Grownup Macaroni and Cheese

Or, as the rest of the world calls it...Alfredo.

My kids used to be mac and cheese lovers, but their tastes have refined a little and now they prefer noodles with homemade Alfredo sauce.  It's still creamy and cheesy but not so in-your-face, I think.  About a year ago, I found an Alfredo recipe that keeps us licking the pan long after the noodles are gone...and last night, it occurred to me that it's one I should put on the blog because it's probably one I'll want someday when I'm in, say, Florida or someplace, and at least if it's in the Chronicles I'll be able to locate it.

I didn't take a picture because we ate it like starving Italians.  Besides, it's just creamy white sauce on white noodles...how exciting is THAT in a photo?  The sauce, however, IS exciting.  And simple.  You'll be wrecked for Alfredo sauce anywhere else after this, I think.  (It's the ultimate comfort food...soft, creamy, starchy, garlicky, smooth. If you have a rough day, whip up some Alfredo and all will be better.)

Alfredo Sauce

1. In a sauce pan on low heat, melt 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) and add a good heaping teaspoon of crushed or minced garlic from a jar. (If you're the ambitious type and like to go to all the work of mashing your own garlic, use maybe a clove and a half.  What the heck, use 2!)  When the garlic starts smelling warm and sweetish....

2. add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to the butter/garlic and slowly heat it for about 5 minutes....until it's really warm but not boiling because next you'll...

3. whisk in to the warm cream/butter/garlic mixture about 1 1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese.  (If you don't have fresh, one of those bags or containers of pre-grated will work just fine. That's what I use and it just requires a little more whisking, that's all.) Stir constantly over low heat (preferably still with your whisk) until the parmesan has melted and smoothed into the cream.  I usually add a little fresh grated pepper here, but you do what you want.

Pour over noodles of any shape or size, stir to cover every little inch of them, serve immediately.  We had ours with rigatoni noodles last night and the big opening caught and held more sauce than regular noodles, so each bite was full of creamy love.  

You'll want to have some crusty bread to clean up any sauce left in your bowl.

Then, when nobody is looking, lick what you can from what's left after the bread treatment. 

That's it.  You're a rock star! 

Day 10: Give

Freely you received, freely give.

Matthew 10:8b

Maggie and I were going through some old pictures the other day when we found some of when Angus got a roll of paper towels and shredded them in the kitchen.  He had SO MUCH FUN that we couldn't be mad, and besides, what did it really hurt?

He wanted to share the fun with Maggie (who was probably watching Veggie Tales) and it reminded me of this verse.

Here are more of that "incident"...

"But, did you follow the recipe?"

My family is very adventurous with food.  One time, we convinced Maggie that halibut was really giant squid meat, and she gamely ate it!  I like trying new recipes, new ingredients, and for the most part everyone is pretty willing to give it a shot....

"It smells good, Mom, but...did you follow the recipe?", they suspiciously inquire before digging in.

If I say "yes", they groan and proceed with caution.

We've discovered in the last few years that when I earnestly try to follow a recipe to the letter, the end product is pretty awful.  If I cook instinctively and use my own judgement, it's usually quite good.  

As usual, this is backward from the rest of the world.  

I know it. 

It really becomes evident if I try to make something like Hamburger Helper.  

I've had Hamburger Helper dishes at my mother-in-law's house and they seemed really good!  (Incidentally, she's one of those who follows recipes and directions very well, to the "t".)  Every time I try to make it here, though, it's horrible.  Like...make you feel like throwing up sort of horrible.  Like....the dog doesn't want anything to do with the leftovers horrible. (And there ARE a lot of leftovers, believe me.)  I try it about once every 6 months, thinking that maybe it was the box I chose or something...after all, any dang fool can make Hamburger Helper, right?

This last round, the Farmer finally told me I was not to buy it again.

EVER.

Just make your own from scratch and forget about the box. 

I mean it. 

Don't buy it again...EVER!!!!

Last night, I made these grilled chicken sandwiches with caramelized onions, bacon, cheddar cheese and a barbecue mayonnaise sauce on a toasted bun.  Oooo!

But Maggie cagily asked before biting in, "You didn't follow a recipe, did you?"

Nope.

A happy sigh around the table and the meal commenced...

(Yes, this is closely related to the "I can't make jello" post...)

(How unAmerican is it that I can't make jello OR Hamburger Helper?!?!)

