Cooking in the West

I absolutely love guest columns and teaching writing, so this week when I was subbing at Melville School, I asked my upper grade writing class to write guest columns complete with recipes. They did a great job, and hopefully they will be inspired to keep writing! This is week one of guest columns. Tune in next week for more! Have a blessed Thanksgiving, everyone!

Semi Scandal by Dally Cosgriff

One cool fall day, my Uncle Gregory was working on a motor in a shop in Greycliff, Montana when he had to take a lowboy for a test drive after he had fixed the motor. That did not go as planned. While fixing the semi's motor, he had taken out the pin that connects the semi and trailer together. He took the semi down to the interstate for a test drive. While he was breezing down the highway at 75 miles per hour, the trailer came off.

Gregory did not notice that the trailer had come off until the dreaded DOT (Department of Transportation) pulled him over. He had to turn back to find the trailer, which was lying in the middle of I-90. After a long 20 minutes of drivers honking at him, he finally got the trailer hooked back up and drove back to the shop. Then the bad thing happened. My dad was there, and he had seen the trailer come off. He has never let Uncle Gregory live that down.

The Toilet Paper Screams by Libby Holman

One night I was getting ready for bed, so as usual I went upstairs to watch some t.v. with my mom. Everything was going just fine until I realized I needed to go to the bathroom. I took my make-up off, did my skincare, and went back out. I thought I felt something on my leg, but I brushed it off as being wind from the window until I noticed my mom laughing. She told me I had something on my leg.

I finally saw it-a long strand of toilet paper leading from the bathroom all the way to my leg. I screamed in my alarm to get it off me. My mom and I started laughing uncontrollably. Being a skittish person with a newfound fear of toilet paper, I now check behind me to make sure I am not leaving a toilet paper trail.

The Daredevil Logger by Sequoia Smith

When I go to bed at dusk, I always ask my dad to tell me one of his childhood stories, often about racing or about his dad and his daring adventures. On this particular occasion, his reply was what has become my favorite story.

No too long ago in the not very far off land of Big Timber, Montana, a blind logger and mechanic, known as Larry Smith, was on the job cutting down trees. On this day, he happened to have cut a tree that seemed like it would uniquely fall right in between two others. The obese tree could not fall all the way to the ground, so it was leaning between the two trees. He had to find a solution, which caused him to have the smartest idea. He ran up the learning tree with an ax in one hand and a running chainsaw in the other. He then began jumping up and down on the tree like a maniac.

While he was in the middle of doing this, his wife (my grandma) pulled up in her car to check on him. She saw what he was foolishly doing and started towards him. Right then the tree came crashing down with my grandpa along with it.

"He turned out to be just fine and waltzed out of there like he didn't just about cut his head off running up the tree like a mad man," as Grandma says. When he came up to his wife, she was NOT pleased, but of course that didn't stop him from doing plenty of other stories for another bedtime.

Dally's Beef Taco Salad

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 C. shredded cheese

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 oz. crushed tortilla chips

1/4 C. French dressing or as needed

Brown beef. Add taco seasoning mix according to the directions. Combine cooled beef mixture with all the other ingredients in a large serving bowl. Add enough dressing to coat, mix well, and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Libby's Cinnamon Roll Baked Oats

1/2 C. rolled oats

1/2 banana

1 egg

1/4 C. almond milk

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. vanilla extract

2 T. sugar

Icing:

Mix 3 T. powdered sugar with 1 T. milk

Blend the first 8 ingredients until smooth. Pour into a greased ramekin or oven-safe mug. Bake 20 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Drizzle the icing over the baked mini cake and serve warm.

Smith Family Logger Dinner

Step One: Catch some trout.

Step Two: Leave bones in-yes no one likes bones, but it is traditional

Step Three: Fry in a skillet over the campfire.

Step Four: Season with spices. (Mostly salt as that's what Dad's family usually had.)

Step Five: Enjoy your nicely seasoned fresh cooked trout!