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Tuesday, May 31, 2022
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Old-fashioned
FLAVOR
Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fresh strawberries add a sweet touch to this easy spring salad
with fried chicken.
Celebrate the
strawberry season
with fresh salad
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By GRETCHEN McKAY
Swedish tea ring.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Experimenting with
nearly forgotten
baked goods recipes
By DANIEL NEMAN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ar away on
a distant sea
lies the Island
of Old-Fashioned
Baked Goods.
F
There, slices of apple-
sauce cake play in the tall
green grass. Charlotte
russes dance in the dappled
sunlight. Coconut cream
pies huddle with date-nut
bread to gossip about pine-
apple upside-down cake.
But despite the appear-
ances, all is not happy on
the island. The pleasant,
hopeful veneer hides an
undercurrent of sorrow.
These baked goods were
once beloved. They were
in every magazine, they
were on everyone’s tongue.
But now they are all but
forgotten.
Does that diminish their
inherent quality? Does that
make them any less worthy
of being eaten?
Does that make them …
stale?
I say no. I say it is time
for these brave and stal-
wart baked goods of yore to
make a stand, to leave the
peaceable comforts of their
isle and to find their way
back to our tables — for the
sake of nostalgia, if nothing
else.
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Gram’s doughnuts.
I went back to some old
cookbooks (and one cook-
book that went back to old
cookbooks) to make some
favorite baked goods that
have not lost their luster
over the decades.
I began with butter-
horn rolls, which I always
knew as crescent rolls
(the names are, appar-
ently, interchangeable).
These were a favorite of
mine when I was growing
up, and I looked forward
to dinners at my grand-
mother’s house when she
would serve them.
It’s possible we only
had them at Thanksgiving,
but they have loomed large
in my memory because
they were so buttery and
flaky and delicious.
But I also haven’t had
them since my childhood,
and I haven’t seen them
anywhere, either. Those
store-bought refrigerated
rolls that pop out of their
container do not count.
They do not count at all.
The homemade version
is vastly superior. And it’s
not because of the yeast that
makes them rise so beau-
tifully, nor the eggs and
the milk that make them
so rich. It’s not even the
modest amount of sugar,
that brings just a hint of
sweetness.
It’s the butter in the but-
terhorns that makes them so
addictive, a half-tablespoon
of it in every roll.
Hillary Levin, the pho-
tographer who takes the
pictures of most of my food
that grace these pages,
called it one of her favorite
breads that I have ever
made.
For my next baked good,
I went to a cookbook that
was published in 1940. My
wife’s aunt bought “The
American Woman’s Cook
Book” that year, and I’d like
to think she used it to make
a lemon chiffon pie.
If she didn’t, she should
have.
I, for one, had forgotten
all about lemon chiffon pies
until I saw the recipe. And
then the memories came
flooding back: the sweet,
delicate tartness of the
filling, so impossibly light,
on a simple crust, with a
dollop of whipped cream on
top for an additional little
taste of sin.
It took a few steps to
make, but that is largely
because I made my own
crust (old-fashioned des-
serts deserve homemade
crusts) and I whipped my
own egg whites and my
own cream (I don’t have an
epigram for that, I just like
whipping egg whites and
cream).
The result was magnif-
icent. It was lemony and
chiffony and delightful.
My wife said it had the
taste and the texture of the
‘50s.
Next, I made dough-
nuts. You could argue that
there is nothing old-fash-
ioned about doughnuts, but
I would present the coun-
terargument that these were
homemade. When is the last
time you had homemade
doughnuts? And why didn’t
you invite me?
Besides, these are called
Gram’s Doughnuts, which
automatically makes them
old-fashioned.
In fact, the recipe dates
back to the Depression,
when one of the cook-
book’s author’s grand-
mother would invite local
workers inside for coffee
and all the doughnuts they
wanted for 10 cents.
See, Flavor/Page B2
One of the first true
delights to turn up at
farmers markets this time
of year are local straw-
berries. Boy, they’re ter-
rific out of hand — just
try getting a quart con-
tainer of them home
without snacking on a
handful — but they also
can add a sweet, juicy
touch to any number of
desserts and appetizers
such as salsa and crostini.
Full of good-for-you
antioxidants, the
bright-red berry works
a particular magic in a
salad, especially when
paired with another
favorite spring market
find, spinach.
To turn this easy
spring recipe from a
side into a more hearty
main, I threw sliced fried
chicken into the mix,
along with crumbles of
gorgonzola, a mild blue
cheese. Grilled or roasted
chicken — shredded or
diced — would be a fine
substitute if you’re cut-
ting back on fried foods.
