Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas pudding: A plum delightful tradition

By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Of the many Christmas tradi­tions, few are as endearing as getting together and preparing a family recipe.
For Chris Wulf and daughter, Nancy Pannell, the smells of nana’s plum pudding fill Pan­nell’s kitchen during the holiday season. The treat has been a Christmas staple for generations. “My mother helped Grandma, I helped Mother, now I help Nancy,” Wulf said.
“It’s the partnership,” she said. “We’ve done it for 40 years and never missed a year.”
With a dash of this and a pinch of that, the recipe came with Wulf’s maternal family when they moved from England and settled in Salt Lake City.
In England, plum pudding was an important part of the Christ­mas celebration. It contained dried fruit and spices, mostly dried plums, or prunes — which have been replaced by raisins — nuts, and raw beef or mutton fat (suet).
It was made five weeks before Christmas on “Stir up Sunday,” when each member of the family stirred the pudding and made a wish. Traditionally, small silver charms were baked in the plum pudding, signifying good luck, safe harbor, wealth, etc.
Today, these tiny charms may still be bought and baked in the steamed pudding. Covered with a wonderfully rich sauce, deco­rated with a sprig of holly, doused in brandy, and set aflame, the plum pudding is cer­emoniously brought to the table. Many Americans are familiar with the plum pudding traditions as told in many carols and Christmas stories.
From Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” Mrs. Cratchit brought the pudding to the table, “blazing in half of half a quartern of brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck on top.”
When it came to ordering pud­ding ingredients, Wulf said her grandmother was a “feisty little thing.” She would tell the grocer exactly what she wanted.
“That meant that the suet was not to come from anywhere but the beef kidneys,” Wulf said.
These days it’s difficult to acquire suet, so Wulf and Pan­nell have adapted the recipe to include butter, which is mixed in with the bread crumbs. They also add dates, pecans, candied cherries and a bit of brandy, all of which is meticulously hand stirred.
It’s carefully ladled into well­greased tin cans, covered with foil and securely tied with string
See PLUM PUDDING, 2L Plum pudding: A family tradition

FROM 1L
before being submerged into a long, hot steam bath. Wulf said that the pudding also may be made in a mold and put in a water bath in the oven.
Every year, mother and daugh­ter meet in Pannell’s kitchen as part of the holiday tradition to make pudding and to remember the family and friends who have come and gone through the years. “We’ve lost a lot of pudding eaters over the years,” Wulf said.
NANA’S PLUM PUDDING
1 cup dark molasses (if very thick, soften for a few seconds in the microwave)
½ tsp. baking soda Fruit mixture:
2 cups bread crumbs processed in Cuisinart with ¾ cup cold butter
2 cups golden raisins
1½ cups chopped dates
1½ cups candied fruit
8 ounces candied red cherries
8 ounces candied green cherries
1 cup broken pecans or walnuts
½ cup flour Dry ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder Moist ingredients:
¼ to ½ cup brandy, rum or whiskey
¾ cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix molasses and baking soda and set aside until fluffy and light colored.
Measure bread crumbs, can­died fruit, dates, nuts and ½ cup flour into a large bowl. Toss to combine. Measure and mix together 1½ cups flour, sugar, spices and baking powder. Add to bread crumb mixture and mix well by hand. Add brandy, rum or whiskey, along with molasses mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
In small bowl, beat together whole milk, eggs and vanilla.
Add to ingredients in large bowl. Mix well, by hand. The dough should be the consistency of muffin dough. If necessary, add more flour.
Ladle mixture into well­greased aluminum cans. Fill cans two-thirds to three-quarters full. Leave room for pudding to puff up when steamed.
Top cans with heavy duty foil tied with double string so the cans are airtight. Trim foil evenly so as not to touch water bath.
Steam in oven in water bath or use an electric roaster. Water should be one-third to one-half of the way up on the can.
To steam: Set temperature at 350° and steam for three hours. Lower temperature to 250° and steam for 1½ hours. Add more water if necessary during steaming time to avoid scorching the bottoms of the puddings. Re-move. Cool. Store in refrigerator or freeze. It will keep for up to one year.
To serve: Steam pudding in a covered saucepan in about 1 inch of water for 45 minutes. Remove foil from can. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the can and carefully unmold pudding onto plate. Slice and top with sauce.
Makes about 10 soup cans of pudding
WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE
Whip 1 cup cream almost to butter; fold carefully, the follow­ing ingredients one at a time to keep cream as stiff as possible.
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp. melted butter
Powdered sugar to taste
½ tsp. vanilla.
Refrigerate until serving time.
BRANDY OR RUM SAUCE
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup water
½ tsp. lemon juice

Monday, December 6, 2010

Cataldo Mission story

Historic mission is worth a visit

High on a grassy knoll above Interstate 90, 24 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, the Cataldo Mis­sion church is situated elegantly above a leafy forest. For years, as I traveled to and from Seat­tle, I passed by the Cataldo Mis­sion with little more than a glance. But finally, “The House of the Great Spirit,” as the Coeur d’Alene Indians called it, lured me in.
After you take Exit 39 and wind through the woodsy land­scape, you can almost feel the pull of the past along the trails in Old Mission State Park. The visitors center offers an orienta­tion video.
Connecting Fort Benton on the Missouri River with Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia, the Mullan Road passed in front of the mission, which became an impor­tant stop for traders, settlers and miners. It was a port for boats head­ing up the Coeur d’Alene River.
What stands today dates back to the 1850s, when the tribe put a call out to St. Louis and the “blackrobes,” the Jesuits, to establish a mission in the rugged wilderness.
The beloved Father Antonio Ravalli, who built St. Mary’s Mission near Stevensville, answered the call to work with the Coeur d’Alenes.
Safe from flooding, the hill above the Coeur d’Alene River, long a holy place to the Coeur d’alene Indians, was chosen as the site for the church.
David Leeds, park interpreter and history buff, shared infor­mation about the Old Mission.
“Many generations of Indians came here to offer prayers for successful journeys,” he said.
Father Ravalli and the Native Americans worked for nearly six years to construct a magnifi­cent church 90 feet long and 40 feet wide. Built in the Roman Doric style, it mirrors architec­ture Ravalli studied in his native Italy. The facade remains a tes­tament to his skill.
Inside the church looms a carved ceiling colored with huckleberry juice, the stain being the closest they could get to the heavenly blue they were aiming for. The workers had only meager tools, using an ax but no saw. Even so, they were able to craft wood­en statues and fur­niture, and painted pictures. Ravalli carved with his pocket knife and plucked tail hairs from his cat which he used for his paint brushes.
Visitors can see into the building’s walls in side rooms and see the original wattle and daub, using river grass and clay. Timber beams are held by hand-carved pegs.
There is a credence table, hand-hewn urns and exquisite small chandeliers cut from used tin cans. When newspapers became available, they were glued to the walls and painted to resemble wallpaper.
Just over the doorway hangs a framed painting of the Sacred Heart done by Ravalli.
In 1877, the mission was left outside reservation boundaries and the Coeur d’Alene Indians were relocated. Another priest, Father Cataldo, took over the mission which eventually became Cataldo Mission.
In 1961, the mission was des­ignated a National Historic Landmark.



PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
The Cataldo Mission in Idaho.


On the Road
— Polly Kolstad

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A taste of India offered to Great Falls residents

By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Wearing spotless saris and distinct long dresses, Rupa Mehta, Mina Parikh, Rekha Shah and Malti Sheth recently taught a class in Great Falls on the cooking of India.
Delighted to be sharing their food and culture, they prepared recipes from their native coun­try including Channa Masala, Bataka ni suki Bhaji, Poori and Masala tea.
Mehta pulled back her long braided hair as she talked about these typical Indian dishes, all vegetarian and served for lunch and dinner.
“We have our morning tea (chai), not too much food, then we eat lunch, our big meal, and we eat a light meal around 8 o’clock, maybe one curry and some bread,” she said.
The women, who with their families are in the hotel busi­ness in Great Falls, are conti­nents away from their native city of Ahmedabad, located in the western part of India. “In our country, the women mainly cook,” Mehta said. “My mother taught me. I teach my daughter. She knows how to do it.”
The recipes are passed down through generations and rarely are transcribed into books. The women say they love their tradi­tional cuisine and admit that only after one or two days of western food, they can hardly wait to get back to their tradi­tional roots. They were brought up on the same food mentioned in Hindu scripture, with vegetables and fruit serving as the mainstays of their diet.
Preparing to demonstrate Channa Masala, a popular veg­etable dish usually made with chickpeas, onion, chopped tomatoes, turmeric, coriander and garlic, Mehta pulled out a large drawer filled with shiny jars of dried peas and beans.
“We need protein which we get from 10 different kinds of beans,” she explained.

India: Food from afar

It took only minutes to pre­pare the intensely spiced bright orange entree, eaten separately or served over rice.
In India, most people have gardens filled with eggplant, watermelon, okra, pumpkin and potatoes, they said.
“People love potato,” Shah said as she demonstrated how to make Bataka ni Suki Bhaji, or steamed potato with cilantro.
Bataka doesn’t require many ingredients and is easy to pre­pare. The delicious yellow cur­ried dish often is served to guests who come to lunch or dinner.
Making bread from scratch is an everyday task for these women. In much of India, wheat is a staple and a key component of many main dishes. Among these are poori (puri), a tradi­tional fried Indian bread served piping hot and puffed.
Parikh taught the class how to make the simple whole wheat dough. After rolling out thin small rounds and plunging them into hot oil, puffy, light and crispy pooris emerged, served with fresh cucumber raita, an Indian condiment made with yogurt.
The afternoon was topped off with Masala tea.
It’s made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. Tea is impor­tant to Indian life, taken at all times of the day. Though recipes and styles vary from family to family, making a good, strong Indian masala tea isn’t difficult. The predominant note of an Indian masala tea is cardamom, a staple throughout India.
Some ingredients might not be readily available. For more information, call Rupa Mehta at 788-2224. She is also available to teach Indian cooking classes.
CHANNA MASALA
1 cup (dried) or 1 can garban­zo beans
1 tsp. garam masala (an Indian spice available at 2Js)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¾ cup chopped onions
2 finely chopped tomatoes
1-inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp. cumin
½ tsp. chopped jalapeno pep­per
1 tbsp. paprika
Chili powder to taste
1 tbsp. cream or plain yogurt
1 tbsp. tamarind powder
Garnish: 1 small tomato cut into wedges; one small onion, cut in wedges; fresh cilantro
If using fresh beans, soak overnight or for five to six hours. Pressure cook with a tea bag. Discard the tea bag and set the beans aside.
Using a food processor, make a paste of onions, tomatoes, gin­ger, garlic, cumin, paprika, jalapeno and chili powder.
Heat oil in pan and add bay leaf and paste. Allow to cook for a few minutes. Add cream or yogurt and tamarind powder. Add the beans, and ½ cup water; bring to a boil and cook until thick. Add cream or yogurt and tamarind powder. Sprinkle garnish and serve with rice, if desired. Serves four to six.
BATAKA NI SUKI BHAJI STEAMED POTATO WITH CILANTRO
2 large potatoes
1 tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. mustard seeds
2 chilies, cut into rings
Juice of half of a lime
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 tsp. raw coconut
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup raw cashews
6-7 curry leaves
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Put potatoes in a glass bowl with ½ cup water and pinch of salt. Cover and cook in the microwave until done. Peel potatoes and cut into medium­size cubes.
Heat oil in medium saute pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves and chilies. As they start to pop, turn heat to low and add potatoes, lime juice, salt and sugar, coconut, raisins and cashews. Stir. Add cilantro and cover pan. Cook on low heat for about five minutes until heated through. Serves six.
POORI
2½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp. salt
ª cup water (room tempera­ture)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Put flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in water. Mix together with hands until dough may be gathered into a rough mass. Wet hands and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Cover with a wet towel and let rest for ½ hour. Knead dough again and separate into small balls of dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Take one ball of dough and dip in vegetable oil, then roll again into thin rounds. Repeat process to roll out all pooris. Heat plenty of oil in a kadhai or small deep pan until very hot. Put in a poori and immediately start flickering hot oil over the top of it with a spat­ula so that it will swell up like a ball. This should take a few sec­onds. Flip over and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove from oil and rest on paper towel. Serve warm.
CUCUMBER RAITA
Peel a medium-size English cucumber. Grate into a small bowl. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar.
With the back of a spoon, squeeze out moisture and drain. Add 2 cups plain yogurt, 1 tsp. grated green chili, 1 tsp. chopped cilantro and 1 tsp. ground mustard seed. Mix together.


