Cowgirl Goods

First Job

The other night the crew from Lucky Pet went out for pizza and beer.  I asked everyone what was their first job.  I tried to explain this place to them, Nickerson Farms.  I had the typical "kid" jobs, i.e. babysitting and picking tomatoes but when I turned 16 I got a real job.  My grandfather was the prep cook at Nickerson Farms in Whiteford, MI off highway 23.  It was and still is a well traveled truck road.  This chain of truck stops was spread out through the midwest.  It was a truckers comfy stop.  Do any of you remember them?  The gift shops were to die for!  They sold every knick knack Patty wack you could imagine and the one I worked at had a working beehive attached to it!  How on earth they got away with that still amazes me.  Someone would inevitability park near the bee entrance.  Now days that just says, "lawsuit!" 

I started out as a dishwaher........gross.  Then my grandfather started teaching me how to prep cook.  First thing was to learn how to make the gravy for the biscuits.  You take one huge sheet pan of bacon grease, pour it in a big pot, heat it up, add flour, make a roux, add milk and salt and pepper.  Done. Then it was on to liver and onions.  THEN I had to take care of the gigantic bucket on wheels with raw chicken in it.  To this day I DO NOT eat fried chicken.  FINALLY I got bumped up to waitressing.  We wore cute little candy stripe outfits with nylons and white shoes.  Mrs. Faust inspected our costumes before every shift.  Then in poured the patrons.  Looking back, this was my first real lesson in people skills.  We all know what can travel up and down a major highway.  I'm sure I waited on a few serial killers, I know I waited on a few psychopaths.  I recalll one of them, his name was, "RON", he drove a yellow "K-Car", his skin looked like a gravel pit and he chain smoked, non stop; he sat there all day.  I bet I would change his ashtray 10 times in a shift.  Oh yeah, everyone smoked.  The other waitresses always had butts going and so did all the cooks.  Yuck.  There were always a lot of bikers and not the new age bikers that are doctors by day and play biker on the weekend wearing designer "do-rags". These guys would have colors on, I just thought they were hungry.  Hmmmm.  Hey I was 16!  I remember one trucker asking if I'd like to see his truck. My answer was something smart a$$ I'm sure.  So this really was my first socialogy course, didn't realize it at the time.  I know I just liked the pocket full of $1 bills I would have at the end of my shift.  Funny though, I've worked in some pretty fancy restaurants, worked with crazy wacky chefs but the Sunday morning shift a Nickerson Farms is the one I remember the most. 

What was your first job?

I made this, you HAVE to make this!

Photo from www.thektchn.com

I saw this recipes in the LA Times and that lead me to www.thektchn.com which then I found the recipe for this No-Bake Boston Creme Strata.  I tell you, let me sit in the corner and eat the whole damn thing.  MAKE THIS, go buy the stuff right now!  Don't cheat, don't skimp and use milk, use the 1/2 & 1/2 AND make sure you get Honey Made graham crackers, the cheap ones won't work.  Who buys cheap graham crackers?  You might as well just chew on a box.  I'm thinking next time of adding a layer of raspberry jam and then the next time......  The options are endless.  MAKE IT!

I also bumped into this article "I'm sick of looking at Crappy Pictures of other peoples food." I'm going to be honest, I have to agree with the guy and my own pictures are included.  I think I might stop taking food photos, I'm extremely self conscience of them.  They're kind of like wearing a sleeveless shirt with flabby arms with me.  When I worked at Carla's Cafe we were in Gourmet magazine.  Yes that was very exciting but we all saw what went into real food photography.  After 9 hours of primping and propping food, lights, camera, crew and gear up the wazzuu the food looked amazing.  So I'm probably going to borrow more photos, give credit where credit is due and leave it up to those who know what the heck they are doing.  I don't want you guys gagging. 

 

Critter Gym

This is so cool!  Well in a varmit loving kind of way and yes I know it was a varmit that took out one of my chickens the other night.  Why not give them a cozy abode then?  I saw this on Pinterest last night.  It's from the The Metropolitan Field Guide I also looked up the word varmit on the urban dictionary site and this is the definition:

VARMIT: an awnry/ornery, pesky/pesty, grouchy, cantankerous, belligerent, tetchy, argumentative, crabby, unreasonable, or bad tempered HUMAN BEING OR CREATURE

I know a few varmit's and they don't just live in my wood pile..........

