BUTCHER IN THE BARNYARD

Though we never raised pigs on my home farm after I was born, I’m sure, if we had, fall would have been hog butchering time. As it was, we designated spring and fall to chicken butchering and it was a dreaded day. All those cute, fluffy chicks we raised each spring, grew into potential menu items being prepped for our table. It was hard not to get attached to them as we fed them and watched them grow. We even named many of them and considered them pets.

Never mind that, life on the farm meant we had a barnyard to table policy. Raise, kill, eat. That simple. So, on a lovely fall Saturday, when we couldn’t take refuge in school, Dad would snag a dozen roosters and place them in a crate. One by one, he’d stretch their necks on a stump and, holding their legs in one hand and an axe in the other, dealt a swift blow, cleanly chopping their heads off. It was a gruesome sight to witness all that blood as the bodies flopped around on the grass. Next, came the boiling water dunk. A five gallon pail of water was bubbling in the firepit and the birds were dipped in head(less) first to prepare for the plucking crew. That was me and my brothers. We picked handfuls of the soggy feathers before Mom, wielding a very large and very sharp butcher knife (was that tool named for the chore or the profession?), cut an opening between the legs of each chicken large enough to insert a hand into to remove the entrails. We all took our turns at this too because, despite that smell which I will NEVER forget, it was downright fascinating. Intestines, gizzards, liver, hearts, kidneys, the crop, it was sobering but morbidly educational. Lastly, the feet were broken off after cutting around the joint. Those we chose not to eat though I have tried them. Once was enough for that.

The final chore before the bodies hit the oven or freezer was to singe the pin feathers with a wooden match. Then, guess what we had for dinner? You got it. Company! That was the one redeeming part of the whole day.

COMPANY’S COMING FRIED CHICKEN

2 fryer chickens, cut up

1 quart plus 1/4 cup buttermilk

5 cups flour

3 tablespoons seasoned salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 cup milk

Canola oil for frying

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Soak chicken in one quart buttermilk overnight. When ready to prepare, mix breading ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika and cayenne. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup buttermilk and milk. Pour into flour mixture combine till slightly lumpy. Heat 1-1/2 inches oil in a deep skillet until it reaches 365 degrees on a thermometer. Lower heat slightly. Working in batches, coat each piece of chicken in breading. Add chicken to hot oil, cover pan and fry 5 to 7 minutes. Turn pieces over and fry 3 to 5 minutes more. Keep oil at stable temperature. Remove chicken from oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

4 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup cold butter, cut in pieces

1-1/4 cups buttermilk

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. With a pastry blender, cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk and mix gently with a fork until just combined. Lightly flour a clean surface. Turn dough out of bowl and roll to a 1/3 to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 11 to 14 minutes until golden brown.

FALL (FLAT) APPLE PIE

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons flour

Juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pie crust

6 tablespoons butter

In a large bowl,  stir together apples, flour, lemon juice and sugars and salt. Set aside. Roll out 2 pie crusts into large circles. Place on baking sheets. Place half of the apple mixture on each crust. Fold the edge of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apples. Dot the top of each pie with butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and bubbly. Slice into wedges. 

A FALL RIDE

In the nearly thirty years that I’ve lived at Cricket Meadow, I had never had the opportunity to ride a horse around the farm until just recently. It was a glorious fall day… the warm sunshine in the bright blue sky felt good on my shoulders and the beauty of fall was all around us: red sumac leaves, yellow goldenrod and cattails swaying in the gentle breeze. It was such fun to explore the meadow, the pasture and the bogs at Cricket Meadow. I rode Wilbur, the big black Friesian and enjoyed the leisurely pace of his gait as we circled the farm, skirting soybean fields and avoiding trampling the corn. We scared up wild turkeys, pheasants and waterfowl. Even a fox darted from the tall grasses near the fence line. Wild grapes hung in clusters just above our heads as we rode the trails in the woods and I made a mental note to come back and pick all I could find for jelly. The apples on the trees were ready to be picked and Wilbur and I took all we could carry or eat. Apple crisp was suddenly on the menu. The herbs in the garden were begging to be picked as we rode back near the house and I realized that I love nothing more than the smell of my kitchen as I dry my herbs and spread that fragrant earthy scent to the entire house.

My ride with Wilbur is one of many I hope to take this fall. It was a highlight and made me remember just why I love living here and enjoying the bounty of the season.

SPICED WILD GRAPE JAM

1-1/2 pounds wild grapes

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 cup water

2-1/4 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Wash grapes. Cook in a heavy saucepan until skins separate from grapes. Sieve to remove juice and pulp, discarding seeds. Add orange peel and water; cook 10 minutes. Stir in sugar and spices; cook over medium-low heat until thick. Pour into hot scalded jars; seal. Makes about 3 half pint jars.

HERB GARDEN TOMATO SALAD

1 pound cherry tomatoes

1 medium cucumber, peeled, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoom fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup plain yogurt

Fresh ground pepper

Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and herbs in a bowl. Toss with yogurt. Grind pepper over top. Toss and serve immediately.