See INDIA, 2L


POLLY KOLSTAD PHOTO
The cooks from India show off dishes prepared in a recent cooking class. The women are, left to right, Rupa Mehta, Rekha Shah, Mina Parikh and Malti Sheth.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Guru of Garlic

Retired track coach turns attention to gardening
The guru of garlic

Story and photo by POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
In Branch Brady’s plentiful hillside gardens, live 300 garlic plants. Recent­ly harvested after flourishing in richly composted soil for a year, fat cloves will soon go back in the ground for another season.
The retired C.M. Russell High track coach has grown garlic for 15 years after Bob Miller, a CMR shop teacher, gave him a few seed heads to plant. He also purchased five bulbs from Jim Bundi at the Great Falls Farmers Mar­ket.
Each year, he replants five of the largest bulbs.
He has two varieties — Bundi’s white, a hardneck or corkscrew ver­sion that turns as it grows and a red heirloom he got from another garlic hobbyist, Ray Heffern.
“I just have fun with it; I’m not a gar­lic expert,” Brady said. “I like to grow it and give it away.”
Garlic needs sun and well-drained soil. Planted in the fall, it comes up in the spring. As it grows, it sprouts green stalks that appear like iris leaves. From these stalks, a green bloom emerges that must be plucked to promote the growth back in the underground bulb. The green bloom has a mild garlic flavor and can be used in salads and soups. In these climes, garlic is ready to be dug up in July and August.
Garlic is usually milder soon after it is pulled from the ground because the chemistry within the garlic evolves during the year. September is the best time to buy garlic because it recently has been harvested.
Once it’s pulled, garlic slowly dehy­drates in a natural drying-down process that takes months. As it loses its moisture, it slowly shrinks, and the flavor begins to condense and contin­ues to intensify as long as it is stored at room temperature.
You know you have fresh garlic when the skin clings desperately to the clove when you try to peel it. If at any point during this process you slice and dry it, it will retain whatever flavor it had at that point.
Its shelf life at room temperature at about 50 percent humidity runs from four to 10 months or longer, depending on the variety and the health and condition of the garlic.
Garlic keepers, covered ceramic pots with holes for circulation, provide the cool, dark condi­tions in which garlic bulbs keep best. Never store garlic in oil, even while refrigerated as is sometimes rec­ommended, because botulism can result. Commercial prepara­tions of garlic in oil have been treated to prevent botulism.
Bundi Gardens plants 6,000 garlic bulbs each year, which were harvested recently. They have 12 varieties, available at 4410 10th Ave. N. and at the Farmers Market. Their garlic is priced by weight, both by the braid and by the bulb.
SHERRY’S ROASTED GARLIC
Garlic becomes rather sweet when roasted and may be squeezed out of the cloves and added to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to spread on French or Italian bread. It’s sometimes referred to as Italian butter.
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350°. Take one (or more) gar­lic head and snip the top to level. Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a tent by bringing sides of foil over garlic and twist to close. Roast until tender, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic paste from each clove.
GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
½ pound grated cheddar
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 cube butter, softened
1 clove garlic chopped
½ tsp. paprika
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 loaf French bread, sliced ½ inch thick
Preheat broiler. Line jellyroll pans with foil.
Mix together first seven ingre­dients. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and sprinkle with a little paprika. Place on pre­pared pan. Broil until very browned and bubbly.
GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES
2 pounds unpeeled new baby red potatoes, halved if large
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Þ cup chopped chives
2 tbsp. bacon bits
Gently boil potatoes and gar­lic in salted water until tender. Drain. Using the back of a large spoon, smash each potato once so the pieces are large and chunky. Add butter, cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Fold in chives and bacon bits. Serve hot. Four servings.
ROSEMARY–SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND APPLES WITH PORT WINE PAN SAUCE
3 tbsp. olive oil
16 to 18 whole peeled garlic cloves, plus 2 tbsp. minced cloves (about 1½ heads)
1 whole boneless pork loin, 4 pounds, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups peeled, chopped, apples
Heavy kitchen string or twine
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. apple jelly
¼ cup port wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
Adjust oven rack to upper­middle position and heat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and golden, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apples. Tie loin together with twine or string at 1½ inch intervals.
Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, on a large, jellyroll pan. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary and brush mixture onto meat.
Roast until a meat thermome­ter stuck into the center registers 125° to 130°, about 1½ hours. Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400°. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155° to 160°, about 20 minutes longer. For more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, three to five minutes.
Let roast rest 15 to 20 min­utes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits.
Pour through a strainer into a small pan. Stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 tbsp. jelly. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and spoon sauce over.
Serves six to eight.


I just have fun with it. I’m not a garlic expert.
I like to grow it and give it away.
— Branch Brady, gardener


Branch Brady grows two types of garlic each season and gives most of it away.







The guru of garlic

Story and photo by POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
In Branch Brady’s plentiful hillside gardens, live 300 garlic plants. Recent­ly harvested after flourishing in richly composted soil for a year, fat cloves will soon go back in the ground for another season.
The retired C.M. Russell High track coach has grown garlic for 15 years after Bob Miller, a CMR shop teacher, gave him a few seed heads to plant. He also purchased five bulbs from Jim Bundi at the Great Falls Farmers Mar­ket.
Each year, he replants five of the largest bulbs.
He has two varieties — Bundi’s white, a hardneck or corkscrew ver­sion that turns as it grows and a red heirloom he got from another garlic hobbyist, Ray Heffern.
“I just have fun with it; I’m not a gar­lic expert,” Brady said. “I like to grow it and give it away.”
Garlic needs sun and well-drained soil. Planted in the fall, it comes up in the spring. As it grows, it sprouts green stalks that appear like iris leaves. From these stalks, a green bloom emerges that must be plucked to promote the growth back in the underground bulb. The green bloom has a mild garlic flavor and can be used in salads and soups. In these climes, garlic is ready to be dug up in July and August.
Garlic is usually milder soon after it is pulled from the ground because the chemistry within the garlic evolves during the year. September is the best time to buy garlic because it recently has been harvested.
Once it’s pulled, garlic slowly dehy­drates in a natural drying-down process that takes months. As it loses its moisture, it slowly shrinks, and the flavor begins to condense and contin­ues to intensify as long as it is stored at room temperature.
You know you have fresh garlic when the skin clings desperately to the clove when you try to peel it. If at any point during this process you slice and dry it, it will retain whatever flavor it had at that point.
Its shelf life at room temperature at about 50 percent humidity runs from four to 10 months or longer, depending on the variety and the health and condition of the garlic.
Garlic keepers, covered ceramic pots with holes for circulation, provide the cool, dark condi­tions in which garlic bulbs keep best. Never store garlic in oil, even while refrigerated as is sometimes rec­ommended, because botulism can result. Commercial prepara­tions of garlic in oil have been treated to prevent botulism.
Bundi Gardens plants 6,000 garlic bulbs each year, which were harvested recently. They have 12 varieties, available at 4410 10th Ave. N. and at the Farmers Market. Their garlic is priced by weight, both by the braid and by the bulb.
SHERRY’S ROASTED GARLIC
Garlic becomes rather sweet when roasted and may be squeezed out of the cloves and added to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to spread on French or Italian bread. It’s sometimes referred to as Italian butter.
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350°. Take one (or more) gar­lic head and snip the top to level. Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a tent by bringing sides of foil over garlic and twist to close. Roast until tender, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic paste from each clove.
GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
½ pound grated cheddar
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 cube butter, softened
1 clove garlic chopped
½ tsp. paprika
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 loaf French bread, sliced ½ inch thick
Preheat broiler. Line jellyroll pans with foil.
Mix together first seven ingre­dients. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and sprinkle with a little paprika. Place on pre­pared pan. Broil until very browned and bubbly.
GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES
2 pounds unpeeled new baby red potatoes, halved if large
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Þ cup chopped chives
2 tbsp. bacon bits
Gently boil potatoes and gar­lic in salted water until tender. Drain. Using the back of a large spoon, smash each potato once so the pieces are large and chunky. Add butter, cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Fold in chives and bacon bits. Serve hot. Four servings.
ROSEMARY–SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND APPLES WITH PORT WINE PAN SAUCE
3 tbsp. olive oil
16 to 18 whole peeled garlic cloves, plus 2 tbsp. minced cloves (about 1½ heads)
1 whole boneless pork loin, 4 pounds, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups peeled, chopped, apples
Heavy kitchen string or twine
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. apple jelly
¼ cup port wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
Adjust oven rack to upper­middle position and heat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and golden, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apples. Tie loin together with twine or string at 1½ inch intervals.
Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, on a large, jellyroll pan. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary and brush mixture onto meat.
Roast until a meat thermome­ter stuck into the center registers 125° to 130°, about 1½ hours. Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400°. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155° to 160°, about 20 minutes longer. For more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, three to five minutes.
Let roast rest 15 to 20 min­utes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits.
Pour through a strainer into a small pan. Stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 tbsp. jelly. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and spoon sauce over.
Serves six to eight.


