My Favorite Recipes: August 22, 2019

Kristen Jones has a lot of respect for the people of Colfax.

“We moved to Colfax four years ago from Moscow. We chose Colfax because we wanted a place with land,” she said. “I like the people out here. We’ve never had better neighbors than we do out here. I don’t always see them all the time, but they’ll plow our driveway, help mend fences, and come over if we need help. The people here are second to none, and I’ve lived in a lot of places. It doesn’t matter what your background is or what church you go to, it doesn’t affect the way people will stop to help you regardless of your situation.”

“Rob and I knew a guy from the military who came out to Moscow so his wife could go to law school, and he worked for SEL. Rob’s security clearances fit what they needed, and we haven’t looked back.”

Kristen was born in Connecticut on a naval base and spent the bulk of her childhood in Kentucky, Florida and Connecticut. After her father was discharged from the Navy, he worked for several glass companies.

“I spent my teen years living in an upscale area where people put your value as a person on your clothes or your car,” Kristen said. “That’s another reason I love Colfax – nobody cares! How is what car my mom drives a reflection on me?”

Kristen graduated from Enrico Fermi High School in 2001 and immediately joined the Army with the intent of learning Chinese and becoming a cryptologic linguist.

Sept. 11, 2001, changed everything for her.

“I was at basic during Nine-Eleven,” she said. “It was our first day on the rifle range. Everybody has their own perspective of what happened that day, but I can honestly say our group of people were some of the only ones who weren’t allowed to watch what was happening. We had to take their word for it. They relayed what was going on.”

Kristen’s training group was not permitted to read the newspaper, watch the news, or read magazines.

“For a long time, it didn’t feel like it was real,” she admitted. “I didn’t see the people jumping out of buildings or see the buildings fall or watch the round-the-clock news coverage. I had joined to learn Chinese, but then Nine-Eleven happened and suddenly I was learning Arabic.”

After she left basic training, Kristen was stationed in Monterey, Calif., at the Defense Language Institute and spent two years there learning Arabic. It was there she met her husband, Rob, who was also studying to become a cryptologic linguist.

“We had been dating for about six months when I found out I was pregnant with Jake,” she said. They married in December of 2003.

“Jake would be mortified if I shared our proposal story,” she said. “It wasn’t an ideal circumstance, but it has worked out for almost 16 years. He was going to Germany and if we didn’t get married, I was going to have to devote myself to being a single parent and possibly never see him again. So, we got married. It has worked out! We love each other. We’re each other’s best friend. We’re too lazy together to even think about cheating or starting another relationship. I have my hands full with him! We will be civil and live in the same house until we die.”

Jake was born in May of 2004. Unfortunately, her pelvis was broken during her delivery and derailed her intentions to serve overseas.

“[I regret it] a little,” she said. “I would have liked to put to use what I learned instead of doing it from a base 2,000 miles away.”

Kristen was medically discharged in late spring of 2005.

“I went back to college after Rob came back from Iraq the first time. I studied to be a nurse,” she said. Kristen received her associates in nursing in 2009 and began working soon after. When the family came to the Inland Northwest from Virginia in 2011, she decided to become a stay-at-home mom.

“I was 17-weeks pregnant with Davy,” she said. “I started looking into childcare prices and got sticker-shock! My whole paycheck would have gone into childcare.”

Now, she’s a hobby-farmer. “I teach my chickens to do tricks,” she said. “I taught them to dance on command. I taught one, and she taught two others and they can all do it on command now. Now I’m teaching the original one to play the xylophone.”

The family has a “zoo”: Two Icelandic sheep, four Nigerian dwarf goats, eight chickens “of various kinds,” two dogs, three cats and two birds.

“I sell eggs and wool,” she added.

Rob currently works in cyber-security writing security protocols and measures for Schweitzer Engineering Labs, which are implemented for SEL’s government services.

Together, the family enjoys being active.

“We love to go hiking and walking together,” she said. “On any given late-afternoon we will be walking around downtown as a family, usually playing Pokémon Go. It’s my motivator to get up and move,” she added. “We love the trail in Colfax that goes up the train bridge by the nature preserve. I’ve done Beat the Blerch for the last few years. I’ve done the half-marathon with Rob and Jake did the 10k. Last year I did the 5k with Davy.”

The kids are also showing interest in cooking.

“We’re in the middle of renovating our kitchen to make it bigger so more than one person can be in there at the same time,” she said. “When it’s done, the kids will each have one night a week where they help me cook. They get to pick the meal and we will cook it together.”

Kristen said she learned to cook when she and Rob got married.

“I could have burned water before that,” she joked. “My mom tried to teach me when I was growing up – I had an interest in cooking for a while. She made a lot of stuff with meat in it that used the oven or the stove, but it has to rest for this amount of time. As a child, it’s hard to grasp that unless you’re Master Chef Junior or something. Mostly it was ‘heat up this can of chili, cook this mac ‘n cheese.’ If you’re fancy, cut up hot dogs and add them to mac n’ cheese.”

Rob, because of his family background, had much more experience.

“They were missionaries,” she said. “They spent some time in India and had a much better palate than I did. He introduced me to spices I’d never even heard of. We started cooking together and I started modifying recipes. We love Indian food, it’s our M.O. It’s super easy to bridge something meat heavy into something vegetarian.”

