CMH News: Math bee, card games before supper Thursday

Chaplain Phyllis Schoonhoven conducted worship service on Sunday morning at Terrace Heights Chapel.

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Hooray for hummus: Middle Eastern dip is colorful, healthful

On our way to Hackensack, Minn., to do some last-minute shopping for bee supplies a couple of weeks ago, my beekeeping buddy, Bobbie, and I made a stop at Green Scene in Walker. A container of spinach hummus, prepared by chef Kristin Melby in the spotless, wide-open stainless steel kitchen that takes up about a third of the cozy store’s space, went into my bag of organic food purchases.

• Spinach Hummus
• On Sue’s blog, Green Scene shares its recipe for No-Bake Energy Bites
• Recipe card: Spinach Hummus
• Mmmm. Garlic

CMH News: Brownies, ice cream to celebrate April birthdays

Bingo was played at Terrace Heights Monday afternoon. We played board games, trivia and Hot Potato after supper.

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Chocolate-Banana Chia Pudding: It's super easy

When a friend of mine told me her husband was at the grocery store picking up some chia seeds, I did what anyone who watched television in the 1980s would do. I sang. “You mean, ch-ch-ch-chia?” The catchy tune of the singing chia pet commercial popped right out of my mouth.

• Easy as pudding
• You can find more recipes and tips on Sue’s blog
• Recipe card: Chocolate-Banana Chia Pudding
• Chia seeds

CMH News: Flowers have been planted

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Senior Menus for the week of May 7-11

Don't chuck the celery ... make some tasty soup

Any other time, I wouldn’t give a second glance to a recipe for celery soup. I use celery when I make a pot of stock, and sometimes I add it to salads and slaws. It goes into mirepoix to use as a flavorful base for sauces, soups and stews. But unless its ribs are filled with peanut butter and dotted with soft raisins, I ignore celery.

• Good starter
• You can find more recipes and tips on Sue’s blog
• Recipe card: Save-The-Celery Soup
• Don't toss it

Engagement Hetland Closen

The couple will be wed August 17 in Peoria, Illinois.

• Breanna Closen and Tyler Hetland engaged
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Senior Menus for the week of April 30-May 4

Community Calendar April 25-30

Lots to do locally!

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Scones made with a baker's gentle touch

I watched intently as Katie Novotny, owner of St. Paul Classic Cookie Co., dumped dry ingredients into a large metal mixing bowl. She used a knife to slash chunks of chilled butter into the same bowl. It seemed making perfect scones would be quite simple.

• Scones, anyone?
• Read more about Sue’s visit to St. Paul Classic Cookie Co. on her blog
• Recipe card: Strawberry-Rhubarb Scones
• By hand

Asparagus with Creamy Chive Drizzle celebrates early spring

When the guy at the checkout asked me if asparagus could hold up to freezing temperatures, I thought he was referring to a malfunctioning refrigerator. Then, he put his hands in the air, layering them 4 or 5 inches apart. “My asparagus is about this big already,” he said. “It’s supposed to get down into the 20s tonight. I’m worried about the asparagus.”

• Perfect pairing
• You can find more recipes and tips on Sue’s blog
• Recipe card: Asparagus with Creamy Chive Drizzle
• Peeking through

CMH News: Residents delighted by Osakis fourth graders’ wax museum characters

Senior Menus for the week of April 16-20

Go straight for the Avocado Smoothie

I recently attended the annual conference for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), held in New York this year. Breakfast was included on a few of the days. Throughout the large eighth-floor gathering room of the Broadway Millennium hotel, long tables were arranged with a display of help-yourself fresh fruit, small cartons of yogurt and plates of fancy rich pastries, puffy New York bagels and muffins.

• What's for breakfast?
• On her blog, Sue shares photos and food from her New York trip
• Recipe card: Avocado Smoothie
• In a bowl