I just have fun with it. I’m not a garlic expert.
I like to grow it and give it away.
— Branch Brady, gardener


Branch Brady grows two types of garlic each season and gives most of it away.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Bacon Park story

Beauty and peace befall upon Bigfork’s tranquil Bacon Park
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune Quiet discovery awaits visi­tors to Bacon Park on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork.A haven of tranquil beauty, the park treats guests to a peaceful descent into a land­scape where stones, shrubs, trees and flowers emphasize the subtle symmetry of nature.Laura and Jerry Bacon love the little oasis they have created in Harbor Village across the street from their townhouse.“Nothing makes me more happy than to get up with a cup of coffee in the morning and head over to our park,” Laura Bacon said. “It is our fairy gar­den.”The Bacons call the park their “peace on Earth.” It offers the solace they’ve sought since 2004 when they began planning their horticultural dream with landscaper, Jim Doepker.Doepker graduated with a degree in forestry from the Uni­versity of Montana, but found his niche in landscaping. He enjoys working with clients like the Bacons, who immerse themselves in a project.“We built the park, all three of us,” Doepker said. “The Bacons have very much been the inspiration.”The Bacons wanted a Mon­tana Japanese garden, and along with Doepker, made trips to the Portland Japanese Gar­den, bought books and studied them in the winter.The original plan was simply drawn on onion skin paper. There never was a blueprint or sketch.“That’s part of the Japanese philosophy,” Doepker said.A typical Japanese garden features several elements including rocks, water, islands, ponds, bridges, lanterns, plants and a teahouse. Japanese gar­dens present impressive vistas in a small place.Displaying these design tra­ditions on two-thirds of an acre was not an easy go.They started construction in 2004, designating where they wanted the pond and doing the excavation. The next spring they brought in soil from Cre­ston and 330 tons of boulders from McGregor Peak, west of Kalispell.“It was one year before we planted anything, and even at that, after three years, we redid one area as we discovered it was a dead zone,” Doepker said.The Bacons’ garden is under­stated when it comes to color. They have lilacs, azalea and roses, but more for the color and texture of the foliage rather than the flowers.It also features a waterfall that rushes into the pond.Botanical lovers enjoy the pond’s koi and goldfish. From under the dainty wooden bridge, they swim, darting in and out of blooming lily pads.Doepker said they will come to you and eat out of your hand. An older white one he calls “Hot Lips Houlihan” is his favorite. Occasionally, an osprey swoops down and takes a fish. They have even seen blue herons perched and ready for the take. And, a neighborhood duck has been known to waddle in with See BACON PARK, 4L

COURTESY PHOTO Bacon Park is located on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork. Jerry and Laura Bacon created the park in Harbor Village.Bacon Park: Park attracts birds and dragonflies
FROM 1L her brood.A key to an authentic Japanese garden are the maple trees. The Bacons first planted five, and now there are 30. Many of these plants come from the Iseli Nursery in Oregon, which grows dwarf conifers and Japanese maples and prunes them using a Japan­ese garden technique.Along the garden’s sylvan paths are many unusual trees, in particular, the Hindu Pan, an evergreen which is actually a type of shore pine tree related to the lodge pole pine.The park attracts humming­birds, cedar waxwings and robins. Laura Bacon enjoys watching the grosbeaks.“Their babies come right next to you,” she said.There are dragonflies of many colors, as well.Most of the trees and plants in Bacon Park were purchased at local nurseries and tree farms. Brenda Guild, of Montana Gar­dener Inc., maintains the plants and has been with the Bacons since the park’s inception.Jan and Bob Livesay of Great Falls said the park is one of the most tranquil places they have seen and are impressed with the ever-changing landscaping.“Each visit offers new plant­ings and seasonal varieties,” they said. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the gar­den.”The Bacons welcome the pub­lic to visit their garden, though they don’t allow large tours.This past winter was hard on Bacon Park, devastating Zone 5 plants as well as others. They brought a crane in to take out the dead trees and plant new ones. The loss really bothered the Bacons, but they are recharged and re-energized.“Now, I think the garden is about where they envisioned,” Doepker said.“Yet, they get more ambitious all the time.”

