B
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
NUTRITION:
IT’S ALL GOOD
ANN BLOOM
Peanut
butter: It’s
packed
with
nutrition
Whether you grew up eating Skippy,
JIF or you are a loyal fan of Peter Pan
or some other brand, peanut butter
probably fi gures prominently some-
where in your childhood. Peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches are as much a
part of growing up for many people as
skinned knees and the ABC’s.
Peanut butter is, of course, made from
peanuts. Peanuts are not a nut, but a
legume. Legumes are part of a group of
food which also contains dried peas and
lentils. Peanuts grow underground and
are part of the protein food group.
To make peanut butter, peanuts are
usually fi rst roasted and then ground
into a paste with a little salt added. In
many commercial varieties, sometimes
oils and sugar, or shortening is added.
Peanut butter is simple to make at
home, too, so it is a great at home proj-
ect to do with children. Natural peanut
butter will separate (the oil will fl oat
to the top). This can be fi xed by simply
stirring the oil back into the peanut but-
ter until it is a smooth paste again.
See Peanuts/Page 2B
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
WENDY SCHMIDT
Making
Easter lilies
part of your
landscape
The most exciting thing in the garden
is the blooming dandelion I saw in my
mother’s yard yesterday. It was funny
to me because she spent lots of time
every spring trying to kill them. One of
my favorite fl owers was a weed to her.
The weeds always win. Anyway, to me it
was a great thing to witness a comeback
story in the making.
The buttercups have started blooming
in the countryside. There are snowdrops,
snow glories, and daffodils blooming in
town, and countless bulb foliage poking
up everywhere. The night temperatures
are still too low to start gardens, but
the tomatoes, peppers, and petunias
can certainly be getting started on the
windowsill in the house.
Easter lilies are stately and fragrant
in pots ready to hitch a ride home with
you in shops all over town. A sure sign
of spring.
But wait — Easter lilies’ natural
bloom time is in June and July. They’re
only plentiful because of advanced plan-
ning by the fl oral industry. The bulbs
have been brought out of dormancy
early just for Easter time.
You can add this beautiful fl ower to
your landscape for future years. Simply
wait until the soil warms a bit and it
fi nishes blooming. Plant the bulb and
remaining foliage six to eight inches
deep in a sunny location. Lilies prefer
sandy or loamy soil so that there is good
drainage.
Don’t expect the lily to bloom at Eas-
ter in future years. It will come up and
bloom when it is supposed to — in late
June into July.
If you have garden questions or com-
ments, please write to greengardencol-
umn@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-TNS
A drizzle of real maple syrup gives a ham and cheese waffl e sandwich a sweet fi nish.
W HO N EEDS B READ ?
■ When making a sandwich, waffles are a perfect substitute for the top and bottom
Gretchen McKay
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Maple sugaring season is wrapping up in
the Northeast in the next few weeks, and by
all accounts it’s been a pretty good year for
syrup.
All those warm days followed by cool nights
in March have helped the sap in maple trees
to fl ow.
In Emlenton, Venango County, Old State
Farms expects to produce some 1,000 gallons
of its maple artisan syrup when operations
wrap up in early April, says owner Joseph
Burkett. It will be bottled throughout the
year, and some will be barrel-aged in used
Wigle Whiskey barrels for a richer, more
complex and smoky fl avor.
All this got me thinking: Maybe it’s time to
have some waffl es for dinner.
Not just ordinary waffl es, but tender
buttermilk ones that stand in for bread in a
ham and cheese sandwich. The waffl es get
a drizzle of pure maple syrup on top and a
slather of maple butter inside.
I used a mini waffl e maker for perfect
sandwich-sized waffl es. The recipe calls for
thinly sliced ham and baby Swiss cheese, but
Gruyere, Jarlsberg or even cheddar can be
used.
Waffl es tend to soften if you don’t eat them
immediately, so for a crispy sandwich, stick
the waffl es in the toaster for a minute or so
before composing it. For a more melty sand-
wich, wrap it in foil and bake in a 350-degree
oven until the cheese has melted, around 10
minutes.
