My Favorite Recipes: Meet Shelly Elkins, Rosalia

The Elkins family of Rosalia, from the left, are Amanda, Ashley, Zackery, Raven, and parents Shelly and Dave.

Shelly Elkins and her husband Dave recently bought the flower shop in Colfax from Bob Garrett and have renamed it Flowers, Décor, and More. New signage is being planned, and they are enjoying their business adventure. Dave has owned his own business all of his working life, so the risk involved is known. However, Shelly has worked for banks, The Wild Ivy, Flowers and More and the State of Washington, so being a business owner is new for her.

Moving to the Rosalia area with her family in third grade, Shelly rode the bus, participated in lots of activities, was a cheerleader for the Rosalia/Oakesdale Rebels and graduated from Rosalia High School. Dave went to Oakesdale High School, so they met at cooperative sports activities.

They connected when he was in college and she was still in high school.

Shelly attended Whitworth College for one year after high school and was drawn to child psychology. She married Dave in July of 1988 instead of finishing school and they bought their first home in Oakesdale. Their growing family required more space, so their next home was a 1902 farmhouse on the outskirts of Rosalia. They have redone it over the years, although she admits that the house is more work to maintain without the help of their children.

They have three girls and one boy.

After marrying Dave, Shelly worked for Sterling Savings for 10 years and became a branch manager. That was followed by 10 years at home with children while having part-time jobs. She went back to work in banking and then the The Wild Ivy in Pullman. Her most demanding job came next: eight years with Child and Family Services. She taught child care skills and made home calls, which became an all-consuming job, often with tough emotions and difficult situations.

People often love or hate the Washington state caseworkers, and the latter is stressful. After spending five years as a caseworker, Shelly became an administrative assistant. At that point, she was ready for a change.

Shelly met Bob and Cynthia Garrett years ago when Cynthia was selling radio advertising. In the summer of 2014, she was working for them, and they sold The Wild Ivy. Cynthia passed away from cancer that September.

When the crew and Bob were at market in January, they began talking about buying the shop. Dave agreed to the plan, and it happened smoothly. They commended Bob for being so helpful, gracious and kind.

When the deal was done and the papers signed, she thought, “What have I done?!” Her kids say that scary is good. Scary means new experiences, but Shelly contends that scary was a bit foreign to her.

The Elkins realize that they will be spending money to expand and improve the business, and that is scary. Dave has run a private business repairing trucks and combines all of his working life, but retail is a step in a different direction.

Shelly is aware of the importance of customer service and keeps that thought foremost. Getting acquainted with suppliers is important so that she knows who has the best roses, or mums, or houseplants. When flowers are opening up too soon, she has given a price break to the customer. Delivering flowers is one of the fun parts of the business; people opening their door to see flowers always brings smiles.

The Elkins family is close-knit and enjoy activities and traveling together. Ashley is married and living in Spokane. Her husband works at Fairchild Air Force Base, and he’s also a first responder. He has trained as a firefighter and hopes to work full-time as a firefighter eventually. Ashley graduated from Eastern Washington University with degrees in business and marketing. She works three days a week or more at the flower shop.

Raven graduated from the University of Washington in political science and is now managing properties in Seattle. She is demonstrating her food growing skills to her housemates.

Zackery spent several months working in the Dakotas until oil prices fell, and he has just completed a year working at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. He just bought a new pickup. Amanda is a junior at Colfax High School.

Shelly loves gardening, raising both flowers and vegetables. Her favorite season is spring, when everything is green, lush and blooming, and they can sit on their wraparound porch and enjoy their beautiful yard.

Learning to cook with her grandmother, Shelly cooks primarily by taste. Recipes are a good starting point, but you have to write it down if you want to share it!

Recipes:

Chinese

Chicken Bake

2 Tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained thoroughly

2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1 10 3/4-ounce can cream of mushroom soup

1 1/4 cups chopped celery

2 Tablespoons chopped green onion

4 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine butter/margarine and onion powder. Gradually add cereal, stirring until all pieces are evenly coated. Set aside.

Combine pineapple, chicken/turkey, soup, celery, green onion and soy sauce. Stir in 1 cup reserved cereal mixture.

Pour into ungreased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cereal mixture. Bake 30 minutes of until top is lightly browned.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Summer

Vegetable Stack

2 medium zucchini, about 1 pound

1 medium yellow squash

2 medium russet potatoes, about 14 ounces

3 large firm plum tomatoes

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice zucchini, squash, potatoes and tomatoes. Place vegetables in a large mixing bowl.

Add oil, pressed garlic, seasoning and salt. Toss to coat.

Arrange vegetables in rows in a small baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45-50 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.

Remove baking dish from oven to cooling rack. Remove foil; top with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Makes 8 servings.

Mini Cheese Cakes

28-ounce package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla wafers

Cherry or blueberry pie filling, or fresh fruit, or fruit sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Put one vanilla wafer in each cup. Place two heaping tablespoonfuls on top of each wafer.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Cool and top with pie filling, fruit or fruit sauce.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup oil

2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix above ingredients well.

Then add:

1 cup crushed and well-drained pineapple

Stir in pineapple. Grease and flour two loaf pans well. Pour batter into the two pans. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Turn out of pans.