Spring Tromp

This is EXACTLY how Tessie looks the whole time we go for runs or tromps...pure joy and energy, radiating from her little body! And she never stops moving....

This is pretty much top speed for Twilla...

She likes going for walks.  WALKS.  Let's not break a sweat, though. 

All that bouncing and panting is undignified, and quite unnecessary, really.

They saw geese!

Even Twilla-bee got a little excited....

These are NOT the geese they saw, but a bigger bunch flying low and north bound. 

I love their funny honks, but the ones I REALLY love are the cranes when they go over.  Cranes are a lot less organized.  They're sort of the right brain migratory birds...they swirl and catch updrafts of wind, looking like a mess of confused avians. Geese, of course, are very orderly and straightforward.  They probably alphabetize their eggs.  And cranes have a chirry-purry sound that makes me smile...it's hard to describe, but when cranes are flying overhead, they sound happy, not urgent like the geese.  Geese sound like they mean business.  And they probably do. 

This is Figaro.  He's pretending to be a wild lion, hunting on the Serengeti.

He's mad, because our tromp disrupted his stalk, so now he's just going to follow us and yell loudly for us to slow down and pet him.

Cats are such whiners when things don't go their way.

Still...

Seriously happy.

She was like this ALL DAY!

We all felt that way, though, because the sun was out and so were we. 

Today is all grey and misty and cold....typical March in Cohagen.

Day 9: Remember

But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children.
                                                                                                                  -Psalm 103:17

Day 8: World

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
                                                                                     -John 3:16

This was the first Bible verse I remember memorizing. It means even more to me, now that I have children and understand better what that kind of love is...

The Boys are Back in Town

Every spring, the bully-boys get moved to the pasture south of my house.
You know, because my lawn is soft and vulnerable, and my trees are just big enough to prove a challenge to tear down....
I don't think there's been a year yet that I haven't had a bull in my yard.  One night, there were 3 or 4 and they tore out a section of my fence because they were too lazy (or just ornery) to find the 10 foot OPEN portion just inches away.

This morning, as I was taking the doggins for a big tromp, I noticed the bulls headed over the hill toward our house where the gate was open.
DANG!
I double timed it back to the house, closed the gate and went in to get ready for a trip to town.  A few minutes later, I heard this terrible bull commotion so I tore out to the deck to see what was going on.

They'd found the closed gate and they were trying to work up a good fight so they could tear out some fence or something.  Bellowing, shoving each other around, stomping...

See him checking out the hinges?

One of the others was rubbing his head under the gate, trying to decide if he could pick it up and toss it.

This is only about half of the gang.  They tussled around for about 15 minutes, then tossed  their heads and wandered back up toward the haystack.
Didn't want any of those old juniper trees, anyway.
Besides....it was still frozen this morning and they couldn't have maximized the damage to my lawn.  These things shouldn't be rushed.

Day 7: Bread

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

-Ecclesiastes 9:7

I couldn't WAIT for this day on the Lenten challenge! BREAD! 

And I realize this is probably not the most contrite, appropriate verse for Lent, but I like it and I always eat my bread with joy. (Okay....AND drink my wine with a merry heart.)

Do you see the gorgeous cutting board that it's resting on?  That was made especially for me by a talented young man in Michigan named Andrew Dykstra! I got this surprise box in the mail yesterday, full of books, coffee, notes and a funny picture....and a beautiful cutting board made of ash, maple, cherry, oak and an African wood that he couldn't remember the name of.  It's big enough to be really useful, pretty enough to leave out, tough enough to use daily.  I'm so honored to have it!

This is a two-fer post.  You get the recipe for the Cranberry Sunflower Bread, too!  

Ingredients:

2/3 cup dried cranberries                                            1 cup rolled oats

2 cups HOT water                                                      2 eggs, beaten

2 pkgs active dry yeast                                               2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup honey                                                             1/3 cup shortening

1/4 cup molasses                                                         6 cups all purpose flour

1 cup warm water (for the yeast)                                 1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, soak cranberries in hot water. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast, honey and molasses in 1 cup warm water. Let stand until creamy, about ten minutes. Drain and chop the cranberries, reserving the liquid; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the reserved water, oats, eggs, salt , shortening and 2 cups of flour. Mix until well blended. Then stir in the yeast mixture. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has started to pull together, add the cranberries and the sunflower seeds.
3. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
4. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into the prepared pans. (The dough can also be formed into longer loaves and placed on lightly greased baking sheets.) Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
5. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then decrease heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Turn out of pans a few minutes after removing from oven. You can brush all sides with a little butter or margarine, if desired. Don't cut this bread too quickly, it tastes best slightly warm or at room temperature.