HAM AND CHEESE WAFFLE
SANDWICHES
For maple butter
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
For buttermilk waffl es
1 cup all-purpose fl our
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
Generous pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
For sandwich fi lling
6 ounces thinly sliced ham, divided
4 ounces thinly sliced baby Swiss,
Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese, divided
Pure maple syrup, for serving
maple syrup in a bowl and beat with an electric
mixer or by hand until well blended and fl uffy.
Set aside.
Make waffl e batter: In medium bowl, whisk
together fl our, sugar, baking powder and a large
pinch of salt. Make a well in the center and add
beaten egg, buttermilk and oil or melted butter.
Using a rubber spatula, mix the wet and dry
ingredients together until just incorporated. It
should be smooth but not overrmixed.
Spray heated waffl e iron with a light coat of
cooking spray (before the FIRST batch only).
Pour scant 1/4 cup of batter into the waffl e
iron and cook until golden brown on both sides,
2 to 3 minutes. (When the steam stops com-
ing out of the iron, waffl es should be done.)
Repeat with remaining batter. (You should get 8
waffl es.)
To keep waffl es crisp, transfer them to a
250-degree oven after you pull them out of the
iron. You also can crisp them up in a toaster.
Compose sandwiches: Spread maple butter
on one side of each of the 4 waffl es and place
them on plate. Divide ham and cheese and
place on top of each waffl e. Cover with second
waffl e.
Drizzle maple syrup on top of each sandwich
and serve immediately with a knife and fork.
Serves 4.
Preheat the waffl e iron.
Make maple butter: Combine the butter and
— Gretchen McKay
The history of a La Grande livery stable
By Ginny Mammen
In our next series of articles
we will explore the 1000-1100
blocks on the north side of Adams
Avenue.
Our fi rst stop is at the corner
of Adams and Fourth Street
where Max Square is now located.
Until 1893 the 1000 block and the
one across Fourth Street made
up the location for many small
wood-frame buildings providing
homes and businesses for the local
Chinese community. On Sept. 24 of
that year La Grande joined many
other Oregon communities in an
uprising that left a very dark stain
on our history. According to the
Dalles Times-Mountaineer, that
Sunday evening about midnight
“a crowd of men proceeded to the
unsightly regions where dwelt the
Chinese population ... each Chi-
nese wash-house was visited and
the occupants peremptorily told to
decamp.”
Those who did not totally leave
the area were later brought back
into La Grande and put on a west
bound train. According to The No
Place Project, “Within a few years,
many Chinese returned to La
Grande and a smaller community
Fred Hill Collection
Joseph Anson owned the City Stables at Adams and Fourth.
existed there for several years.”
Sometime before 1903, the City
Stables owned by Joseph Anson
were located on this corner of
Adams and Fourth along with
a harness shop. I had never
thought much about livery stables
and their importance until this
one came to my attention. The
idea of having a “horse motel”
or “rent-a-horse” came about in
the 1800s when people started
moving around and traveling long
distances. They needed a place to
safely leave their horse, get it fed
or to have local transportation
after they traveled by train from
another area.
While the traveler could stay in
one of the local hotels or board-
ing houses, the livery stables
offered a number of services and
a place to board their horses for
the day, week or month. Here the
horse was provided shelter, water,
stabling, and twice a day feedings
of hay. The stables also offered for
a fee such services as ‘fi rst-class
turnouts” (places where horses
could be out of their stalls and run
free out of doors), saddle horses
for travelers to rent, carriages for
locals to take a wife or best girl out
for a Sunday ride (with or without
a hired driver) and wagons and
drivers for funerals.
In the 1890s the livery stables in
the larger cities began to notice a
decline in their business initiated
by the emerging popularity of the
bicycle. Although the bicycle had
been around for centuries, newer
models were much more attractive
and maneuverable. The western
states, especially in the smaller
towns and cities, did not experi-
ence this same decline. However,
after the horseless carriages came
out in the early 1900s the livery
stables soon became history as
garages began to take their place.
City Stables was still in business
as late as 1910 but within the next
10 years it met the fate of many
other livery stables when, not
only did the automobile replace
the horse, but garages sprang up
to sell and service the horseless
carriages.
See Stables/Page 2B