Odds and Ends of Summer

I realized I have all these random pictures of things I did at the end of the summer and haven’t had time to write about. Now that it’s about to snow tomorrow, I’ve got time.

Tomatoes

When we picked our tomatoes, we had a giant bowl of green tomatoes. They did turn red, but before they did, I made one of Walt’s favorite dishes. They aren’t my favorite, but I’ll cook and eat them because he is so happy when I make:

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

1 medium green tomato per person     

Salt     

Freshly ground pepper

Cornmeal     

Bacon drippings, or shortening 

Slice tomatoes about ½ inch thick,

season with salt and pepper

and then coat both sides with cornmeal.

In a large skillet, heat enough drippings or shortening to coat the bottom of the pan and fry tomatoes until lightly browned on both sides.

 

We had LOTS of tomatoes when we picked them before the first big storm. So I made roasted tomatoes. These are wonderful on toast, pizza, in spaghetti sauce, and just to eat. The sugar in the tomatoes caramelizes so they are incredibly sweet.

Roasted tomatoes

Roma tomatoes  

Garlic salt   

Pasta sprinkle (oregano, basil, etc.)

Olive oil

Freshly ground pepper 

Oven 325˚. Pour olive oil on baking sheet. Cut tomatoes in halves or thirds. Dip both sides in oil.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs.

Bake for 2 hours till soft and shriveled. Restrain yourself from eating all the tomatoes on the pan and licking it clean.

When we harvested the things in the front gardens, I made this for dinner:

LAST OF SUMMER OMELET

2 eggs per person

Onion, chopped

1 minced clove garlic

Tomato, chopped or sliced

Swiss chard, chopped

Half and half

Grated cheese

Salt and fresh grated pepper to taste

Butter

Sauté the onion and garlic in some butter for 5 minutes. Add tomato and Swiss chard. Stir fry until chard is limp. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with some half and half, salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables from the pan. Melt some more butter. Pour in the eggs. Cook the eggs, lifting the edges so the uncooked part can get to the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking until the eggs are nearly set. Put the vegetables on half of the omelet. Sprinkle on grated cheese. Gently lift the other half of the omelet over the vegetables. Slide out of the pan onto a plate. Doesn’t that sound so easy? Just slide it out? That happens about 1 time in 5 that it comes out beautifully, but that’s ok. It still tastes wonderful.

Decorative Corn

This year, I figured if we could grow corn in the garden, I could do an early variety of decorative corn. You can’t eat them – well, I guess you could scrape off the hard kernels and grind them with your mortar and pestle like Native American women used to do. Oh my.

The corn stalks are pretty – some of them are red or purple just like the corn. After picking the ears, we soaked them in a bucket of water for half an hour or so. Then Walt patiently sat on the deck and pulled back the husks to expose the corn and make them look pretty. This was one of the fun things – seeing what each ear looked like. We got enough to give each of our daughters some and several for ourselves. I will definitely plant more next year.

Basket

When I go out to the garden, I carry my basket. The first few years, I would take a giant stainless steel bowl, but everything would get jumbled in the bottom of the bowl. I looked everywhere for a basket big and sturdy enough with a handle. I finally found an Amish basket maker online and got this one. I love it. I do.

Bees

I plant lots of flowers and shrubs that will attract bees. Bees are having a tough time of it these days with colony collapse disorder. This kills off the entire hive of bees. Without bees, we wouldn’t have almonds, broccoli, cashews, watermelon, squash, pumpkin, tangerines, lemons, apples, peaches, strawberries, you name it. These little busy creatures are responsible for the pollination of most of the fresh foods we eat.

I’ve found they love the Russian sage, the climbing roses, the marigolds, and the Echinacea. So I plant these things and the bees, in turn, pollinate the tomatoes, the squash, the pumpkins, the chokecherries, and things I probably don’t even know about. I’m grateful for their work ethic.

Pests

Eeewwww

Conversely, I hate grasshoppers. Really. They eat the potato vines, the corn, the Swiss chard, the spinach and the bean leaves. I pride myself on growing things organically, but we finally had to break down and get some grasshopper-killing-bran. Last year, they stripped the potato vine leaves in a couple of days. This year, we got an early start on sprinkling the bran on the potato leaves and didn’t have as much of a problem with the hoppers in that bed. But they were still a problem. They nibble on just-ripening tomatoes. Makes me crazy. So I become a ruthless killer around the tomatoes. Scissors are my weapon of choice. The hoppers will flee if they see my hand or foot, but they don’t recognize scissors as a threat. So I decapitate the nasty hoppers. It’s gross, but I do get a bit of satisfaction that one less hopper will survive to make baby hoppers. And chomp my tomatoes.

