Butternut Squash Soup

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Mohammed Ali
We have tons of examples of folks living by this right here in the Ville. Service organization galore, individuals that are constantly giving of themselves. Our own Carla (now retired), Hope and Toni have invited crew, that would’ve otherwise been alone for Thanksgiving, over for dinner. This warms my heart. What if we all did just one small thing for someone, anyone, on Thanksgiving? I bet the return would be astronomical. Or not just on a holiday but any day. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, start small. Make eye contact, smile, ask how someone’s day is and really listen to the answer. Be sure to say please, thank you and you’re welcome. I decided a few weeks ago I was bringing ‘you’re welcome’ back. It seems to have gotten lost along the way.
      

I have a real thing about feeding people. When I offer food to someone my daughter and husband always say “just say yes, it’s easier” :) . Yeah, maybe I’m a little too insistent about it. So for those of us that love to cook we can share some food with a friend or bring it to work. Who doesn’t appreciate coming to work and finding cookies? Or soup? All my soup recipes make enough to feed several people. Produce Manager John has started cutting veggies and fruit for our convenience, even hard squash! I decided I needed to make Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup since he did the most difficult part of the recipe! Great for Fall especially with all the FrEsH hard squash grown right here in the Honey Lake Valley! Here’s the recipe~


3 Leeks, white part only, halved and sliced thin.
3 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knife and minced.
1 tbs olive oil.
2 containers FrEsH cut butternut squash.
1 32oz chicken broth (I’m sure veggie broth would be yummy too)
Optional 1 14oz can coconut milk
Optional 1 tsp curry powder.
Salt and Pepper!


Saute leeks and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until leeks are tender and garlic aromatic, salt and pepper. Dump leek/garlic, broth and squash into slow cooker. Salt and pepper. Cook on low for 4 hours or until squash is tender enough to mash. Place half at a time in blender without center in lid. COVER HOLE WITH A TOWEL and hold on tight or it’s going everywhere! Honestly if I had any idea where my immersion blender was this would be the perfect time to use it. Return it all to slow cooker to heat through. It will be delicious right now or you can add coconut milk and curry or a little cream if you like.
      



I have much to be grateful for, family, friends, work, good health… I could go on and on. I’m confident we could all come up with a list of our own. Even when times are tough, I know I am blessed. My Hometown Proud Community is a HUGE part of that.

Type 1 Diabetes

You see people every day and never really know what they deal with. Like Susanville Market Produce Department’s Clinton McGill. This young man is friendly, hard working and active but in 2009 Clinton started losing weight, throwing up and noticed his eyesight was terrible. He was diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes at 12 years old, now 21 and on an insulin pump rather than injections, Clinton has to input his carbs and blood sugar, to a pocket size meter he carries, 4 times a day. He says the pump is awesome. Today he has energy, he can see clearly and says he can participate in everything unless it was "like a cake eating fest”.


Or owner of Belle en Vie Salon & Day Spa, Erin Clausen. Such a vivacious and hard working woman who would guess she suffers from an auto-immune disorder? Erin was diagnosed at 42 years old with Type 1 Diabetes after becoming seriously ill. Since Type 1 has long been known as Juvenile Diabetes she said “But I thought mostly babies and children got Type 1” The doctor told her that about a quarter of all Type 1s were diagnosed after the age of 25. Many are diagnosed in their 40s and 50s. Erin also uses a insulin pump but in addition has a continuous glucose monitor implanted under her skin that sends a reading to her phone and Apple Watch every 5 minutes.


Type 1 Diabetes is an auto-immune disorder. While great strides have been made for Type 1 diabetics it remains an incurable disease. Here are the early warning signs from the JDRF website~
*fatigue
*changes in vision
*fruity smelling breath
*extreme hunger and unexplained weight loss
*unusual behavior

To learn more about it and how you can help find a cure check out www.jdrf.org and I urge you to read Erin’s full story, in her own words, at ~
https://thediabeticjourney.com/misdiagnosed-with-type-2-diabetes/

Hometown Health Awareness.

Simple-icious Coffee Cake

Coffeecake that is SO simple and SO delicious~ It's Simple-icious!           

                  
Fall is apple season, what better time to share my go to Apple Coffee Cake recipe with you. Again. I try to share this recipe once a year because it is THAT GOOD! . My family has been enjoying this recipe since 1985. How do I remember the year you ask? In 1985 Rick went to the bank to open a new checking account and was given a gift. ~Note to younger people *banks used to give incentives to open a checking account, like a toaster or a cookbook, some nice little gift. *note to REALLY young people *a checking account was before the advent of a card you swipe or insert or tap.~ The gift was a Sunset Cookbook. I tried many recipes in the book but this one stuck and I added a couple of short cuts. 

