I've been meaning to post for a long time to let the few straggling readers know that this incarnation of the Fresh Sheet blog soon will be shuttered.

When the Spokesman-Review makes its switch to a redesigned Web site in the next few weeks, the Fresh Sheet won't be moving with it. Since I heard that news I haven't been posting.

We've a host of ideas for a new blog someday soon that would focus on food at home and beyond in Spokane. So stay tuned to The Spokesman-Review for that information.

If I had been blogging, I would have been sure to post about the fabulous peaches we picked... and picked... and picked at Green Bluff this summer. It seemed as if the season might go on forever.

Or, I might had told you about the two lonely hot peppers we grew in our garden this summer and our plans for them.

Or, perhaps I would have gushed about the way we wrapped up summer with the most delicious blackberry cobbler. We picked the fruit at the wonderful Eleven Acres (as well as Japanese eggplant and green beans.

Or, how I considered driving 20 miles out of my way each week after I heard that Fresh Start Produce in Otis Orchards was struggling.

In the meantime, if have any ideas for stories, you're searching for a recipe or you just want to let me know that it's Main Avenue and not Main Street in Spokane give me a holler. I can be reached at lorieh@spokesman.com

If you ask my husband, he just might say that I love potatoes more than I love him. It’s not true.

But I’m not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture we put away some 140 pounds of potatoes each year, per capita.

There are hundreds of varieties of spuds – from the smaller waxy tubers (sometimes called creamers or baby potatoes) to fingerlings (heirlooms varieties that are elongated and sometimes shaped like fingers). There are potatoes with skin (and sometimes flesh) that is tan, red, gold, purple and blue. Don’t forget the favored Russets and Yukon Golds.

Here are a few recipes for one of my favorite foods:

Red, White and Blue Potato Salad
From “Melissa’s Great Book of Produce,” by Cathy Thomas.

Substitute fingerling varieties, adjusting cooking time, if preferred. For a flakier version, use russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeling them when cool enough to handle; cut into bite sized chunks before tossing with dressing.

4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 cup dry white wine
2 medium cloves garlic
1/2 pound red creamer (baby) potatoes
1/2 pound purple creamer (baby) potatoes
1/2 pound white creamer (baby) potatoes
1 tablespoon salt, kosher, plus more for dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons salt, kosher
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks celery
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
2 green onions, thinly sliced, include dark green stalks

Place thyme, rosemary, white wine and garlic in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes leaving skin intact. Add to pan. Add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Add salt.
Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare dressing: in a large bowl, combine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil in thin stream.

Drain potatoes and discard herbs. Gently toss warm potatoes with enough dressing to coat. Add celery and toss. Cool. Add parsley and green onions; gently toss. Taste and correct seasonings if needed. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition per serving: 290 calories, 18 grams (2.5 grams saturated, 56 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 650 milligrams sodium.

Roasted Roots with Gremolata Butter

“From the Farm to Table Cookbook” by Ivy Manning

1 pound mixed root vegetables (yams, parsnips, salsify, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, rutabaga), peeled
1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Italian parsley leaves
1 large garlic clove
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Place a heavy rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the root vegetables and potatoes into equal-size sticks 1/4-inch thick and 3 inches long. In a large bowl, toss them with the oil, rosemary and generous sprinkles of salt and pepper.

Pull out the oven rack that holds the preheated baking sheet and tip the mixture onto the hot pan, which sears the mixture and reduces the likelihood of sticking. Roast the vegetables, stirring once halfway through cooking, until the pieces are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the parsley, garlic and lemon zest on a cutting board with a generous pinch of salt and finely mince. Stir the mixture with the butter. Toss the vegetables with the butter mixture and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate due to recipe variables.

Yukon Gold Baked Potato Pancake

From “The Farm Market Cookbook,” by Judith Onley

6 medium Yukon Gold (or Yellow Finn) potatoes
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 large garlic clove, pressed
1 tablespoon grated onion
2 teaspoons salt
Lots of freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Sour cream and minced fresh parsley for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-inch quiche pan or other baking dish.

Peel and grate the potatoes with a medium-holed grater. Add the remaining ingredients except the melted butter, sour cream and parsley and mix well – your hands are most effective here. Put potatoes into the prepared baking dish and press the surface down flat.

Drizzle the melted butter over the top and bake for 1 hour.

Serve immediately with a bowl of sour cream and another of minced parsley on the side.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

I'm a Master Food Preserver.