Flathead Cherry Story

Great Falls 08/11/2010, Page L01

Savor sweet cherry season
Flathead gems are ripe
Enjoy them now, preserve some for the winter

By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
I knew I liked Toby Phillips the moment I saw him.
Wearing sturdy boots, he came through my door lugging two boxes of fresh Flathead cherries.
He had come to help us with our wheat harvest, bringing a tasty surprise.
He had spent the previous day picking and culling 40 pounds of cherries with his father-in-law, Hugh Hockaday, at the family orchard on Angel Point near Lakeside.
Flathead cherries are abundant around Flathead Lake, and the season is at its peak. Orchard growers in this area are famous for their high-quality bounty.
Though the harvest is a little late, it’s a good year for Flathead cherries. Picking began around the first of August and will continue for another week to 10 days.
The Hockadays’ cherries are Chi­nooks, pollinizers that resemble a Bing cherry .
“The cherries are of good size,” said Hockaday, who has been running the operation for more than 50 years.
Other big sweet cherries that do well in the area are Bing, Lambert and Queen Anne varieties. These cherries ripen after the Washington and Oregon cherries are off the market.
With a little help, cherry trees live a long time. It takes three to four years before they produce. They peak at 12 years and might produce another 12 years.
The Hockadays cultivate their trees repeatedly over the summer to keep the weeds out and to make sure all the mois­ture is going to the trees. Any split, cracked or bruised cherries go on the ground, left for the deer.
His grandfather had bought the land in 1910. Hockaday moved onto the prop­erty with his dad in 1946 when his granddad had a stroke. There were some trees there then, and he planted a lot more for commercial sales. Even then, cherries were big business.
“Granddad hired girls t o pick in the morning and pack in the afternoon,” Hockaday explained. “Then the cherries were loaded on steamers (boats) and taken to rail at Somers,” Today, the Hockaday orchard is a U­pick operation charging $1 a pound.
Many people return year after year for the tree-ripened fruit which, according to Hockaday, is a lot sweeter because they don’t irrigate and pump them full of water.
My hands are beautifully stained from handling and pitting the plump red fruit.
Not letting one go to waste, I have pre­pared many recipes. Still, I have a wind­fall of Montana’s sweetest picking.
“Just throw them in bags and freeze them,” Phillips suggested, “that’s what we do.
“Then, in the cool of winter take out a bowl of cherries and relish the delicious memory of summer.”
SWEET CHERRY PIE
Prepare pastry for two-crust pie. Mea­sure 2 cups flou r into large bowl, and with your hands, make a well in the cen­ter. Pour in ¾ cup vegetable oil, and ¼ cup water. Mix together. Divide into two balls of dough. Roll out one ball between waxed paper and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out second ball between waxed paper, and set aside.
PIE FILLING
1 cup sugar ¤ cup flour Þ tsp. salt 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 4 cups pitted sweet cherries 2 tbsp. butter
Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add lemon juice to cherries and toss with sugar-flour mixture to mix thoroughly. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Add top crust and crimp edges so juice doesn’t escape. With a knife, make three slashes on the top. Bake in hot oven at 425 degrees about 40 minutes.
SWEET CHERRY JAM or TOPPING 4 cups pitted sweet cherries 2½ cups sugar ½ cup lemon juice
Put ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan and mash together lightly. Cook, stir­ring while mixture boils, for five minutes. Cook five more minutes until thick and syrupy. Ladle into hot jelly jars. Seal with paraffin wax. Will fill two pints, or four small jelly jars.
CHERRIES JUBILEE
4 cups pitted cherries ½ cup water 1 tbsp. sugar mixed with 1 tbsp. cornstarch ¼ cup Kirsch (cherry liqueur) Vanilla ice cream
See CHERRIES, 2L


PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
It’s easy to present cherries elegantly so your dessert looks as good as it tastes. Cherries Jubilee are pictured.


Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2010 Great Falls Tribune 08/11/2010



Reply Forward
New window Print all Expand all Collapse all Forward allSponsored LinksSuperior Dried CherriesTart, Bing, Ranier, and More! Super-Fast Delivery. Try Some Now.NutsOnline.com/Dried-CherriesDessert RecipesMake desserts to remember. Free recipes from Safeway. Get them now!Safeway.comCherry JuiceTop selling concentrate on sale. Supports healthy joint function.BrownwoodAcres.comDelicious RecipesFind Thousands of Recipes and Menu Ideas - Visit KitchenDaily Now!KitchenDaily.comMaraschino CherriesBulk maraschino cherries for restaurants and bars. Best Pricewww.reliablepaper.comMore about...Cherry »
Growing Cherries »
Vegetable Recipe »
Rainier Cherries »About these links« Back to Inbox Archive Report spam Delete Move to Labels More actions ‹ Newer 12 of 48 Older ›Send messages from your other email addresses using your Gmail account. Learn moreYou are currently using 401 MB (5%) of your 7488 MB.Last account activity: 4 hours ago on this computer. DetailsGmail view: standard turn off chat turn off buzz older contact manager older version basic HTML Learn more©2010 Google - Terms - Privacy Policy - Buzz Privacy Policy - Gmail Blog - Join the Gmail team - Google

Monday, June 7, 2010

Ewald vineyard Sonoma,California -June 6,2010

Grapes for fine wines grow in Great Falls native’s vineyard

The Russian River Valley, approximately 50 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma Coun­ty, is the location of some of Cali­fornia’s most distinguished wine country.
Along one of the area’s beauti­ful roads is the sculptured iron gate at the entrance to the Ewald Vineyard. The vineyard is owned by Sally and David Ewald and boasts 4,321 pinot noir vines. Sally Ewald, formerly Sally Hatcher, is a Great Falls native and Great Falls High graduate.
My daughter and I were fortu­nate to be houseguests of the Ewalds this spring just as the grapevines were about to bud and leaf out.
With a master’s degree from Stanford, Sally has had a long career in business.
Early on, she took a job with Western Airlines in San Jose before going into consulting for Wilson Learning Corporation. Eventually, she left that job and started her own company, Learn­ing Solutions Alliance Global, where she continues to serve as chairman of the board.
David, an aeronautical engi­neer, was a spy satellite test con­troller in the late 1960s and early ’70s. After working in that field for years, he switched gears and went into residential and com­mercial real estate in the Palo Alto area.
But even with busy careers, they both found time to practice winemaking. The house they pur­chased in Los Altos came with h 50 grapevines.
“Initially, we made batches like Old Lead Pencil and Chateau Garage,” Sally said with a grin.
When they moved to their Sebastopol vineyard in 2002, the vines already established there had a good reputation, and the Ewalds looked for a vineyard manager who would oversee the growing, harvesting and market­ing of their grapes.
Even with that help, it doesn’t keep her husband out of the vine­yard, Sally said.
“He’s a perfectionist,” she said. “He’s out here all the time.”
Climate, sun exposure, soil makeup and surrounding flora make this prime grape-growing country for pinot noir and chardonnay. As we headed down the land­scaped path of rosemary, laven­der and decorative grasses, we looked at the symmetry of the grapevines, stretched out in per­fect form and supported by hori­zontal wires. David said grape­vines can live up to 100 years, but production drops off after about 30 years.
In the spring, the danger of frost occupies much of David’s attention. A weather station in their master bedroom provides temperature readings for every row of vines.
“It (an alarm) is set at 37 degrees and tells me if I have to turn the water on,” explained David, whose nightly activity sometimes involves getting out of bed to turn on the various sprin­kler systems that will encase the vines in ice to protect them from frost damage.
“I want water flowing at 36 degrees,” he said. “I recheck the forecast to know the dew point. If it is above freezing you are less likely to get caught with frost. April and May are of great con­cern when the plant is leafing out and buds are beginning to form.” David’s operation is powered by 50 solar panels placed on the roof of his barn. He has more than enough power for his vine­yard, house and other projects, and what he doesn’t use, he sells back to the electric company’s grid.
As summer progresses, the Ewalds and Jim Pratt, their vine­yard manager, keep a close watch over their three and a half acres of premium vines. Their autumn harvest goes to Siduri Wines, their contract winemaker. Adam Lee, Siduri’s co-owner, and his wife, Dianna, have been producing premium wines since 1994. As the grapes ripen, they come out to the Ewald vineyard to taste, pick and then haul the crop to the Siduri winery in a Santa Rosa industrial park.
Lee has been called “a power­house pinot noir producer,” and the Siduri Pinots regularly make the San Francisco Chronicle top 100 wines list.
We were eager to try some for ourselves at the Siduri winery, a short drive away.
We toured the winery and enjoyed a tasting of six to eight wines including pinot noir, chardonnay, syrah, viognier and zinfandel.
Siduri wines can be ordered through Pizazz in Great Falls.
We decided that the Siduri Ewald Vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir was the best, a classic wine to be remembered.







