down and simmer in a big pot 1-5 hours. Add more water if needed.

Enjoy with crackers or warm crusty bread and butter.

Rhubarb Cream Delight Dessert

Make to freeze 1!

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

Rhubarb layer:

3 cups fresh rhubarb cut in 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

Cream Cheese layer:

12 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

Topping:

8 ounces dairy sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust, mix ingredients; pat into 10-inch pie plate. Set aside.

For rhubarb layer, combine ingredients, toss lightly and pour into crust. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, for cream cheese layer, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time; then pour over rhubarb layer. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until almost set.

For topping, combine ingredients; spread over warm layers. Chill.

For fun, I top it all off with a layer of cold rhubarb. I always make two at a time!

Republican Dessert

Mix and press into bottom of a 9 x 13-inch glass pan:

1/2 cup softened margarine or butter

1 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts (more is better)

Bake at 350 degrees F until light brown, about 15 minutes.

While crust bakes, mix together:

1/4 cup granulated or powdered sugar

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 8-ounce package whipped topping