COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2019 | 5A
Pet Tips
‘n’ Tales
Cook’s Corner
Strawberries’ sweet, short season
By Betty Kaiser
G
hours of direct sunlight.
Raised beds are a good
option for them but re-
member they send out
runners and need lots of
room. Do not plant them
in the shade! If possible,
amend your soil in ad-
vance of planning with
aged manure or compost.
Finally, read the instruc-
tions on the plants for best
results. And remember,
bugs like them too!
Simplicity and fresh-
ness are the keys to today’s
strawberry recipes. Dessert,
of course, is going to start
off the meal planning.
Today’s semi-fresh straw-
berry pie is new to me and
so simple. First you fill the
pie shell with sliced berries.
Then you mash the re-
mainder of the berries and
cook them with sugar, wa-
ter and cornstarch.
Pour that mixture over
the fresh berries, refrigerate
and you’ve got a strawberry
pie.
Topped with whipped
cream, of course.
One of my favorite ways
to change-up the taste and
presentation of a green din-
ner salad is by adding fruit.
Strawberries are great for
color, taste and nutrition.
Your kids will even eat
them! So, if you only have
a few berries at a time on
your bushes, add them to a
green salad and you will be
the cook of the day! Check
out these salad recipes and
see how you like them.
The Strawberry Cucum-
ber salad doesn’t even call
for lettuce. It’s more like a
spicy fruit salad.
ood grief! It’s al-
most the end of
June and strawber-
ry season. Our berries have
almost come and gone and
I have yet to make jam or a
strawberry pie. Of course,
I can always buy some at
the markets but I do love
watching Chuck pick fruits
and veggies from our home
garden. Hopefully, there are
still enough strawberries on
our plants for a pie.
Oregon strawberries are
truly special — especially
the Hood berries. “They
have a little bit of romance
that our other berries don’t
have,” says Bruce Pokarney,
a spokesman for the Oregon
Department of Agriculture.
“It is fire-engine red, burst-
ing with flavor, sweeter and
juicier than berries from
anywhere else in the United
States. It is also highly per-
ishable.
California strawberries
are sturdier but if you buy
the right variety Oregon
can match them. The web-
site for Oregon strawberry
varieties lists 12 different
kinds all with different
qualities: Albion, Charm,
Hood, Mary’s Peak, Puget
Crimson, Shuksan, Sea-
scape, Sweet Sunrise and
Tillamook.
You can find more in-
formation about them
with pictures at htpps.ore-
Quick ‘N Easy
gon-strawberry.org/variety.
strawberry pie
If you’ve not grown
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust,
strawberries before, here’s
a few things to remember. baked
• 1 quart of fresh straw-
Strawberries need 6-10
berries
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons corn-
starch
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping
cream
Arrange half of the straw-
berries in a baked pastry
shell. Mash remaining ber-
ries and combine with sug-
ar in a medium saucepan.
Place saucepan over medi-
um heat and bring to a boil,
stirring frequently.
In a small bowl, whisk
together cornstarch and
water. Gradually stir corn-
starch mixture into boiling
strawberry mixture.
Reduce heat and simmer
mixture until thickened,
about 10 minutes, stirring
constantly.
Pour mixture over ber-
ries in pastry shell. Chill for
several hours before serv-
ing. In a small bowl, whip
cream until soft peaks form.
Serve each slice of pie
with a dollop of whipped
cream. Serves 6 or 8.
Strawberries and
mixed green salad
with poppy seed
vinaigrette
Ingredients:
• 1 (10 to 12-ounce)
package baby spinach or
mixed greens, washed and
dried
• 1 pint of strawberries,
hulled and quartered
Vinaigrette:
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons white
wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable
oil
• 1 teaspoon of poppy
seeds
In a large salad bowl,
add the mixed greens and
strawberries, and toss to-
gether.
For the dressing: In a
small glass bowl or jar with
a tight-fitting lid, combine
the lemon juice, vinegar,
sugar, oil and poppy seeds.
Whisk together in the
glass bowl or shake if using
a jar. Dress the salad right
before serving.
for The Sentinel
• School for the CAL
School District is almost
out for summer. Tomorrow,
June 20, students will come
for a half-day, then be on
their way home.
• Another reminder to
drive more carefully as stu-
dents are bicycling or walk-
ing along our busy roads.
Please drive the posted
speed through Lorane on
Territorial Highway and in
the center of Lorane on Old
Lorane Road. People have
been driving much too fast.
6-day
weather forecast
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
69° | 47°
74° | 49°
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
• Tomorrow night, June
20, the Territorial High-
way Reconstruction pub-
lic meeting will be held at
Lorane Grange from 6 to 8
p.m. Construction will take
place on a portion of Terri-
torial Road from Gillespie
Corners into the town of
Lorane. Beginning in 2020,
it will be done in stages un-
til 2024. Come to the meet-
ing and hear the plans to
improve this much needed
section of road.