ABOVE: A grape vine budding in the spring
RIGHT: Sally and David Ewald in their vineyard

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Saguaro Cactus of the Sonoran Desert

Slow-growing saguaro is a symbol of the desert

As a visitor to the southwestern United States a couple of weeks every year, I had always won­dered about the saguaro cactus that signals a wel­come to the vast Sonoran Desert.
Like stoic sentinels standing guard, the giant saguaro marches up mountains, occupies highway roadsides and even lives along golf courses.
No two are alike. They inhabit only the Sonoran Desert, an area that includes parts of Arizona, Cal­ifornia and Mexico.
Many are simply green spiny trunks rising out of the shadows of a paloverde tree or a bursage bush. Others have arms that reach up to the sky and may be 30 feet tall.
They don’t bloom until they are about 50 years old. The mature giant finally gets an appendage around its 75th birthday. The strange plant may tower in the desert until it is 200 years old and sport multiple branches.
Fascinated, I ventured out to the Desert Botani­cal Garden in Phoenix, where the silhouetted saguaro grows prolifically.
Nancy White, the assistant director of education at the Desert Botanical Garden, talked about the saguaro’s role in the desert’s ecology.
Nature has finely engineered the saguaro, which can weigh several tons, and can survive extreme temperature fluctuations.
“Think of a Hummer vehicle loaded with the family and the dog,” White said.
The columnar structure of the pleated accor­dion- like surface allows the saguaro to expand or contract depending on the amount of water it’s storing. It holds so much water that it can go for many months without rain.
The saguaro is able to withstand storms and winds that blow across the desert thanks to sys­tem of lateral roots that run just below the ground’s surface. As soon as it rains, these roots and other hair-like roots suck up as much mois­ture as they can. Often, these roots twine around rocks and give the saguaro a phenomenal struc­tural strength.
In late May, the saguaro sprouts creamy white blossoms with yellow centers that cluster near the ends of the branches. The blossoms open during cooler desert nights and close again by next mid­day.
Not all of the flowers in a single saguaro bloom at the same time. Instead, over a month or more, a few open each night, secreting nectar into their tubes and awaiting pollination. These flowers close at about noon the following day, never to open again.
Bats and moths feed on the nectar, pollinating the plant to produce a pink fruit about the size of a kiwi that has bright scarlet pulp with tiny black seeds. The fruit, said to be one of the tastiest foods of the desert, ripens just before the fall rainy sea­son. It is hard to pick one before the birds and other insects get to it.
The native people harvest the fruit with a long tool made from the dead skeletal wood of the saguaro. They make preserves and syrups from the delicacy.
Fruit left on the tree drops its seeds. They ger­minate and start growing under a nurse plant. In about 10 years, the new saguaro will be about the size of a thumb. Eventually, the nurse plant may die as the saguaro takes its water. To survive, the saguaro seed needs the shade and protection of a nurse plant, such as a paloverde or bursage.
The typical mature saguaro is a happy hotel for the birds that inhabit the Sonoran Desert. The gila woodpecker drills holes in the saguaros. That’s just fine with the saguaro as it forms a “scab” that becomes a nesting house.
The nests maintain a comfortable temperature even during the warmest summer days because of protection from the sun and the natural air condi­tioning provided by the saguaro.
Many varieties of birds live in nests in the saguaro, including the woodpecker, cactus wren, elf owl, screech owl, sparrow hawk and white­winged doves.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Travel story: New Zealand by Polly Kolstad

Great Falls 03/28/2010, Page P20

Floating past ‘a chip off the old block’ in New Zealand
It’s a bit odd to escape the northern hemisphere’s cold, snowy winter, go south of the equator for “hottie” days, then end up boating on a glacial lake surrounded by icebergs.
That’s just one of the many inter­esting activities “down under.”
Indeed, no matter the time of the year, there’s something cool about floating among millennium glaciers, ancient ice, and wet clear crystals in the New Zealand south island sun.
In the middle of February, my hus­band and I found ourselves over­dressed, layered in fine local woolen sweaters and long pants. Who would have thought an 85 degree day would blaze down on Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and the Tasman Glaci­er in a country that can get 200 days of rain, clouds, and overcast a year?
Our B&B hosts, Denise and Michael Scheele, reminded us that “the lady (Mount Cook) is often cloaked.” They knew a woman from Scotland who had come four years in a row and never seen the top of Mount Cook, highest mountain in New Zealand’s alpine park.
It behooved us to head to the Mount Cook Heritage Centre and Vil­lage for an adventure.
It is a surreal feeling, cruising in an inflatable boat amid islands of ice. The ice may be centuries old, but the lake was formed only decades ago when huge swaths of ice sheared off the Tasman Glacier’s terminal face. Few glaciers terminate in lakes, and even fewer of these are accessible to the average person. The terminal end of this glacier is in a melting and calv­ing phase which produces all the ice­bergs in Tasman Lake. It is a dynamic environment, often emitting a “chip off the old block.”
“Up until this time, Tenefly is the largest iceberg to come up,” said Katy, our guide and boat pilot, as she motored up to the towering ice cliff.
All around us were huge floating ice sculptures, each unique in color and shape. Before ice is exposed to the elements, it is extremely dense and a steel blue color. Once the ice­berg becomes exposed to sun, wind, and rain, the gases inside the ice warm, separating the ice into individ­ual crystals. At this stage the iceberg develops a white color.
Ice crystals, the essential element of the glacier, allow the glacier to move as one body of ice. They deform or change shape under immense pressure. The exposed iceberg is only 10 percent of the mass, we learned; 90 percent is under water. Icebergs have impurities that can cause cracks, or fractures, which eventually give way. When this happens, the iceberg may rebalance by turning over. Not far from us was one that seemed to be rocking and rolling. We moved along quickly, not knowing if it might flip.
Being able to view, touch, and taste 500-year-old ice was a new experi­ence. The crystal clear pieces that dripped from our hands tasted better than the finest of pure bott led water.
The lake’s water has a milky appearance from the “glacial rock flour,” a fine powder formed as the glaciers move, grinding and crushing brittle stones.
The Tasman Glacier and the moun­tains around it attract visitors from all over the world.
This is where Sir Edmund Hillary honed his mountaineering skills before his 1953 ascent of Mount Ever­est. A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Hillary came to Mount Cook to climb many times during his life.
In late 2007, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre opened, three weeks before his death.
With one last look at Mount Cook resplendent in the bright blue sky, we hurried back for dinner. The Scheeles had fresh salmon from Lake Pukaki and vegetables from their garden, prepared, and awaiting our return, eager to hear about our day.
We were “gob smacked,” as they say in New Zealand.



PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
An iceberg in New Zealand’s Tasman Lake


On the Road
— Polly Kolstad

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Kathy Casey story

Kathy Casey story
Great Falls 02/14/2010, Page P20

Skating coach Kathy Casey has roots in Great Falls
Just 18 days before the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Spokane hosted the National Figure Skating Champi­onships, filling the city with elite skaters and coaches.
The athletes performed dizzying spins, triple Axels, twizzles, and a few quad jumps, while thousands of fans looked on in awe.
One of those on hand was Kathy Casey, a world-renowned coach and past president of the United States Figure Skating Professionals. Casey has served on the board of directors of the United States Figure Skating Association and on the U.S. Olympic Coaches Committee. She has been the official figure skating coach for three Olympic games and conducts semi­nars all over the world.
She’s also a Great Falls native.
Between commitments in Spokane, Casey remi­nisced about her early days in Great Falls and her first moments on ice.
“The Sieben family took Terry and I to a public session on rental skates,” she said of an outing with her brother.
Casey was hooked from her first wobbly glide and came home to tell her mother that she wanted to take lessons.
At the time, she was 12, “already, over the hill,” she said.
Yet, she entered some competi­tions, making it to a sectional event.
Her ultimate goal was to become a coach. And it wasn’t long before her dream came true.
In 1962, she became the assistant coach at the Lakewood Winter Club in Tacoma, Wash. In 1990, she was offered the posi­tion as skating director for the Broadmoor Skating club in Colorado Springs, Colo. She directed that pro­gram until 2000.
During her years in Tacoma and Colorado Springs, Casey coached many famous skaters, including Great Falls’ own Scott Davis, who went on to become a United States National Figure Skat­ing Champion, World Figure Skating Champion and Olympic silver medal­ist; Rosalynn Sumner s, Nicole Bobek, Scott Hamilton, and the reigning U.S. Senior Ladies gold medalist, Rachel Flatt.
She said she taught Davis through trial and error.
Casey could see other countries were way ahead of the United States then, through weight training and exercise. Casey had little information on the biomechanics of jumping so she went to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and enlisted their help.
Collaborating with the research team — they rewrote how to do a triple Axel 18 times — they came up with excellent results. Her studies helped her earn the 2005 U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Science Coach of the Year.
Today, skaters learn to jump using a pole harness, a pole with a contrap­tion that wraps around the skater. Holding the pole, the coach skates along with skater, preventing serious falls during an attempted jump.
Another innovation is the dart fish, a machine similar to a video camera that replays the skater’s jump, detail­ing how long they have to be in the air to reach the desired number of revo­lutions.
Casey’s coaching colleagues nomi­nated her for the 2009 Sonja Henie Award. She received the honor at a dinner. As her name was announced, Casey came down the aisle dressed as the legendary Norwegian figure skat­ing champion in high top skates and vintage costume.
Today, after some 35 years as a suc­cessful coach, Casey conducts skat­ing seminars in Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. She has given presentations for the International Skating Union and conducted developmental ice skating camps in Finland, Slovenia and China.
While she will have no official duties at this year’s Olympics in Van­couver, she will be on the sidelines cheering on skaters she knows through her years of coaching.
When not traveling the world, Casey ofte n comes back to Great Falls to visit her 98-year-old mother.
➤ For full coverage of the Winter Games:
www.gftribune.com


On the Road
— Polly Kolstad


TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO
Kathy Casey

Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2010 Great Falls Tribune 02/14/2010

Joe Halko Show Galerie Trinitas

Joe Halko story
Great Falls 01/22/2010, Page L01


‘A Tribute to Joe Halko’
Galerie Trinitas to host show honoring late artist
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Joe Halko was an artist, a taxidermist, a wildlife lover and a gentle man who was right at home in Montana.
On Sunday, a show in his memory, “A Tribute to Joe Halko,” opens at Galerie Trinitas on the University of Great Falls campus.
“He always really admired Sister Trinitas and enjoyed her enthusiasm,” Joe’s widow, Margaret, said. “He liked helping her on her proj­ects and learned a lot from her. She improvised and so did Joe.”
Halko died in March at the age of 68.
Early in his career, Halko left Montana for the Fisk Stu­dios in New York and then for the Scottsdale (Arizona) School of Art. But he never forgot his roots.
He eventually returned to the area he loved: the ranch he grew up on near Stockett, his high school alma mater in Centerville, and the University of Great Falls, where as a stu& shy;dent he studied art under Sis­ter Mary Trinitas Morin.
His artistic inspiration often came from the wild things — bears, deer, antelope, rabbits and geese — he saw outside his home in Choteau.
“Joe understood the anato­my of animals; he knew their bodies,” Margaret explained. “He worked outside or in the studio every day.”
Halko began as a taxider­mist at the Great Falls Sport­ing Goods store. It was during this time that he started creat­ing sculptures with his col­league and friend, Tuffy Berg. “My father, Cliff Rumford, taught Joe how to be a taxi­dermist,” said Leslie Stafford, recalling the early years at the family store.
Halko was a lifelong friend to the Rumfords. Among the Halko memorabilia the Rum­fords treasure is a bronze of a pigmy owl and a picture of the family’s first dog that Joe did.
Halko was involved in the C.M. Russell Art Auction for years and was recognized as the Peoples’ Choice sculpture award winner in 1979 and 1983.
A year ago, Halko complet­ed the Stations of the Cross bronzes installed in the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Great Falls.
According to Carol Fitz­patrick, her husband, Stan, bought the first piece Halko ever put in an auction. It was a pen and ink drawing of a herd of elk.
The Fitzpatrick family farmed in the Stockett area
See HALKO, 2L


TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO/STUART S. WHITE
Joe Halko describes his sculpture at the 2005 Russell Auction at the C.M. Russell Museum.



