I look forward to working with the WAC membership committee as we build for the future. As everyone knows, we are in a very fluid environment and there is a lot of speculation regarding conference realignments. It is important to control what we can control, which is to continue improving our athletic programs and continue membership in the WAC. The WAC has been in existence for 48 years and I’m confident it will be a viable conference over the next 48-plus years.

The recent scheduling alliance with BYU presents an opportunity for the WAC. Like many of our Idaho supporters, I am disappointed that BYU did not agree to a return home football game with the University of Idaho. People in college football understand our program has made substantial improvements, which has created an opportunity to build a future schedule that will be competitive and attractive.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson held a teleconference on Wednesday where he talked about forming a membership committee. He said they have looked at many teams in the “WAC footprint”, but with teams ranging from Ruston, La., to Honolulu, that’s a mighty big foot.

Despite Fresno State and Nevada coaches talking about being allowed to move to the Mtn. West next year, Benson said the per-WAC bylaws, the only way that can happen is through permission, and right now the WAC isn’t inclined to grant permission for either school to leave early.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see this play out in the courts.

BYU opting to go it as an independent in football should be good for the WAC.

WAC teams will play 11 games with BYU in 2011 and 2012, and while Idaho won’t host the Cougars, it will go to Provo in 2011.

The Vandals will get to play a home-and-home basketball series with BYU, though details haven’t been finalized.

And BYU  not wanting to play football in Moscow may not be because it thinks the Vandals have a poor team, but because it doesn’t want to play in a stadium that only holds 16,000.

A variety of lists have Idaho as the only school in the FBS playing football in a stadium with less then 20,000 seats.

I love the Kibbie Dome, but it’s not an enticing place for prospective opponents.

I learned to love this corn mea delight when I lived in Alabama for a couple of years before moving to Idaho. In fact, I used to make hush puppies often but through the years, but they fell off the radar for some reason.

Then when I received my September issue of Bon Appétit magazine a few days ago, there was a recipe for hush puppies from the Caseus Fromagerie Bistro in New Haven. Connecticut. It was a spiced-up version, but thought it sounded pretty good.

This might also be of interest to busy cooks as it can be made two hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Re-warm until crisp in a 375 degree oven, 12 to 14 minutes.

Thought this would make for a great appetizer.

Jalapeno-Goat-Cheese Hush Puppies

• 1 cup yellow corn meal

• 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar

• ¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ cup buttermilk

• 2 tablespoons beaten egg

• 1 ½ tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeno chile

• 4 ounces coarsely crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (about 1 cup)

• Canola oil or vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Whisk first six ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and chile in small bowl to blend. Stir buttermilk mixture and cheese into dry ingredients.

Add enough oil to deep medium saucepan to reach 1 ½ inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer to pan; heat oil to 320 to 350 degrees over medium heat. Working in batches of 4 or 5, drop batter by tablespoons into oil. Cook until golden, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer hush puppies to paper towels.

Makes about 18.

Here are some quick notes from today’s practice and Paul Wulff’s conference call.

- Aire justin and Nolan Washington were both full-go on Tuesday, a good sign for the Cougars’ at-times banged-up secondary.

- Gino Simone participated in contact drills, meaning he should be ready to go for Stillwater, too.

- Wulff said the Cougs will travel about nine true freshmen for the opener. Included among those: walk-on safety Jack Wilson, who has had an impressive fall camp and will see some time on special teams. Wulff also said the highly touted but quiet-so-far true freshman linebacker C.J. Mizell will make the trip.

Now, here’s a partial look at what ran in today’s Daily News:

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Chima Nwachukwu wants to hit someone.

So does Alex Hoffman-Ellis.

And they’d prefer if that someone isn’t wearing crimson and gray.

“Tempers have been flaring these last couple weeks,” Nwachukwu said after Tuesday’s practice. “Guys are really upset at each other, trying to get physical with each other. It’s good to have an opportunity to hit another color for once.”

That opportunity presents itself, finally, in the form of WSU’s season-opener at Oklahoma State on Saturday, and the looming trip to Stillwater is at long last the emphasis during practice.

Position workouts have morphed into OSU-related practice drills. They’ve begun watching film. And the players comprising the 70-man travel roster are donning crimson helmets during practices this week to differentiate between them and the scout team.

It’s game week in every way. Even Butch, WSU’s Cougar mascot, was wandering around the facilities yesterday.

“I think we’re a little bit more excited to get focused on our opponent and whatnot,” Hoffman-Ellis said. “As opposed to a grind, it’s more of a focus now. We’re kind of zeroing in on what we need to be doing and our assignments and what we need to execute.”