The family ventured into vegetarian cooking this past December - “Davy triggered that,” she said. “We went to Universal, and the food is ungodly expensive. We would try to choose the cheapest thing on the menu. One night it was chicken wings, which we got for Jake and Davy. Davy bit into his and hit bone and it occurred to him that he was eating an animal. It was really traumatic,” she said. “To him, eating parts of chicken in a basket is no different than slaughtering one of his pet chickens he loves. Fortunately, Rob grew up vegetarian, and my whole family is now vegan. So, his family has resources, my family has resources, and we’ve been able to try new recipes together. For a woman who never had spice in anything when I was growing up, my mom has certainly become more adventurous since becoming vegan!”

Kristen said the hardest thing is adapting meals they previously loved and making them vegetarian for Davy.

“He’s okay with broth and stuff – we’ve explained where it comes from and he says he just doesn’t want to eat the meat,” she said. “We will make lemon butter chicken and use a Gardeen chicken patty for him. There are a lot of options out there that a lot of people don’t realize exist,” she added. “Some are good – you need to find what works for you. Some [vegetarians] prefer not to do any substitutes. I think it’s healthier not to go with a substitute because you’re cutting down on your processed foods. Sometimes, you just need a meat substitute.”

Her favorite meal? “Butter lentil curry is by far one of my favorites. It’s so easy and so good, and everyone loves it! It calls for a vidalia onion, a can of coconut milk, any kind of lentil – I like red lentils, I think brown lentils taste like dirt – half a thing of tomato paste, and then spices as I go. Davy is a big cheese person which is why he can’t go vegan. His favorite thing to put in curry is paneer.”

Recipes:

Butter curry lentils

Serves 4-6 depending on portions

1/2 large vidalia onion,

diced

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup of lentils, washed

and drained (I prefer

red lentils)

2 cups of water

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garam masala,

to taste

3-4 Tbsp curry powder,

to taste

1 Tbsp mustard pow-

der

1 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp salt, to taste

1 can, 14 oz, full fat

coconut milk

1/2 of a small (6oz) can

of tomato paste

2 Tbsp butter

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent.

Add lentils and garam masala to onion mixture and stir to combine. After 30 seconds, add half of the water and stir.

Add curry powder, cumin, mustard powder, paprika, and half the salt. Stir and add the remaining water to cover the lentils.

Simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are almost done, adding small amounts of water if necessary.

Add the coconut milk and mix well. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, then add tomato paste. Mix well and add more salt and curry powder to taste.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

We eat this dish over a bed of cauliflower rice, topped with cilantro, and served with warm naan.

Lemon butter chicken

Serves 4

4 chicken thighs or breasts (I prefer boneless, skinless thighs)

2 tsp smoked paprika

Kosher salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 – 3 (or 10) cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1, 6oz bag of baby

spinach, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon (add the zest if you want extra lemon flavor)

1 Tbsp chopped fresh

thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

Cooked zucchini noodles

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Season the chicken thighs or breasts with paprika, salt, and pepper and toss to coat.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear it for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until it’s golden brown. Remove the chicken and set it aside.

Reserve 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan and drain the excess. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the baby spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice, thyme, and lemon zest (if using).

Return the chicken to the skillet, and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.

For our vegetarian, we substitute a chicken thigh with a meatless chicken patty substitute, like Morningstar Chik’n Patty.

Serve warm over a bed of cooked zucchini noodles.

Meatless loaf

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 medium yellow

onion, chopped

2-17 (chef’s choice)

cloves garlic, minced or

pressed

5 oz. extra firm tofu,

drained

1/4 cup walnuts, finely ground

12 oz. vegetarian meat crumbles

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats

1 large egg, beaten

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp ketchup (additional for topping)

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp each thyme,

sage, and rosemary

Ketchup to taste

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray a loaf pan.

Sauté celery, onion, and garlic on high heat in a sprayed skillet for 5 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and cool.

Mash the tofu in a large bowl. Stir in the cooked mixture and remaining ingredients, and combine well.

Spoon the mixture into a loaf pan. Top with a layer of ketchup.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Roasted butternut squash Alfredo

1/2 pound fettuccine

noodles

For the sauce:

1/2 cup cashews,

soaked for at least 2

hours

1 1/2 cup vegetable

broth

1 1/2 cups roasted butternut squash

2 Tbsp white miso

2 Tbsp nutritional

yeast (optional)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon

juice

For the rest:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow

onion, quartered and

thinly sliced

3 or more cloves garlic,

minced

1 tsp dry rubbed sage

3/4 cup dry white wine,

optional (I’ve made it

without, sauce is thick-

er, but not bitter)

Several dashes fresh

black pepper

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

For garnish:

Extra roasted squash

Pepitas, or chopped

pecans, walnuts or

hazelnuts

Once the squash has roasted, bring a salted pot of water to boil for the pasta. When boiling, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, drain the cashews and place them in a blender with the vegetable broth. Blend until very smooth.

Rub sauce between your finger and when hardly any grittiness remains, add the roasted butternut, miso, nutritional yeast (if using) and lemon juice. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to make sure you get everything.

While the sauce is blending, start the onions. Preheat a large, deep sauce pan over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil and a pinch of salt for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned.

Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, just until fragrant. Mix in the sage and pepper.

Then add the wine, if using, and salt and turn the heat up to bring wine to a boil. Let boil for about 2 minutes, to reduce a little.

Turn down the heat to medium low. Now add the butternut cream to the pan, and stir to incorporate the onions and everything. Heat through, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. The sauce should thicken a bit. Taste for salt and seasonings.

Add the pasta, and toss to coat. Serve topped with additional roasted squash and a sprinkle of nuts.