FROM THE KITCHEN AT CRICKET MEADOW
By Julianne Johnson
Several years ago, as often happened, we were at my parent's farm for my husband's and my birthday celebration. We share the same day and it was a lovely night, spent with family, eating a wonderful home cooked meal and ending with gifts and birthday cake, complete with candles. This particular night I remember distinctly because, as we drove away, I was flooded with emotion and loneliness realizing that someday I wouldn't have this experience. I wouldn't be able to drop in and have morning coffee with my Dad, discussing politics, the world situation, the market report, the crop status. I couldn't eat my Mom's delicious meals, read the Bible with her and pray for everything on my heart and hers, to discuss my amazing children that she loved like her own.
I have never forgotten the feeling or the image that night of the silo, barn and farmhouse, cozy and lit up, as I looked back with wistful longing. A longing for my parents, my childhood home, the fellowship, the safety that comes with the older generation in place and loving on me and my young family, giving and supporting us in word and deed.
A few years later, my Dad was gone and, then the farm was gone. It is natural, yes, inevitable, sure. But, as we now head into our 60's and 70's, I fully realize how fleeting life is, how quickly we passed into the roles of married adults, parents, grandparents. I'm reminded of Psalm 71:18 where the Psalmist pleads, "Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me." This is now my life verse.
I love John Mayer's song, "Stop this Train," where he declares "Stop this train, I want to get off and go home again...don't wanna see my parents go, one generation's length away from fighting life out on my own...so scared of getting older, I'm only good at being young..."
Now as I reflect on this new decade I'm encountering, I resolve, by God's grace, to enjoy each day, live my life doing His will and trying to bless others, spend as much time as I can with my family and embrace the fact that people say, "She's 60!" Instead of, "She WOULD have been 60!"
Pass the cake. And more candles, please!
SCRIPTURE CAKE
1 cup Judges 5:25 (butter)
1 cup Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
1 tablespoon I Samuel 14:25 (honey)
3 Jeremiah 17:11 (eggs)
1 cup I Samuel 30:12 second food (raisins)
1 cup Nahum 3:12 (figs), chopped
1/4 cup Numbers 17:8 (almonds), blanched and chopped
2 cups 1 Kings 4:22 (flour)
1 teaspoon Amos 4:5 (leavening, such as baking soda)
3 tablespoons Judges 4:19 last sentence (milk)
Pinch of Leviticus 2:13 (salt)
II Chronicles 9:9 (spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg)
In a large mixing bowl, cream Judges (butter), Jeremiah (sugar), and I Samuel (honey).
Beat in the 3 Jeremiahs (eggs), one at a time. Add I Samuel (raisins), Nahum (figs), and Numbers (almonds), and beat again.
Sift together I Kings (flour), II Chronicles (spices), Leviticus (salt), and Amos (leavening, or baking soda). Add to first mixture. Lastly, add Judges (milk). Bake at 325 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours, or until done.
BACK ON THE FARM PLUM UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
6 to 8 plums, depending on size
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), divided
1-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Use a paring knife to cut the plums in half through the center, twist and separate. Remove the pits. If the pits don't come out with ease, use your paring knife to cut them out. Set aside.
Sprinkle the brown sugar to cover the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan. Dot 2 tablespoons of the butter over the brown sugar. Set the pan directly on a burner of your stove over low heat. Allow the butter and sugar to melt together, swirling occasionally so nothing burns. Place the plums cut-side-down into the cake pan so the fruits are touching. Start with the outside perimeter of that pan and work your way to the center. Set aside. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork and set aside. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs and mix until thoroughly blended. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour mixture and to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix together into a creamy, smooth batter. Pour the batter over the plums. Set in the oven with a baking sheet beneath to catch any plum juices that may spill over. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan, at least an hour. To remove cake, set a plate large enough to cover the pan on top. Flip the plate over so the cake inverts onto it. Lift off the cake pan.
Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONFETTI CAKE
8 tablespoons butter
2-3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles or jimmies, plus more for decorating
FROSTING
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
3-1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1/4 cup milk
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; dust with flour, and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter, sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla until combined. Alternate folding the flour mixture and the milk into the batter with a spatula, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, until just smooth. Add the sprinkles, and fold 3 or 4 times until just blended to prevent the colors from bleeding too much. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes on the same oven rack until golden on top and the centers spring back to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate the pans about halfway through if they seem to be browning unevenly. Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely.
For the frosting: While the cakes cool, beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Once it's all been added, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until white and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk, and beat to incorporate. Beat in the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time (the frosting will be spreadable but not runny). Place 1 cake layer right-side up on a cake plate or stand, and spread with 1 cup of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate the top with additional sprinkles.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Friday, March 24, 2017
FARM BLOODED
I went to a women's Ag Seminar recently with my aunt and cousin
and, though farming is their life, past, present and future, I found the forum
to be fully engaging and fascinating. The first speaker was David Specht, a
strategic consultant for family farmers and ranchers who is known as "The
Farm Whisperer," which also happens to be the title of his book. His
advice addresses how to preserve families while perpetuating farms. Several
women shared issues they faced on a daily basis on how to co-exist with grown
children to fairly divide labor, define roles, share assets, as well as the
debt load, and ensure that perpetuity is possible for the seamless transition
of the next generation taking over the family farm.
