What Love Really Means

It's Valentine's Day. It's that day when the television ads remind us all about hearts and flowers and expensive jewelry and finding the perfect Valentine.

After all, that's what love is all about, right?

But it is really?

Today, head on over to the Lovely Branches Ministries website and check out my February post. And, while you're there, be sure to read the other writers and features on the site.

Besides some reflections on love, there's a yummy recipe for Caramel Chip Bars. They are a treat sure to impress on this Valentine's Day - whether you share them with a loved one, a friend, a neighbor ... anyone who loves caramel and chocolate!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you experience what love really means today!

All's Fair in Love and (Cupcake) Wars

Coming up with a dessert to serve a ladies' group is always a challenge. Ladies love dessert, even though it's probably not too lady-like to admit it. But if we're going to partake in a calorie-laden treat, it had better not disappoint.

So I usually pull out my recipe box and search through several cookbooks, looking for the perfect dessert to serve. Should I do a tried-and-true recipe? Or should I throw caution to the wind and try something new?

When I was looking for a dessert to serve my PEO group in January, I didn't have to think very long. I decided to do a recipe reenactment.

When we were in Columbia, South Carolina, we visited a downtown shop called Cupcake. I decided I wanted to try my best to replicate those delectable treats.

I didn't get the frosting piled as high as the South Carolina professional versions, but they were still a hit.

To accomplish the sky-high versions, I think I need to invest in a decorator bag instead of my old-fashioned decorating set. I'm used to it, and it has served me well, but maybe it's time for an upgrade.

I sure had to stop and refill the tube a bunch of times. Rolling down a bag like they do on the Food Network show Cupcake Wars looks quicker, though I can also envision frosting squirting out the top of the bag until I get the hang of it. I am not the neatest cook, as you will see in Exhibit A:

I used an ice cream scoop to make sure I got the same amount of batter in each cupcake liner. And, yes, I had it all over the place.

The recipe called for 2 ounces of red food coloring. That's two whole bottles. It made them nice and red, but I think 1 bottle would probably be sufficient.

Just like our Columbia snack stop, I gave the ladies two choices: red velvet or chocolate.

We had a small group at PEO that day, and every single person chose red velvet. Randy was glad to do his part in consuming the leftovers. He got to sample plenty of both kinds.

Since I made the cupcakes for a January meeting, I used snowman cupcake liners and snowflake sprinkles. But these vibrant red cupcakes would be the perfect way to treat your Valentine. I stashed a cake pan full of them in the freezer, and I just might pull them out for my Valentine this week. I don't think he'll care that they have snowflakes instead of heart sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake or Cupcakes

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vinegar
Cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixer bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together over waxed paper. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar.

Pour batter into 24 cupcake cups or into 2, 9-inch-round layer pans. For cupcakes, bake 18-22 minutes or until test comes out clean. For cake, bake about 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Let cool on cooling rack. Frost.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 lb. cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix cream cheese, sugar and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy. Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla; mix until it's incorporated.

This makes enough to frost a 3-layer cake. If making cupcakes, use a decorator tool, and pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

If you aren't piling up the frosting, you could probably get by with half a recipe. Leftover frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

This cake does need to be stored in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese icing.

***

I'll save the Chocolate Cupcake recipe for another day. But, in the meantime, Happy Weekend!

Winter Work

Winter is not a season; it's an occupation.

--- Sinclair Lewis

There's no 9 to 5 at the office for cow-calf producers during snowy, winter days. Sinclair Lewis probably wasn't referring to farming or ranching. But he could have been.

The normal feeding routine is complicated by the snowing and blowing of a wintry day.

The photos were taken in the morning on February 8, before there was 10 inches of snow on the ground. But they do illustrate the process that Randy and Jake undertake each day to feed and care for our cattle, whether the day brings sun, rain, snow or sleet. The Postal Service has nothing on these guys!

The photographer missed the first step, but the guys had loaded grain into the bottom of the feed truck before adding the silage on top. This photo was obviously taken another day, but this grain bin is where we store grain for the cattle during the winter.

After Randy got to the pasture, he unlatched the fence into the trench silo. The fence keeps the cattle out of an all-you-can-eat buffet of silage, which we had harvested in September.

Randy used the bucket on the loader tractor to pick up the silage.

Then he deposited it in the feed truck.

The silage "steams" in the back of the feed truck. It goes from the "hot house" where it is fermenting and reacts to the cold - just like we see our breath on cold days.