I got my certification exam back in the mail yesterday. I took classes this spring, along with 25 plus other area farmers, educators and others through the Washington State University Extension service to become a food safety advisor/master food preserver.

The ten weeks of classes culiminate in one huge test (it's open book/open notes). Instructor Lizann Powers-Hammond said her 9-year-old daughter helped her with the tests (so you'll notice I got a whole bunch of stickers for my effort.)

I'd done canning over the years, but the classes really helped me understand the whys about canning and food safety. Now I know which shortcuts are OK and which can be deadly.

Next Wednesday's paper will have the last story in our canning series on tomatoes and salsas. Thanks for staying tuned. After that we'll be back to our regular programming.

Here's one more popular recipe that didn't make it into today's story on pickling.

There's just one more story left in our series on canning. Next week, we cover tomatoes and salsa. You can read all the stories here.

Pickled Three Bean Salad

1½ cups cut and blanched green or yellow beans (prepared as below)
1½ cups canned, drained, red kidney beans
1 cup canned, drained garbanzo beans
½ cup peeled and thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium onion)
½ cup trimmed and thinly sliced celery (1½ medium stalks)
½ cup sliced green peppers (or ½ medium pepper)
½ cup white vinegar (5 percent acidity)
¼ cup bottled lemon juice
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
½ teaspoon canning or pickling salt
1¼ cups water

Wash and snap off ends of fresh beans. Cut or snap into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Blanch 3 minutes and cool immediately. Rinse kidney beans with tap water and drain again. Prepare and measure all other vegetables. Combine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and water and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat. Add oil and salt and mix well. Add beans, onions, celery and green pepper to solution and bring to a simmer. Marinate 12 to 14 hours in refrigerator and then heat entire mixture to a boil.

Fill clean, hot jars with solids. Add hot liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids. Process half-pints or pints for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner, adjusting for altitude.

Processing time must be lengthened when canning at elevations higher than 1,000 feet above sea level.

For elevations between 1,000 and 3,000 feet, add five minutes of processing time to those given in the recipes. For elevations between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, add 10 minutes. At 6,000 to 8,000 feet, add 15 minutes.

Yield: 5 to 6 half-pints

Have you canned anything this summer? I'm thinking of tackling pickles for the first time after writing today's story. What about you?

Here's a link that will take you to the four stories we've published so far on canning.

If you have a canning question or concern, county extension offices and Master Food Preservers can help.

Here are the numbers to call: The WSU-Spokane County extension office can be reached at (509) 477-2048 for help with common canning and food safety questions.

WSU extension offers a toll-free number (866) 986-4865.

Both are open office hours.

Or, drop me a line at lorieh@spokesman.com and I'll do my best to help.

To remake jellies or jams that are too soft follow these instructions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

The site also contains all of the information you need for canning, as well as recipes.

If you're looking for extension publications on canning here are the links.

Find Washington State University Publications here.

University of Idaho extension publications are here.

You'll find the recipes for Blood Orange Marmalade and Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly below.

Here are the recipes we promised in today's story by Virginia de Leon on community gardens.

The first is from Don Hanson, who is a Spokane gardener. He uses the produce from his plot at the Villa Vista Language Academy garden to make this Health Monster. It looks like a great way to use up those piles of vegetables.

The second and third recipes are from Chrys Ostrander, of Tolstoy and the Twin Owls Community Garden.

Health Monster

Ingredients - 1: Many fresh garden ingredients can be used to make Health Monsters, and they include the following

1) spinach,
2) mustard,
3) broccoli,
4) broccoli greens
5) cauliflower,
6) carrots,
7) asparagus,
8) basil leaves,
9) red potatoes,
10) cauliflower,
11) chives,
12) green garlic,
13) clove garlic,
14) leaks,
15) oregano,
16) radish,
17) oak leaf lettuce,
18) red leaf lettuce,
19) sweet corn,
20) and/or turnip

Ingredients - 2: Numerous fresh kitchen sprouts go well in Health Monsters, and they include the following

1) alfalfa sprouts,
2) lentil sprouts,
3) broccoli sprouts,
4) and/or mung bean sprouts

Ingredients – 3: Dairy, eggs, and meats can enhance Health Monsters, so try some of these

1) sharp cheddar cheese,
2) medium cheddar cheese,
3) grated parmesan cheese,
4) eggs,
5) Jimmy Dean sausage (regular or hot),
6) ground beef,
7) italian sausage,
8) bbq beef (diced),
9) and/or bbq buffalo (diced)

