Cooking in the West

Although the Green New Deal seems to have been abandoned, there is still a lot of talk on the 2020 election trail about other brain flashes such as student loan forgiveness. I marvel at this concept. I grew up frugal and green, because my parents were 40 years old when they got around to having me, so they were children during the Great Depression. When I went off to college, I worked at every job I could find both on and off campus. I borrowed very little money, and I asked my parents for very little money. We lived literally like starving college students, and we did not expect anyone to pay our loans off or put us through college. Forty years later, college towns can't find fast food help and students borrow money to go on lavish spring break trips and buy new cars. When they can't pay the loans back, they want politicians to promise them a way out.

When I went off to college, I felt I was pretty well versed in frugality. However, my roommate was the undisputed Queen of Frugality. I can honestly say I could not have drawn a better roommate than Maureen Johnson Schmitt, who now lives in Chinook, Montana. Among a lot of other things, she taught me how to live on a budget, which allowed us to lower our 20-meal plan to the 10-meal plan and still gain our freshman 15 pounds. She discovered John's Hamburgers. We could buy 5 hamburgers and half a pound of fries for $1.50 (granted, the year was 1977). We had to save money on food, because even though gas was less than 50¢ per gallon, her pickup needed a lot of gas and a lot of repairs.

She was also the bravest woman I had ever met. She was rodeoing at the time, and no one else would have taken off across the state in that pickup. Describing her pickup would take a whole column, but suffice it to say, her horses were very brave also!

Another thing Maureen was really good at was sneaking food out of the cafeteria. I would invariably get caught smuggling an apple out, but Maureen could get a whole burger or a piece of cheesecake out without as much as a sideways glance from the food Nazis who guarded the door. Now, they give students with a meal plan a large plastic mug to fill with whatever they want to take out. Where is the fun in that?

My parents sent me to college in a 1971 Dodge Dart Demon. It was two-tone green, but one tone was primer. It cost $1,000, and it was almost as trustworthy as Maureen's truck. I had to master sitting at stoplights with one foot firmly planted on the brake and one foot tapping the accelerator, so the car wouldn't die. If it did die, it would not usually start until the next day, which is a life-altering experience for a country girl in a busy intersection in Bozeman, Montana.

One time, it started on fire in the dorm parking lot, because one of my friends in Mechanical Engineering tried to fix that dying problem. I think he later dropped out of engineering, but I don't think that particular incident was the reason.

Upon another occasion, I stepped on a nail and had to drive myself to the Student Health Center, because my roommate could not master the brake/ accelerator combo technique. Perhaps it was the memory of that car that compelled me to send my firstborn off to college in a new car that cost more in fuel, insurance, and licenses than I made my first year of teaching.

Brooke's roommate was a banker's daughter, and they did not learn to be the bargain conscious poor starving college students that Maureen and I did during their time at MSU. For some unexplainable reason, our son has the first dime he ever made with the exception of a penchant for buying guns. They were raised the same, but since I have to blame someone for Brooke's lack of frugality, I have decided to blame my late father-in-law. One day, Grandpa Roy was out walking with Brooke's cousin, C.J. He placed a banana in a tree and then helped C.J. spot it. C.J. firmly believed that Grandpa Roy had a banana tree growing on a hill near Bozeman, Montana, and I think that deception reversely affected Brooke. We told her repeatedly that there was no money tree in the backyard, but she steadfastly refused to believe it was just another cruel deception like Santa and the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy and all of those other myths we shamelessly perpetrated upon our children!

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, I want to share a couple recipes from my sister Jane Bellows, who lives in Joes, Colorado. She is perhaps the bravest person I know, because she drove our college car, the aforementioned Dodge Dart Demon, for at least two years after college. Thanks for the memories and the recipes!

Beef and Cheese Log

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 T. mayonnaise

1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. chopped ripe black olives

2 T. chopped green olives

1 T. minced parsley

1 T. finely chopped green onion

1/2 C. finely chopped nuts of your choice

Shape mixture into roll about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Then roll in chopped nuts. Chill till firm. Using waxed paper or foil helps roll it up. Serve with crackers, toast, etc.

Easy Chili Cheese Spread

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

4.5 oz. can chopped green chilies

1 C. good salsa

6 oz. ( 1 1/2 C.) shredded Cheddar cheese

Beat cream cheese and chilies together until smooth. Stir in Salsa and 1 C. shredded cheese. Top with remaining cheese. Cover and chill at least one hour. Serve with vegetables, crackers, bread, etc.

Jane's Homemade Salami

2 lbs. hamburger

1/4 t. mustard seed

3 T. Morton Tender Quick Salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 C. water

Few whole black peppercorns

Mix well and roll in foil and twist ends. Put in refrigerator for 24 hours. Boil gently for 1 hour. Begin timing when water starts to boil. Take out and prick foil to drain. Cool and put in plastic bag and refrigerate. This doesn't keep over a week, and it doesn't taste as good after frozen.