Cooking in the West

These last ten days have been among the toughest 10 days of calving that I have seen, and I am old! Most of south central Montana received two to four feet of heavy wet snow during a three day storm. Much of it came down horizontally, but it piled up, crusted, and made a terrible back drop for the busiest calving weeks of calving season for many of us. We felt lucky if we could find the calves in the deep snow with low visibility. We had calves in our vehicles, houses, tack rooms, and ATV’s every day and night for several days. Under those conditions, ranchers become mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, but they push on without sleep and regular meals, because they love their cattle, and they have to do all they can to save them from the cruel whims of Mother Nature.

This Facebook post by Ettje Fredrickson absolutely underscores that calving under extreme weather conditions is something the whole ranch family does. Ettje was raised on a ranch not far from where she is now the head teacher at Melville School in Sweet Grass County. With the Crazy Mountains looming up behind it to the west, Melville School is a rural k-8 school with three teachers and about thirty students. Ettje is a roper, a barrel racer, and an amazing teacher whose empathy for her students shows clearly in the following post that she kindly agreed to let me share:

“My ranch kiddos...

I see you…I see your raccoon ringed eyes and sleepy expressions. I also see that those were not the result of too much Netflix or late night video games, but rather the night barn checks, or the choice you made to offer your parents a few more hours or even minutes of sleep before they take the late check shift.

I see your discontentment when we look out the classroom window to see big flakes falling down, knowing we can’t always outwork the weather.

I see your frustrated expression when a cow lost her calf you tried so hard to save or how you just can’t understand how a cow wouldn’t want her adorable baby.

But what I also see is that you are learning something even more important than I could ever teach in a classroom….

I see you are learning the value of a life, no matter how big or small.

I see you learning the unfair lesson of death and the miracle of birth.

I see you learning what it means to make a sacrifice; the act of giving up something you care about for something that has more importance.

I see you learning empathy; your heart breaks when you see a cow trying to get her calf up that never will.

I see you learning the value of hard work and the importance of integrity. It might be easier to pretend you didn’t see something off, but know that it could have big consequences for the critter later.

I will keep restocking my coffee stash and creamer for you, never judging what could be on your muck boots or coat or that you might have to miss a day of school here or there.”

Ettje also shared a couple of her favorite recipes. Thanks, Ettje, and thanks to my friend and neighbor, Guelda Halverson, for sharing her mother’s great banana bread recipe!

Ettje’s One Pot Lasagna Soup:

1 lb. lean ground beef (or half pound of both ground beef and Italian sausage)

1 yellow onion, diced

4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 to 1/2 t. red pepper flakes

24 oz. jar Prego Traditional Italian sauce

12 oz. water

3 T. beef bullion (to taste)

14 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 T. dried basil

1 bay leaf

1 t. each of dried parsley, dried oregano, and salt

1/2 t. pepper

10 uncooked lasagna noodles broken into 1 to 2 inch pieces

1/2 C. heavy cream, optional

Garnish cheeses: shredded mozzarella, fresh grated Parmesan, ricotta cheese

Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Brown meat with onion in the pot. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for30 seconds. Add Prego sauce, keeping the jar to use as a measuring cup to add half a jar of water, crushed tomatoes, spices, bullion, and lasagna noodles. Bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally approximately 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and stir in cream. Garnish with cheeses as desired.

Ettje’s Chocolate Cherry Cake:

Devil’s Food Cake Mix

21 oz. can cherry pie filling

2 eggs

1 t. almond extract

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes. (Mix by hand if you want cherries to stay in larger chunks.) Pour batter into a sprayed 9 X 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Frosting:

1 C. powdered sugar

5 T. butter

1/3 C. milk

1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 t. vanilla

1/4 C. cocoa powder

Heat over medium heat until chips are melted. Add 1 t. vanilla and 1/4 C. cocoa. Heat, stirring constantly, for one to two minutes until smooth. Spread over the warm cake immediately.

Mom’s Best Banana Bread:

1 C. shortening

2 C. sugar

4 eggs

2 C. mashed bananas (about 6 bananas)

2 T. vinegar plus milk to make 1 cup liquid

4 C. flour

2 t. salt

2 t. soda

1 C. chopped nuts

Mix together the vinegar and milk and let sit. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Beat well. Mix in bananas and milk/vinegar liquid. Add flour, salt and soda. Mix well. Fold in chopped nuts. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.