My Favorite Recipes: March 26, 2020

Tucker Senter became a published author at the age of 15. Now 16 as of Sunday, he's working on writing a couple more books.

Tucker's first book, "Frank Morris: The Man Who Escaped Alcatraz" is a non-fiction about Frank Morris, a cousin of Senter's that he heard several stories about while growing up from his grandma.

"There's a lot of theories about him, and there's some books that have those theories in them, so I kind of wanted to write a book that was true," said Senter. He researched both Alcatraz as well as his family history to write the book, but got a lot of his material from the stories he grew up with.

"I was kind of interested in writing, so this was a way for me to share my information in a way that I know how," explained Senter.

Morris was a self-taught genius imprisoned in Alcatraz who escaped with the Anglin brothers on June 11, 1962. They are three of the five people to escape Alcatraz without being caught or killed in the process. Though all five are officially presumed to have died during the escape, at least for Morris and the Anglin brothers there has been potential evidence of survival over the years. The escape was partially successful due to the prisons location causing erosion to many of the buildings and the government cutting costs at the prison lessening the number of guards on duty.

"The prison was falling apart because of the salt water, so they were able to get through the wall. And then they had to cut down on staff because they didn't have enough money, so there wasn't enough guards," explained Senter.

Still writing, Senter has two more books in the works, both in the fiction genre. A sophomore in high school, he enjoys both English and history classes and his writing shows that.

Tucker, the son of Angela and Tom Senter, was born to and raised in Palouse where his family owns a ranch with a boarding stable. When he's not learning more about history or writing books, he enjoys hanging out at the ranch and riding horses.

Outside of writing and ranching, the teenage author shows goats for 4-H, pigs for FFA and is a part of the Sheriff's Posse which has trained him for search and rescue.

Senter's home doesn't have strong internet service, so he has done a lot of his research using books. This also means that he has some struggles with the current situation with school being let out.

"My internet isn't great, so I have to figure out how to do the school work for a month," he said.

After graduation, Senter plans to join the military with hopes of one day becoming a Navy Seal. He also hopes to someday have his own successful ranch. Throughout, he plans to continue writing books. He intends to eventually write more about Morris's life and what occurred after his escape.

Here are a few of Senter's favorite recipes:

Recipes:

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

½ cup cream cheese

1 cup shredded sharp

cheddar cheese

12 jalapeño peppers,

halved lengthwise,

seeds and membranes

removed

12 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese together in a bowl until evenly blended. Fill each jalapeño half with the cheese mixture. Put halves back together and wrap each stuffed pepper with a slice of bacon.

Arrange bacon-wrapped peppers on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes.

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 stick (8 Tbsp) un-salted butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Large pinch kosher salt

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment.

Bring the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then let boil for one minute. Remove from the heat.

Add the oats, peanut butter, vanilla and salt and stir to combine.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, and let sit at room temperature until cooled and hardened, about 30 minutes.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.