My Favorite Recipes: Erika Wetzel

COLFAX - Colfax local Erika Wetzel, 26 moved back to Colfax around four years ago. Wetzel had moved to Whitman County at 11 when her mom obtained employment in the county.

"My mom went, 'I got a job opportunity in Colfax,'" Wetzel explained, laughing that she had no idea where that was. Her mom took the opportunity, though, seeking to broaden her kids' horizons.

Wetzel has grown to love Colfax and Whitman County, stating that she does not wish to return to Moses Lake, where they lived before.

"Very boring landscape over there," Wetzel said, adding that the people here are friendlier and the landscape prettier, "I'm not going back," she laughed.

Wetzel was homeschooled by her mom and grandmother, a retired school teacher, from about fourth grade. She explained that after discovering that she had a slight learning disability, they decided homeschooling was just easier.

That didn't stop Wetzel from learning everything she could about history and continuing towards earning her legal receptionist degree from Spokane Community College.

"Does the degree of life count," she joked, "Because then I have two degrees in just learning how things go."

Wetzel currently works as a front desk receptionist at Washington State University for an office that supports the Veterinary Hospital.

"I don't see the animals, but I see the doctors that care for them," she said, adding that she supports the doctors by ensuring they have the supplies they need for surgeries and general care.

"I'm very eclectic when it comes to my hobbies," Wetzel shared excitedly, noting that because of her ADHD, she's constantly bouncing around from one hobby to the other, "It drives my boyfriend nuts," she laughed.

Wetzel loves reading, gardening, and doing "old-fashioned" hobbies like crocheting and embroidery in her free time.

"I pretty much live in a library," she exclaimed, adding that her bookshelves are full in her house, and she still has boxes upon boxes of books.

Wetzel spends as much time as she can traveling and planning for future travels.

"I have a gypsy, wanderlust spirit," she said with a grin, adding that she's been to six countries and a couple of states.

She explained last year, her big trip was visiting family in West Virginia, and she has yet to be able to travel much this year except back and forth to Montana to see her boyfriend.

"Next year, I'm excited because I'm going to Iceland," she exclaimed, "I'm super excited because I'm going when the Northern Lights are going to be the strongest, and I'm hoping to get to see them."

Wetzel stated that she's been to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and Vatican City.

"It confuses people a lot because Vatican City is in Italy," she explained, noting that Vatican City is its own country.

"What's cool is you can stand in two countries at once in Vatican City," she exclaimed, explaining that any building with a Vatican City Flag on it is considered part of that country, so if you put a foot inside a store and one outside, you're standing in both Italy and Vatican City.

She explained that Wetzel is teaching herself both French and Italian, adding that you don't want to learn both simultaneously.

Wetzel is full of stories about her travels and all the places she wants to visit, stating that she could talk about traveling for hours.

One of Wetzel's favorite things to talk about is her love for the history of Whitman County. Having worked at the Whitman County Gazette and looked through old articles, with a passion for history in general, Wetzel found herself drawn into the county's history.

During homeschooling, Wetzel found herself writing essays about Houdini and Titanic, "that love of history has just stayed with me, and so people look at Colfax and go it's Colfax," she said, passionately adding that there's so much history in the town.

"Sometimes you're just walking right by it and not even realizing," she added.

Wetzel decided to take her passion for the area's history and write about it. While looking through old articles, Wetzel found a report on a September 21, 1932, robbery in Colfax.

"I decided, well, there's so much history, why not incorporate it into something interesting to read instead of a history book," she asked excitedly.

Wetzel's book, "Blood and Money Don't Mix," a historical fiction/murder mystery, has gone through its first edit and is going into its second edit. Wetzel stated that her projected publishing date should be between September 1 and October 31, which she is excited about.

She plans to continue beyond just one book, though, she added, explaining that there's no way to fit all of the histories of Whitman County into just one book.

"My titles give a little bit of insight on what the book is going to be about," she added, noting that anyone interested can keep up with her writing process at her Facebook page https://m.facebook.com.EWetzelAuthor.

Wetzel currently lives in Colfax and shows her love of history by volunteering at the historic Perkins House and writing about and researching the area's history.

Homemade crackers:

1 ¼ cups flour ( I used whole wheat flour but all-purpose would work too)

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp smoked or regular paprika

4 Tbs butter

¼ cup water

1 Tbs honey or sugar

Sea salt or table salt to sprinkle on top

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Measure all dry ingredients out into a bowl, and cut the butter in until it looks like pea-sized clumps. Add the water and honey (or sugar) until just combined.

Lightly flour a baking sheet or pizza stone and roll the dough out thinly onto it. Use a pizza cutter or knife and cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for ten minutes.

Thicker rolled dough will result in more of a chewy cracker, not one that is crisp. Feel free to play with the amounts and types of seasoning to find your favorite flavor, I like garlic and Italian seasoning in my crackers.

Cream cheese and jelly pepper cracker spread:

Mix cream cheese and red pepper (or green jalapeno pepper) jelly together and spread on the cracker. There are no measurements for this, it's all on personal taste.

Cream cheese and hot sauce cracker spread

Mix cream cheese and hot sauce together and spread on the cracker. There are no measurements for this, it's all on personal taste.