Hug a varmit today!  Change their attitude! 

Do you think this made them sweat?  What the hell is the machine on the right doing?  PHEW I just came from the gym and boy have we come a long way baby.  Exercise really is cheaper than therapy.  When I feel like a caged rat I know exactly what I need to do....workout!  Our gym is cool and I haven't seen that smarty pants girl that had a fit on her treadmill in awhile.  HOWEVER, there is this new girl that is REALLY kind of bugging me, while she is on her "machine" she is texting someone, listening to music, watching tv and flipping a magazine.  Can you say, A.D.D.  She never breaks a sweat.  That's the other part people don't realize about working out, you gotta sweat.  Girls sweat.  I just got a new heart rate monitor.  They come in all shapes, sizes and prices.  I settled for the forty dollar one this time.  It's awesome!  There is a bit of a learning curve to understanding how it all works or in my case it was kind of like higher math.  Once I figured it all out and what my heart rate should be so I don't "blow up" you then understand the science behind it all.  Everyone has their idea on working out and I'm the first one to take the outdoor option.  Living in New England it's nice to have the gym option too.  I love all the little old guys at the gym working out in their jeans and flannel shirts.  Who cares?!  They are moving and that's what you just gotta do.  MOVE and keep moving and sweat a little.

Yellow Eye Beans, Asparagus and, sadly, a chicken debacle......

Mmmmmmm Boston baked beans.  There is an article in this months issue of Saveur about this classic dish.  Bean "suppahs" really do exsist in New Enlgand every Saturday night.  Of course everyone has their opinion how they should be made and with what type of bean.  Something I've discovered time and time again, really good baked beans take TIME.  There are a million recipes and for mine I skipped the bacon (I know sad) and made them vegetarian.  This time I soaked the beans overnight and then the next day I rinsed them and put everything in the crockpot.  No pre boiling happened.  The first two hours was set on high, the next six hours on low and the final hour on high with the lid off.  BINGO!  I also used yellow eye beans.  They are a sturdy bean but you can use navy beans, soldier beans or Jacob's Cattle beans.  If all of these sound foreign to you go to RANCHO GORDO and you can see what these beans look like, I think they are gorgeous. 

I've posted about asparagus before it's worth discussing again.  It's the first real veggie of spring.  I recall reading that it should be eaten to cleanse your system from all the winter foods.  So I'm gonna say it, is this why your pee smells so bad after you eat it?  MAN.  Oh come on you all know what I'm talking about.  It's weird.  So I think that is the "cleansing" part.  ANYWAY....I love to roast it with a little olive oil and soy sauce.  It stays crunchy and then I make up some curry sourcream and mayo dip and drag the pieces through that.  That probably defeats the cleansing part uh?  BUT YUM!

Remember our little camp?  It's all winterized with a storm door and "windows".  I bought some "boat" plastic off my friend Carla for the windows.  I tell you that stuff is awesome.  We were hanging out in there and with the sun shining in and it was toasty. I got very excited for summer.

So here is the debacle part.  I let my chickens out from 5pm till they go to bed.  It's like their happy hour.  It's a risk but I only do it if I'm around.  All was well, they went to bed and I locked them up.  We were sitting on the couch, Joe was watching some tv trash and had head phones on, I was reading.  It's dark, I hear chickens screaming and I fly off the couch.  Joe says, "MARJ TALK TO ME!"  I said, "CHICKENS!!!!"  With our pj's on and winter boots we go out there, Joe is the brave one, flash light in hand.  Chickens everywhere in the pen.  Joe peeks in the coop and says, "you might have a dead one."  I'm thinking what the heck is in there?  He looks around and sees nothing.  I grab the light and look.  UGH there he/she is...an opossum playing DEAD under the coop.  Somehow I have to get all the chickens together so I can leave the door open to let the varmit out.  I grab the chickens, toss them in the coop and lock them down.  In the mean time this opossum is at my feet playing dead.  Good thing.  I can't assess the hurt chicken.  We go back in and later when I go out to see if he/she has moved on I'm greeted by the cutest little mouse standing on where the food usually is.  Like he was saying, "HEY LADY!"  Varmit gone. 

