B
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
WENDY SCHMIDT
Corned Beef Recipes, Just In Time For St. Patrick’s Day
T RYING Y OUR L UCK
JeanMarie Brownson
The Daily Meal
Thomas Shahan/Oregon Department of Agriculture
Mason bees are amazingly effective
pollinators, better than honeybees.
The magical
mason bee
There’s concern for good reason
about the future of our planet if hon-
eybees keep dying at the current rate.
Without pollinators, we have no food to
eat in the future. No food for us or even
the animals which sustain us, because
the animals will not have food either.
We have an unlikely savior on the
horizon — the mason bee. At fi rst
glance it looks like a house fl y. It’s
small and is a fl ying insect one hardly
notices. It makes no honey and doesn’t
sting, does not live in hives, and minds
its own business.
The secret to the mason bee’s suc-
cess is that it’s body is so hairy that it
appears scruffy. It visits fl owers and
keeps moving. Pollen sticks to all its
hairs, so that when it visits so many
fl owers, it leaves as much pollen as it
takes and the end result is very effec-
tive pollination — many times more
successful than honeybees. The honey-
bee’s mistake is that it keeps cleaning
its body after each fl ower, losing vast
quantities of pollen in the process.
The pollen clings to the mason bee’s
hairy body (which it doesn’t clean),
thereby leaving its body always coated
in pollen. Some of that pollen is rubbed
off in the next fl ower, then the next ... in
essence she’s a pollen magnet, trans-
ferring pollen from fl ower to fl ower
effi ciently pollinating whole orchards
in less time than it takes a honeybee to
pollinate one tree.
We can encourage mason bees to
multiply by securely hanging housing
for them. I feel this merits instructions
on how to make mason bee houses, as
it is simple to do.
Take a block of wood and drill holes
in it a bit apart. The holes ideally will
be 6 inches deep. Use a very sharp bit
that leaves no splinters. The holes need
to be 5/16-inch in diameter. Hang the
house block so it receives only morning
sun.
If you have garden questions or com-
ments, please write to greengarden
column@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
For many of us, corned beef tastes deli-
cious every day of the year. But its popularity
soars on Saint Patrick’s Day — Irish heritage
optional.
Like green beer, this holiday food tradition
is largely a phenomenon in the United States.
In fact, today’s corned beef is more Jewish than
Irish. It’s rare to encounter it in Ireland.
The British are credited for corning beef in
the 17th century by curing fresh beef with salt
for preservation. Shaylyn Esposito, writing in
the Smithsonian Magazine (March 15, 2013)
explains that the term “corned” comes from the
size of the salt kernels used in the curing. For
tax reasons, Irish salt was less expensive than
British salt, so cattle was shipped to Ireland
to be corned. Irish corned beef was exported to
Europe and the Americas until the end of the
18th century when the demand declined as the
North American colonies produced their own.
A million Irish people immigrated to this
country during Ireland’s Great Famine,
frequently landing fi rst in New York alongside
Jewish immigrants from Eastern and Central
Europe. Here, the Irish embraced beef — espe-
cially corned beef. However, Esposito explains
that “the corned beef the Irish immigrants
ate was much different than that produced in
Ireland 200 years prior. The Irish immigrants
almost solely bought their meat from kosher
butchers. And what we think of today as Irish
corned beef is actually Jewish corned beef
thrown into a pot with cabbage and potatoes.”
Since brisket is a tough cut of beef, it is
well suited to the salting and cooking that
transforms it into tender, tasty corned beef.
This all explains why today corned beef can
be found in Irish-American households and
Jewish delis alike.
Armed with these kernels of knowledge,
it’s time to get cooking. You can simmer
corned beef roasts (sold in cry-o-vac packages
in the meat case) with a little Irish stout and
fresh orange slices in the oven. The whole
house will smell delicious, hopefully provid-
ing a pleasant distraction when working in
our home offi ces. At dinnertime, a peppery
maple glaze will make the whole dish shine.
When time is short, you can channel a
delicatessen and simply enjoy a warm corned
beef sandwich, made from deli-sliced, fully
cooked corned beef on rye bread with zesty
horseradish-spiked mayonnaise.
And leftover corned beef tastes great
tucked into creamy, cheesy pasta for a warm-
ing winter meal no matter where you live.
MAPLE-GLAZED CORNED BEEF
WITH ORANGE AND STOUT
Total time: 4 hours
25 m (prepare time) + 3 1/2 hours (cook time)
6 to 8 servings
Notes: Look in the meat case for seasoned
corned beef that’s ready to cook. A whole
corned beef brisket weighs 6 to 8 pounds. A
3-pound fl at cut makes for easy slicing. You
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune-TNS
Corned beef sandwich, prepared and styled by Shannon Kinsella in her kitchen.
the orange slices. (Recipe can be prepared
can prepare the recipe through step 2 in a
slow-cooker set on low. Cooking time will be 6 to this point and refrigerated in the liquid,
covered, up to 2 days. Rewarm everything
to 8 hours; add the carrots after 4 hours.
For the corned beef:
1 fl at cut, corned beef brisket
(about 3 pounds)
2 medium-size sweet onions,
cut into 8 wedges
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1 medium-size orange, ends
trimmed, halved, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 cup stout beer
8 long skinny carrots (about 12 ounces)
peeled, cut crosswise in half
For the glaze:
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon molasses, optional
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Horseradish sauce, for serving
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put corned beef, wedges from 2 medium-
size onions, 2 chopped celery ribs, 1 thinly
sliced orange, 3 cloves sliced garlic, 1
teaspoon black peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon
whole cloves and 2 bay leaves into a large
(6-quart) Dutch oven. Add 1 cup stout beer
and then cold water to cover everything by 1
inch. Heat to a gentle simmer over medium
heat.
