My favorite recipes

Tommi Sue and Paul Ahmann have had home improvement projects going since they bought their home just outside of Colfax in 2001. Before they moved in, Paul replaced the roof.

A beautiful stained glass window in their door welcomes you into their home. Their transformed kitchen is huge and open, with plenty of room for cooks and diners. Outside, they replaced the little shed over the well with a greenhouse and have landscaped a large area.

Now in process, a berm will shield their home from noise and dust on the curve where it is located. A large lawn and fruit and nut trees, primarily peaches and almonds, are flourishing. Thornless raspberries, both red and golden varieties, provide lots of sun-drenched fruit in the summer. Their vegetable garden yields tomatoes, potatoes, corn, radishes, green beans and carrots.

There is also room for a few sheep. Sons Ben and Gabe have shown lambs the last three or four years. Members of Colfax River’s Edge 4H Club, they get their lambs at the end of school and spend the summer feeding and training them. The 4H group is growing and includes a variety of animals.

As part of the 4H program, Tommi Sue teaches a cooking class each year. This year’s class was making desserts, and they’ve made a Mexican meal and an Italian meal. The linguine with clam sauce didn’t get a lot of rave reviews from the kids, she remarked. Apparently Colfax kids are not fans of clams.

A graduate of Pullman High School, Tommi Sue Motley spent a semester at WSU before going to business school in Yakima. She began working in banking, beginning as a teller. She and Paul Ahmann met on a blind date and went to see the movie “Titanic,” which she’d seen before. Trying not to give away the movie was a challenge.

They began dating in April, became engaged in September, and married January 2, 1999. Paul, who grew up in Chehalis, works at the Washington State Department of Transportation shop near Steptoe as the shop foreman. He pulls some long hours in winter keeping the plow trucks on the road. Two nasty winters in a row were tiring.

Ben, 13, is in seventh grade at Colfax Junior-Senior High School, and Gabe, 12, is a sixth grader at Jennings Elementary.

Daughter Brittany Phelps, 23, is a WSU graduate who has almost finished graduate school in Spokane in speech language pathology. Greg Phelps, 21, is a junior at Western Washington University and majoring in management information systems. He has discovered that he enjoys improv comedy and has traveled as far as Chicago to perform.

A member of St. Patrick’s Church, Tommi Sue is serving as Altar Society treasurer. She also heads up organizing meals for funerals, new moms, and anyone who needs the assistance. She might even be found in a primary level religious education class as a substitute. Paul is a third and fourth grade teacher in the program.

Hazel Motley taught Tommi Sue to cook. Grandma Motley was the ranch cook for Harold Boyd’s ranch crew. Tommi Sue spent a whole summer with Grandma while her mother was working and acquired a love for cooking. Her family’s favorites include homemade pizza baked on a pizza stone—the kids’ friends’ favorite, too—steak and homemade bread. Ben and Gabe are growing fast, so she’s cooking more these days!

Recipes:

Flank Steak Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup oil

3 Tablespoons steak sauce, such as A-1

3 Tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons barbecue sauce

2 Tablespoons dried minced onion or 1/2 of a finely chopped onion

1 Tablespoon liquid smoke-optional

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 fresh garlic clove, crushed

You can marinate any kind of steak in this marinade, but flank steak is our favorite. It is best if you marinate the meat overnight, but you can just marinate it for the day, too!

Chicken Strips

1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

1 package of saltine crackers - crushed fine

3 Tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (Kraft kind) or freshly grated

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease it with cooking spray or Crisco. Take boneless chicken breasts and slice them into thin strips, about 1 inch in thickness and set aside. Place saltine crackers in a plastic ziplock bag and run a rolling pin over the top to crush them fine; place in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add the Parmesan and mix.

In another shallow dish melt the butter on the stove or in the microwave oven. Put the melted butter in another shallow dish and add the Worcestershire sauce, mix well.

Dip the chicken strips in the butter mixture and then roll them in the cracker crumb mixture. Place the breaded strips on the baking sheet that is covered with foil.

When all the strips are completed, place baking pan in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Check them after 10 minutes and see if they are lightly browned. If not, let them bake a few more minutes.

These are good dipped in ranch dressing.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup reduced-fat plain yogurt

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup unsweetened fresh or frozen raspberries

1 Tablespoon sliced almonds

Glaze:

1/4 cup confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1 teaspoon fat-free milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the egg, yogurt, butter and vanilla; add to dry ingredients until just moistened.

Coat 8-inch round pan with cooking spray; spoon in 2/3 of the batter. Combine the brown sugar and raspberries; sprinkle over the batter. Spoon remaining batter over the top. Sprinkle with almonds.

Bake at 350 degrees for for 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly.