MY FAVORITE RECIPES By Mary Collins: Meet Libby Walker

Libby Walker, Pullman, leads an active lifestyle that includes skiing, cycling, and excercising Callie, her canine companion. She volunteers with the Palouse Land Trust and is the first Washington member of their board.

Libby Walker grew up in a small farming community of 7,000 people in northwest Iowa. Her family moved to Denver while she was in high school, and attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for her undergraduate degree in History. She subsequently earned a master’s degree in Political Science from the State University of New York in Buffalo and moved to Pullman in 1976.

She completed a doctorate in Political Science at WSU and began teaching at the college level until retiring in 2013.

Walker loves the Palouse and especially Pullman because of the advantages provided by a college town. She raised two daughters on five acres in rural Pullman.

They camped, backpacked, fly fished and skied every chance they had. She now has four grandchildren who are also learning about the beauty and wonder of nature. Two reside in Sandpoint, Idaho, and two in Denver.

Walker’s hobbies include refinishing antique furniture, cycling, skiing and exercising her canine companion, a Pointer named Callie. She also belongs to two book clubs.

She is on the volunteer Board of Directors of the Palouse Land Trust, an organization committed to preserving the Palouse Prairie, the agricultural heritage and other unique aspects of our area. It was founded 20 years ago in Moscow, and the office is located there.

The Land Trust owns Idler’s Rest, north of Moscow, and the Dave Skinner Ecological Preserve on Paradise Ridge. Most of their work involves helping land owners put their land under conservation easements that will guide future uses of the land to be compatible with the land owners' interest in preserving agriculture and forestry and promoting conservation.

Much of the work of the Land Trust is done by volunteers. They only recently established a small paid staff. As the first Washington state member of the Board, one of her goals is to increase awareness of the Land Trust in Whitman County and help identify landowners who might be interested in protecting their land in perpetuity. The Land Trust website: palouselandtrust.org

Recipes

Chicken Marsala

Four boneless, skinless, chicken breasts floured and browned in skillet with butter and oil.

1 lb. fresh mushrooms, ........sautéed

1 can artichoke hearts, ........not marinated

4 oz. Marsala wine

2 packages Knorr’s Lyonnaise sauce mix or make the following:

Small chopped onion sautéed in 2 TBSP. butter

Add the Marsala wine

Add 2 cups of brown sauce made from 2 packages of Knorr’s Brown gravy mix.

Place chicken, mushrooms and artichokes in casserole.

Pour sauce over the top

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Chicken and Artichoke Casserole

You can make this casserole completely in advance and refrigerate it or bake and serve it at once.

1 or 2 sprigs parsley

1 celery top

1 carrot quartered

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh thyme or ........1 tsp. dried thyme

(Make a bouquet garnish with these ingredients, or just put in the pot with the chicken.)

1 broiler fryer - about 3 ........lbs., cut in pieces

1 TBSP. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground ........pepper

1 cup water

1 large jar of artichoke ........hearts

1/4 cup butter or mar-........garine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups shredded ched-........dar cheese

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 cup dried bread ........crumbs

1/2 tsp. savory

1/2 tsp. thyme

2 TBSP. butter or mar-........garine

Place chicken, parsley, celery top, carrot, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper and water in large pan. Cover and simmer about one hour or until chicken is tender. Cook chicken in stock and remove pieces from bones in good sized pieces. Arrange in a three quart casserole along with artichoke hearts. Reserve stock.

To make cheese sauce, melt butter and blend in flour until smooth. Gradually add 1-2 cups of chicken stock. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Stir in cheese and nutmeg. Pour sauce over chicken and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, savory and thyme. Dot with butter. At this point, you can refrigerate the casserole covered until you are ready to heat it for serving. Bake uncovered in a moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Broccoli Casserole

1 package frozen chopped broccoli or about 1-1/2 pounds fresh broccoli

Salted water

2 TBSP. butter melted

2 TBSP. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Dash pepper

1 cup milk

1 TBSP. scraped onion

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 eggs, well beaten

Cook frozen broccoli in boiling salted water just until thawed and bright green, then drain; or trim fresh broccoli, cook until tender but still slightly crisp, then drain and coarsely chop.

In another pan, blend the melted butter, flour, salt and pepper and cook until bubbly. Gradually stir in the milk and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth.

Remove from heat and stir in onion, mayonnaise and beaten eggs. Carefully mix in broccoli.

Turn in to a two quart casserole. Set the casserole, uncovered, in a pan of hot water. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F) about 30 minutes or until the custard has set. Serves 6.