                                       

Bake the cake in 8x8 or for thinner slices a 9x9 pan. I have some really pretty red ceramic on aisle 9, also some glass which looks cool because you’ll see how gooey and brown the cake looks inside when it’s done. 

My daughter still talks about having this frequently while growing up. It is wonderful quick way to use up apples that are just about to be past their prime and since the ingredients are staples in my house it doesn’t require planning ahead. You will need:

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 or 3 apples, the sweeter the better
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Place apple in a bowl, break eggs over top, right on top of that add oil, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and nuts. Stir until well blended. Place all dry ingredients in a sifter together, sift onto apple mixture. Stir just until flour is moist. Mix will seem dry, don’t worry, you have done it right. Spread into pan, bake at 350* for about 45 minutes, test with a toothpick. top with sifted powdered sugar.

                                 

This turns out chewy on top, moist inside and a sprinkling of powdered sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness. I hope it becomes a regular in your house too. Let’s face it we all secretly want our kids to miss our cooking when they leave home. This should do the trick.

LoCaL Artisan

Looking up the difference between an Artist and an Artisan, here’s what I read on Google~ "An artist creates something whose only value is aesthetic. An artisan creates something that is functional -- bread, furniture, etc.” Here are just a few LoCaL ARTISANS featured on the shelves at Susanville Super~



Therese Bailey takes her vivid watercolors and makes lovely notecards. Some people purchase the cards to frame or make a collage!
                                 

Linda Erway forms clay into distinctive pottery in earth inspired colors and designs. I always discover another piece I need.
                                          

Tammy Hancock’s syrup is liquid amber happiness, not to mention all the cookie, crepe and bar mixes. Just add butter, eggs and LOVE.
 

                                 

Erin Woods creates the most exquisitely aromatic scented soaps, bath bombs, room sprays, bubble bars plus more with an ever expanding variety of items!
Erin told me how she got her start, "I have lived in Janesville most my life. My mother and grandfather are huge inspiration to me, they have always been extremely crafty people. I started making soap about 15 years ago, with my mom. We used to travel all summer to different craft fairs, and sell all of our mini hobby crafts. I took a break for a couple of years but now I'm ready to make a full time career out of bath and body products. The kids just love helping me, and always give me great ideas! We are an extremely artistic family and always have many fun projects going. The kids even enjoy making their own products, and selling at craft fairs with me. Soaping/ crafting is so therapeutic, it's very uplifting to make something with your hands that other people can enjoy. It brings me absolute joy when people tell me they love my soap.”


Linda Erway said one day, back in College, she saw an intriguing sign that read “POT SALE”, of course she had to check that out! Linda walked into the hall and saw all the pottery and just knew that this was what she wanted to do. Now, finally, after retiring from teaching her dream has come true. Luckily for us.
                                        

We are so Hometown Proud to carry items from just a few of our talented LoCaL ARTISANS!

Flu Season

*Grocerette note~ The Flu clinic was great! How does LCPH make getting shots so fun? 

Flu season can be a sketchy time. You never know if the friends/family or the person you just shook hands with is just not symptomatic yet, but carrying that nasty little virus. Lassen County Public Health is there for us, ensuring anyone that would like to protect themselves from influenza, has access to vaccines… for free. AND they come right to our market to vaccinate! I have mentioned this to friends and store owners in other locations and I can tell you this is indeed rare.


The good people at LCPH are what make this department so unique. One of those caring community members is Steve Tank. He is never too busy to talk to me and set up the Market’s clinic day, even coming in early to vaccinate our employees first so it won’t impact customers wanting shots. Also a pastor at the Southern Baptist Church (most call it the Log Cabin Church) in Janesville he never misses an opportunity to be a positive influence in our village.


Steve is also known as Jeremy Germ, the Germinator, another positive, plus I always check out Steve’s Facebook photos for lovely shots of sunrises, sunsets and his LoCaL hikes. Well, his and Jeremy Couso’s. So Steve told me that Jeremy Germ was an award winning creation from a group of Diamond View students, the students were even sent to DC as part of their prize! I needed to know more. A quick Google search took me to “the home of all things Susanville”, Susanvillestuff.com. You can always count on Jeremy Couso to get all the good news out there. According to Susanvillestuff Public Health coordinated with the "DV Drama Club for a community wide hand washing awareness campaign”. The students won an award from an Absentee Prevention program! Nice work kids! Now Jeremy Germ (Steve Tank) has become a LoCaL icon frequently appearing at community events. Susanvillestuff even had photos (of course)!


On October 25th Lassen County Public Health was at Susanville Market offering free influenza vaccinations from 1:30 to 4:30, Jeremy Germ made an appearance too :) .


Huge thanks to Steve Tank and all the folks at Lassen County Public Health for helping us stay Hometown Healthy!


Thank you to Susanvillestuff.com for making it oh so easy to find “all things Susanville”!

