Saturday, June 27, 2015

A Traditional Farm Life - Ham and Asparagus

A Traditional Farm Life

By Shasta Hamilton


Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends!  The emerging sense of a life-long dream being fulfilled is heady stuff.  Realizing you are but a step or two away from a goal, that has hereto now always seemed just out of reach, gives you light for one step more.

The lamp of sustainable living has been burning for my husband and I for more than seventeen years now—as long as we have been married, in fact, and perhaps even longer.  Sometimes it burns bright, sometimes the lamp is trimmed and only a soft glow fills the room, but it has remained burning nonetheless.  The circumstances of our life together have ebbed and flowed, precipitating frequent moves even though the desire to “settle down” has always been there. 

And now we find ourselves owners of 11 acres on the edge of a quiet rural Kansas town, and current circumstances seem to be indicating our desire to put down roots is at long last being fulfilled.

For us, sustainable living means knowing how to provide—with God’s help—for our daily needs of food, clothing, and shelter.  We may never be completely independent of the local grocery store, but our goal is to provide as much of our “daily bread” as possible—fruit, vegetable, herb, meat, dairy, grain, etc.—and know how to preserve the bounty for future consumption.

Throughout the years of our marriage, we have managed to put different pieces of the sustainability puzzle together, but unfortunately, not necessarily at the same time. We’ve learned many useful rural life skills, but until now there has always been a corner of the barn our lamp of sustainability has never filled with light—the draft horse stall.

My husband grew up around horses on the farm, but they were not used out in the field.  Since he was a child he has dreamed of farming with draft horses, and has passed this dream down to his sons. 

The boys recently finished their round pen for horse training.  Their desire for working with horses grows with each new fence they install, as the horses graze down the tall grass and reveal the possibilities of what our property can become as scrub trees are cleared and pasture reclaimed.  The lamp burns brightly now.

It is heartening to see some of the pieces of sustainable living with draft horses slowly start falling into place, and in typical Hamilton fashion, we put the cart before the horse--literally. 

Our boys went to an auction last Saturday, drawn by the dream of a team of Percheron draft horses.  The team brought more than they were prepared to spend, but a “people hauler,” manure spreader, and horse tack were very much within their price range. 

The “people hauler” is a long wagon with benches along each side, designed for the specific purpose of giving folks horse-drawn rides.  Barring a coat of fresh paint, it will need few improvements.  The only piece missing was the draft horse to pull it.

Though disappointed to return home without draft horses Saturday, Monday morning found the boys in a pickup with horse trailer heading towards Holton to consider an older Belgian draft horse mare. 

Our sons purchased a “Jewel.”  Their gentle giant is quite literally twice the size and weight of our buggy horse Jack.  Her feet are the size of dinner plates—better watch your toes!  This week the horseshoe farrier measured the circumference of one trimmed hoof at a whopping 19 inches!

Once shod she will be able to pull the aforementioned people hauler to give rides on Friday nights at the Enterprise Farmer’s Market.  In the meantime, she has other roles to fill.

We were at a point in our attempt to clean up our property in which we knew some horsepower was necessary, whether it be the type with rubber tires or iron shoes.  Michael and the boys spent some time with Jewel in our garden one evening this week, using a horse-drawn cultivator on an unplanted weedy patch. 

Out of the garden, both older boys practiced “ground driving” Jewel, walking behind her without an implement, holding the lines and giving appropriate commands to be used in future farming scenarios. 

This, dear friends, is the dream:  to see our boys farming successfully with horses.  Our lamp is full of oil; the flame burns bright.  Its light reflects back upon us from a Jewel, and we bask in its warm glow.

While waiting for the boys to return home with Jewel from Holton, my eight-year-old daughter took the reins and cooked our “ladies‘ lunch” while I cut out a nightgown for our four-year-old.  The asparagus spears sautéed in bacon grease and ham drippings were simply sublime.
  
