My favorite recipes

Meet Patty Primmer, Tekoa

Patty Primmer at her Tekoa Pharmacy post, where she has served for the past 16 years.

Patty Primmer has been working in Tekoa for 16 years, bringing new life to a building she inherited from her grandfather with the same professional degree as hers. Her grandfather was the pharmacist in Tekoa into the 1970’s. Her father grew up in Tekoa, and the family visited frequently, so she felt at home when she reopened the pharmacy in 1999.

Patty grew up in Fairfield, where her father was a farmer, and she graduated from Liberty High School. Attending Washington State University followed by pharmacy school there felt familiar and natural.

After college, her husband worked in Republic, so she found pharmacy positions in Colville and Omak. When he was transferred to Quincy, she worked in Moses Lake, and then his transfer to Spokane allowed her to work in the same town in which they lived. They have three children, and they all attended Freeman Schools.

Patty worked in privately owned pharmacies, and when the children were small, she worked evenings and Randy took care of them. Randy is a US Department of Agriculture employee, working in Farm Service Administration offices. After 20 years in the Spokane office, he became responsible for all of northern Idaho, with offices in Plummer and Bonners Ferry. Randy began his FSA career in 1984.

A year and a half ago, with all three children out of high school, they moved to Cave Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene, near Worley, Idaho. He is near his Plummer office, and it is a short drive to Tekoa for her.

Before reopening Tekoa Pharmacy, they cleaned, did some remodeling and painted. Patty has enlarged the stock of over-the-counter health products, added a variety of beauty products and added services like mailing and delivering prescriptions.

“I love Tekoa people and the town,” she said. “There are great downtown businesses and wonderful schools. Tekoa people are working to keep their town alive.”

Tekoa Pharmacy is open Monday through Friday. Patty usually takes Wednesday off, and another pharmacist works for her.

She has noticed many changes in pharmacy since she graduated. Pharmacists have much more interaction with patients, working with patients to manage their conditions, and complicated insurance coverage is an issue. Dramatic ups and downs in prices of medications make it difficult for both pharmacists and patients.

Patty is licensed to give injections, but the pharmacy isn’t licensed yet. More patients are receiving flu, pneumonia and shingles vaccinations in pharmacies now.

Medication therapy management (MTM) is a new trend, in which pharmacists and patients meet to assure that people are on the correct medications, taking them correctly and checking for problems. Some insurance companies reimburse for this service. Pharmacists are able to coordinate hospital discharge orders with the primary care doctors’ orders. The trend of small hospitals using telemedicine for stroke diagnosis and early treatment is a positive change for patients.

Patty is involved in the Tekoa Chamber of Commerce, and they love to attend Cougar football games, mountain bike, water ski on Lake Coeur d’Alene, snow ski at Schweitzer Mountain, hike and tend their huge garden. They loved riding bikes on the Trail of the Hiawatha and Heyburn State Park bike trails. The latter is guided by park rangers. Moscow Mountain is another favorite for mountain biking.

Patty enjoys using her abundant garden produce in her recipes.

Recipes:

Beet Salad

4 cups beets, peeled and shredded

1 small onion or leek, chopped finely

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon tarragon, dried or fresh minced

1 Tablespoon parsley, fresh minced or 1 teaspoon dried

3 ounces Feta cheese, any flavor you like

Combine the minced onion in a small bowl with the red wine vinegar. Allow to marinate while you prepare the beets.

Peel raw beets with a vegetable peeler. Shred beets using the shredding blade on your food processor, or grate with a hand-held box grater.

Whisk the mustard and olive oil into the vinegar and onion mixture. Add salt and pepper.

Toss shredded beets, walnuts, tarragon, parsley, and the oil and vinegar mixture. Add salt and pepper if needed. Top with crumbled Feta cheese.

Yield: 10 servings.

Hummus

Pumpkin Dip

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup dry chickpeas or 15 ounces cooked

2 cups pumpkin or squash, cooked

2 Tablespoons almond or peanut butter

1 teaspoon cumin, ground

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook chickpeas (I prefer Joseph’s Grainery chickpeas from Colfax) as directed. Chickpeas double in size when cooked. Or use one 15-ounce can of chickpeas.

Cook a pumpkin or winter squash as directed, or a 15-ounce can of pumpkin can be used.

Puree all ingredients in a food processor.

Serve with vegetables as a dip.

Baked Potato Soup

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large onion, diced

1 quart chicken broth

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup butter

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 cup half and half

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

chives

sour cream

bacon bits

cheese, shredded

Combine first seven ingredients in large slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours until potatoes are just tender. Mash potatoes until coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened. Stir in half and half and cheese. Garnish with chives, sour cream, bacon bits and remaining cheddar cheese.

Apple Pumpkin Butter

6 medium tart apples, such as Granny Smith

1 Tablespoon cinnamon, ground

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups pumpkin or squash, cooked

Core and chop apples into medium size pieces.

Put all ingredients into slow cooker and stir. Cook on low for 3-5 hours, stirring occasionally.

When apples are soft, put the mixture into a blender, or just use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth.

Store in airtight containers, such as jars. Keep in refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks, or freeze for it for later use.

Makes approximately 3 cups. Use on toast, granola, or whatever else you desire.