My favorite recipes

Fran grew up in a tiny town in Saskatchewan, Canada, and after high school went to nursing school in Regina, the provincial capital, 100 miles away. After a year out of nursing school working in Regina, she and her close friend Agnes were ready for adventure, “to see the world and travel! We made it all the way to Spokane.”

They did know someone in Spokane, Agnes’ Aunt Mary and her husband, who helped to make them feel at home. Meanwhile, Uncle Walter had a nephew back on the farm in Dusty who was fresh out of Stanford University and a little bored. A blind date was arranged for Fran and Agnes to meet Leonard Jones and Dick Lothspeich.

All four young people were a little nervous, but Aunt Mary had prepared a wonderful dinner, and Uncle Walter’s stories helped break the ice. They went downtown for a drink and dancing, and Dick’s fears about dancing on a blind date seemed to disappear.

Fran’s mother came to visit her in Spokane and to meet Leonard. Her mom was charmed by Leonard, and he was an Irish Catholic, so that couldn’t be any better as far as she was concerned. The one difficulty was that Fran’s family in Canada was 900 miles from Dusty, so they only visited about every four years.

Fran and Leonard were married in a double wedding with Dick and Agnes Lothspeich in Spokane at Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral. The Jones newlyweds came home to Dusty, and the Lothspeichs made their new home in Grangeville, Idaho.

After marrying, Fran became a farm wife for about ten years, during which three boys came along-- Bryan, Bruce, and Warren. Then she worked as a private duty nurse. After their only daughter Gena was born, Fran did private duty nursing until she began working at the nursing home. After she retired in 1990, she became a farm wife again, delivering baby lambs.

Fran has been involved in Dusty BB Club, St. Patrick Altar Society and the Colfax Jaycees while it was active. In the 1980s, Fran and Len traveled to the British Isles, Spain and Italy.

All four of their children went to Gonzaga-in-Florence and graduated from Gonzaga University. Gena went to Italy to live in 1986; hence the travel to Italy.

Fran and Leonard spent several winters in Arizona after Bryan quit teaching and came home to farm in 1993. In 1996 they bought a manufactured house and located it on the site of their “honeymoon house.” Bryan moved to the larger home then.

Bruce and Hannah Jones live in Vermont with their two children, where he works for Costco. Warren and Julie live in Hayden, Idaho, and he works for University of Idaho at Coeur d’Alene in the Upward Bound program. Bryan farms at Dusty and raises peaches at Penawawa. His daughter Emilie lives in Spokane and is working on her master’s degree at Eastern Washington University.

Gena lives in the Italian Alps in a resort town, teaching English privately and renting out ski and snow equipment during the season. Gena’s daughter Meggie attends Walla Walla Community College and visits Fran frequently. Damien, Gena’s son, was here last year for school at Colfax High School. He will graduate from his Italian high school this spring.

For fun Fran enjoys watching basketball, reading a lot, and some knitting. She attends Dusty BB Club and works on their projects and attends church at St. Joseph in LaCrosse or St. Patrick in Colfax.

She helps Bryan by being his livestock watcher, working as his flagger and helping in the peach orchard. Her friend Agnes still lives in Grangeville. Dick Lothspeich died just two months after Leonard. So, many years after coming to Spokane together on an adventure, Agnes and Fran keep in touch and talk often on the phone.

Recipes:

Peach Cobbler

For the topping, sift together:

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut in 1/4 cup butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine 1/4 cup milk and 1 slightly beaten egg. Add all at once to dry ingredients, stirring just to moisten. Set aside.

Prepare peach filling:

4 cups sliced peaches

1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon butter

Combine cornstarch, mace, brown sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add peaches, juice and butter, cooking until peaches are hot, about 5 minutes.

Pour into 8 1/4-inch by 1 3/4-inch round baking dish. Immediately spoon on topping in six mounds. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Squash Soufflé

5-pound yellow squash, about 3-4 cups cooked

4 large eggs, beaten

1 large can evaporated milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 of a red or yellow pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Cook squash until tender; drain. Mix all ingredients together and bake in a 9 x 13-inch pan at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or more. Before removing from oven, check center with a knife to see if it comes out clean.

Be sure to serve piping hot!

Swedish Rye Bread

Requested by a Gazette reader who is a fan of this delicious bread.

2 packages or 1 1/2 Tablespoons dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup warm (not hot) water

1 1/2 cups white flour

Make a sponge with above ingredients and set aside for yeast to begin working.

2 cups scalded milk

1 Tablespoon salt

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup dark Karo syrup

1 cup hot water

5 Tablespoons soft butter or margarine.

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

3 cups light rye flour

1 cup white flour

1 teaspoon anise seed

6 1/2 cups white flour

Mix together scalded milk, salt, molasses, dark Karo and hot water. Add butter and other ingredients and mix well. Then add the yeast sponge that was prepared first.

Add about 6 cups more white flour. 1/2 cup of white flour is for flouring the board. Knead well. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down and cut into 5 small or 4 large loaves. Place in greased pans and allow to rise to top of pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. Remove from pans to cool on racks.

Since there are no preservatives in this bread, use it within one or two days or freeze it. My family enjoys it toasted.