Frying Goldfish

Yep, that's me!  The girl in a dress (oh, the horror! Where are my overalls?) with Mr. and Mrs. German.  I'm guessing we've been fishing.

Dad worked road construction. Sometimes we traveled with him.  We would rent a house or a cabin and stay until Dad's job was done. We always came home to the farm but summers were extra special.

I was very lucky.  Our neighbors raised goldfish in long metal aerated tanks. Part of my "job" when I came to visit was picking out the floating goldfish. I was allowed to feed them to Mrs.German's cat.  During all this fun I decided it just wasn't right to feed the cat RAW goldfish. I presented my idea to Mrs. German. She was happy to comply.  She gave me a big jar lid and a fork and allowed me to stir and cook to my heart's content on their heating stove in their living room!  Of course the fish never got hot.  I tip toed to reach the top of the stove then I would politely and properly serve the cat his "cooked" meal.  The cat seems to enjoy the special service.

Mrs. German just smiled. Mr. German seemed to enjoy pulling my braid.    I was in trouble many times for slipping away to visit the neighbors without asking permission first. Mother taught me that lesson well.

My Life

Hubby checks his game cam under an acorn laden oak tree.

We get to witness wonders that we might never see.  This eight point White Tail buck is marking the tree and his territory by rising on his hind legs and spreading his scent in the over hanging limbs.

Here I have captured another male making points by recovering a tree stump that I think is vital to my existence. It had to be a tractor operation.

With me being recently and continually sick this wise male has quietly tried to help around the house. Quietly because he knows I will drag off the couch and protest.  He knows it's bad when I'm not doing laundry and dishes!  Other facets of my "womanly" duties may suffer but dishes and laundry is like breathing...if you're not doing it, you're pretty close to death.  You know, don't you?

I could not fault the stove deep with bacon grease nor the unwashed skillets because there were dishes washed and meals cooked WITH OUT me!  I was served meals lovingly in my sick room if I ate at all and was checked on quite often to see if I was still breathing.

He didn't know I watched as he struggled to fold a towel!  I was proud.  Maybe, just maybe he could survive without me if he had to do so.  His towels may fall off the shelf and the knives may be in the wrong drawer but he gets an A+ for effort.

 I am beginning to think all those years ago when hormones told me HE was the right life mate for me that maybe my brain was in on the decision too.  I know my heart was.

Thank you, honey.  I think you're a keeper.

Hoecakes and Strawberry Shortcake...

It's been a busy week  Working all week.  There's that retirement thing I NEED to talk about again!

Toni, my nephew, has been staying with us.  The slave labor we have provided has been returned in kind by Toni and Andrew cooking dinner each night.

We've had poke salad and fresh garden salad.  We've had pork ribs, pork pasta and pulled barbecued pork.  We had pasta with cheese and corn, baked potatoes, zucchini, hoecakes and fresh strawberries with cake.  Not all at one meal and not in this combination but through out this week after we labored and moved Toni's storage items to the shop.

Toni taught me a  few tricks about cooking he has picked up in his world travels and I taught Andrew and Toni some old cooking tricks handed down for generations.

Andrew thought I was talking dirty when I asked if they wanted Hoecakes with their greens.  I showed the guys how to make them.  THEN I googled the name.  By golly, I had it right.  I made them the same way Paula Deen did.  The recipe wasn't written down but stored in my head as it has been for generations.

Toni shared how they cooked pork ribs quickly in Guam and I demonstrated how to make glaze for a cake. Andrew made the cake, I made the glaze, Toni dressed and cut the berries while Cool Whip made the topping.  I think this looks better than Paula Deen's.

My two best kept secrets in the kitchen are spraying the cake pan with olive oil and using sugar instead of flour to coat the pan.  The cake still turns loose and you  have a little caramel on the bottom. The second secret was from Uncle Grover who cooked in the Army and afterwards cooked in a restaurant for years. Drop the pan. Repeatedly. That's the secret. Drop the pan to settle the big air bubbles from the cake. This allows the cake to rise evenly.

So after a long hot exhausting day a meal cooked together just makes you feel like you are home. Then there's game time after the table cleared.  I have forgotten I had a tv.

Oh, and eat your heart out, Paula Deen!

Playing With New Potatoes...

A customer brought me new potatoes today.  He said the rain had exposed his potatoes and they had to be picked.  I gladly took some off his hands.

I sliced them thin with skins on.  Browned and cooked them in a little olive oil and chives, adding Cavendar's seasoning, I cooked them tender then cooked them fast to brown and dashed some soy sauce on them.

The new way was a success with the men, hubby and Andrew.  They wanted more!

Hubby begins to fix a new batch and asked how I made them, I told him, well actually I seasoned them and let him pretend to cook them.  Andrew came through, hubby grabbed the spatcula, sprinkled some soy sauce and pretended he had done it all.

THEN, he put Andrew on the spot by asking, whose potatoes were better, mine or Nana's.  Andrew chose Papa's, you know the men have to stick together.  Hubby confessed.  Andrew was surprised and a little embarrassed that he had chosen Papa's.

It is amazing how much fun a few potatoes can be!

...and we wait for more storms,

full of new potatoes,

and full of hope the storms are gentle.