I HEAR VOICES

With the subzero days we’ve had this month, all of our flocks and herds are snugly tucked into shelter during the long, frigid nights. No free ranging for snow covered horses. Heat lamps and bales of wood shavings keep the small livestock warm and snug. Even our loyal and coddled lab eats a daily bowl of oatmeal and sleeps by the fire. But all of this indoor dwelling makes for more housecleaning. The biggest job being that of cleaning the barn each day.

I am happy to report that, after being gone for 2 winters, I haven’t lost my touch with a broom, fork or shovel. I don’t work like a “girl.” I tie on a fresh bandana each day and head for the stalls.

Back in my early years, as a Meeker Country farm kid, Dad had a pretty strict idea of what barns should look like. We had to be neat and tidy. Even though most of the time found me with Mom in the kitchen, I logged plenty of hours out with the boys and I find myself still thrusting a knee into a haybale to break it up, I do the quick scoop method with a shovel to get the last of a pile of feed, I perform the classic dance with a barn broom walking and stomping it as I progress across the floor, cleaning up debris. I know how to fill a trough, gauge a water tank by sounds from a hose for fill levels. I know that “as the crow flies,” it is a mile down the drive and back, I can tell you that the hay barn is a “stone’s throw” from the east paddock, that a rod is 16-1/2 feet and that all tools should be reasonably clean and hanging from hooks on the barn wall because “the banker owns them” and I need to take care of my investment. I may have learned a lot from my Mom about domesticity, but “by goodness,” I am no stranger to life in a barn. I know that when I meet someone on a country road, “it doesn’t cost anything to wave,” and I also know that, when opportunity knocks, I should “strike while the iron is hot.”

I know that “a good stint in the military” would do all of us “a world of good.” I know that “if you have your health, you are rich,” and that if I ever “need a place to hang my hat,” the “back door is open and the coffee pot is always on.”

Funny, how lines or phrases never leave you when they are ingrained at an early age by people who seemed larger than life. Every day my head spins with Dad’s jargon.

I just know, “this isn’t my first round-up” and “you better make hay while the sun shines” because “a second cutting is in order.”

And so is another sub-zero night so I’d better “put those four buckle boots on” and get my work done because “I can pret-near always find something to do.”

BARN CLEANING BANDANA BROWNIES

4-1 ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup toffee baking bits

FILLING

2-8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup toffee baking bits

Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes. Combine chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat for 1 minute with an electric mixer on high speed. Beat in flour and salt on a low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Spread half of batter in a 9 by 13 inch greased baking pan. For filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth. Stir in nuts and toffee bits. Spread filling over top of batter. Carefully spread remaining batter over filling. Gently swirl through layers with a knife to marble. Sprinkle with nuts and toffee bits. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and cut into squares. Keep chilled. 

BACK DOOR CINNAMON ROLLS

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees)

1 packet yeast

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon salt

4-1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine milk, yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in eggs and 1/3 cup butter with a wooden spoon. Mix salt into flour; add flour to wet mixture one cup at a time, until dough forms. Knead in a bowl until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a warm place. Cover. Let rise until doubled.  On a flour covered board, roll dough into a 16 by 21 inch rectangle. Spread with another 1/3 cup softened butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Roll up dough and slice into 12 rolls. Arrange in a lightly greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees about 15 minutes. Cool and frost with vanilla icing.

VANILLA ICING

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat ingredients together until smooth and spreading consistency. Cover tops of cooled rolls.

WINTER CHILL MORNING WAFFLES

1-1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, separated

12 ounces evaporated milk

3 tablespoons oil

1/2 teaspoon maple extract

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well and set aside. Combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, oil and maple extract in a large bowl. Blend well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition; set aside. In a small bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. For each waffle, pour 1/2 cup batter onto preheated, greased waffle iron. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon nuts. Bake according to appliance instructions. Makes 8 waffles.

THE CORNER CAFE

Back in my youth, my Uncle Gene and Aunt Dolores owned and operated the Corner Café on Main Street in Grove City. I spent a lot of time there and remember well watching a bustling business in a small town, not just thrive, but provide so much for the community.

