Seeing a man about a horse

By Peggy | May 21, 2014 |
Coach Tracy McCarty, from Born 2 Be, comes to check on Sam and Trevor before they enter the ring at the 2014 state Special Olympics.

Coach Tracy McCarty, from Born 2 Be, comes to check on Sam and Trevor before they enter the ring at the 2014 state Special Olympics.

Showmanship has been a tougher category for Sam to compete in over the years. He came by way of it much later than by riding. He was introduced to some of the concepts through 4-H, but still, some of the things a person must do hinge not only on the horse, but also on the judge.

Sam still did well this year, as you can see below. He took bronze.

Posted in getting back on the horse, social life

Mother’s Day requires a cake, or Mississippi Mud Cake, we think

By Peggy | May 10, 2014 |

It’s been a while since I’ve looked over Regina’s recipes. I’d put together such a long initial list — brown sugar pound cake, fruitcake, chicken and dumplings, homemade salami, to name a few —  it took a while to work through it all.

But Mother’s Day is coming up and that just requires a cake, so I’ve been going through Regina’s recipes again. She has so many cake recipes. I counted 34 in all that she said were keepers. She has three Italian Cream Cake recipes and four fruitcake recipes and at least a half dozen different kinds of pound cake: buttermilk, coconut, jello, plain, poppyseed, and “Mabel’s” (with chocolate or butterscotch chips mixed in).

Here’s Mississippi Mud Cake, “I think,” Regina said.

This may be our winner this weekend.

Mississippi Fudge Cake

Posted in recipes

Overheard in the Wolfe House #268

By Peggy | May 4, 2014 |

Sam: Sharon Wilson sent me an invitation to a porch party. I want to go.

Peggy: You bet.

Sam: So what is that about?

Peggy: Some people in Denton are trying to have an election to make Denton frack free.

Sam: If Denton is frack free, I want to move there.

Posted in What Sam says

Saturday night in the kitchen with Sam

By Peggy | April 27, 2014 |

Over the years we have made a true commitment to our family’s health by doing a lot of cooking and baking. Tonight, I’m making another batch of yogurt and Sam is making kolaches.

I had enough variety of leftover beans from a bunch of winter cooking to make a mixed-bean soup, too.

Over conversation about tablet computers, e-reader apps, and area equestrian Special Olympics (they moved it up to today instead of tomorrow … awesome flexibility demonstrated by area stables in order to avoid predicted storms), I put this old family favorite together, substituting in lamb stock for water at the end.

Bountiful Bean Soup

2 cups mixed beans

1 quart water

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 large carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic

1 bay leaf

6 cups water

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring beans and first quart of water to a boil. Cover and let stand for an hour. Drain and rinse a little. (This helps reduce your need for Bean-o)

Fry bacon in a dutch oven and discard all but 2 t. of the rendered fat. (Or, leave out the bacon and heat 2 T. of olive oil.)

Add the carrot and garlic and saute for a few minutes to carmelize, then add beans and water and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 90 minutes or so until the beans are tender.

Remove bay leaf, taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Posted in getting back on the horse, health, problem-solving, recipes