Christmas Breakfast

The fuel we need in case there are buffalo to be herded this Christmas...

Rim Rider

I've looked at coins from both sides now.

When I'm tails, I've got my head stuffed in the dirt.
When I'm heads, I'm just sitting' on my tail all day.

That's why they call me Rim Rider.
Out here on the range.

Look Ma, No Hands!

Pasta sauce, just add veggies and baked chicken!  Spinach and veggies, just add bleu cheese!  I may not be reinventing the wheel here, but at least the wheels are a turnin'.

And that's home on the range tonight.

here's the money shot of the breasts:

a warm meal does that trick

When you're "gittin" home after a long day at the book farm, and your soul's just about evaporated for good, it's an idea and a half to cook up something warm.  In my case, I was in a tizzy thinking we had nothing to eat.  There's no understandin' it in the moment, but until you get something in that belly you see that Creativity's no good when you're hungry and your souls 'bout 'vaporated.  Particularly creativity in the kitchen.  So I was scrambling around trying to match my taste buds and came up with shreddin' some cheese on some chips and giving it a ring a round the microwave.  It didn't taste too great, even doused with salsa.  The feel of the meal was like a fake factory.  But it did the trick to get my brain to thinking.  A few hours later, before the hunger really set its claws in again, I started inventoryin' our here kitchen.  There was 'bout a cup and a half of rice, and a few cans of beans.  Then I spotted that onion and garlic in their flaking shells.  That Creativity was workin', and by golly, I felt an idea comin' on.

I got that rice to cookin, and then saw about those beans.  It was a quick sautee in a pan for the onions and garlic, then a dump and a dump of the garbanzos and the chili beans.  I found some diced tomatoes in a can there and added those too.  I was on a roll and noticed in our 'fridgerator for a few days now sat the remains of an underwhelming batch of eggplant hummus.  On account of the amount of garlic involved, and the general flavor of the hummus, I thought it best if it ended it shelf life right then and there and made itself at home in the hot pot.  Those flavors all stewed about, gettin' to know each other and sharin' some juices.  Not long after, the rice was about done and I was about ready to try this all mixed up together, with a healthy dose of trepidation, no doubt.  So I put my helping into a bowl and added the last dollop left of sour cream to cut it with some calcium.  By golly, that rice and beans and whatever else ya seens' was the best idea I had all day.

It was a warm meal, which was the most important part, and included a few fresh things that recently were on a tree or coming off a vine, or however that green grass grows.  It was put together without messing with the ole' cookbooks with all the fancy teaspoons and measuring sticks.  And almost best of all, it inspired my ole' hunny to start some kitchen work of his own.  He organized those tupperwares like they were a prized record collection.  I'm sure glad he did because each time I go to grab one I get a headache on account of staring at the plastic chaos and then the one or two falling straight on my head.

A little cowgirl creativity can go a long way.  They say a snow storms a-coming, and I'll be ready if the snow piles higher than my doorstep and the grocery store a seemin' ice-ages away, because I cooked leftovers, y'all!

And that's home on the range tonight.

One great state at a time

I am preparing for an Iowan expedition. So far, I have my skeletal itinerary for a southeast Iowa excursion.

Lentil vegetable soup. By Amy's. Full bodied, sticking to my bones, a flavor hanging in my memory. Eaten with homemade wheat bread and soft Brie cheese. Wash it down with a cold one. That's home on the range tonight.