Cooking in the West

Although it has been a beautiful autumn, the "Old Farmer's Almanac" is predicting that winter is going to be rather old fashioned. Our High Plains region is going to be colder than normal, with the coldest periods in late November, early December, early and late January, and early and late February. Precipitation and snowfall will be above normal in the north and below normal in the south. The snowiest periods will be in mid- to late November, mid- to late January, and early February.

Over on the western side of Montana in the Intermountain region, the Old Farmer is predicting winter will be warmer than normal, with the coldest periods in mid-November and early February. Precipitation will be above normal, with above-average snowfall in the far north and far south. The snowiest periods will be in mid- November, late December, early to mid-January, and early February.

Since I don't really like winter nor the Old Farmer's Almanac's predictions, I decided to conduct my own research. I found the rhyme, "Squirrels gathering nuts in a flurry will cause snow to gather in a hurry." So, I decided to observe squirrels. Funny thing about squirrels--they don't walk anywhere--they run everywhere even straight up trees. I haven't really communed with squirrels since I quit cooking in hunting camp where those goofy squirrels invariably awakened me from my nap as soon as the sun started hitting the tops of the trees. You see, the cook has to get up at 2:30 a.m., get the hunters fed and out of camp, and then catch a nap to try to survive a sleep-deprived week. Nap time ends when the squirrels wake up and start pelting the top of the cook tent with pine cones. I really don't know how to tell if they seemed to be in an abnormal rush to wake up and start stockpiling cones this fall or not, since I have had no occasion to nap in a cook tent recently.

Then, there's the woolly worm. This larva of the Isabella tiger moth is brown and black and fuzzy. Oddly, the ones I have found have a white band also. Am I observing the wrong larvae? The ratio of brown to black is supposed to indicate the length of winter with a narrower brown band indicating a long, cold winter. A wider brown band indicates a mild short winter. What do you suppose a white band indicates? My scientific intuition tells me that it probably indicates that I should move to Arizona immediately. The woolly worm has 13 segments in its body--which is supposed to be the exact number of weeks in winter. I wonder if the woolly worms had 17 segments in the fall of 1978 before the legendary winter of '79?

During my research, I tried to figure out if the spider webs are larger than usual this fall, but I don't have much of a frame of reference when it comes to analyzing spider webs. However, I did find my favorite weather folklore story, which is this one.

Apparently, the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be mild or cold. Since he was a chief in modern times, he had not learned the old secrets. He studied the sky and could tell nothing. Finally, he decided it would be far better to err on the side of caution, so he told his tribe it was going to be a harsh winter. The tribe should begin collecting firewood and food for a long siege.

The next month passed, and the weather remained mild. Again the tribe asked their leader if the winter was going to be mild or cold. The chief told them he had to go on a journey to consult the signs. He drove to the next town, found a phone booth, and called the National Weather Service. He asked the meteorologist to predict the winter weather, and the meteorologist said that it looked like it could be a harsh winter.

Back to the tribe he went, and he told them to increase their efforts to bring in wood and store food. They were in for a long cold winter. A couple weeks passed, and it stayed Indian summer. The chief went back to the phone booth and called again. Again he was assured it looked like winter would set in with a vengeance. The tribe continued collecting wood and storing food despite the unseasonably warm temperatures, but they began to question the chief's wisdom.

For the third time, the chief drove to the phone booth. He asked if the meteorologist was absolutely sure it was going to be a bad winter. "Oh, yes!" the meteorologist replied. "The Indians have been collecting firewood for two months! I think I will just wait till this spring to make my weather predictions for this winter, because in my research I found this popular wisdom: "Only fools and newcomers predict the weather!"

Faithful reader, Jane Lambert of Stevensville, Montana sent some great winter comfort recipes that pair perfectly with winter around the corner. Thanks, Jane!

Ham Hocks and Beans:

1 lb. beans of choice

1 ham hock

Water

1 or 2 cans stewed tomatoes (chop the tomatoes)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1/2 onion, chopped

2 green chilies (optional, but a little heat is good)

Salt and pepper

Sort through the beans for rocks, and rinse them. Add water to cover, and start cooking. Add ham hock, tomatoes, garlic, onion and chilies. As the beans cook, they will absorb water, so add more if needed. When the ham hock is done and very tender, remove it from beans to cool, then cut the meat from the bone. Remove the fat and gristle, and throw them away. Put the meat and bone back in the beans, and cook until the beans are done. Season with salt and pepper.

Apple Torte:

3 eggs, well beaten

1 C. sugar

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/8 t. salt

2 peeled and sliced apples

1 C. chopped nuts

Beat eggs well. Add sugars and beat some more—until the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix dry ingredients together. Fold into egg mixture. Then fold in apples and nuts. Bake in two 8” round, greased cake pans or one 9“ greased square pan at 375 degrees, for about 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick.

Cool in 8 inch pans before turning out. Be careful—they are tender. Put the layers together with cinnamon flavored whipped cream.

For 9” square pan—serve cake cut in squares from pan, with whipped cinnamon cream on top.