This recipe actually makes enough for 3 smallish loaves or 2 large ones with a bitty-baby-tester loaf! 

It's a fine, sweetish bread that makes swoony toast.

Day 6: Darkness

And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.

-John 1:5 

Also, it's impossible to photograph darkness without light...

Day 5: Wilderness

A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. "Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
                                                                                          -Isaiah 40:3-5

He will make mountains low.
*deep breath*
Isaiah hadn't been to the Swan Valley, but still....

"Too slow and too fast are right next to each other for beginners."

I read that in an article on how to prepare for your first downhill skiing experience.  Actually, I skimmed right over that little phrase because I was looking more for information on appropriate clothing and such. In retrospect, I wish I had paid more attention to the "technique" portion of the article, because that little nugget of wisdom was right on!

I know it's hard to believe that I'm 42-ish years old and have never been downhill skiing, especially since I live in Montana, land of the shining mountains and all.  I come from the prairie side of the state, though, and it's a good 4-5 hours to any ski hills. That's 4-5 hours of bad roads during ski season....which also happens to be "feed the cows every day" season.

The school lined up a deal with Showdown Mountain for the oldest kids (all three of them) to do a 2 day ski for P.E. program.  They needed chaperons. I happen to be a professional chaperon...who has always wanted to downhill ski.  Perfect!

As it turned out, the third kid wanted to go to basketball tournaments instead of freeze on a mountain in the middle of nowhere (can't imagine why), so it was just my daughter and her friend.  Her friend's mom wanted to drive, so the four of us took off on an adventure; the other mom was the only one who had ever downhill skied and that was back in 6th grade.  Those instructors had their work cut out for them...

I won't tell you about the whole trip or everyone else's experiences, just my own.  (I will tell you, though, that Maggie took to skiing like she'd been doing it for years. Part of me was proud; I told our instructor "That one's mine!"; part of me was envious, because I'm a natural born klutz and I wish I was the one she got the talent from.)

Here are some observations:

1. Ski boots are instruments of torture.  In fact, I think they probably use ski boots when interrogating difficult prisoners of war. I understand why they have to be tightish, inflexible and large, but even so...youch!
2. Ski instructors are, like, 12 years old and while they're good with the kids, they're annoying to geriatric adults who are on the same bunny hill.  They ski backward with no poles.  They ski on one leg when demonstrating where to put your weight when turning.  They make skiing look like strolling in the park, except on snow. 
3. There should be a big honkin' warning posted right outside the door of the lodge: YOU WILL USE MUSCLES YOU ONLY STUDIED IN BIOLOGY CLASS SO IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN DOING YOGA FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR BODY.  In fact, that should probably be on their website, too.  And in their promotional flyers.  And on that great little Showdown Mountain sticker they give you to put on your car or locker. 
4. Some people will fall down just like the textbook says...on their hip with their skis on the downhill part of the slope, no muss. (That was how Maggie fell.)  Some people will actually crash in a glorious explosion of skis, snow, sunglasses and hat, looking like a cartoon of bad skiing. (That was how I fell.)  There's a tree on the west side of the green run that will never be the same, now that I've been there.
5. The ski lift will bring you closer to God, spiritually speaking.  I prayed the whole time that I wouldn't fall off, that I wouldn't get caught under the next rider at the top of the hill, that it wouldn't stop, that it WOULD stop, and so forth. 
6. Orange cones on the bunny hill DO NOT prepare anyone for turns on the real mountain. Not. At. All. 
7. It IS possible to snowplow a-a-a-a-a-l-l the way to the bottom of the mountain, but you'll regret it. It IS good motivation, however, to learn how to turn properly and efficiently.
8. When you finally get back to the lodge after skiing all morning, you'll want to order a double cheeseburger with fries, two tacos, a small pepperoni pizza, milkshake, liter of water and a 2 pound brownie.  If you DO, it will cost you approximately $398. They've gotcha because you have to drive 30 miles for another option. 
9. Make friends with the people who are in charge of the rental shop.  Besides being way cool, dude, they're also the ones who know everything and everyone, and can make magic happen.  (Except in the food area.  You're on your own there, pal.)
10. Skiing is addictive.  I didn't want to leave.  I wanted one more run down that mountain because each run was better than the LAST run.  I think this is how people quit their ranch jobs and become ski bums.

