Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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TERRI HAHN When I was a kid, the only squash I knew about was acorn. That little green thing that showed up every fall and mom baked with butter and brown sugar. It was pretty good and I still bake it that way from time to time. But over the years, I’ve discovered the wide world of squash from summer squash with its thin, edible skin (think zucchini) to winter squash like the aforementioned acorn and its siblings including butternut, buttercup and spaghetti. Winter squash are some of the most v...
Halloween cookies With fall comes cooler weather and with cooler weather comes the season to bake. And what could be better than counting down the days to Halloween this weekend with holiday-themed cookies. These shortbread ghost cookies are so good it's spooky. Serve them as a festive treat at your Halloween party. Shortbread Pecan Ghost Cookies 24 raw pecan halves 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter or vegan butter/margarine 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt Beat butter...
Kelly Feehan - Extension Educator The vegetable garden season is winding down with final harvests and preparing vegetables for storage. Green tomatoes will ripen off the vine, but the fruit must have reached the mature green stage. To determine if this stage has been reached, look for tomatoes that are full sized and have a white, star shaped area on the bottom of the green fruit. When harvesting tomatoes before frost, Ward Upham with Kansas State Extension recommends separating them into three groups. Fruit that are mostly red, those just...
I remember a story my mom used to tell about her coworker, Opal, and Opal's two little boys. One night, Opal asked the boys what they wanted for supper. One of the boys, about 4 or 5 years old, scrunched up his face and said, "Let's have ... let's have ... let's have ... POP TORN!" That answer became a joke in my family for years because I never met anyone who liked popcorn more than my mom. Popcorn was often her choice for supper. But it wasn't just popcorn my mom liked - she liked the butter...
National Hispanic Heritage Month, with roots going back to 1968, is a period, from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture and achievements of the United States. The term Hispanic or Latino refers to Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or those of other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. While those contributions and influences can be found in many segments of society, none are...
It’s been a weird summer, hasn’t it? Traditional Memorial Day programs were few and far between. Father’s Day was observed with proper “social distancing.” Fourth of July celebrations were canceled and most of the fireworks we saw were on TV. “Back to school” for many students across the country meant “back to the kitchen table.” And as for fall, I’m still trying to wrap my head around September, October and November with no Husker football or volleyball. And even the sporting events tha...
A couple of weeks ago, a lifelong friend and I took a road trip through Western and North Central Nebraska. We checked out Chimney Rock, the Scotts Bluff National Monument, Toadstool Geologic Park near Crawford and the Niobrara River near Valentine. Social distancing was not a problem. The first night of that five-day trip we spent in Oshkosh, where I grew up and where my travel companion and I met on her third birthday. Her family was new to the neighborhood, her mom was looking for enough...
Sandwiches have come a long way since the bologna-on-white-bread standard fare I used to take to Girl Scout day camp or Vacation Bible School. This past weekend I had two yummy sandwiches from a great deli and bakery in Valentine. One was an Italian on a focaccia bun and included salami, pepperoni, pastrami, mozzarella, tomato, onion, bell pepper, lettuce and olives, topped with a creamy Italian sauce that was made in-house. The second was a Reuben on marble rye bread. Although it featured the...
I love salads. My weekly grocery list always includes "salad mix, lettuce, fruits and veggies." It's a permanent line on the note app I have on my phone where I keep a running list. It doesn't matter if it's June or January. There is something about main-dish salads in the summer that make them the perfect choice for a easy week-night meal. But what makes the main-dish salad different than your standard side salad? One word: Protein. A main-dish salad is the perfect place for sliced pieces of...
My mom made the best potato salad ever. Now I know there are many of you reading this who are thinking, "Nope, I/my mom/grandma/Aunt Jane/whomever make the best salad. No question." And that's OK. But I'm still putting my mom's out there for contention. When I was growing up in western Nebraska, my community was home to a nine-hole sand-greens golf course that hosted a state tournament every year. Every year my mom was asked to make the potato salad the host committee served to the contestants...
When you hear the word "barbecue," what's the first thing you think of? Throwing a couple of steaks or burgers on the grill and inviting the family over for a Father's Day cook-out (keeping socially distant of course)? That metal thing in your backyard that cooks those steaks or burgers using either gas or charcoal? Or the sauce you find in the grocery store next to the ketchup and mustard? Well, if your answer is yes to any of those three thoughts, then, well I hate to tell you this, but...
Growing up, homemade ice cream was a special summer treat I always looked forward to. It was special because the only kind of ice cream freezer we had then was the kind you turned with a crank. And it seemed to take forever. I remember at Grandma and Granddad’s house, the grandkids got to take turns with the crank. The recipe was pretty basic — vanilla, of course — but to be honest, I don’t remember it and can’t seem to find a copy anywhere. And that’s probably for the best. Back in those days,...
Although more and more of us tend to grill all year 'round, May and June have long been tagged as the start of the official grilling season. And with social distancing still the norm, many folks will probably turn to outdoor entertaining so it's easier to stay apart. When the weather gets warmer, that's the thing to do. But what if you're not an expert or new to grilling? With increasing beef prices, no one wants to ruin a great piece of steak. That's when you turn to the folks who are the...
By Terri Hahn With social distancing still the norm and the common sense move of "shelter in place," a big family gathering to celebrate Mom, Grandma and other important women in our lives probably isn't going to happen on a grand scale this year. That doesn't mean we can't celebrate Mother's Day, no doubt it's going to be different. FaceTime and Zoom conferencing don't replace actual one-on-one contact of course, but in these uncertain times, that's the best thing to do. And of course, they...
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 and has become a time to celebrate Mexican culture. While Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a small regional holiday in Mexico, it's become a popular celebration in the United States, recognizing the significant historical and cultural contributions of Mexico and Mexican-Americans. To make merry on this occasion, serve empanadas, a popular Mexican street food, or some tasty...
The grilled cheese sandwich. Pretty simple. Pretty straightforward. Take a couple of slices of buttered bread and a slice or two of your favorite cheese and heat it up on a griddle. What could be easier? Served with tomato soup it's about as comfortable as comfort food can get. But there can be so much more to this basic sandwich. To be honest, I've never been much of fan of basic grilled cheese. My mom always made them with a slice or two of ham in addition to the cheese and that's the way I...