Ingredients – 4: Oil and seasoning

1) canola oil or olive oil,
2) table salt

Ingredients – 5: Special

1) refried beans,
2) sour cream,
3) guacamole

Preparation

Prepare any meats separately in a fashion that you find appealing. Clean and cut up all the fresh garden goodies that you choose. Rinse and drain all kitchen sprouts that you choose. For every 8-10 cups of garden goodies and kitchen sprouts, add 1 cup of oil. Place in saucepan or kettle and cook slowly until the vegetables and sprouts reach a soft, but not mushy, texture (if you plan on adding eggs, it is important to add them 5-10 minutes before the vegetables finish). Add meats and salt to taste and cook even slower until all it hot enough to serve, sprinkle cheese(s) on top. Serve with or without warm refried beans, warm guacamole, and/or sour cream.

Corn, Tomato and Basil Soup

From “Far Afield,” a newsletter of the Tolstoy Farms CSA, August 2005

1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup purified water
3 cups fresh corn kernels cut from the cob or 1 pound frozen sweet corn
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Saute onions in the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until they just begin to brown.

Add the garlic and sauté for a minute, stirring constantly.

Pour in the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they give up their juice. Cover and continue cooking about five minutes more.

Add the water and corn to the soup and cook until the corn is soft and the kernels lose their raw taste, about 5 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the basil, mix well, remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Cucumber Yogurt Dip

From “Far Afield,” a newsletter of the Tolstoy Farms CSA, August 2005

1 large cucumber
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh mint
2 teaspoons fresh dill, diced
1 ¾ cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Dice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes, then drain.

Add the garlic, mint, dill and yogurt. Mix well then stir in the remaining ingredients.

This fall we'll be launching our new and improved Web site and we've been dreaming about what we'd like to see on the site.

So, now's a good time to ask...

What kind of food-related goodies would you like to see on the new site?

We knew it was too late for strawberries.

Even with the late spring, we'd dawdled far too long to expect there to be any of the scrumptious little berries left at Greenbluff.

But we wanted to show my husband's parents around and maybe have a bit of lunch. Plus, cherries should be coming on soon.

After lunch at High Country we grabbed a couple of buckets and headed for the trees. My five-year-old had a blast climbing the ladder ahead of me and reaching for the perfect, sun-kissed apricots.

And the cherries! The trees were so laden with the perfectly ripe fruit it was hard to control ourselves.

We could have left then, perfectly content and loaded down with fruit. But we stopped at Siemers strawberry field against our better judgment.

We broke all the rules: It was almost 3 p.m. (best picking is always in the morning), it was late in the season and we were picking with two cranky little boys.

Picking was tough. There were an awful lot of overripe berries.

Still we left with enough strawberries to make everyone smile.

My 5-year-old son Karsten, had fun leading me to the best berries and feeding some to his little brother, Dashiell.

We made a batch of strawberry vanilla jam, a batch of freezer jam and froze a couple bowls of berries. And we had enough leftover to have strawberry shortcake (twice!).

Why do you love it here?

Our series of stories on canning continues in tomorrow's food section wtih a story on canning fruit.

If you're planning to put up fruit that wasn't included in the story, there are a couple of places online to find the processing times.

Try the National Center for Home Food Preservation or the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Extension offers a brochure called "Canning Fruits" here.

C'mon, admit it ... these stories make you want to start canning for the first time.

I know that one of the cardinal rules for cooking for your family is to feed everyone the same meal.

Don't become a short order cook, is the advice you hear.

And as much as I've tried to avoid it, I still feel a little bit like I slave away in the kitchen starting at 5 p.m. when the kids are hungry and ending at 7 p.m. when I finally sit down to my meal when my husband gets home from work.

There are a couple of forces at work:

1) No matter what I try (snacks, distractions, ignoring them) my kids are hungry at 5 p.m. And not just hungry... HUNGRY.

2) I want to feel them healthy, homemade food but I'm busy and tired.

So, I need a much bigger arsenal of meals I can make that will work for everyone. Rice and black beans is one of our go-to dishes for that reason. The kids love it, and then we can dress it up with sauteed vegetables, meat and salsas for rice bowls, burritos and the like.

What are your go-to meals for busy weeknights that everyone loves, but don't require a kitchen slave?

We celebrated our anniversary this week with a simple dinner and dessert.

While the boys played in the backyard, we indulged in take-out from Gordy's Sichuan. Black date chicken for me. John had the coconut curry tofu.