POLLY KOLSTAD PHOTO
A show in Halko’s honor opens Sunday at Galerie Trinitas.


Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2010 Great Falls Tribune 01/22/2010



Reply Forward
New window Print allSponsored Links2010 Toyota SpecialsCash Back & 60 Month Low APR At City Toyota. Stop In & Save!www.City-Toyota.comRanch for Sale, ArgentinaBariloche, 25,000 acres Wildlife Resources - Fishery ResourShanahancampos.comMontana Elk HuntingPack into the backcountry by horse & mule, hunt the bulls.www.KLazy3.comOcean Side Country LodgeNewfoundland Moose & Bear Hunting We Will Take Good Care Of Youwww.oceansidecountrylodge.comBeaulieus Trophy HuntsNewfoundland $4175.00 95% success Free Videos All Inclusivewww.BigGameHuntingNewfoundland.caWe Have The Hunt You WantWorld-class bird and big game hunts Service, discretion, and valuewww.mbogo.netTexas Hunting Leases2010 Hunting Leases for Deer, Hog Quail, Dove, Duck, Exotics & More!www.LeaseHunter.comMontana Horse PropertyMedicineRoot Ranch has it All Views, 1549 Open AC, Water, Accesswww.MagnificentMontana.comMore about...Hunting »
Deer Hunting Outfitters »
Hunts »
Texas Hunting Guides »About these links« Back to Inbox Archive Report spam Delete Move to Labels More actions ‹ Newer 16 of 64 Older ›Compose a message in a new window by pressing "Shift" while clicking Compose Mail or Reply.You are currently using 225 MB (3%) of your 7424 MB.Last account activity: 4 days ago at IP 125.239.38.7. DetailsGmail view: standard turn off chat turn off buzz older version basic HTML Learn more©2010 Google - Terms - Privacy Policy - Buzz Privacy Policy - Gmail Blog - Join the Gmail team - Google Home

Gallery 16 is 40 years old

Great Falls 01/29/2010, Page L01


Nine women started Gallery 16 — 40 years ago
Group of female artists still operating Central Avenue mainstay; anniversary celebration gets under way on Feb. 5

By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Gallery 16 is officially over the hill and its members could­n’t be prouder.
Forty years old this year, the gallery got its start in 1970, made up of nine women look­ing for an opportunity to show their work. Most were working at home at their dining room tables. Judy Crow­der, Jean Halverson, Lela Tonkin Ham­ley, Muriel Kit­tock, Sam Borchers, Mari­lyn Christ-Janer, Kay DeMille, Pat Hoi­land and Val Knight were the founding members, taking over Contemporary Ideas. The gallery, at 309 16th St. N., was run by a group of men who were ready to give it up.
“So in we went, a gutsy move,” recalled artist and Gallery 16 member Judy Erick­sen.
“They were all beginning artists, except Val Knight who was enormously accom& shy;plished,” Ericksen said of the original mem­bers. “She was the lightning rod, the spark plug.”
The gallery’s founding mem­bers drew up incorporation papers, chipped in $15 a month for rent and enlist­ed the help of their husbands to build display furniture. Because it was locat­ed on 16th Street, they called it Gallery 16.
Gallery 16 grew and moved across the street from the C.M. Russell Museum in about 1972. Eventually they were drawn to a location downtown, next door to a popular restaurant at the time, Green Goods, which is now the Penington Place.
From there, they moved to 319 Central Ave., and in the 1980s, when they outgrew that location, relocated to the cur­rent site, 608 Central Ave.
“We have decided it’s going to be feet-first, if we have to move again,” Ericksen said.
Gallery 16 had a satellite shop for a time at Paris Gibson Square but soon realized they didn’t have the staff to o perate both.
While the artwork is the backbone of the gallery’s four decades of success, the artists’ tight bond has held it all together.
“It’s a wonderful family,” Ericksen said.
“We get to talk up other peo­ple’s art. We are one of the few incubator shops — a place for people to start and grow,” President Joyce Ranum said. “We are friendship, a family, a big support network, not just a 9 to 5. We are all there for each other.”
Today, the gallery features 10 to 12 shows a year, show­
See GALLERY 16, 2L


TRIBUNE PHOTOS/ RION SANDERS
Gallery 16 members from left, Pat Erickson, Judy Ericksen, and Marcia Hocevar show works by Mary Ann Young, Jean Halverson and Alice Chambers Paige, three of the original nine artists of Gallery 16. The gallery will celebrate its 40th anniversary Feb. 5, from 5 to 9 p.m.



Gallery 16 features not only a several artists, but also a vari­ety of media.


Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2010 Great Falls Tribune 01/29/2010



Reply Forward
New window Print allSponsored LinksNeed a Publishing Agent?Let Us Find a Publisher For You. Easy 3 Step Process. Start Now!www.FindYourPublisher.comPrint On Demand PublisherPublish Your Book Quickly & Easily. Get Your Free Publishing Guide Now!www.iuniverse.comWriting a Book?Expert independent publishing help- editing & marketing. Free guide!www.AuthorHouse.comHow To Get PublishedGet A Free How To Publish Guide Mailed To Your doorstep At No Costwww.Xlibris.com/HowToGuideSelf-Publishing OptionsDIY Option with Free PDF Upload and Full Array of Publishing Services.www.CreateSpace.comGet Your Book EditedWith Our Industry-Leading Editors Get A Complete Editing Packagewww.Lulu.comSeeking A Book Publisher?Find A Book Publisher & Learn How To Publish Your Book. Free Guideswww.ChooseYourPublisher.comEarn by Writing ArticlesWriters earn great money writing informative articles. Start today!HubPages.comMore about...Birthday Party Ideas »
Kids Birthday Parties »
Children 'S Party Favors »
Australian Artist »About these links« Back to Inbox Archive Report spam Delete Move to Labels More actions ‹ Newer 15 of 64 Older ›Compose a message in a new window by pressing "Shift" while clicking Compose Mail or Reply.You are currently using 225 MB (3%) of your 7424 MB.Last account activity: 4 days ago at IP 125.239.38.7. DetailsGmail view: standard turn off chat turn off buzz older version basic HTML Learn more©2010 Google - Terms - Privacy Policy - Buzz Privacy Policy - Gmail Blog - Join the Gmail team - Google Home