“Amber Waves of Grain”

This year’s wheat fields were beautiful! The dry weather actually agreed with the wheat…corn-not so much! This is the first time in the 39 years I have lived “on the farm” that wheat harvest was completed the middle of June!!!

This picture reminds me of an inspiring video of The Harvest–a modern-day parable. You can order it at http.//www.theharvest.com

Fields of Gold–not really!:) But these bales of straw will be appreciated by cows and calves as bedding when snow and ice replace the fields of gold!

Here is a simple recipe of Pretzels from the July/August issue of Southern Lady:

  • 3 (1-pound loaves frozen yeast bread dough, thawed

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tablespoon water

  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

  • 1 tablespoons poppy seeds

  • 2 tablespoons dried minced onion

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1.       Lightly spray 3 baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

2.       Working with one loaf at a time, roll each loaf of dough into a 14×3 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry knife, cut dough rectangle into 6 equal pieces, and shape into 6 (14×1/4-inch) ropes. Twist ropes into pretzel shapes, and place on prepared baking sheets. Spray tops of pretzels with non-stick cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3.       Preheat oven to 425*. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried minced onion, salt, and pepper. Brush pretzels with egg wash, and sprinkle with parmesan mixture.

4.       Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve pretzels with Mustard Dipping Sauce.

Mustard Dipping Sauce

(makes about 2 ½ cups)

  • 2 cups whole-grain mustard

  • ½ cup yellow mustard

  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

 In a small bowl, combine whole-grain mustard, yellow mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.

Note: For a touch of sweetness, stir in 2 tablespoons honey.

*Note from the “Editor”: Mom made these for our Father’s Day/Mom’s Birthday trip to St. Louis weekend before last and they were AMAZING! Enjoy!! 🙂

Haystacks and Hay bales! Have you jumped any lately? How about a Haystack for supper?

How to make a HAYSTACK:

 You can use a Mower-conditioner…

The Mower-conditioner cuts the hay, crimping the stems so the hay will dry
faster.

The hay has to be dried and raked into windrows.

Then the baler makes it into a gigantic huge bale!

 Big bales can weigh from 1600-1800 pounds depending on the type of hay.

 Or…you can make a “Haystack” like this…

 Add some taco-seasoned and browned ground beef…

 Crumble some Doritos…

Build it higher with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and onions and top with sour cream.

Heat one can cream of tomato soup, one can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of Ro-tel tomatoes in a saucepan. Pour this sauce over your haystack!

Treat “hay-crew” to watermelon for dessert!
Thank you, Gayla Pappenfoht for the Taco Haystack recipe.  It is a favorite
with our “hay-crew”!

 

Protecting America’s Land and Rivers

The other night Randy asked me if I wanted to ride to Yankton, South Dakota, with him.  “Sure,” I replied, knowing there was a good chance I would get to visit my sister and her family who live in Bellevue, Nebraska–right on the way!

About five hours into the eight hour journey I mused, “Why does Yankton, South Dakota, sound so familiar?” Oh, yeah. Gavin’s Point – where the flood of 2011 began.

 Upper view of the dam–Lewis and Clark Lake…

Restored, verdant and not as big as I had expected…

 Recreation ready!

Certainly calmer and lower today than just a year ago!

The bluffs are beautiful!

A “reminder” of the flood of 2011…

The spillway is very small!

Lewis and Clark Lake…

A fun place to camp!!

I’m not sure the pine trees were lost because of the flood–or like many pines around here, extreme weather conditions…

Wonder if those are catfish or pallid sturgeon jumping and waving to us??

This is the view along I29 in Nebraska.

A view of the park and campground at Bellevue, Nebraska.

 This was my third visit to Bellevue since I29 reopened.  It’s good to see grass growing in the park again!

Farmers are reclaiming their fields. Construction is ongoing on I29 with miles of 2-lane traffic.

 “Sandlot” has new meaning!

Valuable farm land covered by sand…

Since the “Flood of ’93”, we are more sensitive to these farmer’s plight…and we narrowly escaped the same situation last year. Sadly, our neighbors to the west along Missouri highway 65 experienced the loss of homes and crops.

“Ol’ man river,
That ol’ man river,
He don’t say nothin’
but he must know somethin’
Cause he just keeps rollin’
He keeps rollin’ along.

 Rollin’ along.
(Ol’ Man River, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)

Man contributed to the flood of 2011. Unfortunately, we don’t always make the best of decisions or look at the entire picture when an opportunity presents itself. We are thankful for the land and rivers God has given us and we want to strive to protect them for our generation and the generations after us. Will you please link arms with us and take a stand against the polluting of land and rivers? We need your help today!

****IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED****

Help us tell the Corps of Engineers “No more dumping!” in the Missouri River – CLICK HERE to learn more!

**Please attend the hearing of the Clean Water Commission and the Corps of Engineers on June 11th at 9am at the  

DNR Lewis & Clark Building,  

1101 Riverside Drive, Jefferson City**

 

Also send your written support for Alternative 3 

before June 30th to:  

Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources 

P.O Box 176    

Jefferson City, MO 65102  

-and-    

 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Kansas City District

700 Federal Bldg, 601E. 12th St

  Kansas City, MO 64106

For more information contact Shelby Davis: 573-635-3819

or sjd985@mail.missouri.edu    

Terraces and Farming

There are terraces….