That's my report for school. I'm hoping for at least a B+...

Daisy's a Grandma!

I'm pleased to introduce the newest member of the OC herd, Snapdragon! (We'll call him Snappy, though; much more manageable.)  He was born to my heifer Rosie today at 3:26 p.m. MST and looks just perfect to me.  Rosie is a nervous new mama and although she loves him and has him cleaned off really well, she keeps circling when he tries to get to her udder to nurse.  That first milk, with all its colostrum, is so important for the calf, so if she doesn't settle down, she'll find herself in a head catch in the barn so he can get a meal.  I hope that doesn't happen, though.  She picked a good day to calve...right now the temperature here at the house is 62.5 degrees, with a pretty good wind.  

I'll get more pictures tomorrow, but wanted to post this for my friend Montana Calamity, who has followed every step of the Daisy story from its beginning.

Day 4: Listen

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

-John 10:27

Day 3: Return

And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart and all thy soul.
                                                                                           -Deuteronomy 30:2 KJV

This was taken last summer, but I couldn't seem to get a "return" picture that I liked.  This is the house I grew up in for the most part and I always feel the true meaning of "return" when I go back.

Day 2: Prepare

O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee.
                                                                                                                                         -1 Chronicles 29:18

Day 1: Dust

And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
                                                                                    -Genesis 2:7 KJV


Talk about a humbling beginning to a blog challenge!

reLent

My sister and I are doing a photo challenge for Lent.  At least I THINK she's doing it with me.  She SAID she was doing it with me, but that was a week ago and as we all know, life interferes sometimes.  I've done photo challenges before and have made it to about...oh....Day 20, so don't expect huge things here, folks.  The hard thing about this one is that it takes place during calving AND winter, so it's not like I have an abundance of garden things to photograph.  It's pretty much dirty snow, black calves, muck boots, and sunsets.  This really WILL be a challenge!  (Did you see that April 15 is "crowd"?  A Cohagen "crowd" would be 3 people at the post office at the same time.  I'll have to really be on the ball.)

I also reserve the right to post a couple of days at a time, if I get a great photo opportunity, and to insert non-challenge posts in the midst of it.   You know; we'll do it our way.  (*happy sigh* The Laverne and Shirley theme song isn't played often enough, in my opinion....)

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Food Fad

It seems that every year the cooking world jumps on a vogue food as though they JUST DISCOVERED IT even though it's been around for ages, lurking in culinary shadows and refrigerators.  I noticed this when I started reading Gourmet and then Bon Appetit magazines.  One year it was kale...we had kale chips, kale in stew, kale salads, kale baked, kale boiled, kale in smoothies, kale pasta (remember Forrest Gump's list of shrimp dishes?  Just like that.), Kale was the "It" ingredient. There was a good run on roasted red peppers for a while, asparagus had her day, bacon never really goes out of style but it got a little tedious, Greek yogurt had pretty good billing for some time, too.  

I think in my mom's day, it was cream cheese. Brilliant. Now THERE'S a food fad I can get behind!

That was before everyone got food religion and started cleaning up their cholesterol, thus prompting the vegetable fads.

This year (and I'm gagging as I type), it's cauliflower.  

People are MAD for it!  

They're making pseudo-mashed potatoes out of the stuff, pizza crusts, crackers, soups, salads, dips...

It's nuts!  

And it makes me throw up.

I'm allergic to cauliflower.

(And no, it doesn't matter how it's prepared...even if you have a super-secret wonderbun recipe from your granny, my body will reject it.)

(No offense to your granny.)

Even the smell...ugh.  

My kids will have to get it from some other mom (preferably across the county from me), because that vegetable is not entering the house. 

I'm getting really nervous about potlucks, now, and even look the jello salads over pretty good before taking any.  EVEN JELLO could be contaminated!  It's so popular on Pinterest that there's almost a cult following..."Look at this fudge! My kids will never know there's cauliflower in it!" and everyone applauds.  It's inescapable. 

I was so happy to get Bon Appetit this month and see my old friend, kale and his sidekick swiss chard!

There were at least four recipes with cabbage in them....perhaps we're moving on to a new food fad.