I like the tangy con-
trast of blue cheese
against the strawber-
ries, but if you’re not a
fan, substitute feta or
goat cheese or even brie
or fresh mozzarella.
Same with the nuts: I
used pre-packaged hon-
ey-roasted sliced almonds
(available in the produce
aisle), but you may prefer
toasted or caramelized
pecans or walnuts.
Serve with crusty
bread and a crisp, chilled
bottle of sauvignon blanc
for a simple supper.
STRAWBERRY
SPINACH
SALAD
For salad
1/2 small red onion, very thinly
sliced into half moons
4 cups baby spinach or
spinach-arugula mix
1 quart local strawberries,
hulled and quartered
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola
3/4 cup toasted pecans, walnuts
or honey roasted almonds
2 cooked chicken breasts,
sliced thin on the diagonal
For dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
Place sliced red onion in a small
bowl and cover with cold water.
Prepare dressing: Place
vinegar, honey, shallot, poppy
seeds, mustard and olive oil in a
mason jar, screw on the lid and
shake vigorously to combine
ingredients. Season to taste with
salt and pepper, and put aside
while you compose the salad.
In a large salad bowl, place
the greens along with a pinch of
salt, and toss with your fingers
to combine. Add the quartered
strawberries. Drain onions, and
then place into the bowl. Add
crumbled cheese and chicken,
and then drizzle with about 1/2
of the salad dressing (or more,
depending on how well-dressed
you like your salads).
Toss the salad, making sure all
of the greens are nicely coated
with dressing. Garnish with nuts
and serve.
Serve with extra dressing on
the side.
Serves 4.
— Gretchen McKay
The short history of the original Roesch Building
GINNY
MAMMEN
OUT AND ABOUT
T
he southeast corner of
Adams and Fir in down-
town La Grande was, up
until the early 1900s, a gener-
ally undeveloped area. In addition
to the occupants and businesses
mentioned in the previous article
there were several dwellings, and
Ole O. Johnson had his flour and
feed business here. Kate Usher,
a dressmaker working from her
home, was located at 1412 Adams.
By 1913, Kate was no longer there
and there was a new resident —
a D.R. Fong Medicine Company
dealing in “Chinese Root & Herb
Remedies” that remained until
January 1916.
In our last visit to this corner
we concentrated primarily on
the Sacajawea Hotel, but prior to
building this, Julius Roesch had
dreamed of big things happening
for this last corner to be devel-
oped in downtown La Grande.
Bob Bull Collection
The Roesch Building, constructed in 1916 at the southeast corner of Adams and Fir
in downtown La Grande, was partially taken down 11 years later to make room for
the Sacajawea Hotel.
The west end of Adams
Avenue had been filled with
businesses for the basic everyday
needs, but there was a new
invention taking the nation by
storm that needed its place in La
Grande to serve the people. This
was the automobile. Roesch, a
man with enthusiasm, substantial
finances and vision, was ready
to meet this need and he had just
the spot for it on the last main
corner on Adams that had not yet
been fully developed.
In 1916 the existing wood
structures on the corner of
Adams and Fir were torn down
and a large two-story brick
building, aptly name the Roesch
Building, was constructed.
The first occupant of this
attractive new brick building was
Hilton’s Garage, advertised as
“one of the best equipped in the
state for handling automobiles
and other motor vehicles.” When
in 1922 Hilton moved to Port-
land to establish a garage busi-
ness, Roesch Motor Company
took over what had been Hilton’s
Garage.
Then Roesch Motor Company
was followed by Perkins Motor
Company Co., Ledbetter Garage
and other automobile related
businesses.
In addition to automobile sales
there were stores and offices
located in the building such
as Hugh. E. Brady, attorney;
Dr. C.E. Brenner and Dr. C.
S. Moore; Gwilliam’s Elec-
tric Bakery and Skala Hardware
Co. Piggly Wiggly established a
store here in 1925 at 1408 Adams
and Sprouse-Reitz opened a
store at 1406 in 1926.These and
many other occupants called this
building home over the years.
Then the inevitable happened
in 1927. Julius Roesch realized
this was the perfect time to act
on his dream of having a fine
hotel, on this corner. In order to
do so he decided that part of the
Roesch Building had to be sac-
rificed in order to construct the
proper hotel. As a result a portion
of the two-story building, just
over 10 years old, was demol-
ished to make room for the spec-
tacular new Sacajawea.
Keep looking up! Enjoy!
█
Ginny Mammen has lived in La Grande
for more than 50 years and enjoys sharing
her interest in the history of people, places
and buildings.