If the Cowboys’ offseason hiring of former Houston offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is any indication, WSU is going to have to zero in quickly. On every play. All Holgorson did last year at Houston was lead an uptempo passing attack that topped the nation in total offense per game (563), passing yards per game (433.7) and points per game (42.2).

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We’ll be back this week with a look at the Cougars’ schedule, plus a season prediction, and a prediction for the Oklahoma State game.

—Christian Caple can be reached at ccaple@dnews.com.

I usually don’t hawk brand name products on the blog, but am making an exception with today’s posting.

Last week, I received a brochure from the folks at Kikkoman and since I like their products thought I would pass on a tasty recipe for hot dogs. The company’s “Taking It To The Street” brochure gave some great tips for street foods for home cooks as well as locations for finding the best from street vendors across the country, ranging from pizza to ice cream.

The recipe below suggests cooks will be able to re-create “the fun of the state fair in your own kitchen” with these extra-crispy tempura dogs. And my guess is that kids will love them!

Tempura Dogs

• vegetable oil for frying

• 12 mini all-beef hot dogs, or 6 regular hot dogs cut in half

• 12 chopsticks, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

• 1 cup Kikkoman Extra Crispy Tempura Batter Mix

• 1 cup ice cold water

In deep-fryer or deep, heavy pot, heat oil to 350 degrees. Wipe hot dogs dry with a paper towel so that batter adheres better. Insert a chopstick into the end of each hot dog. Mix tempura batter carefully with water, according to package directions. Dip each hot dog into batter, swirling to cover the whole hot dog and a little of the chopstick. One at a time, drop into hot oil and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until crispy but not brown. Serve with curry mustard, “soyonnaise” and spicy ketchup. (Visit <kikkoman.com> for recipes).

Makes 12 tempura dogs.

Since I plan to feature the 2010 National Lentil Festival Cook-off Recipe booklet in my “Cookbook Corner” Column Saturday, thought as a teaser I would share a recipe on the blog today.

Also, I needed to correct an error I made last month wherein I referred to this year’s festival as the 17^th annual event and of course it was the 22^nd.

Sorry about that and thanks to organizers for bringing this to my attention.

The recipe below was submitted by Andreane Gaulin of Henderson, Nevada.

Red Lentil and Spinach Soup

• 1 onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 carrots, sliced

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 5 cups chicken broth

• 1 can coconut milk

• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

• ¾ cup dried red lentils

• 1 ½ cups fresh spinach

In a large saucepan, sauté the onions, garlic and carrots in butter. Mix in the curry powder. Add the chicken broth, tomato paste and ginger.

Bring to a boil and add the red lentils. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Add coconut milk and mix.

Top each bowl with ¼ cup fresh spinach and serve.

Summer is rapidly coming to a close so we need to make good use of the time we have left to enjoy those wonderful outdoor barbecues.

Today I am sharing a recipe from my old standard “Better Homes & Gardens Barbecue Book” for a corn casserole that goes nicely with whatever meat you happen to throw on the grill.

I’ve made this often and it is quite tasty but better yet, a quick fix!

Hartwell Farm Corn Pudding

• 1 1-pound can (2 cups) cream-style corn

• 1 cup medium-fine dry bread crumbs

• 1 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons chopped green pepper

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 4 ounces sliced Cheddar cheese, cut in 1 ½-inch squares

• 3 slices bacon, cut in 1 ½-inch lengths

Combine corn, breadcrumbs, milk, green pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour into a 10 x 6 x 2-inch baking dish.

Arrange alternate pieces of cheese and bacon across top in checkerboard fashion. Bake in slow over (325 degrees) for 1 to 1 ¼ hours.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Or maybe Thursday night just felt that way because we really are just nine days away from the opening Saturday.

Either way, Martin Stadium had more of a game-like feel to it for Washington State’s final scrimmage, and the Cougars elevated their play to the level of the atmosphere.

They went with two 15-minute quarters, game officials, a normal game clock, official stats, the works. Jeff Tuel (8-of-15, 87 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Marshall Lobbestael (10-15, 95 yards) both looked pretty crisp, the defense didn’t allow any big plays (the biggest was a 34-yard catch and run by tailback Leon Brooks) and Paul Wulff was pleased with the way his team responded to the format.

That also included a pretty fierce wind for most of the night, as well as artificial crowd noise pumped through the speakers.