This is not a pest - just a really cool spider picture

Fall leaves

This has nothing to do with anything except pretty.

We’ve had the prettiest fall, even with that 7” of snow that fell a few weeks ago. The snow was just the icing on the cake, as it were, for fall watering of trees and shrubs.

But I took this today

Clothesline

We’ve lived in about nine houses in the course of our married life. Of those nine, seven have had a clothesline. In fact, when we built the house we currently live in, I asked the builder to put in a clothesline. His look said it all: “You do know that they’ve invented dryers, right?” But he was too kind to say it out loud. Just smiled and nodded.

I love the way sheets and towels smell when they hang on the line. I love putting those sheets on the bed and that they are smooth and fresh. In the summer, on a warm breezy day, they dry faster than if they were in the dryer. If the temperature is above 60° and the wind isn’t blowing a gale, sheets and towels go on the line. Even when it’s like this:

They even got dry

Missy

I have a running buddy. Her life consists of waiting for me in the morning to go run. Going for a run. Then waiting another 24 hours to go for a run. When I go out to garden, she follows me. She follows me everywhere I go. She sits and watches everything I do, in case I decide to drop everything and go for a run. So I talk to her. I tell her what I’m going to pick next or where I need to move a hose. She’s extremely understanding and patient and wise. She agrees with everything I tell her. She thinks if she does, we’ll go for a run.

Hunting - Elk

I used to be an elk hunter, but the fact is that you have to get up really early. So I retired. Now I enjoy it even more. The hunting is a bit different than antelope hunting, but meal/menu planning is the same. Each family is responsible for the cooking for a given day. They bring the food and cook for the camp on that day.

The guys get up early (about 3:30 AM) and leave early (about 4:00 AM). They usually sleep in the trailer so they don’t wake up the little kids who are sleeping from one end of the cabin to another. We give the guys some muffins or breakfast bars and hot chocolate so they can have breakfast on the run. None of them like a big breakfast that early in the morning.

We (the non-elk hunters) get up when we want to - well, when the kids get up - take turns going to run, and spend the day taking the kids on walks to look at leaves, to see the last of the summer flowers as they go to seed, to watch a golden aspen glow in the late afternoon sun. If it’s colder, we sit by the fire and play games with the kids or read books, or put on coats, gloves, hats, and take off hats, gloves and coats many times a day.

Beth made cookies with the kids. Picture seven kids from nine years down to 18 months around a center island with all sorts of chaos and creativity. This is what you get:

We spend part of the day cooking, because when the guys come home they are hungry. They work hard at this, usually walking about 15 miles each day. They want something seriously filling. They usually don’t show up until about 8:00 PM, so it needs to be something we can feed the kids at 5:00 pm, then reheat or keep warm for the hunters when they get back. They eat like wolves, take a handful of Ibuprophen, and fall into bed so they can do it all over again the next day.

We did have a fire across the river this year - but it was in a place that would benefit from a fire so the Forest Service people just monitored it until the rain put it out.

When someone gets an elk, we all help pack it out. The elk are usually high in the back country, so there’s a 3 - 5 mile pack to get to the meat and another 3 -5 miles with a heavy pack to get it out. The guys bone the elk where it falls, so we are just packing out lots of heavy meat. Anyone that can carry a pack helps with this.

I do like this part – it’s never very cold; sometimes it’s quite warm. When we get to where the elk fell, we eat our bacon sandwiches, sit and enjoy the fall scenery, load our packs, and walk back down the trail. The operative word here is down. With the packs as heavy as they are, it’s a blessing that the trail goes down the mountain.

When we get back to the cabin, we repeat the process that we do for antelope. Wash the meat, bring it into the cabin, cut it up, package and freeze it.

The challenge of cooking for elk hunting is calories. Who would have thought? The rest of the year, it's the opposite. Anyway, the guys are burning major calories every day – they typically lose 5-10 lbs. on the elk hunt. So we try to come up with nutritionally dense foods.

One that has been a family favorite for years are these:

OATMEAL BREAKFAST BARS

1 c. butter              

¾ c. peanut butter     

¾ c. packed brown sugar     

½ c. honey           

2 eggs            

2 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. soda

3 ½ c. oats

1 c. raisins

½ c. chocolate chips 

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar and honey. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and add. Stir in raisins and chips. Spread in greased 9 x 13“ pan and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Cover with foil first 15 minutes of baking time. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting. This can also be baked in 2 cake pans and one can be frozen for another time.