FALL RIDE APPLE CRISP

4 large apples, peeled (or not) and sliced

2/3 to ¾ cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup butter

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease sides and bottom of an 8 inch square pan. Place apples in bottom of pan. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples. Bake about 30 minutes until topping is golden brown and apples are tender. Serve with whipped or ice cream.

PUMPKIN HARVEST BARS

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 teaspoon ginger

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts mixed with 2 tablespoons flour

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar and stir until blended. Remove from heat and add all other ingredients, mixing well. Spread into a greased 9 by 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top. Cool and cut into squares.

MOUNTAIN MOMENTS MELT MY HEART

I’m watching my son Haakon split wood for kindling this morning. He is pretty skilled with a hatchet. He just finished preparing the firepit for our evening campfires. For the fourth straight year, I’m back in Montana, sitting at the old rustic table by the back porch here on this glorious mountain enjoying the warm sunshine, a gentle breeze, the smell of the pines, the chuckling sound of the creek.

My husband, Walt, and I loaded the two dogs and took off in the truck to Big Sky country this week and, as usual, we enjoyed every mile of the drive. Wide open spaces in North Dakota, beautiful sunflower fields, acres of wheat, gently rolling eastern Montana and then the rugged beauty as we headed into Gallatin County and the Bozeman area. It’s great to be back.

The crisp fall mornings here are a perfect match for buttermilk pancakes and Mountain Huckleberry muffins. Next up, a trek on the mountain bikes, a hike or just a cup of coffee on the porch swing. If we go to town, we will browse the quaint shops, lunch at one of Bozeman’s cute cafés, stock up on fresh produce at the co-op, buy a pair of boots at the feed store. Today I met a couple that live at the base of Timberline Road who have horses, so a trail ride is on the list of things to do.

It’s not hard to fall in love with mountain life. The dogs are having a heyday chasing chipmunks out from under the porch, dashing into the creek for a swim and sniffing out a whole new set of smells. We will savor each moment here at Winchester Cabin as a rest from the usual, hectic pace we all keep. Haakon will start his fourth year of college next week and we will leave this all behind and head east, back to Cricket Meadow and life on the prairie. Hopefully, he will be on the five year plan, and we will follow him back here next year for more of the same.

If I could bottle a memory, this would be a favorite I’d keep at my fingertips. It would be called “Montana Moments.”

WINCHESTER CABIN BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

1-2/3 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup plain yogurt

1 egg

1 tablespoon pure vanilla

2 tablespoons canola oil

Stir together dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, yogurt, egg, vanilla and oil. Add to dry ingredients and combine. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Lightly coat the surface with oil and spoon 1/4 cup batter onto griddle for each pancake. When bubbles appear, flip and cook for about 1 minute more. Serve immediately.

BIG SKY SURPRISE

Well, my trip to Montana to visit my son Haakon and his buddies didn’t go quite as I’d planned. I fully intended to drop into their rental house near campus and be a high maintenance visitor, simply so Haakon could experience what I’ve lived all summer. (And miss, I might add).  Anyway, it just wasn’t fun because, even if I had dropped my big shoes in the doorway (as I have been so accustomed living with, thanks to Haak and his friends) the guys wouldn’t have noticed. When I walked in to their apartment, there were 12 pairs of size 12s already parked there. They wouldn’t have seen or even been annoyed by mine. Rats. But I had to admit, at least they are conscious of leaving dirty shoes at the door.

 So, as I meander into the house, peeking into each room, I find that the bathroom is already out of toilet paper; I couldn’t even pretend to leave an empty roll. The towel wasn’t there, either. It was probably lying on a floor somewhere, wet and dirty. Then, as I proceed into the lower level, what to my wondering eyes would appear but a washer and dryer chugging in the basement. They were out of towels because they were washing them! To be completely fair, I was pleasantly surprised at their orderliness, and in spite of spare surroundings, the guys bought themselves a gas grill, lots of groceries and (here Haakon shines with all of his restaurant experience) they actually cook! They boasted of steak dinners, barbequed chicken and steamed rice, vegetables and salads. I was becoming impressed in short order.

I had to chuckle, remembering how both of my daughters managed to furnish cute dorm rooms, apartments and now houses, and contrasting that with the bare-bones decorating that a boy loves. Down to the pickup truck toolbox posing as a coffee table in the living room.

The visit to Montana was especially delightful because all of these boys, no matter what I playfully suggest, are wonderful, mature people, a joy to be around. AND they study!

So, no matter if the household isn’t a tight-run ship, these guys will survive just fine without Mom’s nagging and doting. A little hard to take, but what we all want for our kids just the same.

FIVE MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE (OR THE MOST DANGEROUS CAKE RECIPE IN THE WORLD)

4 tablespoons cake flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Add dry ingredients to a large coffee mug. Mix well. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Mix again. Put mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. Cake will rise over top of mug. Allow to cool slightly and tip out onto a plate. EAT! This can serve two if you want to feel slightly more virtuous. 

NOTE: And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of day or night! 

LUNCH IN THE FIELD

Traveling across the states of Montana and North Dakota last week, I saw lots of wheat fields being harvested. The combines sweeping across vast stretches of gold left endless stubble in their wake. I saw a pickup with a woman and children bumping along the field, about to meet up with the man on the combine.