A couple injury notes, though nothing serious to report from the scrimmage. …Kalafitoni Pole had to be helped off the field with a shin bruise, but it doesn’t appear serious. …Chantz Staden was an observer for this one, still nursing a bruised shoulder suffered during Tuesday’s practice. Wulff expects him back no later than Saturday. …Gino Simone (hamstring) might practice a little bit tomorrow. …Kristoff Williams (turf toe), Jared Byers (turf toe), Aire Justin and Nolan Washington all sat out. …Jamal Atofau may have had the play of the day, when he hit up-man Blair Bomber so hard on a kickoff return that Bomber’s green cap flew off his helmet.

I’ll pass along the full story for tomorrow’s paper, since most of it centers on the simple nuts and bolts of the scrimmage format.

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It’s getting to the point where Alex Hoffman-Ellis can’t even sleep, he’s so excited for Washington State’s season opener at Oklahoma State.

“In a good way,” the junior linebacker clarifies. “I have that day circled on my calendar. I have that day circled in my phone. I have that day circled in my head. I have that day circled in my dreams.”

Maybe it’s that kind of anticipation that gave Martin Stadium more of an in-season feel Thursday night, as WSU held its third and final scrimmage of the fall camp in preparation for its Sept. 4 opener in Stillwater, Okla.

They scrimmaged at 7 p.m. to create more of a game atmosphere, they used officials, and they kept a running clock - two 15-minute quarters, though they didn’t finish the second one - and they kept official stats.

Even the weather cooperated, as a steady wind blew across the field for most of the hour or so that the scrimmage lasted.

“I liked the fact that the conditions were windy, and we put a lot of noise in the speakers and went out and operated,” coach Paul Wulff said. “Just to face adversity, come out fast.”

It seemed as if the defense came out faster, as the only touchdown of the day came on an 8-yard toss from Jeff Tuel to Isiah Barton, which capped a 5-play, 22-yard drive. And that score only came after Carl Winston, carrying for the No. 2 offense, fumbled the ball on his own 21-yard line, watching as cornerback Damante Horton recover it for the first-team defense (which was paired with the first-team offense).

Freshman tailback Leon Brooks may have done the most to help his cause, catching four passes out of the backfield for 47 yards, the most impressive of which was a short pass he snagged and took 34 yards down the sidelines.

“Just give me the ball,” Brooks said after being asked if he preferred to be a pass-catching back. “I kind of just like to run it. Open space is good. I love open space.”

Tuel finished 8-of-15 for 87 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Backup Marshall Lobbestael was 10-of-15 for 95 yards.

Lobbestael threw the ball more because Wulff wanted the first-team defense to get a look at a pass-first offense, similar to what the Cougars will face against Oklahoma State.

“We wanted to make sure we threw the ball quite a bit, just to give them some things hopefully that will help us next week a little bit,” Wulff said. “There was some design to that.”

The defense seemed to respond well enough. There were no blown coverages or busted assignments, no obvious missed tackles or general confusion.

“People came out ready and intense,” Hoffman-Ellis said. “Coaches said we’re going to scrimmage, and instead of groaning about it or just trying to get through it, people came out ready to put on a show.”

NOTES - Nico Grasu made four of his five field goal attempts, even hitting one from 58 yards to end practice. Andrew Furney made three of four, missing from 58 but hitting from 50 and 51. …Tailback Chantz Staden sat out after suffering a bruised shoulder during Tuesday’s practice. Wulff expects him back no later than Saturday. …Cornerback Nolan Washington (hip) didn’t suit up. …Receiver Gino Simone (hamstring) might do some practicing today.

Before I toss the little Wisconsin Cheese folder I shared a recipe from Monday, there was one more I thought worth passing on to readers.

Those who like the spiciness of Cajun-style food will probably find this burger worth a try.

Cajun Cheeseburger with Cheddar

• ½ pound ground beef

• ½ pound pork

• 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped

• ½ teaspoon dried, crushed basil

• ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground red pepper

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

• 4 slices Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese

• 4 hamburger buns, toasted

• 4 tomato slices

• ¼ cup green onion slices

Combine beef, pork, chopped onion, green pepper and seasonings; mix well. Shape into four patties and cook and top with cheese as directed below. Place patties on oiled grill over medium coals (coals will be glowing). Grill, uncovered, 5 minutes on each side to desired doneness. Top with cheese slices, continue grilling until cheese is melted. Place each patty on bun. Top with tomato, sprinkle with green onion.

Serves 4.