LoCaL Like a Tourist

When Rick and I travel we always know everything is in capable and caring hands. There is nothing Todd can’t handle, his decades of experience and caring always show through. Our crew knows this is their store and treat it as such, making us Hometown Proud is what they do. I have house sitters, garden pickers, and Chandler Ranch is always happy to take stellar care of my sweet shih tzus if needed. My life is indeed good in this tight knit community, my IGA family makes it possible for me to relax and experience the destination’s sights, cuisine, shops, history, museums or just go on long walks to see what we can discover. 

 

Then it’s time to go home. I’m always ready because it really is my favorite place on earth. I love my job, my people, my routine. Like Dorothy said “there’s no place like home”. This got me thinking. What would we discover if we explored with the same curiosity right here at home? Stopping by the Chamber, the Depot or the Arts Council for upcoming events. Checking out Susanvillestuff.com and Lassen County Times to do this from the comfort of your own couch. Try a new sport, take a new trail, different food, go for a drive. Stick your head in a LoCaL business you haven’t visited before or for awhile. I’ve always wanted to go to some of the Ranger programs at Lassen Volcanic and though I have hiked and biked all around the park I’ve never done Bumpass Hell. That has gotta change. 

One of Rick’s hobbies is photography, it takes us places we wouldn’t go otherwise. We head out early some days to catch leaves changing or check out wildlife. Other days we stay up late so he can shoot the Milky way. I highly recommend looking at Lassen/Plumas through a camera lens, it’s extraordinary. 

Where we live is just a mass of land without all of you. You’re what makes this a community, one I’m very Hometown Proud to be a part of.

Aidell's Red Beans and Rice

Discover America tours with Dennis and Ruth Darling are the best. The four of us fly somewhere in the U.S., rent a van and visit 2 or 3 (sometimes 4!) states. Flying by the seat of our pants, with a little help from Google, we choose places to see, eat and stay. Once was even a stop at the Tow Truck Museum, another, the home of Buford T Pusser (the movie Walking Tall was based on his life), and who can forget Carhenge. National Parks, Museums, Natural and manmade wonders abound in this country of ours.


On one food stop somewhere in Seattle, Yelp suggested this hole in the wall for Red Beans and Rice. The place was spooky but even if the food is bad you get a reason to torture the person who chose it for-like-ever. Win, win. BUT. The dish was AMAzing. Made from scratch Andouille sausage, slow cooked beans that developed a rich creaminess served over perfectly cooked rice. I wish I had time to cook like that every day, but alas, I do not.


I do have a staple SuPeR fast and yummy weeknight recipe though and considering Red Beans and Rice are pretty much the perfect food, especially for athletes, I make a large quantity. What makes it perfect? Carbs, protein and healthy fats are the essential ingredients to performance and recovery. Many recipes need a bit of an overhauling to keep the calories down and saturated fats a little lower. But I don’t ever want to give up flavor, that’s why spicy dishes are my jam. Aidells Mango Jalapeño Chicken sausage is just the right heat/sweet combination without all those pesky hormones or nitrites. My tweaks on the traditional recipe make it more RED BEANS and less rice so when I’m not behaving very athletically it’s still a healthful choice. This recipe takes about 45 minutes even with the dogs insisting on going outside, the granddaughters Face-timing me and all the other cherished afternoon events. I occasionally wrap the leftovers into burritos, it makes ideal traveling food~


3 Aidells Mango Jalapeño Sausage links, quarter links and slice.
3 cans Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed.
1 cup diced bell pepper.
1 cup diced onion.
1tbs Olive Oil.
32 oz Swanson Chicken Broth.
1/4 tsp Cayenne.
1 tsp McCormick Cajun Seasoning.
1 tsp Bell’s Seasoning.
1/2 tsp dried thyme.
4 drops Tabasco.
1 bag Success Boil in Bag rice.
In a large frying pan over med heat saute sausage, peppers, onion in olive oil, only stir as everything begins to brown. When all is slightly golden add remaining ingredients. Stir and let simmer uncovered, just barely at boiling, for 25 minutes. With a potato masher mash some of the beans to make the juice a little creamier.


While it simmers you could go for a run, walk, bike or plan your own Discover America trip.


Hometown Healthy in a HURRY~

Fast Frank~

What are you doing this weekend? How about riding a mountain bike from Verdi to Mendocino? That’s 400 miles with 40,000 feet of climbing on a combination of dirt roads, single track and some pavement. No one there to provide support, just a route map and you. Certainly not on most of our schedules but that is exactly what LoCaL cyclist Frank Winters (aka Fast Frank) will be doing. I am in awe. I used to do a bit of endurance cycling but not on a mountain bike. Mountain bikes just don’t roll like a road bike and they require more upper body strength. This is a daunting endeavor.


