My favorite recipes

The reputation of cops drinking coffee suffered a bit of a hit when people in Colfax realized that Colfax Chief of Police McNannay was frequently drinking his coffee at Fonk’s Coffeehouse. It happens that Rick became interested in law enforcement when he and his wife Marci owned a donut shop frequented by local police officers.

The McNannays bought Daylight Donuts in Pullman after Rick graduated from Washington State University in 1988, and they were one of three espresso stands in Pullman at the time. Espresso was new then. Rick didn’t drink coffee until he went back to college in 1984 and felt the need. After he started drinking fresh-ground coffee, he acquired a taste for premium coffee. When they lived in the eastern part of the country or visit there, good coffee was and is hard to find.

Marci and Rick enjoyed running the donut shop and it was a pleasure serving good coffee and fresh donuts. They were successful, but conversations with law enforcement people led Rick down a different path.

Rick likes French press coffee because it is not bitter. He started roasting coffee at home with a small roaster, which made enough for two or three pots of coffee. When it died, he began roasting beans in the oven at 475 degrees F. He roasts coffee for Christmas gifts and adds flavorings to some. He now makes a Chai-seasoned coffee.

However, roasting coffee in the house creates a lot of smoke, which is not so good in winter. Marci doesn’t drink coffee, so the smoke is not her favorite thing, but it is probably better than sheetrock dust, Rick notes. She doesn’t care for coffee, but his sons are beginning to like it.

Driving around the countryside 10 hours a day while he was a Whitman County deputy led Rick to an interest in old farm houses. The McNannays took the big plunge a decade ago and purchased an 1892 Victorian home just out of Colfax, which they have been rehabbing since then. It has a three-color exterior paint scheme. The interior walls have been taken down to the studs, and they have rewired and re-plumbed the house.

“Finding the balance between historically accurate and livable is the goal,” he said. For example, they had to add closets for functionality, although old houses of this era did not have them.

Enjoying the countryside with them is one large dog and three outdoor cats. They added an indoor cat when Marci received a small cat for Mother’s Day last year. It enjoys traveling with them, riding on the dash to enjoy the view from the car.

Instead of driving around looking at old farm houses, now they spend a lot of time searching for furniture and accessories for their old Victorian. Their beautiful old piano was a find on Craig’s List for free. However, it had been painted white. They stripped and refinished it, and it now is a showpiece of their home.

Marci and Rick grew up in Pasco and were high school sweethearts. After graduating from high school in 1977, Rick attended community college there for two years. He still was not sure what he wanted to do, so he turned his summer job in construction into a full-time job. He and Marci married, and he worked for a year at Hanford. When that job closed down, they lived in Detroit Beach, Mich., and Perry, Ohio, for one year each while he worked at nuclear power plants.

Their oldest son, Ryan, was born in Ohio. They returned to the west and added three more sons to the family. Now Ryan is a Pullman city police officer, Brendan is a dispatcher at Whitcom 911 center and Tyler and Kellen are at Eastern Washington University. Tyler will try out for football at EWU this fall. Kellen is interested in law enforcement.

For the McNannays, it is fun to see their kids thriving, stepping out from their parents’ shadows, becoming responsible and making good decisions. As he noted, these babies come into the world and there is no owner’s manual. It is up to the parents to figure out how the child learns, how to guide and discipline the child and when to give more independence.

Chief McNannay noticed that many people who want to work in law enforcement major in criminal justice, but he recommends psychology, social sciences and management for officers. His background in social sciences and business were good preparation, he feels. The psychology is helpful, as he is the area hostage negotiator. Marci is the records manager for the WSU Police Department.

After selling the donut shop in 1994, Rick served as a police officer in Moscow, riding a bicycle on the University of Idaho campus, which he enjoyed. He thought that the students were quite respectful. He became a Whitman County deputy in 1999 and moved to the Colfax Police Department to become chief in 2012. His biggest regret is that he did not get into police work earlier, but mused that sometimes you just have to follow your path.

Beekeeping, which he calls fascinating, is Rick’s most recent hobby. His family gave him a hive for Christmas in 2012 and he ordered bees in the spring. Cold weather is hard on them, so he is a bit worried about his bees after several warm up-cool down cycles this winter. Bees are not aggressive; it is yellow jackets that enjoy stinging people.

Beekeepers are promoting backyard beekeeping. Local honey is really good for people with allergies, since it contains small amounts of local pollens. Before allergy testing and allergy shots, eating local honey was one way to desensitize oneself. Beekeepers wear special gear and use smoke to protect themselves and calm the bees. Fresh honey from the comb is a tasty treat highly recommended by Rick.

Rick loves gardening, growing a lot of corn, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and piles of pumpkins to give away. He estimates they use about a quarter of what they grow, giving the rest away.

Rick is pretty much a breakfast cook, in addition to his coffee roasting interest. He prepares scrambled eggs, toast and pancakes. When Marci was working at dinnertime, he treated the boys to variations of Hamburger Helper meals. Marci is chief cook for the family, so the recipes are foods Rick enjoys. He is the chief coffee roaster.

Recipes:

Chicken Croissant Sandwich

6 plain croissants

3 cups cooked, cubed chicken

1 1/2 cups grapes, sliced in half

2 apples, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cups chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons lemon juice

lemon pepper

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, and lemon pepper (or substitute salt and pepper).

Fold in chicken, grapes, apples, and celery.

Cut croissants in half and spread with chicken mixture.

Fresh (Really Fresh) Roasted Chai Coffee

I’m not a cook by any stretch of the imagination but I do occasionally like to experiment with heat and food (if that can be called cooking). I enjoy coffee and have recently discovered the “hobby” of roasting my own coffee beans. Below is the process I use to create a very flavorful cup of coffee.

Before beginning it should be noted that your coffee will emit a lot of smoke. Therefore, I would recommend doing this on a warm day when it is possible to open the doors and windows. I roasted 7 pounds just before Christmas and, needless to say, my house smelled like fresh roasted coffee well into the New Year. Which I guess wasn’t that bad anyway!

I begin by spreading out a single layer of green coffee beans on a cookie sheet. It should be noted that green coffee beans will double in size during roasting so care should be taken not to overload the cookie sheet. Green coffee beans are available on-line and can be purchased according to your specific roast. Green beans can be stored for several months without losing any flavor. In contrast, once coffee is ground it begins to lose its flavor within 15 minutes.

Place the cookie sheet in a preheated oven to 475 degrees for 15 minutes. At about 3-4 minutes you will begin to hear the coffee “crack.” This is the first of two cracks that will occur. I recommend stirring the beans at about 7 minutes into the roast to ensure even roasting. Over the course of the remaining roasting period it is necessary to check the coffee for desired roast. You can remove the beans at any time after the second crack depending on the darkness of the roast you are trying to achieve.

After the coffee has been removed from the oven, place the roasted beans in a colander and take them outside. Gently toss the beans slightly to remove the chaff and cool the beans at the same time. After the beans have been cleaned it is recommended to let them sit for 24 hours to “off-gas” which reduces their acidity. I have brewed coffee immediately after roasting and have found that it is still a wonderful cup of coffee.

I have experimented with flavorings added to the roasted beans for variety. Flavors such as amaretto, Baileys and apple spice can be added after roasting if desired. My favorite is a chai spice blend which is added to the beans just prior to grinding. The amount of chai can be tailored to suit your liking. The recipe I use for the chai spice is below:

Pre-Ground Chai Spice Mix

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

This recipe utilizes pre-ground spices, which I recommend. I tried using whole spices to make a batch and it was pretty tough on my coffee grinder.