March 23, 2015
A Traditional Farm Life
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends! How delightful it is to begin to see lovely
green spots creeping up everywhere. I
was surprised to see a few tulips spring up in our otherwise barren ditch last
week. About a block from our house the
daffodils are already blooming. Spring,
glorious Spring!
Our two oldest boys planted potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day
without any parental assistance, to our great delight. (“Eyes” up, for those of you who are
wondering.) They planted two
varieties—Red Pontiac and Red Norland.
We’re eager to see how our first garden in Enterprise will grow.
We haven’t done a soil test, but the soil looks to be a
nice loam without too much clay. Thanks
to the same kind neighbor who plowed our 80’ x120’ plot last fall, we now have
a tractor-tilled great start to this year’s garden. It’s a beautiful sight to look out upon
10,000 square feet of freshly tilled black earth. Since Mom and Pop are pretty busy at the
restaurant, this year it’s up to our boys to keep it from becoming a green
carpet of weeds!
First, there was one.
Then, there were two. Next, there
were three, and now there are four. . . .Horses.
In the space of two weeks, our remuda has swelled from
one lonely horse to a herd of four new “friends” trying to establish a pecking
order in our relatively small pen. Not
surprisingly, fence building is on the docket for the boys as soon as possible.
As you remember, our buggy horse “Jack” was joined by
“Bob” last week. The same kind neighbor
who gave our oldest son “Bob” completed his promised gift of a second Palomino
horse named “Beauty.” Our second son,
with the help of his father, bought his first horse this week. She is a buckskin mare named “Honey.”
The boys have enjoyed socializing with their new friends
this week. Next on their list—after fence building, of course—is building a
round pen for horse training. They are
in the process of trying to secure enough wooden poles to get the job
done.
Meanwhile, at The Buggy Stop, we’ve added a couple Test
Kitchen favorites to the menu. Caraway
Rye Bread and pastrami are now available for Pastrami on Rye lovers. I didn’t grow up eating rye bread, but I’ve
got to admit something wonderful happens when pastrami, Swiss cheese, and honey
mustard are grilled between two slices of buttered Caraway Rye bread. Delicious!
You might remember the Potato Salad Saga from a couple
weeks ago. It took a little tweaking in
the Test Kitchen, but we are pleased to announce the addition of my
mother-in-law’s Potato Salad to our custom sandwich lunch menu—no marriage
counseling required, thankfully.
These admittedly one-sided chats we have each week have
developed into two-sided conversations with many of you, dear friends, at The
Buggy Stop. It’s a privilege to speak
with each one of you who mention reading this column. How can I thank you for your continued
interest in our family and for reading these weekly musings?
Come in this week and mention one of our horse’s names
and we’ll give you a free cookie. It
will be fun to see how many of you take us up on our offer!
We had a birthday in the family this week. Our second son—the same one who bought his
own horse—turned 12 this week. When we
go to my parents to celebrate a birthday, certain components of the menu may
change, but red Jello with mandarin oranges and pineapple chunks is always a
constant. It is so simple to make, you
can easily enjoy it for a weeknight supper—no birthday party necessary.
Grandma’s Jello
1 pkg. (3 oz.)
raspberry Jello
1 pkg. (3 oz.)
cherry Jello
1 can (20 oz.)
pineapple chunks
1 can (15 oz.)
mandarin oranges
2 cups boiling
water
2 cups juice,
drained from above
fruits and
reserved
Place contents of both Jello packages in a heat-proof
bowl. Add boiling water and stir until
Jello is dissolved. Add reserved juice
(with water added to make 2 cups if necessary) and mix well. Stir in pineapple chunks and mandarin
oranges. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan;
Cover and chill in the refrigerator until set.
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing
in Enterprise, Kansas. She and her
husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six
home-schooled children. You can reach
The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385.
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