• Football strengthening
Salad:
• 4½ cups (1½ pounds)
California
strawberries,
stemmed and quartered
• 1 medium cucumber,
peeled, seeded and cut into
½-inch dice
• ¾ cup Italian parsley
leaves
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced
Vinaigrette:
• 3 tablespoons rice vin-
egar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1½ teaspoons chopped
fresh dill
• 1½ teaspoons chopped
fresh mint
• ½ teaspoon ground
cumin
• ½ teaspoon sweet pa-
prika
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive
oil
In bowl, whisk together
all vinaigrette ingredients
except oil. Whisk in oil un-
til blended.
To make salad: In large
bowl, toss salad ingredi-
ents with vinaigrette until
coated. Mound salad on 6
chilled plates, dividing it
equally.
Serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings.
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Cook’s Corner at 942-1317
or email bchatty@
bettykaiser.com.
will continue on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursdays.
• Plan to take part in
the 16th Annual Crow Car
Show on July 13. Volunteers
are needed, so call Marissa
at 641-517-6608 to volun-
teer or find out more infor-
mation. The show is bring-
ing back the free pancake
breakfast plus there will be
all-day raffles, an activity
Kid Zone and more. Add
all that to the amazing cars
and you’ll have a fantastic
day.
Transmissions Plus &
AUTOMOTIVE
SPECIALTIES
PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SERVICE SINCE 1991
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
78° | 51°
72° | 51°
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
MONDAY
TUESDAY
70° | 50°
A.M. Rain
73° | 50°
Partly Cloudy
60% of smalled businesses
close their doors within
6 months following a
cyber-attack.
Call today (541) 942-0555.
PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
Th e Cat Walk
Strawberry and
cucumber salad
LORANE NEWS
Contributed by
Lil Thompson
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Manual & Automatic
Transmission Repair
Tune ups
30-60-90K Services
Brakes, belts, hoses and
cooling system services
Muffl ers & Custom Exhaust
All makes and models.
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY
Mary Ellen and her cats enjoy strolling around town
meeting other pet lovers.
Y
es, I know! Unusual! Eccentric idea but I still
did it! When we moved to Cottage Grove my
husband had long working hours, so I was
lonely. The only way to solve the dilemma was adopt-
ing a dog, walking around town and “bumping into”
new friends. The only trouble was that we had four
cats — and a dog was not in the immediate picture.
Then a flash idea came to solve the problem: walk
the cats. Who could resist stopping to talk to someone
walking gorgeous silver Persian cats on a leash or rid-
ing pretty in a pet stroller!
We bought a blue pet stroller. I made cute H-harness
vests and long-neon colored leashes in case a cat broke
away while walking, I could follow the “flea”-ing flash
of neon. (Which luckily, I never had to do!)
Soon, our indoor cats enjoyed their afternoon strolls
around the neighborhood and into town. They sat
upright peering out the cloth mesh that zipped them
safely in the buggy. They watched birds, squirrels and
other cats, and loved sniffing the air. Some took cat
naps, but mostly they were fully engaged with all the
new sights, sounds and smells.
Our daily strolls improved their heart health and
mine. In more ways than I could have imagined, the
walks expanded our world in other ways than just ex-
ercise. We were meeting lots of neighbors and the cats
became local celebra-cats. Pet lovers, amazed pedestri-
ans, tourists, teens, children and seniors stopped and
talked to us. As we approached strangers, there were
no more of a slight tip of their heads and a “Have a nice
day” conversation.
Everyone dove into an excited conversation asking
to know the cats’ names, ages, breed and what we fed
them and mostly why we were out walking. Some peo-
ple even wanted to know how to teach their cats to
walk on a leash.
The cats walking through town brought smiles to
everyone driving or walking by. When they were done
with walking, they easily jumped back into the stroller.
Before long, the cats knew their way home no matter
which direction we walked — even from a mile away.
They negotiated the train tracks, parks and wisely
looked both ways before crossing a driveway or street.
I had already purr-used the areas to make sure no loose
dogs were ever seen on our walks.
My furry family led the way like a short-fluffy dog-
sled team. On one occasion, a car gently bumped into
another because the driver was rubber necking at the
white furballs pulling the buggy down a quiet road.
More times than I could count, drivers (even tourists)
pulled over and asked to take a photo of a sight they
had never seen before.
One of our best memories was of the owner of the
French Cafe who loved cats. He always invited us in to
give the kitties a slice of turkey. It did not take the cats
long to figure out who had the best treats in town and
they would pull me up the sidewalk and right into the
open cafe doorway to the delight of all the customers.
The funniest things I remember: Walking by the
carnival and several rough-looking carnies crossed
the street over to our little-furry parade. These large
bearded-tattooed men dissolved into smiles and de-
clared that seeing cats walking like dogs on a leash was
the most amazing thing that they had ever seen. Also,
many people did not look close enough at the cats and
said, “Your ‘dogs’ are so pretty.”
Who knew kitties would cure loneliness by intro-
ducing you to your neighbors while improving your
health?
I bet you are wondering, “If you walk 10,000 steps a
day, does that mean the cats walked 40,000 steps?”
TALES:
Would I recommend walking cats in harnesses or in-
vesting in a pet stroller? Yes! Meow!
WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN
“WE MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN!”
www.automotivespecialties.biz
DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS
541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE
Share your fur-avorite pet memory or adventure at
angelscribe@msn.com. Visit Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on
Facebook at/www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales
Humane Society for Neuter/Spay Assistance Program.
541-942-2789