(We flirted with the idea of dinner out together, but a toddler with a major case of the mommies makes it miserable for everyone when our regular babysitter is out of town.)

As delightful as Gordy's is, the highlight of the meal was the homemade dessert.

The morning of our anniversary, between cajoling kids into their clothes for the day, feeding empty morning tummies and getting himself ready for work, he managed to whip together this incredible Blueberry Pound Cake.

The Cooking Light recipe won raves online from the people who tried it. I'll add mine to the list: The texture was perfect, with a pound cake-like density, but without all the fat.

There's a subtle lemon flavor from the yogurt and the glaze. And it's not too sweet.

It would be perfect for brunch.

Thanks John for the cake and for 7 wonderful years.

How you you celebrate your anniversary?

Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Pound Cake

From Cooking Light

2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light butter
1/2 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) carton lemon low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg white, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 tablespoons flour and blueberries in a small bowl, and toss well.

Combine remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Fold in blueberry mixture and vanilla; pour cake batter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl; drizzle over warm cake. Cut with a serrated knife.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 287 (19% from fat); FAT 6.1g (sat 3.4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM 50mg; CARBOHYDRATE 53.9g; SODIUM 227mg; PROTEIN 5.7g; FIBER 1.5g

Reminding readers of the Davenport Hotel Coffeecake recipe we ran last year.

Today's story about the Davenport Hotel bread kits made several readers' mouth start watering for this recipe instead.

We wrote about the cake last year, detailing owner Walt Worthy and his sister Mary Beth Worthy-Kirkland's efforts to perfect a coffeecake recipe for the hotel.

The coffeecake sold there when the hotel first reopened was thicker and called for more flour, more eggs, less vanilla and walnuts (instead of the pecans in this recipe.

Walt Worthy said at the time this was the coffeecake they always intented to serve at the hotel.

DAVENPORT HOTEL COFFEECAKE

Be sure to line the pans with foil for an authentic cake.

1 cup salted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 9-inch round cake pans with foil.

In bowl of standing mixer (or with a hand blender), cream together the butter and sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs, stopping often to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Blend in the sour cream and vanilla. Add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. The batter will be quite loose.

Divide the batter evenly between the two lined cake pans.

Combine all topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of the two cakes.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Immediately lift cakes out of pans by pulling up the foil and let them cool completely on wire racks before carefully peeling back the foil. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Yield: Two cakes, six slices per cake

Approximate nutrition per serving: 434 calories, 24 grams fat (13 grams saturated, 50 percent fat calories), 4 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrate, less than one gram dietary fiber, 124 milligrams cholesterol, 277 milligrams sodium.

Bake a loaf of signature bread from the Davenport Hotel with a new kit from the hotel.

All of the ingredients in the kit were found from sources within 50 miles of the downtown Spokane hotel, according to a news release.

The wheat is hard red spring wheat – called Tara 2000 – bred in the agricultural research center at Washington State University.

Shepherd’s Grain grows the wheat on one of the farms in its alliance of partners who are committed to sustainable growing practices, such as no-till seeding.

The small jar of honey comes from Tate’s Honey Farm, where the bees gather nectar from wildflowers, clover, alfalfa and purple vetch between Mead and Elk.

Coeur d’Alene Olive Oil Co provides the olive oil for the bread kit. The extra-virgin, first cold press oil is sold at its retail store across from the Davenport. The olives are grown in California groves owned and operated by the Gunn family of Coeur d’Alene.

The women at Christ Kitchen assemble the bags. Christ Kitchen is a ministry which provides work and job training for women in poverty in Spokane.

Readers sent in some pictures of the incredible birthday cakes they have made for their children.

Every year, Spokane resident Sandy Wright bakes birthday cakes for her two children, and then her husband, Brett, who has a background in architecture, carves and decorates them.

They have created cakes shaped like a teddy bear, a purse, a skateboard, a guitar and a Tonka truck that moved on wheels.

Here are just a few example of their wonderful work:

For her son Ryan’s eighth birthday, Susan Leavitt played up the “eight” theme with a fondant-covered octopus cake. The octopus’ body is a dome-shaped cake and its legs are made from Twinkies.

Newman Lake resident Tracy Morales gets many of her cake ideas from www.familyfun.com, including these “shamburger” cookies. Peppermint patties mimic the beef and the faux lettuce is actually coconut tinted with green food coloring.

