I'm sure most of us here have experienced times when we were wolf-pup hungry and sat down to an unforgettable meal. Maybe something simple, but filling.
Here are just a couple of examples that popped into my mind today.
The first one was the traditional meal that was waiting for us at the ranch house when we would come in from working the fall gather every year. This was many years ago when I was "playing cowboy." The ranch cook was a big ol' gal named Andrea Culberson. She was like a second mother to all of us. We not only respected her, but loved her.
We started the day at 5:30 a.m. by catching our horses, then going into the big kitchen for breakfast. We were in the saddle shortly after 6:00. While we were eating breakfast, Mrs. Culberson would start a big pot of pinto beans that she had been soaking overnight. She got them simmering on the back burner of the big Wolf range. With the beans were ham hocks she would get from a special meat processor about an hour north in Oregon. No other kind would do. Then she added stewed tomatoes, onions, celery (including the leaves) and garlic. She let this pot bubble for at least five hours and then, during the last hour, she would add one heaping tablespoon of brown sugar ("for flavor and not sweetening," she would emphasize).
When we got back to the ranch house late in the afternoon, we'd sit down to a big bowl of ham hocks and beans with hot cornbread. It's hard to beat a meal like that.
One other that came to mind today was when Ms. Judy and I were first married, almost 50 years ago. We went out to visit my folks for a week. That Saturday night, the local ranchers, neighbors, and friends, gathered at the men's club for a big pit barbecue dinner. There was pit-barbecued beef, salad, a big pot of pinquito beans, with a stack of flour tortillas to sop 'em up with. Some of the ladies had brought some sheet cakes for dessert.
After we had eaten our fill, the chairs and tables were pushed back and an old-time cowboy dance band started up. We swing-danced until it was time to go home.
Again, nothing fancy but a great meal.
As you can probably tell, I'm hungry right now.
Ms. Judy has a homegrown pork shoulder roasting in the oven and filling the house with great smells. Maybe that, and my hunger, caused me to reflect on great meals.
What are some of the great meals you remember?
Here are just a couple of examples that popped into my mind today.
The first one was the traditional meal that was waiting for us at the ranch house when we would come in from working the fall gather every year. This was many years ago when I was "playing cowboy." The ranch cook was a big ol' gal named Andrea Culberson. She was like a second mother to all of us. We not only respected her, but loved her.
We started the day at 5:30 a.m. by catching our horses, then going into the big kitchen for breakfast. We were in the saddle shortly after 6:00. While we were eating breakfast, Mrs. Culberson would start a big pot of pinto beans that she had been soaking overnight. She got them simmering on the back burner of the big Wolf range. With the beans were ham hocks she would get from a special meat processor about an hour north in Oregon. No other kind would do. Then she added stewed tomatoes, onions, celery (including the leaves) and garlic. She let this pot bubble for at least five hours and then, during the last hour, she would add one heaping tablespoon of brown sugar ("for flavor and not sweetening," she would emphasize).
When we got back to the ranch house late in the afternoon, we'd sit down to a big bowl of ham hocks and beans with hot cornbread. It's hard to beat a meal like that.
One other that came to mind today was when Ms. Judy and I were first married, almost 50 years ago. We went out to visit my folks for a week. That Saturday night, the local ranchers, neighbors, and friends, gathered at the men's club for a big pit barbecue dinner. There was pit-barbecued beef, salad, a big pot of pinquito beans, with a stack of flour tortillas to sop 'em up with. Some of the ladies had brought some sheet cakes for dessert.
After we had eaten our fill, the chairs and tables were pushed back and an old-time cowboy dance band started up. We swing-danced until it was time to go home.
Again, nothing fancy but a great meal.
As you can probably tell, I'm hungry right now.
Ms. Judy has a homegrown pork shoulder roasting in the oven and filling the house with great smells. Maybe that, and my hunger, caused me to reflect on great meals.What are some of the great meals you remember?
