MY FAVORITE RECIPES By Mary Collins: Meet Rhonda Anderson

Rhonda Anderson of Albion takes a break from tending to the Albion Community Garden. She also volunteers at the food pantry and helps with the summer lunch program.

The first time Rhonda Anderson moved to Albion she was in middle school and her family was relocating from the central part of the state. After graduating from Pullman High School in 1970 Rhonda joined the Navy where she served as a yeoman for three years. She then joined the Air National Guard where she served in Air Operations. During those years she lived in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Delaware.

In the early 1990s she resigned from the Air National Guard full time. It was then that she and her three daughters again moved to Albion, this time for good. The three girls, Tamara, Starr and Brook, all graduated from Pullman High School. Starr and Brook remained in Albion and now are the city clerk and a nurse at Pullman Family Medicine respectively. Tamara is a pharmacist in Oklahoma.

Rhonda began a second career as a library technician at WSU. She retired from the military with 20-plus good years in 2011 and for a second time in 2013 after 26 years with WSU.

Since retirement she has been active in helping with the Albion Community Garden, food pantry and summer lunch program. She also maintains the town's flower plantings and serves on the town council.

The Albion Community Garden is located on Front Street next to Kevin Emerson Park. The well-landscaped park and fenced garden is an inviting picnic spot. The garden, which is maintained by a group of about six volunteers, produces fresh vegetables for the food pantry. Recent harvest included onions, potatoes, summer squash, lettuce, radishes and green beans. The food pantry is located in the old high school, which now serves as Albion town hall. Distribution is on the fourth Thursday of each month, from 4 to 6 p.m. They serve about 35 families each month.

Rhonda’s household includes a dog, a cockatoo and a flock of chickens. The flock of chickens was intended to be a minor operation, but a mix-up in ordering resulted in more than 25 birds, which called for construction of an elaborate new coop this summer. When not doing volunteer work or caring for her birds, Rhonda spends a lot of time with her three grandchildren, Ashton, Kiera and Hunter. This summer her specialty was taking them to the Snake River to swim on hot afternoons. In keeping with her grandmotherly activities, Rhonda shares some of her favorite recipes including some requested by adults who remember visiting her house when they were kids.

Recipes:

Magic Cookie Bars from Eagle Brand

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels

1-1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Lemon Pecan Pie

3 whole eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 TBSP. lemon extract

3/4 cup pecans

Juice from half a lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs slightly, DO NOT BEAT!!!

Mix all ingredients in order given. Pour into eightinch unbaked pie shell and place in preheated 350 oven and bake about 10 minutes, then cut oven temperature to 300 (slow oven), and bake until crust is golden and pie filling is set.

If crust is browning too quickly, you may have to place foil over crust or use a ring for that purpose.

VARIATION: Try orange extract and 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh orange juice, or thawed, frozen orange juice concentrate.

Ebelskivers

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Makes: About 20 ebelskivers

2 cups Original Bisquick

1 cup milk

2 egg yolks

2 egg whites

2 TBSP. vegetable oil

Heat ebelskiver pan over medium heat.

Grease pan with cooking spray or shortening.

In a large mixing bowl, stir Bisquick, milk, egg yolks and vegetable oil until blended to make the ebelskiver batter.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff.

Fold egg whites into the ebelskiver batter in the large mixing bowl.

Using a spoon or ice cream scooper, fill each ebelskiver pan hole two-thirds full.

Once the center bubbles slightly and edges become golden, use a spoon or toothpicks to carefully turn the ebelskivers so that the rounded part now faces upward.

Cook the other side until golden.

Once both sides are cooked and ebelskivers are spherical, remove carefully and place on serving platter.

Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, chocolate syrup or any other topping/filling.

I use wooden skewers to turn ebelskivers and turn the ebelskiver a quarter turn at a time.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

32 light caramels

5 TBSP. light cream or evaporated milk

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. soda

2/4 cup butter melted

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt caramels in cream in top of double boiler. Cool slightly. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts in a large mixing bowl. Press half of the crumbs into bottom of 11x7 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chips and nuts. Spread carefully with caramel mixture. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake 15–20 minutes more or until golden brown. Chill 1–2 hours. Cut into bars.