My Favorite Recipes: January 30, 2020

Raised as one of the Browns in Farmington, Shelly Ausmus has returned to Whitman County after living in the greater Seattle area for more than 30 years.

"We love it, we're so happy to be back," said Shelly.

In 2018, Shelly moved to Tekoa with her husband, Mike Ausmus, to be closer to help her mom, Alice Brown, who has been living in Tekoa for the last 20 years. After four decades in the rain, they are enjoying the snow. Shortly after they arrived, Shelly was offered a position at the Whitman County Library's Tekoa branch which had opened up.

"It worked out really well. I love books, I like working with people and like working with kids. And it's flexible enough with the hours so that I can be available to my mom," Shelly explained.

Shelly graduated from Oakesdale High School before attending the University of Washington where she met her husband. It wasn't until after getting married and having two daughters that she started teaching at private schools. Shelly taught language arts for 25 years before returning to Whitman County.

At the Tekoa Library, Shelly helps support several programs. There is Kids Club on early release days. Starting in February there will be a five-week Short Story Club. "It's like a book club, only...shorter!" is the tag line for the event, with no pre-reading required. A short story will be read at the event and after which there will be discussion and sharing.

The library, the Chamber of Commerce and Avista are working together to bring Nectar Media down to give a multi-media workshop for businesses the first Monday in March.

The library is also teaming up with The Healthy Tekoa Coalition to host a Teen Game Night at the end of February with food. To help with New Year's resolutions Tekoa's Library is also hosting Mindful Eating Workshops every Tuesday until March 3rd with the Hospital.

"I love that Whitman County Library overall is very community focused in all of their working locations. It's like the Colfax Library has really inspired the rest of us to be really involved in our communities."

When she's not busy with these programs or helping her mom, she has many hobbies to fill her time. Not only does she enjoy reading historical fiction and children's literature, Shelly and her husband also enjoy driving out and exploring the area, practicing her photography. Shelly writes inspirational essays, short stories and keeps up two online blogs.

Shelly's grandmother was a part of the German Lutherans that settled the Palouse.

"They had a rich tradition of feeding people," Shelly said about her ancestors.

Her grandmother was an avid collector of Colfax Gazette recipes and had a large amount of recipes that she collected with the intent to make, but never got around to it.

"Coming home has reminded me of the deep food heritage; eating, sharing of food, that has gone on in these smaller communities," said Shelly, "It was a huge honor for families, women in particular, to be asked to share a recipe. I brought recipes that came out of that, that have been shared and passed to my family."

Recipes

Burgundy Glazed Chicken

This is one of the first recipes Shelly learned from Carol Fisher of the Farmington Fishers when she worked on the Harold Fisher farm in junior high and high school helping feed the farm hands. Shelly remembers one of the perks of working for the Fishers was that she, Carol, was going to

feed you.

2 ½ lb broiler fryer, cut up

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp salad oil

1 cup burgundy wine

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup packed brown

sugar

¼ tsp ginger

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp. corn starch

1 Tbsp. water

Steamed rice

In a skillet brown chicken in butter and salad oil. Stir in wine, soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder.

In small dish combine corn starch and water.

Turn chicken pieces to coat all sides with wine mixture. Cover; simmer until chicken is tender. Serve with rice.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Apple Pie Pizza

Shelly learned this recipe from her sister-in-law Kathleen (Bruce) Brown who is originally from Tekoa herself. It's a really easy and tasty treat.

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 stick butter (room

temperature)

Opt. 2 tsp cinnamon

6 apples

Mix together sugar, flour and butter with fork for topping.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Spread Pillsbury pie dough on round pizza pan.

Bake in oven 3-4 minutes. Use a fork to poke out bubbles.

Peel and slice approximately six apples. Arrange slices on partially cooked dough.

(optional) Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with approx. 1 Tbsp butter.

Put topping on apples.

Bake 25-30 minutes.

Use fork to test tenderness of apples.

Graham Cracker Bars

"It is a cookie recipe my mom (Anne Brown) was famed for. It was a favorite of teachers and townspeople who requested it often. It is a true comfort food and very addicting!" said Shelly.

Line the bottom of a 9X13" pan with graham crackers.

Mix:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

½ cup milk

1 egg

Cook over low heat until thickened. Don't allow eggs to curdle.

Add:

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup graham cracker

crumbs

Pour mixture over crackers in pan; top with another layer of whole crackers.

Frost with mixture of:

2 cups powdered sugar.

½ cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup milk

Refrigerate overnight. Cut into 2-inch bars and serve.