My Favorite Recipes: Meet Katey Schlomer, Winona
March 14, 2019
From early on, Katey Schlomer wanted to live in the middle of nowhere with a driveway two miles long.
"My grandparents were farmers, so that's where that connection and love comes in," said Katey.
Ironically, that long driveway is exactly what her husband Mike Schlomer gave her with their home in Winona on his family's farm.
Katey grew up in Moses Lake and then moved to Ellensburg which is where she was living when she met Mike. The farm scene in Whitman County had one thing that caught her by surprise: the lack of irrigation that she had grown up with.
One drawback to living so far out is the time it takes to get anywhere, which includes an off-the-farm job. After son Karl was born in 2014, Katey wanted to contribute to the family financially, but in a way that she could still be there for her children.
"We didn't want somebody else raising our kids," Katey said. She found a way to satisfy both desires through direct sales and started off selling Mary Kay. After their next son Wyatt was born in 2017, Katey made the switch to Pampered Chef and has really enjoyed it.
"I love cooking and baking," she said, adding she likes all the cool gadgets she gets to play with as well.
Although she lives so far out, Katey is able to keep her Pampered Chef business rolling with mostly "virtual" parties instead of the traditional in-person ones. Virtual parties are conducted on-line, usually through Facebook. Over the course of a week, Katey posts games, product information and cooking tips for different parties. She regularly posts cooking videos with recipes to be more interactive.
Her boys have also gotten in on the Pampered Chef fun. They have learned to recognize the change in her voice when she is recording a video and come running to help. Karl likes to help mixing, stirring, adding ingredients and showing off items, usually holding them way too close to the camera or where they can't be seen as well.
"I help," he likes to say as they cook. Katey has noticed he is even pretending to make videos like her when playing with his toy food and grill.
Working with kids, even from home, is not always easy. Katey recalled one day while she was making a video that Karl grabbed the phone and yelled into it "It's the funny farm!" then threw the phone on the counter and ran off screaming. The interruptions are likely to increase as Wyatt is now climbing up to look at the videos, too.
The unreliable farm internet also poses a hurdle in running a home-based, on-line centered business. At first, Katey would have to pack up the kids and go to her in-law's to use their internet. Now, she uses a post scheduler which posts things to parties for her at a pre-determined time. She is able to run multiple parties, but not get mixed up or be bogged down by sketchy internet service.
By being more virtual, Katey is able to reach a larger group of people, not bound by geography. A recent party she put on had guests from Georgia participating.
Katey tries to schedule her work schedule around her family, devoting the time the kids "should" be asleep to work. Her goal is to put in two to three hours of work a day, usually in the morning or during afternoon quiet time. Quiet time work is coming together a lot in part because Karl is also motivated for mommy to do her work. Katey is working toward an incentive of a trip for four to Disneyland. Karl is excited to see Mickey Mouse, so he willingly submits to quiet time so mommy can get him that trip.
While Katey enjoys the Pampered Chef work, she is first and foremost a farm mama.
"Life on the funny farm," as she puts it. As a farm wife she is often called on to go into Colfax for parts runs, but tries to avoid taking the boys because JTI has such a big toy section she has to keep them out of.
The boys love the farm life, too. They like to go to the shop and take rides on the combine and tractor. During harvest, Karl will pack a lunch bag with snacks and go out with dad on the combine.
As a family, they like to have movie nights and read together. When Katey started doing paint nights in Endicott, Karl became jealous, so she bought him paint stuff and they do paint nights at home together.
If she can find free time, Katey likes to read and quilt. She tries to sneak away for a weekend to quilt with a friend in Ellensburg. She also enjoys horseback riding and has done a lot of mountain horseback riding. The goal this spring is to go riding with Mike more.
"I absolutely love it," she said of her funny farm life. While she can't make a quick run into the store and cell service is spotty, she loves the peaceful life with no neighbors peering in her window and the freedom the boys experience playing carefree outside.
Recipes:
Colorado Peach Cobbler
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. All-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 cups sliced, peeled, fresh peaches
Topping
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cold buttercups
1 egg, beaten
Ice cream, optional
In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add peaches; stir to coat. Pour into a greased 11x7-inch baking pan.
For topping, in a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt; cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in egg. Spoon over peaches. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden. Serve hot or cold with ice cream, if desired.
Yields 8-10 servings.
French Bread
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. honey
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
3-1/2 to 4-1/2 cups flour
Combine water, honey, salt and yeast in a glass bowl. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until there's some budding, foamy stuff on top.
Knead in flour until no longer sticky.
Cover with towel and let sit for 15 minutes while preheating the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut slits in the top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
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