Today is a special day in our family. My parents, Bill and Wilma Evans, are celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary. They still laugh, remembering my dad’s father telling everyone it wouldn’t last. Well, it did and I’m blessed to still have both my parents with me.

I picked up the new book, “Eat This Not That.” I sit up at night, reading and rereading this book. It tells you the best food and drink choices from franchise eateries as well as the best vending, ballpark and holiday choices. It also tells you what to avoid when dining out or shopping. Some are obvious and some not obvious at all. There’s lots of good info for everyday use. I love this book.

Jerry Stark shared his breakfast secret with me last week. I was intrigued because Jerry said he eats it at 4 a.m. and isn’t hungry until noon. Plus, it sounds like something Elvis would love. Jerry said he takes four graham crackers and covers them with peanut butter then banana slices. Slicing the banana into 16 pieces gives you four perfect treats. Sometimes my peanut butter and jelly on toast serves as an appetizer, starting an all-day eating frenzy, so I tried this last week, not at 4 a. m., but at about 8 a.m. Sure enough, I was able to avoid snacking all morning. Amazing! I’m trying it all this week and it tastes so good, I look forward to fixing the crackers each morning.

I shared this info with my co-worker Kelli Price and she shared a similar snack she provides for her 4-year-old daughter, Anna Belle. I love the Anna Belle stories Kelli shares. She’s a true free spirit with a mind of her own and I’m sure she is bound for great things. Kelli said she takes a vanilla wafer, adds some peanut butter and tops it with a banana slice.

The peanut butter in this snack, as in Jerry’s, keeps everything together. It’s easy to handle for big and little hands. Both of these ideas are great, and I thank Jerry and Kelli for sharing them.

Kelli also said she enjoys farmer’s cheese. I had never heard of farmer’s cheese so I made it my mission to find it. Sure enough, it was among the gourmet brands, and I almost missed it. Kelli likes to eat this cheese with fruit and I ate it with crackers. I can see how it would be wonderful with berries. I would be hard-pressed to describe the flavor so I’ll say it was very pleasant. It’s going to be a regular in my fridge from now on. I’m glad Kelli steered me in this direction. It’s good to try different things. You never know what new favorites you may find.

It obviously takes little to get my attention. I was pleasantly surprised by my butter last week. Land ’O Lakes butter now comes in 1/4-cup sticks — eight smaller sticks instead of four larger ones. I regularly use half a stick so I’m happy with the smaller size. Now I keep both on hand, ready for any measurement.

Last week, Betty Saferite and Beth and Addie Foust met me on Main Street in Alba at The Alba Filling Station. They were celebrating their grand re-opening with entertainment by Duke Mason. I went to hear Duke and have lunch, but next time I’ll go just for the food. John and Janice Bates have a real winner on their hands. Great atmosphere, great food and friendly people add up to a great restaurant. Open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, I’ll bet if you order the special you can’t go wrong. Go visit them for breakfast or lunch. They are continuing the long-standing tradition of fine food in Alba, and it was nice to see some old friends and make some new ones.

For Father’s Day, I had three bags of scallops so we had a scallop buffet. I fixed three dishes and they were all tasty and just different enough to add variety. One dish was shrimp and scallops with rice. The second was a creamy, cheesy sauce with scallops over fettucine. The third, and the recipe I’m sharing today, was a seafood medley that I served with pasta shells. Best of all, the recipe is from the “Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook” so it was super easy using the slow cooker. The dish was a little soupy, so we served it in a bowl with the pasta and it was like eating a savory seafood soup. The next two recipes are from “The Taste of Home Cookbook.” For a veggie dish, the lemon-pepper veggies are ready in about five minutes.

Earlier this week, I taped a segment with Carol Parker. I’m glad KSN is back on the air but they are without a kitchen set, so Carol came to Liberty Bank and joined me in the break room. I always have to showcase some chocolate, so among the food I fixed was the chocolate zucchini cake. It’s so moist and great with a drizzle of cream cheese frosting or chocolate frosting.



Seafood medley

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 pound crab meat

1 pound bay scallops

2 cans cream of celery soup

2 soup cans milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Layer shrimp, crab and scallops in slow cooker. Combine soup and milk. Pour over seafood. Mix together butter and spices and pour on top. Cover. Cook on low 3 to 4 hours. Serve over rice or noodles. Yields 10 to 12 servings.



Lemon-pepper veggies

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

2 cups cauliflowerets

1 cup sliced carrots

2 tablespoons water

4 1/2 teaspoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and water. Cover and microwave on high for 3 to 6 minutes, until crisp-tender; drain. Combine remaining ingredients; drizzle over vegetables and toss to coat. Yields 4 servings.



Chocolate zucchini cake

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups finely shredded zucchini

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sliced almonds

In large mixing bowl, beat sugar, oil and butter. Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves; gradually add to oil mixture. Stir in the zucchini, chocolate chips and almonds. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan to serving plate. Yields 12 to 16 servings.

Address correspondence to Cheryle Finley, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802.