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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2020)
B Tuesday, September 1, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald BOB’S THOUGHTS A Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe BOB BAUM The misery of moving 1,200 miles Moving from one house to another is an exercise in misery, even if you’re just moving down the street. Take it from me, a 1,200-mile move — including four cats and two dogs — is particularly miserable. When we moved from Portland, Or- egon, to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1998, my employer, The Associated Press, paid for it. So it was relatively easy. Fast forward two decades and my decision to retire. We weren’t staying in Arizona. My wife refused to spend another awful summer in the land of 115-degree heat (maybe cooling off to 100 by midnight). I was ready to leave, too, and we decided we were moving back home, to the valley where I grew up. I’d been gone nearly 50 years, but my brother and sisters are still in the area, and it was something we could afford. See Moving/Page 3B BETWEEN THE ROWS WENDY SCHMIDT Grape vines and dreams of arbors The bad news: This fall when grape vines are dormant, I again need to collect grape cuttings and grow more grape plants. Luckily, grapes start readily from cuttings — all it takes is time. The good news: Finally the grape ar- bor I imagined several years ago is over half fi nished. Thanks to my neighbor, Ryan, and my sister, Becky, and her husband, Willie. Pechanga Resort Casino/TNS Chef Nicole Burgess, the pastry chef at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, developed “Quarantine Choco-Chip Cookies” for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, observed Aug. 4. See Grapes/Page 3B More tales of downtown La Grande By Ginny Mammen Although there are no ghost signs on the buildings located in the La Grande Historic District to be written about in my next series of articles, there are still many stories just waiting to be told of the people, buildings and events sur- rounding them. Let’s start at the southeast corner of Adams and Fourth where our current City Hall now stands. From the late 1880s, this lot housed a wood-frame dwelling up until 1910 when it was removed. The lot remained empty until sometime late in 1911 when rumblings of a new federal building were be- ing considered. The fi rst information regarding this in The Observer came in June of 1912 when it was reported that “Adams Avenue in the vicinity of the Foley Hotel is lined with brick on either side — on one side the federal build- ing is getting material and apparently means to proceed with the construction of the building, while in the new fi ve story Foley offi ce building material is collecting in large quantities.” See Downtown/Page 3B C LASSIC C OOKIES , W ITH L ESS G UILT Comparing the new version with the origi- nal, “They tasted the same to me,” she said. It can be tough to maintain healthful eating “So I incorporated this into the special events habits in stressful times, when the snack you we baked for at Pechanga before COVID-19 hanker for probably begins with “chocolate” hit, and added on more and more healthy sub- and ends with “cookie.” stitutions as we went to make them healthier Chef Nicole Burgess offers some help and healthier. through a recipe she developed for National “So far, we’ve had great feedback!” Burgess Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, observed Aug. 4. added. “Personally, I love them. They’re the Burgess, the pastry chef at Pechanga Resort same decadent cookie taste, but without the Casino in Temecula, California, wanted a guilt. And now that so many people are strug- recipe for those who may be working to shed gling from gyms being closed, it’s the perfect so-called quarantine weight. time to try what we call a ‘diet cookie.’ “ But these defi nitely don’t taste like diet Although the cookies are not on the regular cookies. menu at Pechanga, they have been served for “I originally made these ‘healthy’ chocolate special events, she said. chip cookies on accident at home,” said Bur- “Oftentimes we receive requests for specifi c gess, who decided to substitute almond fl our dietary restrictions — low carb, vegan, keto, on a day when she was out of regular fl our. etc., and we can almost always accommodate The almond-fl our version, lower in carbohy- them. From what I’ve been told, guests who drates and higher in healthy fats and fi ber, have had these as part of a special event say was a pleasant surprise. that they taste the exact same as regular, calo- By Martha Lynch rie and fat-ridden cookies — just guilt-free.” The San Diego Union-Tribune QUARANTINE CHOCO-CHIP COOKIE Makes 14 to 20 small, 2 ounce cookies or 10 to 15 large, 4 ounce cookies 2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup almond fl our Pinch of Himalayan salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 4 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons regular sugar 2 tablespoons agave or honey (whichever natural sweetener you prefer) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil 4 tablespoons oat milk (more can be used if needed) 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips See Cookies/Page 2B