Efrain Ferreira picks cherries in an East Wenatchee, Wash., orchard operated by Jesus Zacarias.(AP Photo/The Wenatchee World, Don Seabrook)

A co-worker of mine had a question: Is is safe to eat the cherries off his backyard tree even if there is a worm inside each one?

Humm... Most people get turned off when they discover a worm in their fruit. In this case, it's probably the larvae of the cherry fruit fly because he doesn't spray the tree.

This co-worker thinks its perfectly safe (he's eaten similarly infested cherries every year from the tree) although he is complaining of bit of a stomachache this morning.

What do you think? Is it safe to eat cherries with worms inside? Would you do it?

I took my colleague Jim Kershner's advice (and a bag of scapes he brought from the garden) and made garlic scape pesto.

Jim wrote a story about garlic scapes for the food section last month. Here's a link.

We followed the recipe shared by Mary Jane Butters in the story, but added some roasted pine nuts to help cut the hot garlic flavor a bit. (Jim recommends walnuts, too.)

It was delicious. We slathered it on a salmon fillet during the last few mintues of grilling.

I'm considering trying it as the sauce for a pizza tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

What's your latest food discovery?

This morning's news includes a ground beef recall Frey Meyer shoppers in Idaho should know about.

Fred Meyer’s parent company is recalling ground beef sold in Idaho stores under the “Private Selection Natural” label.

The “sell-by” dates on the product were July 11 through July 21, 2008.

The beef has been linked to Omaha-based Nebraska Beef, which supplied products connected to E. coli illnesses in Michigan and central and northern Ohio.

Check the ground beef in your refrigerators and freezers, they have at home in their refrigerators and freezers. It can be returned to the store for a full refund or replacement.

If I drop into the grocery store without a list, I feel flustered, disorganized and overwhelmed.

Mostly, that's because I know I'm paying more for things than I should.

Our goal for cutting the food budget at my house as been to sit down each week to make a menu. It doesn't always get done, but we usually have a pretty well stocked freezer. (It's pretty slim pickings right now, because I pulled most of the make-ahead meals out of there during a recent freezer crisis. See post below).

Here are the links I promised in today's Food page story for the Better Baking Mix cookbook from the Washington State University Food Sense Program.

The program also offers a Magic Mix cookbook and a Skillet Meals book.

The Magic Mix is instant nonfat milk and cornstarch which combines easily with water to thicken and add calcium to soups, puddings, chowders and sauces. Use it instead of buying mixes at the store to save money.

Skillet Meals are a great way to save, too. Karin Gilchrist, a registered dietitian who oversees the WSU Food Sense program, says they're also a great way to avoid the preservatives that are added to box mixes. They are also lower in sodium.

I'll post a recipe for the Tex-Mex Skillet after the jump.

How do you save? Post your ideas here.

Area farmers just started offering strawberries for picking last week, saying the season was running about two weeks late.

According to the Web sites at some Green Bluff farms, they're expecting cherries to be ready for picking by mid-July and in time for the Cherry Pickers trot (on July 17) and festival.

Susan Puhek, of S&P Homestead Farms, who sells produce at the Liberty Lake Farmers Market each Saturday, says things have been slow to get going but she's worried it will all ripen at once.

How are things looking in your garden this year?

My husband ascended the stairs with some bad news this morning.

The freezer, it seemed, wasn't freezing anymore. It's not clear exactly what the problem was, but for some reason the stand-alone freezer was flashing an error message where the temperature should have been.

We quickly scrambled to put as much as we could in the upstairs freezer and the refrigerator.

Luckily, we'd caught it while most things were still safely frozen or at least cold. The USDA says it is safe to refreeze foods that have not warmed to above 40 degrees. Thawed foods that still contain ice crystals are safe to refreeze, although there can be a loss of quality.

The door hadn't been opened so I think that helped. I'm just glad we caught it before everything spoiled. There was a lot of food in there.

What's your freezer nightmare?

Somehow with my vacation week and the mountain of e-mail upon my return, I missed getting this notice in the print edition this week.

Main Market's latest In The Field excursion on Saturday is not to be missed.

The market has reserved a van that will head north to Quillisascut farm near Rice, Wash. and Lovitt Restaurant at Colville.

Tour members will meet Lora Lea and Rick Misterly at Quillisascut and meet their goats at the beautiful farm. They'll taste the cheeses created there and make a few bites of herbed chevre to take home.

Then at Lovitt Restaurant they'll talk to Norman and Kristen Six about their decision to relocate the restaurant from Chicago to Colville and eat a specially prepared snack.

