BY MERLE MONAHAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
merlemonah@aol.com

ZUNI—The only thing Eva Linex could cook until after graduating from college was a pound cake.

“My mom’s best friend was a wonderful cook, and she taught me to make the cake from scratch when I was about 16,” Linex said. “Actually, I was more interested in getting my degree in marine biology, so I could get a job training ‘Flipper.’”

She grew up in Winston Salem, N.C., earned her degree and started looking for a job in her field.

“I couldn’t find anything,” the 54-year-old said. “Then I heard that the Navy had a dolphin research program, so I enlisted.”

“But you know what?” she continued. “The program was shut down two weeks after I joined.”

Linex liked the Navy and remained enlisted for 20 years. She has traveled almost around the world and wouldn’t give up anything for the experience.

Linex met her husband in the Navy and had her children while on active duty. Her daughter, Kaitlin, and son, Zane, live in Pennsylvania.

Linex and her husband were stationed in Norfolk when they retired and settled here. Her husband was killed in an accident in 1998.

While in the Navy and before she married, Linex rented an apartment in whatever port she was stationed. This is when she learned to cook.

“I used to watch my friends cook,” she said. “I read cookbooks and experimented on my own. If it tasted good to me, then I’d make the dish again and invite friends over.”

“I also had a good friend, a senior chief, who helped me get a little cooking experience on the ship,” Linex added.

She likes to change a recipe to suit her taste and does so often. Through trial and error, Linex feels confident that she can hold her own now.

NAME: Eva Linex

AGE:54

OCCUPATION: Retired from the U.S. Navy after 20 years. Currently works as a cashier at Holiday Foods.

FAVORITE FOOD: Vegetables

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Beef

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU REMEMBER COOKING: A pound cake

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR WORST COOKING EXPERIENCE: I was just learning to cook and had perfected my own recipe for hamburger soup. I left it cooking while I got ready for my guests. When I returned to the kitchen, the soup had scorched, ruined. I was mortified! I had to order pizza for eight people.

ONE INGREDIENT YOU CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: Black pepper

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT COOKING: I believe a good cook experiments with flavor and texture and makes a recipe her own.

WHO IS THE BEST COOK YOU HAVE EVER KNOWN AND WHY: That would be Thelma “Tom” Spry. She was a friend of my mom’s and taught me to make a pound cake. She was a very good cook and actually taught me as much as I knew about cooking until I became an adult and started to cook in earnest.

IF YOU COULD EAT ONE THING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE: Salads

EVA’S DILL POTATO SALAD

Ingredients:

6 to 10 medium-sized potatoes

2 to 3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 to 1½ tsp mustard

½ cup chopped kosher dill pickle

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Celery or celery seed to taste

Old Bay seasoning to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped onion to taste (optional)

Directions:

Peel and cut up potatoes; cut a few into smaller pieces — this will make the salad chunky but creamy.

Boil potatoes until tender.

Cook eggs for nine minutes after water begins to boil. Place eggs in cool water immediately to stop them from cooking.

Drain potatoes, peel and chop eggs. Chop pickle, celery and onion. Mix all ingredients.