Meet Kathy Neilson, Colfax

My Favorite Recipes: April 2, 2020

Apr 02, 20200

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Kathy Neilson

Kathy Neilson met her husband, Brent, about five years after she divorced her first husband, while Brent was up from Texas visiting his brother in the greater Seattle area and looking for work. Both attended a church activity where they met.

For both Neilson and her husband this is their second marriage. In each of their first marriages they had four children. Kathy had four daughters, while Brent had three sons and a daughter. Both remained single for about five years before they met. They have been married to each other for 28 years now. They moved to Colfax in 1996.

While living in Colfax, the couple has been able to offer support to kids and grandkids who've attended WSU.

Neilson was a stay-at-home mom while raising her girls. After she and Brent moved to Colfax, she worked for a few years as an insurance agent in Moscow, but quit about 15 years ago to help daughter, Erica, raise kids while attending school. Erica was raising two girls and an 18-month-old son while working on her master's program at BYU in tax accounting. During this time the infant was frequently sick, and Neilson's daughter struggled keeping up with school and taking care of her young son.

It was at that time that Neilson quit her job and went down to Utah to help out. She helped for more than three years before returning to Colfax. Neilson would meet with her husband about once every six to eight weeks during that time, where one would fly or drive to visit the other. Her daughter Erica successfully graduated from her Master's program and found a job with a CPA firm.

A few years later, Brent offered Erica a position at Neilson Insurance here in Colfax, which she accepted. When Brent retired, Erica bought the business from him and now runs it herself.

Neilson meanwhile went from taking care of grandkids in Utah to taking care of her parents in Washington. Neilson grew up the oldest of four girls and was in a position at the time to be able to take care of her parents when they needed extra help. After a family meeting they moved her parents from Spokane to Colfax, her father stayed for a time at The Courtyard while her mother lived in the upstairs part of her house, where they remodeled a bathroom to fit her needs and she didn't need to worry about taking stairs. Neilson and Brent meanwhile lived in their basement.

After more than a year at The Courtyard, Kathy's father was moved to an end of life facility near their house where her mother would visit him daily in the six weeks before he passed.

After a few more years of living with them, Neilson's mother had to move in with two of her sisters for a time due to Neilson's own health. Between a torn meniscus and a bulging disc, Neilson couldn't give her mother the help needed.

Currently Kathy is staying at home and staying healthy, so she can be ready to help her youngest daughter, Shelley, if needed. Shelley and her husband decided to have a child and being in her mid 40's makes hers a high-risk pregnancy. So Neilson is preparing herself to go and help her daughter whenever needed.

Recipes:

Chicken/Turkey Cabbage Soup

3 lb. whole chicken

4-5 carrots, sliced on a

diagonal

3 stalks celery, sliced

on a diagonal

1 head green cabbage,

cored and chopped

Salt and pepper to

taste

Bunch of green onion,

chopped

Ground fresh chili

paste, Sambal Oelek-

favorite brand, (op-

tional)

4-6 cup hot, cooked

rice (Asian varieties

are best)

Immerse the chicken in cold water in a large pot, add enough water to just cover. Put the lid on and set to a medium-high heat. Once the water starts to form bubbles, lower the heat. You do not want to bring the water to a complete boil.

Leave in the water until it is done. A whole chicken should take about one hour. Remove the chicken to let whole cool.

Bring broth to a boil and add the carrots, cover and let simmer 5 minutes. Add the celery, cover and simmer another 8 minutes. Add the entire cabbage.

The pot will be full, but cabbage will cook down. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until the veggies are still vibrant in color and just fork tender.

Bone the chicken, shred or chop the meat and add back in after veggies are cooked (this keeps the meat tender). Salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls over a scoop of rice. Diners may sprinkle green onion and dab at a little chili paste or chili flakes to soup according to their individual taste.

Note: when I was 10-years-old my family sponsored a Laotian family. The mother, Pang, made this soup often and it has become a family favorite. Also delicious with bone in thighs. After Thanksgiving my mother would strip the turkey carcass and cook it according to above instructions, adding the meat at the end. Just as delicious!

Caramel Corn

3-4 quarts popped

corn

1 cup brown sugar

1 cube butter

½ cup corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt (omit if

popcorn is salted)

Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in saucepan. Bring to rolling boil over medium heat.

Remove from heat and add vanilla, baking soda and salt (if popcorn is unsalted). Pour over popcorn and mix to coat well.