2. Place a piece of parchment paper over
the top of the pot. Add the lid and carefully
slide into the oven. Bake covered, stirring
once or twice, for 2 hours.
3. Add carrots to pot; cover and con-
tinue baking until a fork inserted into meat
releases easily, 1 to 1 1/2 more hours. Use
a slotted spoon to scoop out and discard
over medium-low heat on top of the stove.)
4. To make the glaze, mix 1/4 cup maple
syrup, 1 tablespoon molasses (if using), 1
tablespoon Dijon mustard and 1/2 teaspoon
ground black pepper in a small saucepan.
Heat to a simmer. Cook and stir until mix-
ture reduces to a thick syrup consistency,
about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
5. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
on convection or 400 degrees Fahrenheit
on conventional setting. Use tongs to
transfer cooked corned beef to a foil-lined
baking pan. Use a slotted spoon to transfer
carrots and onion pieces around the meat
in the baking pan. (You can strain the broth
and save it for the base of a meaty soup.)
6. Drizzle the maple glaze over the meat
and the vegetables. Bake, until bubbling
hot, about 10 minutes. Transfer corned beef
to a cutting board. Slice thinly, across the
grain. Arrange on serving platter; pile the
carrots and onions alongside the sliced
meat. Pass the horseradish sauce.
CHEESY PASTA WITH
CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND
CORNED BEEF
Total time 45 minutes
25 m (prepare time) + 20 m (cook time)
6 servings
Notes: I prefer not to use pre-shredded
cheese here because the added anti-caking
ingredients interfere with a creamy melt.
It’s easy to shred chunks of cheese on the
large holes of a four-sided grater. If desired,
transfer the fi nished dish to a buttered
baking dish and top with buttered bread
crumbs; bake until crumbs are crisp and
golden.
See Lucky/Page 2B
Exploring the Anthony Building’s backstory
By Ginny Mammen
As we travel on east our
next subject is 1118 Adams
Ave., known as the Anthony
Building on the National
Register of Historic Places.
This brick building was con-
structed by John Anthony in
1892 to house his bakery and
confectionery. It remained the
home for Anthony’s tasty mor-
sels until the fi rst part of the
1900s when John packed up
and moved to an area above
Elgin called River Junction.
The building for the next
20-some years housed a
variety of occupants — Union
County Cooperative Asso-
ciation, Clint’s Clothing and
Young’s Candy Co. In 1923
the F. L. Lilly Hardware
moved in and stayed until
Trotter’s Quality Clothing
Shop opened in 1929 and
remained for over 50 years.
Today it is the home of Peak
Lifestyle Studio.
So who was John Anthony?
In 1863, Johann Anton Koel-
From the Richard Hermens and John Turner Collection
The brick Anthony Building was constructed on Adams
Avenue in 1892.
bener was born at Appenzell,
Switzerland. Leaving home
at the age of 17, he moved to
London, where, according to
his daughter, Margaret, he
learned the baker’s trade. At
age 23 he immigrated to the
United States and his travels
led him to The Dalles, where
he worked at the Seufert
Cannery. By 1888 he had
moved to La Grande and was
married to a young woman
named Mathilda Eichen-
berger, also born in Switzer-
land. He and Mathilda lived
above the bakery for a period
of time. In 1895 he purchased
a one-bedroom home at
1606 Sixth St. (listed on the
National Historic Register
as the John Anthony House)
from Mrs. Henry Anson. This
became the family home for
John, Mathilda and Bertha
Berger (Mathilda’s sister who
had Americanized her name).
In 1894 daughter, Hilda Flor-
ence, joined the family.
The year 1898 was a busy
one for Mr. Anthony. In Sep-
tember of that year Johann
legally changed his name to
John Anthony. By this time
he had also added grocery
items to his bakery and
confectionery store. He was
serving on city council and
constructing a two-story brick
building on his lots across
the tracks on Fir Street. This
building was to have ”two
good sized store rooms and 5
large plate glass windows.”
This became the home of the
Geddes Brothers’ Grocery.
John watched over his
property carefully and once,
when one of the windows at
this grocery had been broken,
Anthony offered a one-dollar
reward to fi nd the perpetra-
tor.
In early 1902, John sold
one of his properties and
went into the lumber busi-
ness on Graves Creek with
Thomas Millspaugh, forming
the Anthony and Millspaugh
Sawmill. Later in the year
the two partners were in-
volved with some civil litiga-
tion. John had constructed a
house at 1602 Sixth St. (listed
on the National Historic Reg-
ister as the Anthony/Buckley
House) during the year and
there was some question that
he had perhaps requisitioned
lumber from the sawmill
without paying for it. The two
sold the sawmill in Novem-
ber and the partnership was
dissolved.
Things settled down for
the family and in July 1904
his life sounded almost idyllic
when The Observer reported
about a picnic held at the
“Mountain Home” of Mr.
and Mrs. John Anthony with
“well fi lled lunch baskets
along with plenty of ice cream
and lemonade.” Later the
host and hostess “piloted the
party to a huckle berry patch
where plenty of ripe berries
were found.” As the guests
returned home everyone was
saying “it was one of the most
pleasant days ever spent.”
But things were not as they
seemed when the family was
at home. Whether it was the
coziness of so many living in a
one-bedroom home, too many
women or something else,
things were not well with the
Anthony family. In December
1906, John and Mathilda were
divorced. The 1910 Census
listed Mathilda as a widow.
This wasn’t actually the case
because we know that John
had moved to River Junction.
The story of John Anthony
will continue as we continue
to learn about other build-
ings in downtown La Grande.
Keep looking up! Enjoy!