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.

HEAVEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

As the holidays approach, I'm always reminded of my family who has passed away and how fleeting life is, even for the elderly. And how, the day we are called home, that's it. Projects are left unfinished, goodbyes are left unsaid and the best intentions go unfulfilled.

Today, December 3, is the day my brother Dan died decades ago, but outdoorsman that he was, he never got to take that first snowmobile ride of the season or check his traps set out all over the home farm and at Cricket Meadow. I teased him about wanting a fox fur for Christmas, or a muskrat muffler. Well, even though my request was made in jest, no pelts were brought to Johnson Fur Company that year. It was with utter pain that my family put the gifts he bought us under the tree and opened them, tears streaking our faces that Christmas Eve.

My Aunt Virginia passed away mid-December the year after Dan and, when Mom and I went to the funeral home to make arrangements, we discovered, in her purse, a poem half written that she had been working on. Ever the poet, she had one last one in her. Just about.

When Dad died on our farm just before Thanksgiving, it seemed he pretty much had organized and thought out how to leave his house in good order. He did, however, only get halfway through the The Best of James Herriot, a book he and I were reading together that fall during his illness. And I have never had the heart to finish it. The bookmark he chose, a renewal form from The Farmer magazine, is still in its place, 22 years later.

Mom passed away just after Christmas, 6 years ago and she had suffered dementia towards the end. Her once rapidly filled crossword puzzle books were left a bit scrambled, unfinished and missing pages. As was the last book I bought her, "A Place in the Woods," by Helen Hoover. She had even ripped pages out of that. I kept a letter she had written to me shortly before that skill left her, in which she refers to me as her sister. I was crushed and touched, all at the same time. Of course, I kept it and it rests in a cherished spot: in my bedside Bible.

When my Grandmother Judith departed right before the Christmas of 1944, she left a gorgeous quilt top, half finished that she had been working on before she died suddenly of a heart attack. My mother kept it, always planning to finish it, but, like many things, didn't ever get to it. I'm looking at it right now, as I write this, draped over the banister. And wondering, does anyone else see a pattern here? All of these deaths around the holidays, all seemingly gone too soon, with work yet to be done. I think this lovely hand stitched quilt top could be a perfect coverlet for someone's bed, the pattern is, fittingly, Grandmother's Flower Garden, but it maybe should stay right where it is, a reminder of how in God's eyes, those lives ARE finished, His time is the right time and we only need to look for HIS pattern in this, perfect and complete.

POET'S POTATO PIE

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup potatoes, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup Swiss cheese

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup milk

8 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tomato, sliced

In a large ovenproof skillet, melt butter. Add potatoes and onion. Bake, stirring once, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until vegetables are almost tender. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients except tomato slices. Pour over baked potatoes and onions. Arrange tomato slices over eggs. Return to oven and continue baking for 17 to 22 minutes, until eggs are lightly browned and set.

QUILTER'S STEAMED CRANBERRY PUDDING

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup flour

2 cups whole cranberries

SAUCE

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except flour and cranberries. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 1 to 2 minutes. In a small bowl, toss flour and cranberries together. By hand, gently stir flour-coated cranberries into batter. Pour into greased 1-1/2 quart metal mold or baking dish. Cover tightly. Place a metal rack in a large roasting pan. Add boiling water to just below the rack. Place mold on rack. Cover and cook over medium heat at a low boil for about 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in center of pudding comes out clean. Add boiling water occasionally to keep level just below rack. Remove from oven, let stand 2 or 3 minutes. Remove cover or aluminum foil and invert onto serving plate. Serve warm or cold with warm sauce. To make sauce, combine all ingredients, except vanilla, in a 1 quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil, 5  minutes or so. Boil for 1 minute. Stir in vanilla. Refrigerate leftover sauce.

