My Favorite Recipes: Meet Diana King, Colfax

Diana and Andy King with Sadie.

Diana and Andy King are recent arrivals to Colfax from Anaheim Hills, Calif., which is about 20 minutes from Disneyland. Andy grew up in Colfax, while Diana is from Ohio. They bought their home a year before they moved to Colfax. Now Andy is right across the street from his boyhood pal, Mike Hall.

Diana was born in Marietta, Ohio, and the family moved to the Columbus area after her grandparents retired from their farm. They grew vegetables and had greenhouses for flowers and plantings of peonies. During World War II, her father was in charge of rubber rationing, returning to farming after the war. Her mother taught home economics and physical education.

Growing up on a vegetable farm meant the children all learned how to work out of necessity. One day the kids and their dad were out in the fields, and at 10 o’clock, it was getting very hot. Her mother came out and said the kids needed a break because of the heat. Dad responded, “Bring ‘em hats!” Mom also worked in the fields. Diana’s birthday celebration was always delayed until after Memorial Day because the family needed to work at their roadside stand selling flowers and vegetables.

After high school, Diana attended Bowling Green University for two years, followed by two years flying with Trans World Airlines, and then she married. Her family passes allowed her parents to fly to her brother’s football games for free while he played at Iowa State University. Larry was a biochemistry major who surprised his family when he graduated and headed to seminary. He was a United Church of Christ-Congregational minister.

Diana knew he had some special qualities because of his family relationships. He also supported his fraternity when they pledged their first black member. He last served a church in Seattle, where he was active with the Salvation Army, helped build shower facilities in a park for the homeless and helped place mental health patients with professional services. He married when he was 57 and died less than a year later.

Diana recently retired after working for 19 years for a trade show company supporting the sales crew. The company has 27 offices in the United States and Europe.

Andy’s grandmother was Anna King, who owned King’s Bookstore. The name is misleading, since she also sold toys, clothes and about everything else. Andy’s brother Steve lives in Colfax. Andy continues to work in asphalt paving, flying to work in southern California. When sales goals are met, the company takes employees on trips. They loved the trip to Jamaica.

Actually, Andy prefers to drive tractors for Craig Willson, which he does in his off-time. Sometimes Diana can watch him from her kitchen window, which features a great view of Colfax, Buck Canyon and Steptoe Butte. Andy and Craig Willson worked together as teenagers.

The other family member living in their new home is Sadie, a poodle-cross dog which was bought for Diana, but has velcroed herself to Andy, “like a needy girlfriend,” he explained. They have enjoyed a number of dogs and cats over the years. One cat stayed at their neighbor’s home for a couple of weeks. It seemed to enjoy the man’s organ playing in the evening, sitting on a little stool nearby.

Diana and her first husband divorced when her son Darin was three-years-old. She was determined to teach him to cook, sew on buttons and iron. He is pretty resourceful. She had to watch her budget carefully, and he became a great worker and saver. He is a financial advisor in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., where he also is a volunteer fire captain. As a college student, he had to be very persuasive in order to get his Chevron card.

Darin received his grandmother’s diamond ring, which he had reset, to give to his bride, Lara. They were married in a meadow in Mammoth, using an old fire truck to shuttle guests from the parking lot to the meadow. After working as a journalist, Lara moved to working for the Mammoth Visitors’ Bureau. She travels quite a lot to spread the word about Mammoth, including to Australia and Texas recently.

Diana enjoys knitting and crocheting, and she has the yarn to prove it. She attended the quilt guild meeting recently, signing up seven members to start a knitting and crocheting group, which will meet at Diana’s home. She plans to sell some of her knitted and crocheted items at a booth at First Thursday in Colfax.

She and Andy did a lot of ocean fishing, chasing tuna all the way to Mexico in their ocean fishing boat, Lead Dog. They have amassed an impressive supply of salt water and fresh water fishing gear. They also like to ride Harleys and enjoy trailer camping.

Their guest rooms in their spacious home have themes. One is the fishing and hunting room with some antler mounts and the fishing rod collection, with themed comforters and accessories. The other room is a red, white and blue room with flag motifs.

Diana’s mother taught her to cook. She remembers standing on a little stool next to her mother. Her mother was also their 4H leader. Zippers, with much ripping out and redoing, caused tears.

Recipes:

Sweet Potato Souffle

Perfect for Thanksgiving,

possibly for dessert!

Before you start, set out butter to warm to room temperature (soft)!

3 cups drained and mashed speed potatoes – using canned, use one large (40 ounces) and one small (15 ounces)

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter (1/2 full stick), soft

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all of the above ingredients. Mix and blend by hand; if you use a mixer it will turn to mush. Pour into baking dish and top with topping.

Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or 1/2 of full stick, soft

1/2 cup self-rising flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine ingredients. Mix and blend by hand and pour on top of souffle mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F until topping is light brown. Average portions will serve 10 people.

Heavenly Fillets

2 pounds fish fillets

2 Tablespoons lemon juice – to rub on fish only

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter softened. Lay out EARLY unless you make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate until needed. Then you will just need to stir.

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons chopped green onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash hot pepper sauce

Rub fish fillets with lemon juice and lay a single layer on a well-greased 16x10-inch baking dish and let stand about 10 minutes.

Unless you have already done so, combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.

Broil fish about four inches from heat for 6-8 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.

Remove from heat and spread generously with cheese mixture.

Broil 2-3 minutes longer or until lightly browned.

Serve on rice – optional.

Chicken Burrito Casserole

5 cooked chicken breasts or a broasted chicken, stripped of meat

8 frozen burritos (any kind and can mix them)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small can/jar green olives, sliced

1 cup milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Optional – top with salsa or sour cream

Either boil chicken breasts or strip a broasted or rotisseried chicken (easiest). If you use the chicken breasts, remove skin and bones and cut into chunks.

Place meat in the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.

Defrost burritos just enough to be able to slice each into four or five pieces. Place pieces on top of chicken layer.

In a separate bowl, mix the two cans of soup, milk, a handful of grated cheese and the sliced olives to your desired amount.

Pour mixture over the chicken and burritos. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with grated cheese to cover well.

Cover and bake for one hour at 325 degrees F.

Uncover and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes until hot and bubbling in the center.

Cut into individual servings and top with salsa or sour cream if desired.

Anytime

Jello Salad

1 large package (double size) orange jello

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with juice

1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained

1 small container of Cool Whip

1 small can frozen orange juice

1 small package lemon instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 1/4 cups hot water

1/2 cup large grated cheddar cheese (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve orange jello in 2-1/4 cups boiling hot water.

Add to dissolved jello:

1 can frozen orange juice

1 can undrained crushed pineapple

1 can drained mandarin oranges

Chill overnight in refrigerator or until set in glass 9x14-inch baking dish (not sure of exact size).

Topping

Mix:

One small package lemon instant pudding in two cups cold milk. Mix well until it starts to thicken.

Add small container of Cool Whip to pudding mixture and mix well.

When mixture is blended, spread over the set jello mixture. Put back in refrigerator until ready to serve. Best if it sets for at least an hour.

At serving time, sprinkle 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese on top of each serving, if desired. Put on just before serving, as it tends to get hard.