My favorite recipe - Meet Janet Leifer

Jana Mathia | Sep 23, 20100

Janet Leifer has done a lot of things over the years, but at 60 years of age she has finally found her calling.

“It’s amazing how God brings you around to different places in your life,” she said.

When Janet married her husband Jim, she told him that she couldn’t have children. Three months later they found out she was pregnant.

They moved to St. John 27 years ago. When they started out they didn’t own anything. Through hard work they now own their house and surrounding farm land. That land used to be home of the Iris Gardens which they worked for 18 years.

“I hate gardening; hate it with a passion,” Janet confessed.

When their daughters Larissa and Litney were eight and six, they became foster parents. They had about 65 foster children come through their home, and Janet still keeps in contact with many of them.

One of those foster children was a very special baby named Logan whom they ended up adopting when he was about four-years old.

Janet always enjoyed taking pictures of her kids and sharing those memories. Her refrigerator is covered with pictures of children that have come through their home.

“That was something I loved,” she said.

“My two most favorite people who came to the iris garden were photographers,” she said.

Five years ago Janet got her first digital camera and her passion for photography has blossomed into Leifer Photography, a passion she feels God gave her and she tries to use to bless others.

“I pray that my passion for what I’m doing comes through in my photography,” she said.

Janet’s shutter-bug hobby is well-known around St. John where she does the school and sports photography. She has also done 25 senior photos, LaCrosse-Washtucna sports, weddings and families in Whitman County, the Spokane area and beyond.

“I am just having a ball,” she said.

When people call, she tells them that the photography is her ministry and she prays she gets the right shot for that person.

Janet has always been energetic and creative, which helps fuel her photography. With digital cameras and computer programs, the creative possibilities are amazing, she noted. She is able to stage creative, fun shots and then play with colors on the computer, like a black and white photo with a single red colored rose.

Janet does pictures at locations around St. John, Whitman County and her own home. Their property was recently landscaped with multiple ponds and waterfalls that she uses for photo shoots. Inside the Leifer home, Janet has two rooms full of props and equipment for taking pictures. From her basement Janet manages her photos and two websites, one for her school sports photos and one for her other photos.

After sports games Janet can spend hours uploading pictures for students and families.

Her husband is 100 percent supportive of any of her endeavors, even as they take over the house.

“Jim is so supportive of anything I do,” Janet said.

Janet also welcomes people to her home as a place of peace and healing. She said she wants her home to be place of healing in a world with so much pain.

Another hobby she shares with others is her poetry. Several years ago she started writing poems when a loved one died. Now she also does poems for grads, weddings and special events or special people. Those poems go over pictures for the receiver.

Recipes:

Refrigerator Rolls

2 pkgs. Yeast, compressed or dry

1/2 cup water (lukewarm for compressed, warm for dry)

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup shortening

5 1/2 cup sifted enriched flour, about

1 egg—richer rolls use 2 eggs

Soften yeast in water. Scald milk and add sugar, salt and shortening. Cool to lukewarm. Add 2 cups flour. Beat well. Add softened yeast and egg. Mix well. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn out on lightly floured board or pastry cloth and knead until smooth and satiny.

Place in lightly greased bowl, cover and put into refrigerator or let rise in warm place until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Punch down, shape the desired amount of dough into rolls and let rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes). Form remaining dough into smooth ball. Grease surface lightly, cover and put into refrigerator. If dough rises in refrigerator, punch it down.

When wanted, remove dough from refrigerator and punch down. Mold at once into any shape, or, if preferred, let dough stand in a warm room for an hour before molding. Place in greased pans and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Bake in moderately hot oven (400 degrees) 15 to 20 minutes.

Taco Soup

1 lb. hamburger

1 can pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can cream corn

1 can whole corn

1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 pkg. taco mix

1 med. onion

1 can tomato juice to fill up

1 can diced tomatoes

You can use any kind of beans; don’t drain.

Brown hamburger and then mix remaining ingredients in large pot on stove until bubbling.

Jim’s Pizza Crust

For 1/5 lb. crust:

7 -8 oz. water

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. oil, olive or vegetable

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. Active dry yeast

For 2 lb. crust:

10-11 oz. water

3/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. oil, olive or vegetable

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. Active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients into bread pan. Select dough setting on bread maker and follow directions to mix dough then remove. Pat dough into 12 x 15 inch jelly roll pan or greased 12-inch for 1.5 lb., or 14 inch for 2 lb., round pizza pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread pizza sauce over dough. Sprinkle toppings over sauce. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.