TRAPPER'S TREATS

CRUST

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup pecan halves

CARAMEL LAYER

2/3 cup butter

1/2 brown sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, combine all crust ingredients, except pecans. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed and particles are fine, 2 or 3 minutes. Press into the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly over unbaked crust. In a 1 quart saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil, stir constantly until small amount dropped into ice water forms a firm ball or candy thermometer reaches 242 degrees. Pour evenly over pecans and crust. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until entire caramel layer is bubbly. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Allow to melt for a couple of minutes. Swirl chocolate leaving some whole for a textured effect. Cool completely and cut into bars.

HEIRLOOM LOVE

I bought myself a silver ring the other day. The silver cigar band-style piece was so sleek and appealing...simple, comfortable and unobtrusive, it fit my finger perfectly. I am a sucker for birds and this ring has a carving of two love birds, perched on a branch. The reason it was a must-have for me is that it depicted the exact same lovebirds as were engraved on the wedding gift, a gold pocket watch, that my grandfather gave to my grandmother back in 1900 on their wedding day. Alfred and Judith Miller would have celebrated their 115th anniversary on October 20. I have been even more dialed in to their lives these days because I have spent so much time this fall witnessing the harvest at the old homestead, now farmed by my cousin and his sons. I also have the full description of their wedding because my great aunt wrote her account of the festive fall day when they said their vows in the bay window of the rambling, gingerbread-bedecked farmhouse. The groom's mother, my great grandmother, baked a towering wedding cake with 100 eggs, fresh from the coop. Copper, russet and golden mums lined the steps to the back porch, where wedding guests entered to be seated in the living area and my grandparents cited their "I love you forever" vows on the sweeping staircase.

I am a sucker for sentiment, as well as for birds, and I treasure my heirloom gold watch and the deep meaning it holds. A priceless treasure symbolizing the brevity of life (my grandmother died of a massive heart attack when she was just slightly older than I), the importance of promises, the joy of forever love. This lovebird ring, along with the watch, will be just as precious to my heirs when I leave them behind because all of them now know that true love is a gift, a joy, a treasure. And life rushes by, oh so fast.

SILVER RING WHITE CAKE

2-1/4 cups flour

1-2/3 cup sugar

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups milk

2/3 cup shortening

1 teaspoon almond extract

5 egg whites

In a mixing bowl, beat all ingredients except egg whites on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Slowly add in egg whites and beat for 3 minutes more. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes, invert to remove cakes and cool completely. Frost with desired icing.

PROMISE KEEPER PEANUT BUTTER BARS

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup quick oats

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

ICING

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons milk

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar together. Add peanut butter and mix well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, soda, salt and oats. Stir well. Spread in a greased 9 by 13 inch pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and peanut butter. Stir in milk, one tablespoon at a time and beat until creamy. Drizzle over top of bars.

 LOVEBIRDS LEMON RICE

3 ounce box lemon gelatin

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup cream, whipped

1/2 cup rice, cooked until tender

1 cup crushed pineapple

1 cup miniature marshmallows

Dissolve gelatin in water. Chill until almost set. Whip cream. Combine cooked and cooled rice with gelatin,  whipped cream, pineapple and marshmallows. Pour into a serving bowl and chill 

EXERCISE, MY STYLE

As I sit at my desk here on the second floor of an apartment in Santa Monica, I overlook Palisades Park, a lovely 26-acre spread of grassy paths, palms and beautiful flowers which sits atop sandstone bluffs before dropping to the Pacific Ocean below. My view takes in the coastal range and sweeps all the way up the shore to Malibu on one side and the Santa Monica pier on the other. I’m not complaining.

Every day I observe yoga sessions, bikers, dog walkers with every breed imaginable, runners and fitness classes. Today, as I watched the group of outdoor enthusiasts, I thought about my fitness routine growing up. It could range from pulling weeds in the garden, stacking bales of hay, carrying lunch to the field, ironing a basket of clothes, lifting the canner to the stove…my Dad had a strong belief in “working out.” And not at the Y. Our work was an adequate workout.

