By Jane Valencia Summer wild fires have become more common in recent years. Whether we’re traveling through areas where fires are raging, or encounter smoke billowing over our Island from elsewhere, poor air quality can irritate and inflame our bodies in many ways. Luckily, plants abound that can help. Here are some of my favorites…
Island Epicure – Remembering Strawberry Festival
By Marj Watkins and Suzanna Leigh Suzanna: You are going to be 100 years old during Strawberry Festival this year! How long have you lived on the Island? Marjorie: We moved to the island July 1969. Our furniture was due to arrive the next day, so my daughter Jeannie and I went uptown to get…
Updates on Pecan Court Apple Cake
Alert reader M.D. noted that our apple cake recipe, lacking any oil, milk, or water, might end up being unusably dry. Happily, reader C.H.L. wrote in about the recipe; she had discovered that there’s an entire genre of oil-free cakes. Finally, M.T. noted that these were likely rooted in the Great Depression times, when one tried…
New Local Leadership at the Vashon Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have paid clergy. Local members are asked to serve in all different capacities, all as volunteers without monetary compensation. They receive a “calling” to serve. After 7 years of dedicated service, Chet Tillman, long-time Islander, has been released from serving as Branch President (congregational leader)….
Berry Upside Down Cake
By Joyce Kiefer Joyce Kiefer is a frequent visitor to Vashon, and the mom of editor Jane Valencia. She shared this recipe. Grandpa grew “young berries” in the backyard by the back fence. These berries were a hybrid of blackberries and raspberries. We had to do something with the abundant crop, so this cake was one…
Llaughing Llamas – July
By Daniel Hooker I had an experience at the Senior Center many years ago. Carl, a deaf man, was telling a joke. As he walked around the room, all you could hear was the punch line, “Dam! Dam! Dam!” The expressions on the elderly ladies were precious. They thought he had lost his mind. Finally,…