After Randy dumped three bucket loads into the feed truck, he got another load, which he deposited in the old feeder in the Peace Creek pasture.

(This cow was watching the process from the feed bunk, where she was waiting for dinner to be served.)

Jake drove the truck to the pasture where we keep the feeder calves. These are the calves born last January and February on the County Line. We weaned them from the mothers last November. We will sell them at Pratt Livestock in March. They should weigh 650 to 700 pounds each when they are sold.

Jake drove along the line of feed bunks and augered the grain into them. Dinner is served!

You can't see them, but there is a line of feed bunks down the center of this shot. The feed truck signals that it's time to belly up to the "table."

We have cattle at four different locations during the winter. Some of those locations have water available, either at a creek or at a water well. But we have to haul water to one location. We have a 1,000-gallon water tank which we put in the back of a grain truck during the fall and winter months.

This photo was taken in the morning on February 8, when the snow was just starting to accumulate. By the time the storm dumped around 10 inches of snow, Randy & Jake had trouble even getting to the lot through the snowdrifts.

The water tank has a valve at the back, which Jake opened to let the water flow into the tank in the corral.

They must not have been too thirsty, since they didn't run right over for a drink.

The guys also feed hay at every location. They use a tractor with a hay fork on the back of it. They can carry two big round bales at one time. They feed both alfalfa and sudan bales.

Randy used the loader to set the bale upright.

And then Jake removed the net wrap and rolled the feeder over the top of the bale and into place.

It takes several trips to get the mission accomplished at all four locations.

But on a snowy, winter day, the cattle were ready for some grub.

You need to keep your energy up when you're trying to stay warm ... and feed a baby.

We had two more calves from heifers last night - with the temperatures at -12. Thankfully, both babies arrived in the barn, but it is still mighty cold in there. Randy spent part of his night sitting in the pickup with the heater on high, trying to warm up a 70-pound passenger.

It's hard to believe, but the temperature is supposed to get up in the high 50s or even low 60s this weekend. Let's hope lots of mamas have babies during this break in the weather!

We're thankful for the moisture the melting snow will bring to the wheat crop, but that same moisture will make a muddy mess in the cattle lots. So, it will be a challenge of a different sort over the next few days. Never a dull moment on the County Line!

Spa Treatment

What's the perfect gift on your birthday? It's a trip to the spa, of course.

Curl up in a nice blue robe. Get toasty in the sauna. Have the friendly staff bring you a warm drink. Now that is service.

And after you've been pampered for a bit, it's always great to have a reunion with your family.

We had more birthdays than a Chuck E. Cheese pizza joint around here yesterday. Four baby calves entered this world on a cold, snowy February day on the County Line.

It was a day not fit for man or beast, as the old saying goes. But contrary to what the animal activists would have you believe, we spent the majority of the day out in the elements, caring for the animals that have been entrusted to us.

And, yes, one of the babies got a birthday spa treatment. Twice.

Jake found him during one of the frequent checks at the pasture south of our house. Randy and I headed out, armed with an old blue blanket and a warm pickup.

Mothers are mothers, whether they are human or bovine. The mama wasn't sure about interlopers approaching her newborn baby, so Randy approached warily, taking it slow.

The mama was reluctant. Mamas are supposed to know best, but it's a little tough to have a logical conversation with a nervous cow. It's better to have quick feet.

But Randy picked up the 70-pound (or so) baby and headed for warmer climes.


The baby was like an icicle when he first nestled down on the pickup floorboards.

After awhile, some of the ice and snow began to melt.

We mixed a little bit of milk replacer with warm water and put it in a bottle.


Drinking a little bit of warm milk helped speed the process.


After a short stay at the "spa," Randy provided ground "transportation."

He deposited the baby in some hay.

And the mama and baby are reunited. It's always rough returning to reality after a "vacation." It's especially tough when you leave the warm climate of a resort and return to the harsh realities of a snowy, Midwest winter. (Just ask our daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Eric, who came back to Nebraska after a Mexican vacation last week.)

Repeat as necessary.

In this case, it was necessary yet again for this same calf. Same song, second verse. Randy picked up the calf again, put it in the pickup again, ran the heater on high and gave it a little more milk before again returning it to its anxious mom. There's not a barn or shed close enough for that pair, but the trees provide some windbreak and the guys put out fresh hay for them to lay on. You just have to do what you can and hope for the best.