Ham and Asparagus Skillet Dinner
bacon grease
ham slices
asparagus spears
salt and pepper

Melt enough bacon grease to cover the bottom of your skillet.  Fry ham slices to desired doneness, turning once.  When ham is fried, add more bacon grease if necessary and sauté asparagus spears until crisp-tender, sprinkling with salt and pepper and turning occasionally until lightly browned.

Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.

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Coming Soon Dixie Swim Club At Great Plains Theatre

 Coming Soon Dixie Swim Club At Great Plains Theatre


July 10 - 19
at Abilene High School Auditorium

Friday, July 10 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 11 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 12 at 2:00 pm

Tuesday, July 14 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 15 at 2:00 pm
Thursday, July 16 at 7:30 pm
Friday, July 17 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 18 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 19 at 2:00 pm

"Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other's lives. THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years. Sheree, the spunky team captain, desperately tries to maintain her organized and "perfect" life, and continues to be the group's leader. Dinah, the wisecracking overachiever, is a career dynamo. But her victories in the courtroom are in stark contrast to the frustrations of her personal life. Lexie, pampered and outspoken, is determined to hold on to her looks and youth as long as possible. She enjoys being married-over and over and over again. The self-deprecating and acerbic Vernadette, acutely aware of the dark cloud that hovers over her life, has decided to just give in and embrace the chaos. And sweet, eager-to-please Jeri Neal experiences a late entry into motherhood that takes them all by surprise. As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly rely on one another, through advice and raucous repartee, to get through the challenges (men, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging) that life flings at them. And when fate throws a wrench into one of their lives in the second act, these friends, proving the enduring power of "teamwork," rally 'round their own with the strength and love that takes this comedy in a poignant and surprising direction. THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB is the story of these five unforgettable women - a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever..."

Featuring Laurie Pascale, Nikki Savitt,
Deborah Kennedy, Kim Bogus
and Marcee Cosby

For tickets, or more information, call 785-263-4574 or visit www.greatplainstheatre.com!

The Vintage Spoke - A Life in Motorcycles


The Vintage Spoke

By Lisa Eastman 

Chad Chebultz never planned on ending up in Abilene.  A missed turn or mistake reading a map led him to the town he now calls home.

Chebultz was driving through from Texas and thought he was on Highway 77 but had actually ended up on Highway 15.  Chebultz shared, “I came into the middle of Abilene and saw this town and thought, yeah man, this is 1950.  This is ok. I went home and told my girlfriend about Abilene and we were looking over here within two weeks.  Next thing, we’re here and it’s been a good place for us ever since.”


At the time, Chebultz was in the collections business.  But motorcycles had been a part of his life in the past.  He was a successful flat-track racer with three national championship wins under his belt.  Then it all changed with an accident in Paducah, Kentucky.  Chebultz suffered a head injury and decided that along with seeing two close friends injured, that was enough for him.  He quit riding but still considered motorcycles art.


After losing his job a few years ago, Chebultz went back to his passion for the art of motorcycles and started a business.  Chebultz explained, "My neighbor had a motorcycle for five hundred dollars and I had lost my job.  My money was running out.  So I thought, “ I wonder if I can buy that bike?” I knew it had to be worth more than that.  So I bought it and I think it sold for $2100 and I had a $500 investment.” Chebultz reinvested his profits and the business took off from there.

Chebultz saw a need for parts for older motorcycles and found a way to manufacture these through partnerships with other companies.  Chebultz has been very successful and has built his business to include nine full-time and two part-time employees.  He sells both restored motorcycles as well as new parts for vintage motorcycles.

Chebultz summed it up with, “It’s been a great journey.” 

To fine more information about the Vintage Spoke visit the Salina Kansas App under the listing of Motorcycles.

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Sunday, June 21, 2015

Dr Tara Harl Speaks at the KSLN Pilots Club Coffee

Dr Tara Harl Speaks at the KSLN Pilots Club Coffee

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A Traditional Farm Life - Tart Cherry Lattice Pie


A Traditional Farm Life

By Shasta Hamilton 

Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends!  As we examine our property in order to plan future sites for an orchard, berry patch, and greenhouse, our current lush green surroundings increase our anticipation of bountiful harvests to come.   

