Laura Crooks

Earlier this year, a story in IN Food featured several devout menu planners, those who wouldn't dream of going grocery shopping or starting another week without a well-thought out plan for meals. Here's a look at another menu planner who responded to our request for menus. Edie Dunlap's menu is based on what's on sale at the grocery store, what's in her freezer and "what is getting old in my refrigerator." The Spokane resident said she's been planning meals for years, and now that she cooks only for herself and her husband, she said she enjoys finding creative uses for leftovers.

Dear Laura: Help! A few years ago you printed a recipe for Brown Sugar Oatmeal Muffins, which were delicious. I have lost the recipe. – Dorothy of Wilbur, Wash. Dear Dorothy: The Spokesman-Review printed this recipe in October 2001 in a story about the benefits of oatmeal. The recipe for Brown Sugar Oatmeal Muffins featured in the article from Cox News Service was adapted from the cookbook, "Muffins," by Elizabeth Alston. Enjoy!

There's Mother's Day. Father's Day. Even Grandparents' Day. For those who embrace the Camp Fire Boys & Girls' Absolutely Incredible Kid campaign, Thursday is the closest thing to a Kids' Day.

Dear Laura: About two years ago you printed the recipe for Osaka Sauce from the Noodle Express. I have misplaced it. Could you print it again? – Linda Dear Linda: I didn't find a recipe from Noodle Express but found this popular Shrimp Osaka from The Mustard Seed Cafe restaurant. The recipe was originally published in "Spokane Cooks!" in 1986 and was reprinted in this column in 2002. The cookbook notes: "The unique sauce has made this shrimp dish a favorite of our customers. Our employees started using the sauce for chicken, too, so we eventually added Chicken Osaka to the menu, and it instantly became a heavy seller."

Dear Laura: In Chinese restaurants you can get barbecued pork with a hot and spicy red sauce. I am looking for a recipe for a spicy red sauce. – Phyllis Dear Phyllis: Here is a recipe for Barbecued Pork Loin made with a tangy marinade. For a spicy sauce to serve as an accompaniment, try the Chinese Red Sauce recipe that follows. It definitely will add some heat to the dish.

It'll be stuffed salmon fillets vs. apple stuffed chicken and apple cake vs. huckleberry polenta at what's sure to be a tasty finale to The Spokesman-Review's Flavors of the Inland Northwest recipe contest. Professional chefs who are serving as judges for the contest narrowed the pool of recipes in the entrees and desserts categories down to the four finalists who will prepare their dishes live at The Spokesman-Review Cooking Expo on Friday.

Darrell Murphy checks his glucose level several times a day and meticulously records the numbers in a diary. He's been living with type-2 diabetes for 12 years but started tracking his glucose only a few years ago when he joined a diabetes research study. About a year ago he noticed the numbers were steadily going up even though he wasn't doing anything differently. He mentioned the pattern to a nurse and soon learned his insulin medication needed adjusting.

Dear Laura: I hope you can help me find a recipe for Orange Juice Cookies. It had flour, sugar, eggs, orange juice and coconut. – Judy Dear Judy: With Valentine's Day around the corner, cookies with a sweet-tart citrus flavor would make a great treat for a special somebody. Here are a couple of recipes that may be close to what you are looking for. The first I found on the Internet and tweaked a bit. I substituted butter for shortening and increased the orange juice a bit. You can either mix the coconut into the dough or, as I did, roll the cookies in it, which allows for small pieces of coconut to lightly toast during cooking.

When I stop to think about the collective resource that the readers of this column are, I am truly amazed. Among the thousands of readers, each with his or her own stash of cookbooks, recipes clipped and saved and networks of friends and family, there must be hundreds of thousands of recipes at our disposal. I am always grateful to those who share their recipes. In a recent column, I noted a few requests that went unfilled in 2004. In a matter of days, two copies of the following recipe for a Dolly Parton Salad made their way to my mailbox. One reader found it on the Internet another found it in an old F.O.E. auxiliary newsletter titled "Mrs. Eagle" so we're not sure of the recipe's origins, but it does make a tasty, Spring-like salad.

