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.