Frederick Homecoming Parade

Once a Bomber, always a Bomber. Go Bombers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She's Got a Lot of Cow in Her

 

Get behind, keep them together, push them, into the pen they go. Back from retirement after two years on break, my sweet little ranch horse has a lot of cow in her. She knows how to follow a herd at just the right distance so they don't freak out and bolt for Montana, Missouri, and Mexico.

 

Our first try, and second, and third, and fourth, and fifth, and sixth, she made pushing and penning cattle easy. (Although I suspect maybe my sweetheart set us up with some pre-trained cattle. That one that walked into the pen all on his own was kind of suspicious.) I'm wondering what we'll try next. Hmmm, maybe separating cattle . . . without letting them bolt for Montana.

Tasty Cactus

Until recently I hadn't looked at these and thought, "Mmmm, tasty!" Growing up in Oklahoma, they were a nuisance that found their way into crops and yards and were a pain to permanently remove, but during my years in southern California, I saw them frequently in grocery stores. A friend I worked with in downtown LA said she loved her grandmother's napolitos. From the affectionate way she described her, I could almost see her standing over the stove cooking them in her kitchen. After that each time I walked past the prickly pear cactus I had previously thought of as a nuisance in a grocery store, I imagined her grandmother cooking.

 

 

A few days ago, I told my sweetheart, "People eat these, you know," thinking it might be time for me to take the plunge and try my hand at cooking cactus.

 

"Really," he said. "How? What do they make with them?"

 

"Cactus jelly," was all I could come up with. (My ignorance and my sweet tooth were showing.) I 've seen cactus jelly many times, but on the spot I could not describe the dish my friend's grandmother made. And really, I should be better educated about cactus, because if our two-year drought continues much longer, it might be easier to grow cactus as a cash crop than cotton.

 

So I began thinking more about cooking prickly pear, also known as nopales, paddle cactus, or Opuntia.  Now I'm sixteen different kinds of curious and in search of a fabulous cactus recipe.

 

So far, I've come across the ones below, and am thinking prickly pear will be showing up on the dinner or breakfast table soon.

 

Cactus Salsa from The Hungry Texan - Yum!

 

Cactus Corn Muffins from Taste of Home - I've never gone wrong with a Taste of Home recipe.

 

Mexican Green Bean Salad from Simply Recipes - Looks tasty!

 

Scrambled Eggs and Napolitos from Spice Lines - Yes, please!

 

 

Just Another Day on the Plains

When clouds like this roll in, I am always in awe. But out here this is just another day on the plains.

 

Rain clouds roll across the drought-stricken southwest Oklahoma plains

Near Frederick, Oklahoma

Cowboy Food - Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

Yesterday I needed a new recipe for chicken breasts, and boy did my friend Josh come through with a winner! This is the kind of food that will satisfy even a hungry cowboy at the end of a hard day - Crockpot Buffalo Chicken.

Three ingredients, four if you're fancy, dump them in and let them go!

Ingredients:

4 Frozen Chicken Breasts (thawed work too)
1 12 oz Bottle Buffalo Wing Sauce (mild for kids)
1/2 Packet Dry Ranch Dressing Mix (1/2 oz)

And, if you're fancy:

2 Tablespoons Butter

Directions:

Put chicken breasts in crockpot. Pour wing sauce on top. Sprinkle ranch dressing mix over top. (Add butter, if you're fancy.) Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, if using frozen chicken breasts, 5 hours if using thawed chicken breasts. Pull meat apart with two forks. Serve on your favorite sandwich rolls or good old fashioned hamburger buns. Enjoy!

Adapted from - http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/190237/slow

Check out Josh's great Food and Drink Pinterest board here - http://pinterest.com/joshbob/food-drink/

Honey's Concord Grape Cobbler

This is the cobbler that Honey made. Her real name is Nancy, but the kids she takes care of call her Honey, and she is sweet enough to be called Honey. This is the mouth-watering, just-right-consistency, delicious Concord grape, melt-in-your-mouth crust, made-from-scratch grape cobbler that Honey made. If I was a grape, when my life came to an end, I would want to be in Honey's Concord Grape Cobbler.

I love that she created this fantastic homemade dish, not for Sunday dinner at home or Thanksgiving or Christmas, but for our church potluck honoring our sweet friend JoAnn B who has served the church for many years and is moving away to be closer to family.

Not only did she make this great cobbler and some tasty tasty vaquero beans, but Honey and her hubby Roger, Dick and Marie, and JoAnn A all showed up WAY early to set up the potluck dinner my sweetheart and I were responsible for hosting. In fact, they did such a good job there was hardly anything left for us to do. (I love these people!)

And when I thanked Honey for all they had done. She simply said, "That's what family does." And that's how Honey is.

Wilma's Mohawk Mane

The girl needs a new do. What can I say. I would love to plait or braid it. But what to do with that mohawk piece in the back, hmmm? Punk rock horse?

 



Sounds of Summer

Take time to stop and smell the roses, or in this case, sit on the back porch and listen to the bird songs . . .

Aunt Jean, My Role Model

Steak Fingers and Gravy - The Pioneer Woman Style

The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast recipe was so delicious, I just had to try another. Her recipe for Steak Fingers and Gravy was my next pick.

It took me an hour and half to prepare . . . because I am part turtle . . . and started with not fully thawed cube steak . . . that I then defrosted the rest of the way in the microwave . . . and hand cut . . . because I am dedicated (translate cheap) . . . and already had cube steak thawing in the fridge. After about 20 minutes, I had gotten this far -- two breaded steak fingers and one, uhm, steak nugget. Ehem.

Next time, I might will splurge and buy the pre-cut not frozen cube steak.