Dear Laura: I'm looking for a recipe for biscotti. I thought I had cut it out of the newspaper but cannot find it. Thank you. – Janet, of Spokane Dear Janet: Here are a couple of tasty recipes for biscotti, Italian cookies that are baked twice. The first comes from a cookbook I love, featuring Italian breakfast specialties. The second comes from a kids' cookbook that explores holiday treats from around the world. Enjoy!

SARAH MCGINN doesn't have a junk drawer in her house. Even with four children ranging in ages 2 to 8, the Spokane mom says she doesn't need one. Everything has a place and everyone in the house, even the 2-year-old, knows where things go. The best part: They actually put them there. McGinn, who one local mom described as the "guru of organization," says the reason is simple: "I don't do well with chaos."

In our grazing world where we eat on the run and snack our way through the day, it's a good bet that we'll be plenty happy munching our way into the New Year. And that's OK because one of the best ways to make party guests feel right at home is scattering a variety of dips and dippers around the house. Simply offer different flavors in different rooms to encourage guests to move around tasting and mingling. After all, isn't that what the party's about?

Dear readers: Just like the new year, requests for recipes are coming fast and furious. I'll do my best to help you find those lost recipes as 2005 gets underway. But for now, a little housecleaning is in order. Here are a few recipes sought by readers that didn't make it into this column earlier. Happy cooking to all in the New Year! Creamy String Bean Soup

Dear Laura: I'm looking for a recipe that came out in the paper I believe in 1958. It was around Christmas time. It was for a log cookie that you rolled into a log, brushed it with egg white and sprinkled with nuts. It held its shape when baked. I'll be very grateful if you can find it. – Vivian, Spokane Dear Vivian: I looked in the paper's Dorothy Dean Homemaker Services archives, where most recipes came from back then, but I was unable to locate a recipe that fits your description exactly. Here are a few recipes, however, that come close. I hope one of them works for you.

Dear Laura: I've found several Turkish Delight recipes on the Internet, but they all use unflavored gelatin and tend to come out gummy and gooey. Do you have a close-to-authentic recipe using pectin? – J.K. Dear J.K.: I found the following recipe on a couple of different Web sites so I can't say for sure where the original recipe came from, but it does use pectin and it turns out firm. I hope it works for you.

Dear Laura: Could you please get me a recipe for Cranberry Salsa? I had one and lost it and would really like it again. Thanks. – Judy, Spokane Dear Judy: Cranberry Salsa makes a nice addition to a Thanksgiving meal, especially for those looking for a new twist on the classic side dish. There are many recipes available, but most are only slightly different from one another. Here are two recipes I found. The first is a tasty, make-ahead recipe originally published in Bon Appetit magazine a couple of years ago. The second, published in The Spokesman-Review last fall, would be ideal for a last-minute, throw-together salsa.

Dear Laura: I'm looking for a recipe for Pork and Beans Soup I thought was in the IN Food section. Can you help? – Shirley, of Spokane Dear Shirley: I did not find a recipe for Pork and Beans Soup in the newspaper's archives but I did find a few on the National Pork Board's Web site, www.theotherwhitemeat.com. Here's one of the recipes. Check the Web site for a spicy Mexican Pork and Bean Soup and an Italian Cupboard Soup that has spinach instead of other vegetables.

How many times have you watched the celebrity chefs on the Food Network make an incredible meal look like a cinch to prepare? Then when you try it yourself it becomes painfully clear that it's not easy because: 1.) There are 17 different ingredients to measure, chop, mince and julienne.

Dear Laura: Christmas last year brought us a layered jar of dry ingredients for a wonderful brownie mix. I would like to repeat this for my friend this year. Can you help? — Betty, from Worley, Idaho Dear Betty: Gifts in a jar have become quite popular holiday gifts. Mixes range from cookies and brownies to soups, dips, teas, hot cocoa and more. A terrific resource for these projects is a series of spiral-bound books called "Gifts in a Jar," by G&R Publishing Co. Each book features about 20 recipes, directions on how to pack the jars and preprinted instruction cards that you can attach to the jars. There are also many recipes available on the Internet. Simply type "gifts in a jar" into a search engine and you'll find plenty. Here aresa tasty brownie mix that I have used and a couple of other recipes that make nice gifts.