Pharmacist mixes palatable potions

Cooking for a crowd doesn’t faze Nich Lohman.
Professionally, Lohman is a pharmacist with Iola Pharmacy. Once home, Lohman switches from the vials and bottles that dispense drugs to those that handle heady spices such as cardamom, paprika, turmeric and cloves.
Such was the case a few weeks back when he and his wife, Becky, a physician, entertained a prospective dentist looking over Iola.
An hour before dinner, Nich was in his element, handling production of an Indian-themed feast.
Rice was steaming in the rice cooker. A stack of Indian bread, naan, lay ready to heat. Each burner on the stove was occupied by simmering sauces and dishes. And an assortment of containers held pre-chopped vegetables and spices ready to assemble at the called-upon minute.
Chicken tikka masala was the main course. Side dishes included lentils, potatoes and tomatoes. A refreshing yogurt sauce with cilantro and ginger, garlic and lime juice helped balance the spiciness of the fare.
The chicken breasts had been rubbed with spices then dipped in a sauce of yogurt, fresh ginger and garlic.
The chicken was fresh from Bolling’s Meat Market, which Lohman swears by. “These taste so fresh — like real chicken” he said as he prepared the meat for grilling.
Though he follows recipes, Nich plays freely with ingredients. The pharmacist in him comes out especially with seasonings. The curry flavoring, for instance, was a concoction of his own.
Lohman, a native of Hillsdale, Ill., first starting cooking when he was a student at Drake University, Des Moines, Ia.
“I was in a wine tasting class — extra curricular — with a bunch of friends and we each prepared a dish to go with the tastings,” he said.
“We’d sit together and eat and drink,” he said. “I became as interested in the food as the drink.”
That interest has continued over the years.
Now, as the father of five, Lohman has two cooking styles: Kid-based and not.
“That’s why I like to entertain,” he said. “It gives me an opportunity to experiment and spice things up.”
It works.
As for the prospective dentist and her husband?
The next morning Heather Hassell committed to work at the dental clinic in Iola operated by Community Health Service Center of Southeast Kansas, Pittsburg.
She and her husband, Dan, will move to Iola in June, 2011, when she completes her education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Dan is also a student at UMKC. He has two years until he completes a degree in pharmacy.