Morning comes, the hurt chicken is in pretty bad shape but I'm hopeful.  Joe had Monday off.  At noon I get a text,"on my way with the chicken."  Now you all have to realize Lucky Pet is NOT a large animal or farm animal practice.  NOT EVEN CLOSE.  BUT my boss knows his crazy employees occasionally need a farm vet.  Oh I have a farm vet but the last time I had a hurt chicken he said something about BBQ sauce.  My boss and I didn't want her to suffer and when there is a hurt chicken in the coop the rest of the girls turn into seventh grade cheerleaders.  NASTY.  Joe (my hero) brought her in, we put her to rest.  And there my friends was the chicken debacle.  It happens. 

Print from Yee-Haw Industries

I'm still kind of (no REALLY) obsessed with the whole "Indie" letterpress world.  It's so cool.  I'm also still in love with my new iPad.  Here lies the dichotomy. While I swipe, flip and smear up my iPad and click away on my computer I'm trying to absorb as much as I can about one of the oldest industries in our world.  If it wasn't for Mr. Gutenberg who invented the letterpress we might still be drawing on cave walls.  No offense I think cave wall drawings are cool but they are kind of to the point, i.e. bear eat man, kind of stuff. Last night I discovered this amazing story in the letterpress world. 

 

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

Fascinating isn't it?  We walked by Gus & Ruby's yesterday when we went to Portsmouth

Summer 2011

The place was packed, you couldn't get through the door.  That made me happy, the girls that own the place work hard and are part of the funky Indie letterpress world.  A few weeks ago I ordered this kit from Yellow Owl Workshop

 
It came all wrapped with care, the book was signed by the author and owner of the print shop, Christine Schmidt.  Time to get busy and actually put it to use. 

Just when we think so many things in the art and cultural world are going to be lost, I don't think that is happening at all.  National Geographic has a project going on that is saving lost languages.  I'll post about that soon.  But they are thrilled that the technical world is saving these languages. Whatever your likes are, your interests, your curiosities it's pretty amazing it's all at our finger tips.  But I'm going to Gus & Rubies today to buy a piece of vintage paper to help keep the other world spinning too.

Good Day To Ya!

I couldn't help myself.  This has been flying around the internet, my sister sent it too me and I keep bumping into it.  If it's "photo shopped" or not, how can you not love this?  She is adorable, the camel is adorable.  If something in the Mongolian tundra can make a little girl laugh like that then we should have plenty to laugh about.  Plenty.  Laugh a lot today.

Hang in there

 

Cheese & Crackers

Two of my favorite foods.  If I was stranded on an island and had a choice of food to live on I would probably pick cheese and crackers.  I'm sure there is fruit on the island.  Instead of making a super sweet gooey chocolate thing for Valentine's Day I splurged on some special cheeses.  We have a little market and the cheese counter is run by these young girls that know their cheese and love to talk cheese.  So each time I'm in there I buy something different. 

I bought a little box of Hannahbells Tiny Handmade French goat cheese with lavender.  The box is what got me and the lavender.  These little tiny treats were amazing.  The other cheese is a Drunken Goat Cheese from Spain.  It was washed in red wine.  Heaven.  I let both rest to room temperature and served them on my latest craze.....homemade crackers.

Are you tired of spending a fortune on crackers?  I am.  Not only that they are loaded with salt and we have to watch that around here.  SO I Googled cracker recipes and all kinds of things come up but this article in the NY Times was the best.  I made a batch of the Sesame Crackers but instead of sesame seeds I used the Harvest Grain mix from King Arthur.  I mixed that in last.  Now (the Lisa's take note) I know you're all thinking, yeah right, like I have time to make crackers.  First off you all might like to know I like to whip things up quick.  At 4:30 pm I thought, "HEY I WANT CRACKERS for this beautiful cheese by 5 pm".  Done.  Well actually, I had them by 5:15.  Hubby LOVED them and I served the beautiful cheese on warm crackers and they didn't cost five bucks.  So as my old boss Carla at the cafe would say, "easy smeasy."