In my Mom’s day, three sisters named Larson ran the café. The Post Office was at the back and upstairs there was a dental office. In the sixties and seventies, when it was Bergstrom’s Corner Café, I remember four or five booths lining the west wall, an arch leading to the “Back Room,” the counter with the cash register and several stools facing the front. The wall behind the counter held pipes, cigarettes and tobacco along with a milk machine, an ice cream freezer, jars of homemade cookies, a candy display, and a chalkboard stating the day’s specials. In the middle of the wall was a doorway leading to the kitchen. That’s where you would find my Aunt and Uncle, cooking a big pot of soup, frying a hamburger, baking a cake or elbow deep in the dish sink. My cousin, Lori, and I often took our turn at pushing a broom or washing the noon rush dishes. Floor to ceiling windows lined the east and south walls, the entrance was between, angled to the southeast, accessed by a few concrete steps into the building. For years, upon entering “The Corner,” Bernice Thomsen, a longtime family friend and dedicated employee, waited tables and did any number of other jobs that needed doing.

The café was home to all sorts: men in plaid shirts with seed corn caps, high school kids seated on stools at the counter drinking bottles of Coke, Pepsi, Squirt, 7-Up or Frosty Root Beer, ladies out for coffee after shopping the hometown, children licking ice cream cones in a booth while Mom and Dad enjoyed a piece of homemade pie or a chocolate shake. It was also the Greyhound Bus stop, which provided nonstop color to my small town world. One could encounter travelers from coast to coast. 

In the back room, on weekends, there were often bands playing oompa-pah, or sometimes even more contemporary sounds.  My cousin Charlie and his band, as they were getting their start playing gigs in the metro, debuted at the Corner Café. I will never forget Lori and I inviting all of our girlfriends to come hear these young teens blow the roof off that back room. Our first rock concert.

With no rec center in town except for the basketball court, Uncle Gene, who had a heart for kids, placed pinball machines and foosball tables in the café (though some older folks objected), simply to give them an entertainment option when they had some spare time.

All good things come to an end, and the Corner Café is long gone. Aunt Dolores passed away a few months back and I have been flooded with memories of her sweet demeanor and gentle spirit as I remember her. Maybe I’m biased, but my Aunt and Uncle were generous and congenial, dedicated and gracious and I wish with all my heart for a “Geno Burger,” complete with a platter of golden, crispy French fries. The platter of fries was separate because the burger itself covered the plate. As I recall, all of the portions were gigantic, long before that was the norm. But biggest of all, were the hearts of those two who shared their space and hospitality with so many of us, kin or not.

UNCLE GENO’S VEGETABLE SOUP

1 large beef bone

8 cups water

Salt and pepper, to taste

6 whole allspice

1 bay leaf

6 cups chopped vegetables: onion, celery, carrots, parsnips, potatoes

Roast beef, cut up

In a large stock pot, boil bone and water with salt and pepper, allspice, bay leaf and onion. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours. Add other vegetables and cook until tender. Stir in meat before serving.

AUNT DOLORES’ SOUR CREAM RHUBARB PIE

9 inch unbaked pie shell

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks, beaten

Diced rhubarb

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Add sour cream and beaten egg yolks. Place rhubarb in an unbaked pie crust. Pour sour cream mixture over rhubarb. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 325 degrees and bake 30 minutes more, or until center is firm. Remove from oven and cover with meringue.

MERINGUE

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

6 tablespoons sugar

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Spoon onto baked pie. Carefully spread over pie sealing at edge of crust. Bake at 400 degrees until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

CORNER CAFÉ DATE COOKIES

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon Mapleine flavoring

3-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup chopped walnuts

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla and maple extract. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Finally, stir in dates and nuts. Mold dough into 2 rolls and cover with waxed paper. Chill overnight. Slice thinly and bake on cookie sheets at 375 degrees until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Dough can also be dropped by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and flattened with a glass.