Road Kill Cafe

When I was little all the women in the family would travel from kitchen to kitchen to help each other with the canning. At the lead of this tireless brigade was my great-grandmother. I can still see her clear as day. She was a tiny little woman with snow white hair, bright blue eyes, a soft voice and a will of iron. She organized the canning schedule and only God could help you if you interfered with or upset that schedule.

I don’t remember ever hearing her raise her voice, but she could utter one little “A-hem” and silence a room in no time flat. Then in her broken English she would quietly admonish the offending person while everyone else quaked in their shoes hoping they would not be next. As a child I always found it entertaining. There was just something about watching your grandmother get in trouble with her mother…..

Oma Katie was quite a woman. She had experienced things in her lifetime that you would only read about. It was from her that I learned my love of food, cooking and baking. I loved her kitchen and the things she taught me. In my minds eye I can see it still. She had lace curtains at the windows and rag rugs on the floor. Her table always had a table cloth with matching linen napkins. At 3 in the afternoon she had tea. It was served in a china teapot with matching cups and saucers. Afternoon tea was not complete with out “a little bite to eat”. It was not uncommon to have cake, pie, cookies and biscuits with butter and jam served at tea.

She always said that the most important ingredient was love. If you don’t love to cook you will never do it well. Modern nutritionists would have had heart failure in her kitchen. Pie crust was made with lard, butter was used in ample quantities, along with a host of other things now frowned upon. She always insisted on using “real food”, a thing I find myself doing as well. Nothing was ever from a can, jar or cardboard container. Unless it was something she preserved herself.

Her vegetable garden was a thing of beauty. Patiently tended daily to keep out any weeds. Chemical weed killers and fertilizer never touched the soil. She would say that if you want to eat chemicals just open the container and help yourself . The only fertilizer she ever used was well composted manure.

She was very strict about keeping her kitchen (as well as the rest of her house) sparkling clean. The kitchen floor was scrubbed everyday with hot water and lye soap she made herself. This was always done before she went to bed, so she could prepare breakfast in a clean kitchen.

I hope that a part of that remarkable woman lives on in the things that she taught me, and that I tried to teach my children. Some of my fondest childhood memories are centered around her. I dearly wish that I could once again spend a day with her in her kitchen, what a  time we would have.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 1/2 pounds apples – peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 to 3 cups brown sugar (depending on the sweetness of apples used)
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, spices and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
2. Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
4. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with an immersion blender, if desired, to increase smoothness.
5. Process in a water bath canner 10 minutes for half pints, 15 minutes for pints.

TIP: I normally start this in the evening after dinner and let it cook, on low, all night. In the morning uncover, blend to desired smoothness, cook with lid off until desired thickness. Sometimes this step may take longer depending on humidity and type of apples used.

I believe that we have an obligation to the lives that we take into our care. This is especially true of the pets that we acquire. We are responsible for making sure that they are fed and generally looked after. Some people even go so far as to think of their pets as their children. I tend to think of them more as friends; friends that are very dear to my heart.

I would like to talk about my dog, Trooper. We got both him and his brother, Sunny, when they were 8 weeks old. Their mother was a registered German Shepard, their father is anyones guess. They both have the coloring of a yellow lab. Sunny has the shepard features, Trooper looks like there is definitely Great Dane thrown in somewhere.

My son came up with Troopers name. Personally I think we should have called him Eeyore. He just has that mopey “thanks for noticing me” demeanor. While he was growing, he went through a stage where he was all feet and legs. And clumsy. He would fall over his own feet. He has the sweetest disposition, even though his size alone would put most people off.

His bark is very loud, and he has a tendency to howl. Especially at night. Seriously he would sound like the soundtrack from the “Hound of the Baskervilles”. But we always know when something is prowling around in the dark. I am sure that many a terrified animal has run off after hearing him howl. He probably has scared off a few humans as well.

In his prime he weighed in at around 150 lbs. There is not a tiny thing about him. For all his size and booming bark, he is as gentle as a kitten. When our grandson, Hunter, was just learning to crawl, he would use Trooper for climbing practice. Hunter would end up pulling his ears or grabbing a handful of skin and fur but Trooper would only patiently watch him. There was never a growl or anything out of him.

All of our dogs love their treats, but Trooper is especially fond of cheese, gummy bears and popcorn. I would start out by tossing the popcorn for him to catch, then he would start moving closer and closer until he was practically in my lap. I could never quite convince him that he wasn’t a lap dog, especially during a thunderstorm. He didn’t mind the flashes of lightning, but the thunder always sent him either to find a place to hide or to my lap.

I have many fond memories of him, and now the memories are all that is left. My friend that I have had for so many years died yesterday morning. He is buried in the shade of a walnut tree where you can hear the birds sing and the music of the creek. I hope that I have fulfilled my devoir to have given him a happy and loved life, filled with good times. Good bye my friend, I miss you.

