THE INTREPID REPORTER

When a friend saw me clomping along on my snowshoes en route to work at the local newspaper office, she remarked, “Ah, the intrepid reporter! Neither snow, nor rain, nor sleet will keep her from her work!”

That was years ago when I was a reporter and columnist for a weekly NH newspaper. We lived about a mile from the office downtown, but our back road wasn’t plowed enough to drive the car to work that day. (We didn’t have a 4-wheel drive at the time.)

So I put in snowshoes and trekked across the woods behind our home to a plowed road to town.

Over the ensuing years, I’ve worked for newspapers and magazines throughout the country as a columnist and free lancer. I was following in the footsteps of my maternal grandfather – a farmer who wrote columns and articles for various publications in New York State.

Country Kitchen

This column was my first published work, one I’ve continued to write over the years for various newspapers and still find it a satisfying way to communicate with my readers. It was called “Country Kitchen” because my first editor/publisher wanted a recipe column that also related country experiences and philosophy. One of my readers in NH dubbed it a column of “homespun philosophy.” Another reader said reading my column inspired her when she was feeling discouraged.

Sharing Recipes

TOMATO QUICHE makes a nice winter supper dish, perhaps served with a cup of soup. In a skillet, sauté 1 cup chopped onion in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Add 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, along with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme. Simmer until liquid is almost evaporated, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or cheese of your choice) into one 10-inch unbaked pie shell. Cover with tomato mixture; sprinkle with another 1/2 to 1 cup of cheese.

In mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs until foamy. Stir in 1 ½ cups light cream (you can use milk, if you desire) and mix well. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees; bake 40 minutes more or until top begins to brown and inserted knife comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

(Mary Emma Allen researches and writes from her woodland NH home.)

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