My usually optimistic husband wasn't so optimistic about the baby's survival last night. I dreaded reporting that the baby had died. But the baby survived the night. During Randy's morning visit to the pasture, the little calf was up and nursing. Success!

Randy doesn't need to visit a gym to get his weight training in. That calf wasn't the only one he moved yesterday.

This one was a Popsicle, too.

So he picked it up ...
and carried it 50 yards ...

to a shed at the creek.

When we went back later, the baby had nursed and the two were content to be out of the snow and wind.

Mission accomplished - times 4.

This story wasn't an exclusive to the County Line yesterday. Beef producers all across the state were out there, fighting the fight against the elements to make sure their animals were well fed and cared for.

There are people out there who want to do away with animal agriculture. Just last week, Oprah featured a vegan author on her show and urged the 378-member Harpo staff to go vegan for a week. Several ag blogs written by ranchers have said they would welcome a visit from Oprah and her staff, a chance for them to see what really happens on family farms and ranches across the nation. Just one of them was Haley Farms in Ohio; lots of others have chimed in with similar invitations.

So, if Oprah wants to come to the County Line and spend the day on a working farm, she'd better bring her boots and some warm gloves. It's cold out there.

A 'Soup'er Meal

Soup just hits the spot during these cold winter days. So here's another soup recipe to add to your arsenal to combat the chill in your bones.

Since we have beef in the freezer, it is usually the meat of choice around here, but this chowder recipe uses salmon.

Randy likes clam chowder and often orders it if it's an option for a restaurant meal. Me? I'm not overly fond of seafood, but I do like salmon.

I buy frozen salmon fillets and make them for dinner occasionally. Last week, I purposely made extra and then used the "leftovers" for this chowder. I think you could probably use canned salmon, though I've never tried it.

Even better, it's a lower calorie chowder. The recipe was originally published in the December/January 2007 issue of Taste of Home's Light and Tasty magazine. (That magazine is now called Healthy Cooking.)

Enjoy!

Salmon Chowder

1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. butter
2 cups 1% milk
1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed chicken broth, undiluted
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 medium potato, cut into cubes
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup cold milk
1/2 lb. salmon fillet
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the onion, garlic, thyme and basil in butter until onion is tender. Stir in milk, broth, corn, carrot and potato. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Combine flour and 1/4 cup milk until smooth. Stir into onion mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add salmon and zucchini. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Note: I didn't have garlic, so I added a little garlic powder.

Nutrition facts: 1 cup equals: 214 calories, 10 g fat, 38 mg cholesterol, 656 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 16 g protein.

***

Need another idea on this cold winter day when the wind is howling? If salmon chowder doesn't appeal, try this one:

Tomato and Rice Soup

Stay warm!

Serendipity

We had a little magic happen before we ever got into Century II Concert Hall last weekend.

Two tickets miraculously appeared at just the right time - no magic wand required.

Randy saw the ads for the Wichita Symphony Orchestra's "Magic at the Symphony" concert and wanted to go.

The Friday night version was the blue jean concert. Hmmm ... dressing up or blue jeans? You don't need ESP to figure out which night he chose.

He looked online (which is a major achievement in itself). All the tickets on Friday night were general admission. He figured that meant you could just get tickets at the door. So we had a leisurely supper at The Olive Garden and sauntered up to the ticket counter.

And that's when we found out that a little magic was definitely in play.

"Sir, we've been sold out all week," the ticket agent told Randy. "But these two tickets were just turned in, so you're in luck."

We certainly were. We ended up in the balcony, but we were happy to be there.

Randy has been an amateur magician for the past 20 years. He has most often used magic for children's sermons at church and has shared it with 4-Hers. He was bitten by the magic bug after we saw a Siegfried and Roy magic show in Las Vegas on a trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

After tigers appeared in boxes about 6 feet from us during that show, he was intrigued enough to come home and check out books from the library.

There are no tigers appearing out of thin air in any of Randy's routines. But, even without tigers, he was a hit when he demonstrated magic at the Stafford STARS after-school program last year.

The magician at Friday night's show was Lyn Dillies, who was awarded the Merlin Award for Female Illusionist of the Year in 2009. As a former violin player, she combines her love of music and magic in shows across the country.

It was a pretty magical evening ... beginning at the ticket office - for my own favorite magician.

Here is a youtube glimpse of Lyn Dillies' magic. Randy isn't on youtube yet.