I eventually got them into the pan and it was pretty smooth sailing from there on. I love that familiar country cooking sizzle you know is going to end up in something tasting really good. I am a firm believer in cooking by sight, smell, and sound. Here is a batch just before turning, halfway through cooking.



By the time they were done, the steak fingers were a beautiful, crisp golden brown on the outside, meat done just right on the inside, and smelled delicious!



The gravy was a nice consistency, not the least bit lumpy, a big accomplishment for me. Served with skin-in mashed potatoes, it made a tasty dinner that even my seven-year-old twins gobbled down quickly.

Done over again, I would season the meat as well as the batter, but all in all, this recipe is a definite win. Shoot, with a little practice and pre-cut meat, I think I could even get the prep time down to an acceptable 30 minutes or so.

Try the recipe out yourself and see what you think. You can find The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Steak Fingers and Gravy here - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/07/steak-fingers-with-gravy/.

Dishing It Up, Pioneer Woman Style

If you haven't heard of the fabulous Pioneer Woman, I've got to tell you, she's a blogger, photographer, and cook extraordinaire. She writes about ranch life, family, and food. She's entertaining, funny, and I'm learning, a pretty darn good cook.

I've heard her recipes are great, and I've finally gotten around to trying one. Yesterday, faced with one of the most beautiful cuts of meat I've ever seen, a gorgeously marbled chuck roast from Mitchell Farms, I turned to the Internet in search of the perfect recipe.

When I came across hers, I knew it had to be the one. It was, after all, labeled "Perfect Pot Roast." And Sister, she wasn't kidding.

My sweetheart raved about it. Said it was the best roast he'd ever tasted. He's good like that. He even came by for leftovers for lunch. That's really, really good.

I've got to admit, it was probably the red wine that pulled me in initially. Sounded fancy.

But I was hesitant to invest the time in browning the onions, searing the roast, and deglazing (fancy again) the pan before popping it in the oven to bake for four hours.

Oh, but it was so worth my time,

so very worth it.



 

 

Here's the link to The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast recipe - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/







Not Quite Herding Cattle

It's not quite herding cattle, but not much beats the view from up here.  Thanks to a couple of great riding instructors, one professional and one my very patient sweetheart, I can now ride a horse without looking like a discombobulated trick rider dangling sideways from my mount.

After eight months of lessons, I am proud to say I can manage a comfortable trot, better if chewing gum (must be something about the rhythm), and even manage to break into a lope occasionally, sometimes even on purpose.

All kidding aside, I can hardly believe just about a year ago, I had only ridden a horse once or twice since the pony I had when I was five. Now, thanks to some great people, I own a sweet ranch horse recalled from retirement and am looking forward to starting to following cattle in the next week or two.

Thank you, Jerry, Cathy, Sarah, and Chad!

2012 Texas Ranch Roundup - Santa Rosa Palomino Club of Vernon, Texas

A beautiful sight to see, and a great way to start a real ranch rodeo . . .

The Quest for Chuck Wagon Worthy Biscuits

Mamaw Peters, my great-grandmother, was a celebrated country cook, and a particularly good baker. Her red velvet cake is pretty much legendary within our family. The baking tradition has been passed down through the generations, with one of my cousins even placing second in a nationally televised pie baking competition.

But I, somehow, missed out on Mamaw's biscuit making mojo. Oh sure complicated recipes like German Chocolate Cake and Red Velvet Cake I have mastered, but the simple southern biscuit recipe has been doing me in.

Then, this morning's biscuits came out looking light and fluffy. Delicate and flakey even.

Biscuit nirvana, I thought. And then the first bite. Like a rock, a big doughie rock . . . with a little butter.

I think it's time I turn to the experts to find that chuck wagon worthy biscuit recipe. I saw these guys talking about their chuckwagon cookbook, Barbecue Biscuits & Beans, on In the Bunkhouse with Red Steagall not long ago. It's going on my shopping list pronto.

Silver Lining

A silver lining, there always seems to be one, often where you least expect it, kind of like the brilliant sunlight poking through these clouds.

Sunlight through storm clouds

Southwest Oklahoma

Poster prints available here.

Cowboy Break

My sweetheart looking over open fields near the Red River just after sunrise; wearing cowboy hat, chaps, and gloves, he takes a quick break after rounding up cattle on horseback before branding calves.

Near Davidson, Oklahoma

Learning From a Ranch Horse

When I went out on a ranch horse to watch as two men separated and brought in a calf this spring, I learned quickly the well-trained horse knew what to do and wanted to help, even if I didn't. We came to an agreement that we would sit that round out, even if he wasn't quite happy about it.

But ever since, I've had this yearning to learn to work cattle on horseback. I'm hoping Wilma will be just the girl to help me do it.

Wilma

Peters Farms

Frederick, Oklahoma

Refreshment

Still in drought, there has been little moisture this summer, but a recent half-inch rain brought refreshment to this little kildeer.

Farming and Ranching Near the Red River

In a place where farming and ranching are such an integral part of living, it only seems natural to include the land in family pictures. Jerry and Pam Mitchell were kind enough to let me play portrait photographer for a day.

Near the Red River along the Oklahoma Texas border

Fire In the Sky

Storm watching is a front porch activity around here. People don't get too excited until a funnel actually touches the ground. This part of the country is often referred to as tornado alley, and it's a well-earned name. In fact, my first published photograph was of a tornado taken from my grandparents' front yard, when I was 15, as my grandfather looked on.

Today as the clouds moved in and the temperature dropped, I found a good spot and settled in my grandparents' yard. And waited.

Lightning in Tornado Alley

July 10, 2012

South of Frederick, Oklahoma