— WSU went through what Paul Wulff described as a pretty disappointing practice, noting that he wasn’t pleased with the way his team responded to the 95-degree heat. That jives with what we saw on the field, as coaches just seemed a little more in the faces of some guys than we’ve seen so far. The heat surely played a factor in that, but as Wulff said, it’s not out of the question that they may see the same temperatures in 10 (now nine, I guess) days when they travel to Stillwater.

— A couple new names to add to the injury/ailment list. Fullback Jared Byers spent the practice riding the exercise bike due to a case of turf toe. Kristoff Williams was doing the same for the same reason. Gino Simone, Dan Spitz and Aire Justin also sat. And Nolan Washington, who did something to his hip at Tuesday’s practice (we’re not sure what, and neither is Wulff), tried to go Wednesday but had to throw in the towel about 40 minutes in.

— Nico Grasu and Andrew Furney appear to still be neck and neck in the kicking competition. Grasu made 3 of 4 on Wednesday, Furney hitting 2 of 2. There were a lot of bad snaps mixed in there that led to some broken plays, too.

— For the second consecutive day, WSU finished the practice in Martin Stadium, this time with a tape of some crowd noise playing over the loudspeaker. Not much of interest there, other than a couple of long completions from Jeff Tuel to Jeffrey Solomon, one of which looked like it would have covered 50 yards or so. Tuel was also sacked on back-to-back plays, Brandon Rankin and Travis Long leading the way on one of them.

— The team will scrimmage at 7 p.m. on Thursday, using a running game clock with eight-minute quarters, officials, stats, the whole nine yards. Sounds as if it’ll last about an hour, those these things usually run a little longer than expected for obvious reasons (coaches wanting to get more plays in, see different things from different players, etc.)

Speaking of Rankin, he’s one of the subjects of today’s story, taking a look at the impact WSU’s defensive tackles have been making so far on what appears to be a revamped defensive line.

Here’s about half of what will run in Thursday’s paper, and a link to the whole thing (if you’ve got a subscription).

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They total 566 pounds, a two-man, gap-filling force that has the rest of Washington State’s defense talking big.

Really, really big.

Defensive tackles Bernard Wolfgramm and, particularly, Brandon Rankin are two of the more intriguing players on what the Cougars hope will be a rebuilt defense this year, and it hasn’t been hard to notice the difference that the veteran and the newcomer have been making.

“The D-tackles,” senior defensive end Kevin Kooyman said, “have just become a huge part of the defensive line.”

That’s high praise from Kooyman, one of the more experienced members of WSU’s defense, who also says a new technique up front may have something to do with the suddenly stronger-looking unit.

In seasons past, Kooyman said, the goal for WSU D-linemen was to absorb blocks from the opposing team’s line and allow the linebackers to scrape in and try to finish the play. It didn’t work well. The Cougars were 117th in the country last season in rushing defense (236 yards per game) and 115th in both passing defense (275 yards per game) and sacks (they had just 13).

That might have had something to do with a lack of size and depth, a problem symptomatic of the entire program the last two seasons.

They’re more proactive this year, though, and the goal is instead for the defensive front to attack the backfield and try to cause as much mayhem as they can before the quarterback releases the ball or the running back breaks through the line of scrimmage.

Even defensive backs are taking notice.

“I feel a lot of strength in our D-line,” senior safety Chima Nwachukwu said. “They’re really helping us out big time. That’s something we saw in the spring.”

——————————————————–

Perhaps most interesting there may be what Kooyman said about changing their technique.

All for now.

While trying to rearrange my pantry to allow for more room, I came across a couple of cans of lima beans, which I like, but hadn’t had for quite sometime. I recalled a great recipe and even though it calls for frozen limas, figured the canned would work just as well.

The cookbook, which contained the dish, was from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, a school I attended many years ago. It is titled “From Campus to Kitchen” and is a collection of recipes from faculty, staff, alumni and students.

The cookbook was a gift from Monte and Shelly Femreite, now divorced but then living in Moscow. They bought it in 1995 while visiting friends who worked at MU.

I thought this vegetable dish would make a great side for working moms since it is easy to assemble and I can vouch for the fact it is great for company dinners as well,

Elegant Limas

Anne Steiner

• 2 to 3 packages frozen lima beans

• 1 onion cut into rings

• 2 cups mushroom soup

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese

• ½ pint whipping cream

½ pound sliced mushrooms

Cook lima beans until tender. Sauté onions and mushrooms in butter. Add beans and soup. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch pan. Sprinkle cheese on top, but do not stir. Pour cream on top. Do not stir.

Bake in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.