I felt an instant pang of remembrance of my brothers and I piling in the car with Mom to bring Dad and my Uncle Harold “dinner” in the field. That’s what we called the noon meal. And why wouldn’t we? It was a huge spread flanked by salad and dessert and the evening meal, “supper,” was exactly like it.

As noon approached, on a “field meal” day, Mom would pull kettles off the stove and roasters out of the oven and put together individual salads in little Tupperware containers for each of us. She never packed paper plates, we always used real dishes and flatware, and included various condiments like salt and pepper, pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish and even a little bowl of sugar for my uncle’s coffee. She wrapped each serving dish in newspaper then tied a white cotton dishtowel around each one. Then she packed the whole works in a big cardboard box saved in the basement for such purposes. The serving utensils were toted in a wicker picnic basket and, lastly, blankets and rag rugs were packed for our comfort as we sat on the stubble in the shade of the combine and enjoyed our meal.

The only part of this thing I remember with a tinge of nausea is if Mom put the food in the car and not in the trunk. If it was just the two of us, and the boys were also working in the field, she put the food in the back seat to avoid the dust that lived in the trunk and swirled around our heads from the gravel roads we traveled with the car windows rolled down (we had no air conditioning) and it was easier to deal with if you didn’t need to “dust your dinner” before eating it. However, the repugnant (at least to ME) aroma of food sweltering in newspaper, cotton and cardboard was almost more than I could stand and I remember hanging my head out the window like a dog to avoid losing it in the car. If we traveled a far distance (5 or 10 miles to another farm), I would have to get my appetite back by walking around the field and breathing the late summer air.

Once I saw Mom dishing up mountains of mashed potatoes, juicy pork chops with gravy or meatloaf and creamed green beans from the garden, or discovered the array of dessert selections like chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting or Dad’s favorite, sour cream raisin pie or peach crisp, I forgot the whole disgusting odor still lingering in the warm car. How could food so delicious have such a dark side? I don’t know, but I’ve never forgotten it.

FIELD MEAL MEATLOAF

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 small can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoons mustard

2 tablespoons brown sugar

In a mixing bowl, stir together meat, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt, pepper and half the can of tomato sauce. Put in a loaf pan or an 8 inch square pan. In a small bowl, combine the other half of tomato sauce, vinegar, mustard and brown sugar. Spread over top of meatloaf and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

OAT STUBBLE PEACH CRISP

4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg

1/3 cup butter

Place peaches in the bottom of an 8 inch square pan. In a medium bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut in butter. When crumbly cover top of peaches with this mixture and pat lightly. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

WHEAT HARVEST SOUR CREAM RAISIN PIE

9 inch pie crust, unbaked

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup raisins

1 cup sour cream

2 egg yolks, beaten

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a mixing bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, eggs, butter and vanilla. Pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until firm, about 30 to 40 minutes more. Top with meringue.

MERINGUE

6 egg whites

Scant 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat until very stiff, but not dry. Sprinkle cornstarch in a beat until blended. Spread meringue over hot pie, sealing to edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until browned. Cool gradually and avoid drafts. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

HERB GARDEN HARVEST

     Shorter days and cooler nights remind me that fall is presenting itself in all of its splendor. Another sure sign each year is the discordant rasp of a million crickets outside my door...hence the name of our farm. I always forget how much I love fall when summer is in full swing, but it is such a refreshing change to breathe the crisp air and crackle colorful leaves underfoot on my daily walks through the woods.
     Today the sky is a brilliant blue, a gentle breeze tickles my cheek and I realize that it is a perfect time to harvest the bounty in my backyard herb garden, which is a profusion of glorious specimens begging to be "put by."
     I lovingly stroke each plant to release the heady aroma of pineapple sage and chocolate mint, delicious in iced tea all summer long, which will now be dried in the dehydrator and served hot in the cold months ahead. The clusters of thyme, delicate and diminutive, look similar yet are so varied in their uses...lemon thyme for lovely tea breads and sugar-encrusted cookies; oregano thyme for salsa and spaghetti sauce, French thyme sprigs for soups, stews, sauces and meats.
     Circling the brick walk, I behold more variety: lavender for sachets, tansy's yellow button flowers for dried bouquets, tarragon for vinegar, summer savory for meat dishes, rosemary--pungent and pine-like, a must with chicken, sage for stuffing the Thanksgiving turkey, chamomile for bedtime tea, parsley, dill, chives, cilantro, marjoram, lemon balm, santolina...
     As I continue along the path, I come at last to basil, the most favored of all. Waist-high bushes of highly aromatic green and purple basil remind me that another project today should be to make pesto to enjoy all winter in spaghetti and pizza. And for dinner tonight? That's just been decided too. Pasta tossed with fresh tomato and basil...

HERB GARDEN PESTO


2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, pressed


In a food processor, combine basil with pine nuts and pulse a few times. Add garlic cloves and pulse a few more times. Slowly add olive oil in a constant stream with food processor on. Stop and stir with a rubber spatula. Add cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pasta or on bread. Makes 1 cup.