The tour is a steal for $35 per adult and $30 for children. Kids should be 12 and older. Plan to spend the day touring. The event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

More information can be found on the Main Market Web site. Or call (509)990-4247 for information or reservations.

I got my new issue of Everyday Food in the mail yesterday.

I'm ignoring the hubbub about Martha and Emeril gracing the cover, instead of food for the first time. Read about it here.

I'm not one for celebrity worship, but I do like the magazine for its recipes. I always find something to make. We especially liked a recent Moo Shu Pork recipe.

I love their Family Friendly and Freeze It sections. (We need all the help we can get with the dinner routine.)

Here's a recipe from the magazine we're making for dinner tonight: Pork, Apricot and Red Onion Kebabs.

I'll report back on the results.

What's for dinner at your house tonight?

Pork, Apricot and Red Onion Kebabs

Vegetable oil, for grates,
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 20 1-inch cubes
8 apricots (about 1 pound), pitted and quartered
1 small red onion, cut into 2-inch wedges, layers separated.

Heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates.
Soak four 12-inch wooden skewers in a shallow dish of water for 15 minutes (or use metal ones.)

Make basting sauce: In a small saucepan, heat jam, cayenne and 1 tablespoon water over medium low until jam is liquefied; season with salt and pepper.

Onto each skewer, alternately thread 5 pieces of pork with 8 of apricot and 4 of onion, beginning and ending with pork.

Grill kebabs, turning occasionally and brushing with basting sauce, until pork is cooked through and apricots begin to char 12 to 14 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

I'm back from vacation to a question about the recipe for Lemon Curd Shortbread Sandwiches that appeared in the May 21 edition of the food section.

Josie Bucknell asked: "In the fifth paragraph of recipe it states, 'Invert the cooked first half of the dough directly on to the filling'
Nowhere in the recipe does it state cooking any dough. Could you please clarify?"

I looked up the original version of the story, which was from the Associated Press. That sentence should not have the word cooked in it.

It should say: "Invert the reserved first half of the dough directly onto the filling."

I'm not sure where the mistake was introduced, or if there was an updated version of the story with that change in it that we missed. However, it is correct to bake it all together at the end.

Here's the corrected recipe:

Lemon Curd Shortbread Sandwiches

Butter and eggs make prepared lemon curd so rich and flavorful that it can stand on its own as a filling for these golden shortbread cookies. You can find it with the other jams and jellies.

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

12 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 7-by-11-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the bottom of the dish, letting the ends hang over the sides; smooth out any wrinkles.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

On low speed, beat in the flour until the mixture is well blended and holds together when pressed. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the ball in half and press one half into an even layer over the bottom of the prepared dish.

Grab the edges of the plastic wrap and lift the rectangle of dough out of the dish. Set aside.

Press the remaining dough over the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Spread the lemon curd on top. Invert the reserved first half of the dough directly on to the filling. Peel away the plastic wrap.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden. Transfer the dish to a wire rack and cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into 12 rectangles.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

I had trouble choosing which recipes to share from two wonderful new Sandpoint cookbooks.

“Savoring Sandpoint: Recipes from Across the Long Bridge” from the Community Assistance League and Centennial Cookbook from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church both have chapter after chapter or yummy-sounding delights. The books are featured in Fresh Sheet on Wednesday (June 11).

Volunteer Elaine Linscott recommended “any of the appetizers” in the book. I considered the Green Chile Cheese Puffs, but settled on the Salmon Party Pinwheels below.

No Sandpoint cookbook would be complete without a huckleberry recipe, so the Oatmeal Huckleberry Muffins seemed like a winner. I can’t wait to try them.

And finally I wanted to include an offering from the nice little “Restaurant Recipes” section. The Beyond Hope Restaurant shared Stuffed Double Pork Chops that sound simple and elegant.

From the “Centennial Cookbook,” which the St. Joseph’s Church members put together to help celebrate 100 years, I’ve included Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup, Huckleberry Cake and Mrs. O’Reilly’s Cookies.

I love this cake.

Simple. Quick. Delicious.

No strawberries required.

Rhubarb Cake
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 egg
1 cup sour milk or buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda (dissolve in milk)
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups small cubed rhubarb (I always use more, probably closer to 3 or 4 cups)

Mix as for other cakes, folding in rhubarb last. Sprinkle with a mixture of 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon before baking.
Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes in a 9 by 13 inch pan.