Long Weekend

We had a mini-reunion on Jim’s parents’ ranch this weekend.  Parents, brother John and family, and Nanny and Uncle Steve, of course.  Plus cousins down the road a piece.  Geez, sounds like I grew up there and I’m a proper New Yorker!

We had good country food and lots of iced tea.  Saturday night they made roasts enough for family, friends and church.  It was the last of Wobbly, a young cow whose hips were bad so gained weight enough to make her very tasty indeed.  Add my corn and red pepper relish, potatoes, Margie’s green beans, gravy and freshest of squash casserole and that was dinner.

It’s a different life there.  It’s easy for me to go to the grocery store, every day if need be, but it’s not out in the country.  Ingenuity, substitutions, and a chest freezer go far toward making everyday meals special.

Don’t think I’ve any experience living on a dairy or ranch.  First time I visited before Jim and I married (yep, meeting the folks, too long a story to tell) I got up before dawn and turned on the light in the guest bathroom and there were eyes staring at me.  At least five pair, about 20 feet away, and since I had the light on they could see me but I couldn’t see them.  Once a light goes on in the house, the cows think it’s feeding time so I got them all making noise.  Anyway, I didn’t freak out and that helped me pass the test.

Given these kinds of experiences I’d like to offer Recipe Ideas as well as Recipes.  A lot of the things I do are based on tastes and feel and what’s fresh at the moment.  Recipes will be mine or credited to the source.

You wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t interested in cooking, so let’s get started.

Dee