Cooking in the West

I have gone on record as a proponent of global warming--especially when the thermometer dips below zero. Following December’s storm dubbed Storm Elliott, which brought record low temperatures to Montana and Wyoming, I am starting to wonder if global warming activists like Greta Thunberg, Al Gore, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are so full of hot air that they have mistaken their core temperatures for global warming. We just survived the coldest December temperatures on record with a record low of negative 50 degrees in Elk Park, north of Butte, while the wind chill record was set at negative 72 degrees south of Malta, Montana. On Friday, December 23, when our thermometer refused to register a temperature that was likely in the 45 below range, and a stiff wind was blowing out of the north creating four foot drifts between us and our cattle, I found myself ranting aloud that I would sure like to find a greenhouse gas theorist to ask, "Where is global warming when we need it?"

The theory that cows give off enormous amounts of greenhouse gas is pretty far-fetched when it is 45 below with a 35 mile per hour wind blowing. I can certify that our cows were not heating up the atmosphere one bit. In fact, it took a lot of coaxing just to get them to come out of the coulees where they were holed up to entice them to eat cake and hay. It took tons of feed to heat up their frosty hairy bodies. With my face stinging from the cold and wind, I found myself wishing I could rub the face of those greenhouse gas theorists in a few of those green emissions that froze almost immediately upon leaving the cow.

Record negative temperatures and wind chills apparently spawn violent tendencies in me. To counteract this ill will, I noticed that cold weather and bad roads made me a lot more spiritual. I found myself praying, "Lord, make this car start. Lord, don’t let me hit the ditch. Lord, help me see the road or else make that idiot truck driver go in the ditch in the median." I think everyone knows the prayer that goes along with the last shake and shudder that a four wheel drive truck does as it settles into a drift deeper than the doors, which goes something like this, "Lord, help me get out of this drift before supper. You know those cows have to be fed. I will make it to church next Sunday and every Sunday--I promise."

Yes, I think a good old fashioned winter spawns a religious revival! I am reminded of a story about an atheist who was out walking in the woods. As he walked along he marveled aloud, "What majestic trees! What a powerful river! What beauty is found in nature!" Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the brush behind him. He turned and saw a huge grizzly bear charging towards him. He began to run, but the bear closed in. Just as the bear reached him, the atheist tripped and fell over a stick. He cried out, "Oh my God!"

Suddenly, everything in the wilderness became still. A bright light shone down from heaven. The voice of God said, "You have denied my existence for all of these years. You have taught others that I don’t exist, and you credit my creations to a cosmic accident. Am I to understand that suddenly you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Can I count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked into the light and replied, "It would be very hypocritical for me to ask you to treat me as a Christian right now, but maybe you could make the bear behave like a Christian?"

God replied, "Very well. So it shall be." The light went out, and the sounds of the forest resumed.

The bear, who towered above the atheist, bowed his head, folded his paws, and spoke, "Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen."

This week I have some great hot dish recipes for cold weather. Thanks to Adele Bartholemew of Oakhurst, Oklahoma, Janet Endecott of McAllister, Montana, and Dian Barnett of Soap Lake, Washington for sharing these great recipes for winter!

Adele’s Don’t Peek Beef:

3 lbs. lean beef stew meat

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

1 can beef broth

Cut beef into 1 inch pieces. Place beef, soup mix, soup, and beef broth in a heavy baking dish or Dutch oven. Mix lightly. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

Janet’s Cowboy Hash:

1 T. vegetable oil

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 C. onion, finely diced

11 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

6 med. potatoes, washed and chunked in small pieces

1 t. garlic salt

1 C. water

1 C. Cheddar cheese, grated

Brown beef and onion in oil. Drain. Add corn, potatoes, garlic, and water to meat. Mix well. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle cheese over top and cook for 5 minutes more until cheese is melted.

Dian’s Tex-Mex Chicken Casserole:

2 C. shredded cooked chicken

2 C. crushed tortilla chips

1 can drained kidney or black beans

1 C. drained whole kernel corn

2/3 C. sour cream

1/2 t. chili powder

1 C. salsa

1 C. shredded cheese

Combine chicken, tortilla chips, beans, corn, sour cream, and chili powder. Transfer to a 9 X 13 baking pan. Top with salsa and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until lightly browned. Top with additional sour cream.