Frank began cycling with his Dad, the first organized event they rode together was the Davis Double. This ride is tough. 200 miles, in Davis, in May, temperatures usually reach 100*, PLENTY of climbing and windy flats with very little shade. Not an ideal first organized ride, clearly Frank doesn’t shy away from a challenge. I think it was around 2010 Frank attended the Senior Games and took 1st Place overall in the 50+ cycling division. We don’t call him Fast Frank for nothin’.


Recently retired from High Desert State Prison, where he worked for 22 years, Frank has more time to devote to his cycling and he seems to be making the most of it. To prepare for this weekends event Frank competed in a 24 hour ride out of Sierra Valley called the Agony Ride, a fundraiser for Christian Encounter Ministries, cyclists have 24 hours to ride as many miles as they can. Frank rode 351 miles in the time limit and raised over $500. Next up the Greenville Bear Growl, a 100 mile mountain bike ride with 10,000 feet of climbing. Go Frank.


Frank says this is the perfect place to live (ABSOLUTELY) and his advice for new riders is “just get out and do it”. He has encouraged so many cyclist to be stronger riders in a fun, healthy, competitive way. I happen to know our LoCaL cyclists are a fun group. Every Wednesday night Frank and the SABA Dirt Riders (Bill Bigford, Sean Buehler, Mark Kovacic and Mike Wright) go out for a 5 hour ride, I asked if it was open to everyone, Frank said it is but after the first hour most people wouldn’t like it :) Ha! I bet that’s true!


Good luck Frank! Thanks for showing us how FUN Hometown Healthy can be!

Theresa Phillips the Queen of Green~

On September 1991, President George Bush declared October as National Energy Awareness Month. In light of this (absolute pun intended) I asked Lassen Municipal Utility District’s Public Relations Manager Theresa Phillips to share some ways we can keep more of our dollars without sacrificing comfort and convenience. Theresa has been with LMUD for 14 years, prior to that she was Executive Director of Lassen County Chamber, her roots run deep in this community. Here is what she had to say~

                            
"When it comes to saving energy and lowering your utility costs, there are quite a few “no-cost” and “low-cost” measures that can be easily put into practice.

Start with conservation measures – turning off lights, using fans instead of central air conditioning, and unplugging appliances when not in use – all save energy.

Phantom loads from appliances and electronics with instant on features or digital clocks can amount to almost 10% of your electric usage. LMUD offers rebates on SmartStrips that control your electronic devices, turning them completely off when not in use.

Another low-cost energy saving measure is switching your existing lighting with energy efficient LEDs. LEDs use about a quarter of the energy of traditional lights. You don’t have to sacrifice lighting quality for efficiency, today’s LEDs are just as good, or better, than incandescent bulbs. LMUD offers rebates of up to $2.50 per bulb on EnergyStar compliant LEDs – you can purchase LEDs from many local stores, including Susanville Supermarket and Billington Ace Hardware.
                            
For details on all of LMUD’s rebate programs, visit www.lmud.org, or call me, Theresa Phillips, LMUD’s Public Relations Manager at 257-4174.”

Super fun, super enthusiastic and always willing to share her knowledge, we salute you Theresa. Thanks for showing us how to be a little more Hometown Green~

          

Ode to Sweet Susanville

I am a grandma. Of all the titles in my life this may very well be the best one. It is the culmination of the family I came from, the man I love, the daughter we are so blessed to have, the boy she brought into our family and these two precious little beings that just blow my mind. Remember how you felt/feel about your grandma? That is how they look at me. Wow.


Life becomes an adventure when our granddaughters visit. When we work at the store they are all business (with the exception of dancing in the aisles which I have seen on our security cams). They can’t wait to go to the garden and see what’s ripe today, digging potatoes, driving lessons on private roads, where’s Waldo, visit the wild horse corrals or just hop in the car and go find water, lakes, streams, a creek, here in Lassen County water is in every direction. I always knew how much their visits meant to me but then one day I saw a paper my eldest grand wrote for school. This is how a little city girl sees our hometown~



Learning to ride my bike,
learning to kayak,
learning how to do color guard,
all within these lonely hills.


I remember driving to this
one supermarket,
learning to help
my family set up
the shop for the busy
day ahead of us.


Growing up on the
world’s best donuts,
having a veggie delight
sandwich everyday at noon,
driving around to the closest
lake and going
for an afternoon swim.


The rest of the world not understanding that
it’s not about things we have,
it’s about the memories we’ve made
in the places we’ve been.


All these memories confined
within this small town,
like animals in a zoo
like fish in a tank.


The point of my ode is this,
be appreciative of the small things,
cherish everything you
have before it is gone.

If you’ve already read the ode on my blog…no. I’m not sorry. A grandma has to brag, it’s one of the numerous perks :) Hometown Proud!

Bonus feature~ Papa's driving lesson :)