My Favorite Recipes: Meet Mike and Monica Omstead

Mike and Monica, as of January 2019, are the new on-site operators and have made a significant investment in the business portion of the Boyer Park Marina and Campground on the Snake River.

Moving to Washington from Tucson, Ariz., where the couple of 31 years owned and operated a successful remodeling business for the past 30 years, they both decided it was time to make a change.

"We had done a little traveling in the past few years and thought the campground atmosphere was a good fit for us," Monica said.

This is the couple's first time at running a campground.

"It's been a little more challenging than we anticipated, but we are still very excited about this awesome opportunity, " she said.

"When we visited Boyer Park & Marina KOA as perspective on-site owner/operators, we loved the park and felt at home. Our goal in being here is to have it continue to be a place where friends and families can make wonderful memories, as well as give our competitive fishermen a place to be while they do what they love doing. I'm not sure of how we will be improving, but our goal is to take an already very lovely campground and work it to its fullest potential, keeping up the beauty that is already established," Monica noted.

As to what amenities will be available, the store will have basic needs items as well as some gift shop items for adults and children. The restaurant will be offering a limited menu, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"We are planning to focus on pizza with fresh toppings as well as salads, burgers, hotdogs and fries."

They are looking to add some paddle boats and kayaks to utilize in the swimming area and possibly some trikes/bikes in the near future. They also are envisioning getting the River Cruisers to make Boyer Park a stop again and host some local entertainment sometime down the road.

In their spare time, Mike enjoys home projects and restoring old trucks, while Monica prefers crafts and sewing. They share a love for thrift and both love spending time with family and are really missing them, being so far away.

"We have noticed, without a doubt, that we are in a community of very friendly and supportive people, and we really appreciated that. This is a huge undertaking and we want to do it right and make it good for all. We appreciate all the people that have been so kind and understanding of our learning process and to the Port, which has been great to work with. We also want to mention that we cannot do this alone and want to recognize our helpers, Jon and Karen Tyson, for all they do and have to offer in order to get this up and running like a well-oiled machine."

Recipes

Cherry Dump Cake

Good served warm with ice cream, but not so bad cold, either.

Mix two cans of Comstock cherry pie filling with a small can of crushed pineapple and spread it out in baking dish. Cover with one box of dry yellow cake mix, slice one-plus sticks of butter in thin slices and cover the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.

Sweet Potato Soup

1 Tbsp. oil

1 cups onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarter-inch cubes (4 cups)

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp.cumin

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 (14.5 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, undrained and cut up

1 cup frozen corn

1 (4.5 oz.) can green

chilies, undrained

3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir for five to seven minutes or until onions are tender. Stir in sweet potatoes, broth, cumin, oregano and chili powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender.

Using a potato masher, mash sweet potatoes until smooth. There can be chunks, as desired. Stir in tomatoes, corn, chilies and cilantro. Cook over medium heat for five to seven minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Makes five 1-1/2 cup servings.