But in school, where there was structure, schedule and an actual GYM CLASS, I learned about physical fitness. When I close my eyes, I can see the scramble in the locker room to shed our school finery for the absurdly unflattering and prison-esque gym uniforms we were commanded to wear. Royal blue, one piece, capped-sleeve, cuffed-short, one-piece nightmares. They looked good on no one, ever, no matter the body shape. Then, we were whistled to the gym for sit-ups, jumping jacks and toe-touching exercises. Next a little running and finally an organized game of volleyball, basketball or something else just as repulsive to me. I hated every minute. I could hike all day at Lake Superior, swim the docks at Green Lake, bike around a country block endlessly, but was a complete failure in competitive sports with aggressive girls that would fight tooth and nail for a win. I just wasn’t into it. After an hour of wishing I was dead, the worst was yet to come with SHOWERS!!! If one had any shred of modesty, out the window it went. Off with the uniform to stand sweat-soaked in line, naked as a jay, as if off to a torture chamber to suds it up with all of your classmates. It was a torture chamber. Hello insecurity. Who loves their body at that age? And there stood the coach, hair in perfect order, right at the shower exit, dry as a bone, decked in cool Bermuda shorts, a crisp white shirt and the ubiquitous whistle around her neck, eagerly checking our names off on a clipboard. If you looked barely rinsed, she sent you back round again for another go at the showerheads. Die? Yes, again I wished it were possible.

Anyway, that is years ago, I escaped the torment unharmed, unscathed except by embarrassment. I love to exercise in my own way now, decked in black spandex, ever forgiving, and be able to shower all by myself when I’m finished.

I never did achieve athlete status. And, I’m intrigued, watching the gyrations and flexibility of these California bodies below me. But there are just as many who enjoy a family picnic spread on the lush green, a leisurely stroll with their dog. Or pushing their babies in strollers, wandering arm in arm with a lover, ambling with their grandbabies, picking up leaves, pointing out birds and squirrels scurrying the grounds. That can be my workout today.

Complete with fresh air, warm sunshine and breezes blowing from the deep blue, a color I’m surprised I don’t abhor, remembering those uniforms. Sweat stains, be gone. I’m a granny in black, with nary a toe-touching in sight.

BIRD OF PARADISE

12 cups watermelon, cubed

1 bottle dry white or sparkling wine

1 cup St. Germain

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup raspberries

Mint leaves

Place watermelon in a blender and process until smooth. Strain juice through mesh strainer into a large pitcher. Pour wine over. Stir in St. Germain. Add berries, reserving some to use in garnishing each glass. Chill. Serve over ice and garnish each glass with a skewer of melon cubes, blueberries and mint leaves.

PACIFIC PALISADES PASTA

16 ounces fusilli pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cups sour cream

2 tablespoons milk

7 ounces package dry Italian salad dressing mix

1 cup frozen peas

2 ounces sliced black olives

1 cup Genoa salami, cubed

3/4 cup green onion, chopped

3/4 cup celery, chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tomato, cut into wedges

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, milk and dressing mix. Whisk until smooth. Set aside. In a large salad bowl, combine cooked pasta with peas, olives, salami, onions, celery and pasta. Mix in dressing, last, reserving 1/2 cup. Let chill in refrigerator. Before serving, stir in reserved salad dressing. Garnish with more fresh parsley and tomatoes wedges.

OUTDOOR GYM LUNCHBOX BARS

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

3/4 cup almond butter

1/2 cup coconut

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 pinch salt

Place dates, almond butter, coconut, cocoa and salt into a food processor. Cover and blend until smooth, about 4 minutes. Mixture will be very sticky. Press into a loaf pan lined with parchment or waxed paper. Refrigerate for 30 mintues. Remove the chilled pan from refrigerator and slice into 6 bars. Wrap each bar in foil and chill until serving.