That was the amount of rain that we received in an approximately 24 hour period.  The rain fell  slowly and gently so it was absorbed by the overly thirsty ground.

The rain also brought with it cooler temperatures. This was a blessing in and of itself. But coupled with the rainfall it was absolutely wonderful. I can already see that the grass has been growing and I am going to have to mow soon. I am even looking forward to it because it will not be as hot as it has been.

The weather forecast even has some overnight lows predicted in the low 40s. I was beginning to think that the only place I was going to encounter those temperatures was in the refrigerator! The air conditioner has been off for about 24 hours now. It was rather strange to fall asleep to silence instead of the noise of that appliance. I could actually hear the singing of the crickets and the other creatures of the night.

The rain was also beneficial in that it put well over a thousand gallons of water in the cistern. That alone was a great thing! It was as if the whole gulch has taken a long and deep sigh of relief. Even the creek, once again, has water running in it. That is a lovely sight to behold.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 10 fresh curry leaves OR 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground red chile pepper
• 2 pounds medium shrimp – peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• chopped fresh cilantro to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan over nearly high heat. Add the onions; cook and stir until browned. Mix in the curry leaves or curry powder, then season with the ginger garlic paste, coriander and salt. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
2. Season with salt and turmeric, then mix in the tomato, chile powder, shrimp and water. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until shrimp are opaque. Taste and adjust salt and chile powder if necessary. Season with garam masala, stir and remove from the heat. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with flat bread or rice.

Usually by this time of year the heat of summer is becoming a memory. But here we are still dealing with the darn stuff. And the lack of any substantial rain. The weather forecast is promising some rain and cooler temperatures beginning this week end, I am hoping that it will come to pass.

I feel as if we have been stuck in this maddening pattern for so long. One day becomes the next, a week becomes the next, a month becomes the next with no real end in sight to the heat and the drought. In some ways I feel like I am doing another stint in purgatory,  waiting for something to happen to change conditions that are totally out of my control.

I long to see and hear a good gentle soaking rain. An all day or all night type of rain. The kind much often taken for granted, that the ground can soak up. The kind that will bring the creek that runs behind the house back to life. The kind that softly drums on the roof and lulls you into a deep and satisfying slumber. The kind that also brings with it the cooler temperatures of  autumn and the rich aroma of damp earth.

I can hardly wait to feel the first crisp day, the type that makes you begin to think of crackling fires in the wood stove, the softness of flannel shirts and long walks through the swirling autumn leaves. Where the night sky is exploding with stars, your breath hangs in the air and the mornings begin with a hint of frost.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups (lightly packed) fresh raspberries (about 13 ounces)
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
6 medium-size ripe but firm peaches, halved, pitted

Puree 2 1/4 cups fresh raspberries along with 3 tablespoons water in food processor until puree is smooth. Strain raspberry puree through fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible; discard solids in strainer. Stir in 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice until blended. DO AHEAD TIP: Fresh raspberry sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Prepare grill (medium heat). Melt butter with brown sugar in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Remove skillet from heat. Brush peach halves all over with melted butter mixture. Grill until tender, about 8 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve with sauce.

The heat that we experienced during the month of August was unbelievable,  day after day of temps in the upper 90s, with occasional  100s thrown in for good measure.  Couple that with almost no rain but high humidity levels. It was just uncomfortable and made you long for the cooler and drier temperatures of fall.

Then last week we got some much needed rain, not anywhere enough to break the drought, but at least enough to put several hundred gallons into the cistern and give the yard a reason to keep on living. We also had a couple of days of much cooler temps and a wonderful breeze. It was so nice to be able to shut off the air conditioner and open the windows!

We have a large number of Hummingbirds visiting the feeder in the backyard. So many that I have had to fill it twice a day. They are so fascinating to watch as they vie for space at the feeder. I have seen up to fifteen swooping, hovering and chasing each other off the feeder. They don’t even fly off when I am out taking down the feeder to re-fill it, they just continue to hover around that spot and wait. I have even had some buzz around my head while I am putting the feeder back up, like they are telling me hurry up so they can get back to their feeding frenzy.

I  have two volunteer pumpkin plants growing in the backyard. They seem to be doing quite well. Each of the plants have blooms and are putting on pumpkins. These are sprouting up from where we used the rotting fruit from last year as targets. Hunter has been watching the growing pumpkins with great interest. I told him that if they get big enough that we will use them for jack’o'lanterns for Halloween. He checks them almost daily and excitedly reports on their progress.

The heat from August, despite the couple of days of respite, has returned. The forecast for this week has the temperatures once again the low to mid 90s. I am really longing for the cooler weather of autumn. For the most part it has just been too warm to let Hunter play outside. Most days the heat index has been around 105. He is getting bored with having to be in the house so much. But I am using the time to introduce him to learning his numbers and letters. He seems to enjoy this as long as I keep the lessons short. It is amazing just how quickly he learns and how much he retains.