Jenny found this great muffin recipe. I made them at home, froze them for at the cabin.

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

1 c. whole wheat flour                                    
½ c. all-purpose flour                                     
1 c. regular oats                                                          
¾ c. packed brown sugar                                
1 tbsp. wheat bran                                          
2 tsp. baking soda                                           
¼ tsp. salt

1 c. plain fat-free yogurt      

1 c. mashed ripe banana (about 2)

1 large egg    

1 c. chopped pitted dates (or dried apricots or raisins)

¾ c. chopped walnuts or pecans

½ c. chopped dried pineapple 

3 tbsp. ground flaxseed 

Preheat oven to 350°. Place 18 muffin cups liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, banana, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in dates, walnuts, and pineapple. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with flaxseed. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack. Makes 18 muffins.

We’ve found that soups, stews, or shredded meats work well for kids, and reheat well for the hunters. This soup can be made at home, frozen, and heated at the cabin. It’s from Amy Harmon.

CHICKEN AND BARLELY SOUP

2 chicken breasts, diced  

5 c. chicken broth         

½ c. barley             

1 tbs. chicken soup base               

2 minced garlic cloves               

1 tsp. poultry seasoning         

¼ tsp. pepper  

2 c. diced potatoes

1 chopped onion     

1 c. cooked brown rice

Sliced carrots

Sliced celery 

Place chicken, broth, soup base, barley, garlic, poultry seasoning and pepper in large soup pot. Bring to boil, simmer 30 minutes. Add potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, simmer another 25 minutes, add rice, simmer 5 minutes.

This is Beth’s award-winning chili recipe. And I do mean award-winning – she’s won several chili cook-offs with this.

White Chicken Chili
1tbsp. vegetable oil            
1tsp ground cayenne pepper, approximately

3cloves garlic, crushed         

1(4 oz) can diced jalapeno peppers      

1(4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers   

1tsp dried oregano                

3 tsp ground cumin         

1onion, chopped

2(14.5) oz cans chicken broth

3cups shredded cooked chicken breast

3(15 oz) cans white beans

2 cans cream of mushroom soup  

1cup shredded Mexican blend cheese  

1cup sour cream    

 Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-lo heat. Sauté onion. Mix in garlic, jalapeno, chile peppers, and spices. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken, and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, add cheese and sour cream and stir until melted. Serves 6.

 She served it with fresh bread.

Sarah made these fabulous dinner sandwiches. Again, you can make it at home, freeze it, and assemble later.

ITALIAN SHREDDED BEEF

1 whole Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds – beef, elk, deer, antelope – whatever it takes

1 can Beef Consommé Or Beef Broth

3 Tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon Salt

¼ cup Water

½ jar (16 Oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice

Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

Cheese  

Combine all ingredients, except rolls, in a heavy pot or Dutch oven. Stir lightly to combine seasoning with the liquid. Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven* for 5 to 6 hours, or until meat is fork-tender and falling apart. **If meat is not yet tender, return to oven for 30 minute intervals till it's tender!**

Remove from oven. With two forks, completely shred all meat, leaving no large chunks behind. Serve immediately, or keep warm over a simmer on the stove.

Serve on buttered, toasted rolls. Top with cheese and melt under the broiler if desired. Serve with juices from the pot.

A word about lunches – the guys have found that it’s useless to pack cookies or chips – they get crushed in the pack by lunchtime. The number one thing to have is water – a 100 oz. hydration bladder is not too much. Then they need lots of fat and carbs, so Walt loves the breakfast bars to snack on. We also send trail mix. Their favorite sandwiches are bacon and cheese sandwiches – again, lots of fat and carbs. We cook the bacon at home, freeze it, then put it on whole wheat bagels – which hold up well in a pack – along with some mayonnaise and a couple slices of cheese. Don’t put on tomatoes or lettuce – they get slimy.

We do love desserts while sitting around the fire. Beth made gingerbread one evening.

She combined pear butter with lemon curd, heated it, drizzled it on the gingerbread.

Then she topped each piece with whipped cream and fresh grated nutmeg.

Another good dessert for hunting is Apple Crisp. Apples travel well and we always bring lots for the kids to snack on and for the hunters. Then the crisp can be baking while you have dinner.

Sometimes it looks like this.

Then a storm comes in

And it can look like this.

We love hunting whether we are successful in getting meat or not. It’s more important to be in such a beautiful place and to strengthen our family bonds, both with that special place and with each other.