LAHARPE — Robin Manbeck was always the go-to mom when it came to making baked goods for her children’s school activities.
She thought nothing of whipping up batches of cookies and cinnamon rolls at a moment’s notice.
Now that her children, Corbin, 24, and Kandra, 21, are grown, Manbeck remains an avid cook and frequently bestows gifts of baked goods.
“I like to please people,” she said.
Manbeck said she views cooking not as a chore, but as therapy.
She makes it fun, cranking up the radio dialed to country music and singing along while she rolls out dough, browns meat, and stirs sauces.
Manbeck, 49, typically cooks a week’s worth of meals every Sunday.
She has worked as a para-professional at Lincoln Elementary for the past 17 years.
Although she grew up an avid 4-H’er, Manbeck said she now rarely adheres to recipes. She has a notebook full of recipe clippings which she uses as inspiration.
She said she follows her grandfather William Nichols’ advice as to how to tell an item is thoroughly cooked.
“Grandpa always told me you can tell something is done by the way it smells,” she said.
A massive garden supplies vegetables year round. She grows green peppers, onions and squash — “ all great for goulash.”
Her home-grown jalapenos spice up her chili.
And her potatoes, corn and tomatoes help make just about any meal complete.
Manbeck grew up cooking along with her mother, Sandy Northcutt.
“I also took home economics from Jonet Bland, the best teacher in the world,” Manbeck said of her years as a student at Iola High School.
“I always wanted to be a mom and homemaker,” she said.
She’s fulfilled that wish and more.
Culinary therapy