Oh, please...oh, please...

  

Oh, MY!

A while back, I invited myself to go to a Bible study with a friend who had politely offered to stay home from it, since I was there on a visit.  (In retrospect, perhaps she really didn't want me crashing the study, but I insisted. Dear me! Nothing like a nice Bible study being disrupted by someone strange who speaks whatever is floating through her brain at the time...)

AND....
It was a CATHOLIC Bible study!
I'm not.
I thought it should be safe, since they were studying Matthew, which my Bible also has.  (I didn't know for the longest time that Catholics have extra books in their Bibles.)

I didn't know what to expect.
Would there be novenas (whatever they are)?  Would we kneel and do the Rosary? (I've heard about that, too.)  Would there be confession?

Well, there WAS a confession, but it wasn't mine.  And I still smile, thinking about it!
 
I was introduced to the most interesting, intelligent group of women over the age of 60 (my guess), as a rancher's wife visiting from Cohagen, MT; we did the study, which was fascinating and not bewildering at all for a Protestant guest, then watched a little video that went with it. The ladies were very gracious when I shared my thoughts on Matthew and included me in the discussion.  It was great!

Afterward, as the Bible study was breaking up, a bright eyed, sharp looking little lady came over (maybe in her 70's) and introduced herself, saying that she'd ridden horses for a ranch near Malta and was familiar with some of the families in Jordan.  When I asked how she'd come to be in western Montana, she said that her husband had died and her friend's wife had died and they decided to move there.
Together.
"We're living in sin," she confided.
I hadn't seen THAT one coming and was trying to think of some way to move the conversation along when she offered, "But we don't do anything.  We're too old for that, you know."
Mercy!
Truly, I didn't know, I didn't WANT to know, and it was all I could do not to giggle because she was telling me "girlfriend stuff" right there in the church basement. 
She proceeded to explain that they were both German and it was a lively relationship because of it.
Hand over my mouth, still unable to speak...
Fortunately (or regrettably, however you choose to look at it), the conversation moved on to a story of a deadly train wreck in which two wonderful, young people were tragically killed, leaving their children orphans, one of whom is the father of one of my best friends.
Yet more amazing information!

I can honestly tell you that I have never been to a more interesting Bible study.
I learned a LOT.
If you are ever in the position to invite yourself to a Catholic Bible study, I strongly recommend you do so. (Be sure to eat plenty of refreshments and be prepared for confessions.)

Upstairs/Downstairs

Confession #451:
I haven't watched a single episode of Downton Abbey, Season 4.
(I'm sorry Alice! But you see, the NFL playoff games occur at the same time and I don't have the emotional energy to watch all of it.)

I HAVE been secretly working my way through Downton Abbey's "grandmother" series, Upstairs/Downstairs.  I call it the "grandmother" because Downton Abbey is a descendant of this show. In fact, the first season was astonishingly similar in plots and characters.

I didn't mean to get all involved in the Bellamy affairs!  I was in Bigfork for a week earlier in January, in a weakened state from travel and then a medical procedure, and agreed to try the first couple episodes of Season One.  By the time I left, I was hopelessly hooked.  It doesn't really make sense, either, because it's not a particularly riveting, action-packed show.  The characters are interesting, but not "J.R. Ewing"-interesting, if you know what I mean.  It's just...sort of like cheap chocolates; you can't really figure out why you keep going back to the box, because they aren't fabulous, but you just can't leave them alone!

Upstairs/Downstairs is set in a wealthy household in London at the turn of the century (1900's) and just like Downton, the viewer is seeing the drama of the prosperous family as well as the servants, often intertwined. At first glance, it seems as though all they do is drink tea and/or cocktails, and chat about society. But I'm on Season Three  Five, right now, and just went through a shocking episode that involved a former servant who ended up with a butcher knife and...
Well.
I can't tell you more.

The funny thing about BBC shows is that if you watch one episode, you're fine.
If you watch TWO episodes in a row, you'll answer the phone "Hullo? Oh, not a bit, old chap! I was preparing to have a cup of tea...would you care to join me, say, around 3? Veddy good!"
If you watch THREE episodes in one day...which you can only really do if you're bed bound and out of John Grisham novels...you'll be convinced you need to get a ladies maid (or valet, if you're a gentleman), and that celebrating Armistice Day this year wouldn't be a bad idea.
After tea, of course.