I couldn't help but reflect on my own situation growing up. Dad
and all but one of his brothers were Meeker County farmers. Most had sons who
kept the dream alive. Neither me nor any of my girl cousins were considered a
viable option upon whom to pass the torch. And, none of us, to be fair, really
thought of it either. My Dad expected that my younger brother would be the
farmer that would ultimately take over his operation. But, he tragically and
suddenly died at age 19. My older brother wanted a career off the farm and got
a B.S. in Ag Education. He liked the idea of agriculture, but not the rigors or
unpredictability of a livelihood close to the land. My youngest brother never
once considered a life in overalls and went on to pursue higher education, as
well. As did I. But, after I was
educated and married, though I was the one on the farm with him each day, Dad
never, even then, looked at me seriously as a partner. I guess I never pushed
the idea. I'm struck by the fact, that now I'm his only child living on a farm,
tending animals and watching corn grow, planted and harvested by my cousin's
sons. It all worked out, in a roundabout way.
I'm more than grateful to be living an agrarian life, one where,
though it pales in comparison to REAL farmers, I can hold my own when
discussing livestock, prices, forecasts and just when to bale that second
cutting.
Yup, I'm a wanna-be. But, no matter. It connects me to a heritage
that runs deep in the veins around here, ties me to people whose voices echo
around every bend in the road, as I breathe deeply of the atmosphere shared by
years of blood, sweat and tears lived, and lived well, at the end of my old
dirt road.
END OF THE ROAD FARM HOTDISH
1-1/2 pounds hamburger
3 slices bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups cubed potatoes
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can lima beans, drained
2 cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
Shredded cheddar cheese
In a large skillet, brown hamburger with bacon, onion and salt
and pepper. In a medium saucepan, parboil potatoes and celery until almost
done. Stir meat mixture and vegetables together. Add beans, tomato sauce and
sugar. Pour into a large casserole. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350
degrees for 1 hour, until bubbly.
FARM GARDEN CUCUMBER SALAD
4 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup sugar
4 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
Salt to taste, if desired
Prepare cucumbers and onions and set aside. In a mixing bowl,
combine mayonnaise, sugar, dill and salt, if used. Mix well. Add cucumbers and
onion and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with more dill weed sprinkled over top.
FARM-STYLE VANILLA PIE
3 cups plus 1/2 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 tablespoon butter
SPICE GIRLS
I’ve been an antique lover for as long as I can remember and
every now and then, just have to make a foray into a shop of collectibles for a
breath of the past, a bite of nostalgia, a shot of history. I grew up with all
things old, used or handed down. The day my Dad would approve of a new piece of
furniture, a lamp or tchotchke, was the day Mom and I high-fived each other and
grinned from ear to ear. I have used this space before to share her Gold Bond
stamp redemption items, but they were never substantial pieces. A blanket, a
wall hanging, a toaster. Hardly something you would build a room around.
What we DID build our rooms around was USED. Dad wasn’t NOT
generous, but he WAS frugal and careful of expenses. I guess it paid off, for
his estate upon his death was nothing to be sneezed at. When I was young,
however, our family often made junkets after church on Sunday, to Koch’s, a
massive arrangement of barns and sheds near New London. Purveyors of everything
from household items to car parts, it was really a second hand store but, for
some reason, had such buyer appeal that it seemed to be swarming with shoppers
every time we stopped in. We got much of what we owned at that time from this
location. I even, at age 13, got my first eye shadow collection from a used
Avon dealer. How did I dare apply “Sapphire Blue” or “Smokey Haze” to my
juvenile lids? We were not too good to
be second hand shoppers and never wasted anything. It just made sense to “buy used
as long as there’s wear in it.” And that eye shadow had lots of wear in it.
I recently went back to one of my favorite antique stores in
the area and found, not one but two, wooden spice chests. Marked in primitive
stamp, each of the 8 drawers in the little cupboard is marked. Allspice,
cloves, cinnamon, mace, baking powder, soda, salt and pepper. I bought them
both and gave one to my daughter for her birthday. Now we have matching spice
chests in our kitchens and she also loves to hunt with me for yet another fine
addition to our collections. There is something sweet about knowing that
somewhere, most likely out here on the prairie, a housewife in the 1920’s was
adding a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of cinnamon or a dash of mace to her
cooking. In that era, I’m more than certain, she would have ascribed, as well,
to the idea of old, used or handed down.
HERITAGE BUTTERMILK DOUGHNUTS
3-1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 scant teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt
and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and milk together and stir
well. Add sifted dry ingredients to this mixture. Stir in melted butter. Roll
out on flour-covered board. Deep fry at 375 degrees until browned on both
sides. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Dredge in sugar, cinnamon
sugar or powdered sugar.
SPICE CHEST GINGER CREAMS
1/4 cup lard
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
In a large mixing bowl, mix together lard and sugar. Beat in
egg. Stir in molasses. Add water. Blend in flour, soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg,
cloves and cinnamon. Cover bowl and chill dough for 2 hours. Drop by spoonfuls
onto baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes.
CREAMY FROSTING
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon (or more) heavy cream
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. When cookies are
cool, spread frosting over tops. Store in a tightly covered container.
SPICY MOLASSES CAKE
2-1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
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