…and there are terraces!

Quite a difference!!!

We recently terraced some fields that were showing signs of erosion. I really enjoyed getting watching the terrace construction!  This picture shows the completed work…

Notice the small dams or berms which control and divert the flow of rain water.  Before terracing, “gully-washers” or excessive rainfall would wash valuable topsoil downhill and create ditches and gullies.

Now the water flows through tile inlets and is released downhill, but it took careful thought and planning to design the terraces and restore the soil for production…

Working from a detailed set of plans made from arial-photos, cad (computer assisted drawings) and gps maps, an engineer staked the site with flags so the bulldozer operator knows where to construct the terraces. Notice that every 10’ – 15’ there is a different elevation measurement.

I knew there was going to be some serious earth-moving when the big equipment moved in! The black coil is a roll of plastic tile-pipe. That is a fuel tank in the foreground. They are ready to roll…

The operator is stripping the black soil away. This is topsoil with the highest organic matter and is the most productive soil.

The topsoil is laid in windrows so that it can be restored later.  Notice the tile snaking across the field…

Constructing the terrace cores.

Trenching the tile lines.

Completed terrace with restored topsoil.

The yellow “dot” is the trash guard on top of the tile inlet. The guard slows the water flow and keeps trash and animals out. The outlet is downhill and releases the water through trees and sod.

And yes, you are exactly right, we could have stayed at THE TERRACES for quite some time for what it cost to build field terraces.  But saving valuable topsoil for future generations—priceless!

Though the corn and soybeans raised on this field will probably be fed to livestock, our sweet corn is raised across the road so I am including the recipe for a delicious CORN DIP Ryan Edwards’ mother, Vicki, served at his college graduation party picnic:

SHOEPEG CORN DIP

1 (12 oz) can Mexicorn

1 (12 oz) can Shoepeg Corn

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheese

(I used cheddar, but suit your taste or your fridge)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Dash of worchestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

Dash of garlic

Benjamin Bunny, Onion Pie and Family Graduations

There is one little tiny Swiss Chard plant left in my garden…ONE, that’s all!

Grace and I planted a dozen plants a week ago…and that was my second planting!!!

Evidently, Benjamin Bunny prefers Swiss Chard over all the other vegetables in the garden (though I did have to replant the pepper plants…um.) For awhile the bunny was growing faster than the garden. Now, the volunteer
sunflowers are winning the competition.

Beethoven, our St. Bernard, could care less about my Swiss Chard. However, if it was in HIS bowl he would feel differently. Remember the coyote? When Lydea heard me fussing about Benjamin Bunny, her eyes grew big and she asked, “Are you going to put him in a pie, Nana?”

Then she giggled…she knew I couldn’t do it. So Mrs. McGregor, I have a new recipe. Onion Pie.  And it is as delicious as it looks! *Recipe at the end!

Graduation was last weekend for our family.  Five-year-old Grace graduated from preschool and it was a precious ceremony!

The next morning, our beautiful nieces, Amy and Ashley, graduated from Bellevue West High School. That ceremony was impressive with the ROTC Flag Corp and their principal welcoming parents and friends not only there in Bellevue, Nebraska but also, via satellite, in 40 plus states and 11 countries, including Afghanistan! Bellevue is home to Offutt Air Force Base.

Just driving past the Base makes me sit up straighter and prouder! Many of the students graduating last Saturday had a parent (or parents) defending our nation and unable to be at their child’s graduation in person. Another sacrifice our military makes in the line of duty.

I sat up straight and proud when Amy and Ashley received recognition for their sacrifices as they set a new record with their work for Kids Against Hunger!  Way to go, Amy and Ashley!!!

Congratulations to any graduates in your family or friends circle as well and here is the Onion Pie Recipe! Enjoy!

Spring Onion Pie (from the May 2012 issue of Southern Living)

  • 10 thin spring onions

  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten

  • 1 cup milk

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

  • ½ tsp. baking powder

  • ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

  • 2 Tbsp. butter

  • 5 oz. Gruyere cheese, cubed

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in oven. Trim roots from onions; discard roots. Chop half of onions.

2.        Whisk together eggs and milk. Sift together flour and next 3 ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, whisking rapidly 20 to 30 seconds or just until blended and smooth. (There should be no lumps.) Stir in chopped onions. Let stand 5 minutes.

3.       Carefully remove hot skillet from oven. Add butter, and let stand until butter is melted. Place skillet over medium-high heat, and pour batter into skillet. Arrange cheese and remaining whole onions over top of batter, and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute or until edges begin to set.

4.       Transfer skillet to top oven rack, and bake at 400 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. (Outside edges should be crispy, and inside texture should resemble a custard popover. Pie will deflate quickly.) Serve immediately.

This recipe is the creation of Andrea Reusing, chef of Chapel Hill’s Lantern restaurant.

I did make one addition to Chef Andrea’s recipe. You see, farmers have to have meat on their plate.

So I added about ¾ cup of ham, chopped….and my farmer asked for seconds!