Fueling the fire was a recent invitation to come pick a good friend’s cherry trees. What a dream come true!  We loaded up the family and arrived in a backyard in Chapman to find two trees absolutely loaded with the tart, red orbs.  Visions of cherry pies danced in our heads as eight eager amateur cherry pickers prepared to fill bowls and ice cream buckets to the brim. 

How did we know they were tart and juicy?  To a person, our first cherry picked went in immediately for a taste test. After warnings to the children of the dire consequences of eating too much ripe fruit in one sitting, we turned to the task at hand.

How do you even begin such a monumental task?  In our naiveté, we began by delicately “cherry picking” the best cherries, but it soon became obvious this method would take way too long.  (We were in someone else’s backyard, after all.) 

We then began attempting to reach up and grab clusters of cherries all at once, but found we could not keep a hold on them and they ended up rolling off hat brims onto the ground.  After clumsily picking for what seemed like an eternity, we combined our small bowls and ice cream buckets to discover we only had enough to fill one large stainless steel bowl.

Providentially, about this time the owner came out to check on us and to casually mention there was someone else who was coming to pick cherries as well.

Should we feign disappointment or shout, “Hallelujah!”?  We chose the middle ground and said we would be happy to leave some cherries for the next folks.  (You could barely even tell we’d picked from the trees.)

This morning the girls and I sat down at the kitchen table and had a nice mother/daughter chat while pitting cherries.  We tried several methods we had heard about.  The most creative was using the tokens from our Sorry!™ board game to push out the pit.  We also poked out pits with toothpicks, but we found the best method to be using the curved end of our (clean) hairpins.  (A paper clip bent open would have the same result, but wouldn’t be nearly as fun to tell about.)

The cherries had not held up well in their two days in the fridge, and when all was said and done we had a grand total of only SIX CUPS pitted cherries. 
So much for that recipe for canning cherry pie filling requiring 24 cups of fruit.  Plan B was quickly implemented, and the “Tart Cherry Lattice Pie” recipe was selected from on old Taste of Home annual cookbook.

The recipe required 4 cups for one pie, so I prepared the filling for one pie while my daughters used the remaining 2 cups to prepare a similar recipe.  When I poured the filling into my pastry-lined 9” pan, I knew I was in trouble.  It was mounded full and the juices were ready to overflow the sides of the pan.  I plowed on ahead and carefully put on the lattice top, struggling to retain the juices in the pie while building up the pastry rim “retaining wall” around the edges as high as possible.       

Expecting the worst, I carefully set the pie on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven.  The pastry dam broke as anticipated, and about one fourth of the outside edge of the crust fell off the pie into the caramelized juices below, effectively cementing my pie to the pan.  Not a pretty sight.  (A quick review of the recipe afterward revealed I should have drained off the accumulated juices before making the filling.)

The girls made two small cherry tarts, which came out beautifully.  Later in the afternoon we took the fruit of our labors to the restaurant for hubby to admire.  After a quick glance at the lopsided lattice pie, my husband made an astute observation: “Well, I guess it won’t win a ribbon at the county fair.”

Well, dear friends, we all know you can’t judge a book by its cover.  Hubby declared after his second slice it was absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, the best cherry pie he had ever eaten.  It was certainly a lot more work than opening up a can from the store, but by next year we’ll have forgotten all the trouble and be ready to do it all over again.
  
Tart Cherry Lattice Pie

1-1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened
pitted tart cherries, thawed
and drained
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Pastry for a double crust pie (9 inches)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small
pieces

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl, combine sugar and flour; stir in cherries and extract.  Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim to 1 inch beyond edge of plate.  Pour filling into crust.  Dot with butter.
3.  Roll out remaining pastry; make a lattice crust.  Seal and flute edges.  Cover edges loosely with foil.
4.  Bake 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375 degrees.  Remove foil; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool on a wire rack. Yield:  6-8 servings.

Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.

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