My favorite recipes

Karrie Marsh moved from the Yakima Valley via Bridgeport to Colfax when her husband, Buck, was hired as the new principal at Colfax High School.

Farming has been their family vocation for generations. Her maternal grandparents, and now uncles, are orchardists in the Yakima Valley. Dad’s side, including grandparents and now her brother, grow irrigated row crops. Her father and brother also do custom spraying. Her grandmother bought the field adjoining her home and would only allow mint to be planted because she loved the scent of mint.

When Karrie was a child, watermelon harvest was her favorite time. Her dad broke open watermelons to check for ripeness, and they were allowed to eat the heart. He also raised sweet corn and gave it to neighbors who brought them produce that they didn’t grow, such as pumpkins. She recalls buying her first apple after she came to WSU.

Her parents now bring produce, which is most welcome, when they visit.

After Karrie’s brother graduated from WSU with a degree in agriculture and returned to the farm, he found it a challenge to acquire mint acreage, but was ultimately successful. Her family owns a mint distillery. The staff hands out clear mint candies to people who come to visit.

Among the visitors were Buck’s summer students from a program for disadvantaged students.

After graduating from Toppenish High School, Karrie earned a degree in elementary education at WSU and taught at St. Joseph Marquette in Yakima, where Buck was teaching middle school science.

After their first daughter was born, she became a stay-at-home mom. Buck was principal at St. Paul’s School in Yakima, and then moved to the public school system.

They moved from the Yakima Valley to Bridgeport, where he was middle school principal and the district’s athletic director.

The Marsh family arrived in Colfax in early July after Buck was hired as the principal. They have four children: Elizabeth, who will soon be 9, Meredith, 7, Audrey, 4, and Charlie who will be 3 in November.

With a busy principal husband and four children, they make family dinner important. They sit down together and each one tells their favorite thing about their day. They play other conversation games, and on Sunday they have “Sunday Questions.” Each family member asks a question which everyone else answers. The goal is that each one listens as well as speaks. Wednesday night is their family night.

Karrie came from a family of cooks who prepared local foods in quantity.

When Karrie’s mom returned to work as an accountant, she, her older brother, and three younger sisters were assigned turns cooking dinner. Since Karrie enjoyed it, she took more than her share of cooking turns. She doesn’t like baking because it requires “all that measuring,” and she seldom follows recipes, but uses them for ideas.

In Bridgeport, Karrie decided to make refried beans at home, and it took a year to nail her new recipe, as she didn’t want to use lard or bacon in the recipe. Her mom made terrific lunches for them. Mom’s turkey sandwich on French bread with cheese, lettuce and tomato were popular with Karrie’s friends, as she promptly traded them for her friends’ tacos and burritos.

One of the family’s challenges, since they were so rooted in Yakima, is getting acquainted and developing friends and support. One new Colfax neighbor made a map of the neighborhood with names and phone numbers.

Recipes:

Chicken Chili

Boil 4 chicken breast and shred.

Saute 3 cloves garlic & half an onion. Add chicken.

In crock-pot add:

(all 16 oz cans)

2 cans tomato sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans great northern beans

2 cans kidney beans

1 T pepper, or there about (I use less)

1-2 T Chili Powder to your taste

Stir in chicken mixture and let it cook!

Enchiladas

4 Tablespoons Oil

2 Tablespoons flour

1 Package Chili Seasoning

2 Chicken bouillon cubes

garlic powder to taste

salt and pepper to taste

corn tortillas

grated cheese

Mix the oil, flour and chili seasoning mix in the bottom of a frying pan. Let it warm up and cook together (maybe a minute). Begin pouring in hot water a little at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is gravy like. Add bouillon cubes, garlic powder, salt (quite a bit) and a little pepper. The sauce should end up being pretty thin.

Spray the bottom of a glass dish with cooking spray. Dip a tortilla in the sauce, add cheese and any other ingredients you would like (chicken, shredded beef, onion, olives, etc). Roll and place in pan. When done, cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce. Top with cheese and cover with foil. Bake at 325 – 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Refried Beans

1 onion, peeled and chopped

3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2-3 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Water—I just put in enough water so it looks like there is 2x more water more than beans

I usually soak the beans all morning, then rinse them and cook them in the afternoon for about 4 hrs or so.

Put everything into a large pot and cook for as long as you want/can. Then mash up the beans with a potato masher and let the liquid cook out. You need to stir often to keep getting the “stuff” off the bottom of the pan.

Pumpkin Bars

4 Eggs

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 cups oil

1 16oz can pumpkin

2 cups Flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoons baking soda

Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread batter on a 15 x 10 in pan (jelly roll pan). Bake at 350 for 25 min. Frost when cool.

Frosting:

1 3-ounce package cream cheese

cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Beat well with electric mixer and spread on cooled pumpkin bars.