July on the Farm

They are wearing pink this year!

It has been a hot summer so far, one of uncertainty and dread. The cruel COVID-19 has gripped the country, indeed the entire world, and turned us upside down. We have been told to wear masks in public, maintain social distancing and wash our hands repeatedly. My hands have never been so chapped! As a family, we have gotten together for our usual special meals and have been able to avoid acquiring this horrible pandemic.

The farm doesn’t run itself and the Blalock’s have all had their usual yearly chores that must be done. From ear-tagging the cows, planting a garden, gathering ears of sweet corn, new potatoes, and zucchini, to mowing, raking and baling hay.

Bob and I are not much help around here because of our age and physical problems that age has brought on. Bob grew up helping his Grandpa Davis on the dairy farm in Maryville, Tennessee, so he has difficulty accepting his limitations. He has spent numerous hours on a tractor and knew every milk cow by name, operated machinery that put field corn in the silo, and mucked stalls on many a day! Now he diligently keeps this yard and Lois’ mowed and cleared of debris and weed-eats around the two houses. It is a large place, too!

He and I watch the pesky squirrels, blackbirds, and deer strip the sweet Seckel pears from the tree before they have a chance to get large enough to gather. Do you remember my posts about making Grandma Mildred’s pear honey the first few years after we moved back here? We haven’t had enough pears or pecans to even make a pie the last three or four years!

Everyone is always busy.

Banana Nut Bread ~ One Slice at a Time

Cousin Kay Cox says "Jackie Orsag was my neighbor in Waco for 20 years, and she never failed to bring us a loaf of this banana bread every time she baked it. Take my word for it, it is the best you will ever put in your mouth!"

My family has chosen to place this recipe in our Family Cookbook, One Slice at a Time. We all love this Banana Nut Bread!

Banana Nut Bread

from my Daughter 
And Son-in-Law's Kitchen

in North Carolina

Christmas 2014

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/5 cups sugar
• 1/5 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/5 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/5 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/5 cup chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients well. Pour into greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/5 hours or until toothpick comes out clean. This recipe will make 4 small loaves or 2 regular size loaves.

IMPORTANT:Take loaf out of pan. Place on a rack to cool. Take a stick of butter and rub over sides, top and bottom while still hot ~ keeps bread rich and moist.

   Banana Nut Bread

from my Son 
And Daughter-in-Law's Kitchen in Alabama
Christmas 2014

Photographs on this Post

Photographs taken by and belonging to Gail Shubert Blalock and David C. Shubert, December, 2014; digital format used.

Copyright 2015: Judith Richards Shubert

Ice and No Power

Some of the old-timers drinking coffee and sittin' around on the turned up cold drink cartons, visitin' and comin' in out of the cold the other mornin', reminded Andy that Caldwell and Orange County had not had an ice storm like this in a long time.

Charles said the ice was getting rid of the dead and brittle wood that was in their forests. Now for the clean-up! He and granddaughter Shelby rode 4-wheelers checking fences yesterday after most of the ice had melted. They had to replace a lot of plastic clips on the electric fences and spent quite a while removing a tree or tree limb that had fallen over the fence near our house and the old store. Shelby really enjoys helping Pop and her dad around the place and they have come to rely on her. But as Brenda said, there is enough debris this time, that it will take all of us doing our part to clean up the place!

Shubert has been out early picking up fallen branches over here at Gail and Troy's. He was getting house happy!

We have all shared the warmth and the cooking made possible by Charles's generator and enjoyed the hot coffee, banana bread, ice cream sandwiches, hot dogs, laughter, and love shared in a time like this. Brenda shared Maw-Maw's chili recipe with me because Shubert loved it so, and we told stories of the past. But we never did get around to any of those games the kids like to play. I have been having trouble with my eyes so I couldn't look through the camera lens for long. I didn't get any pictures of the damage the ice did, just a few icicles here and there. I'm sure there are plenty of pictures on Facebook and on the web that represent the same week of ice, sleet and snow we had here in Orange County, North Carolina, this week.

Piedmont Electric and Duke Power, with the assistance of several out-of-town power companies, have restored power to thousands of their customers. The Blalock's have power, we don't. But we all have our family around and they have been fantastic. 

Welcome back to North Carolina, Bob and Judy!

Our Big Snow of Valentine's Day Week 2014

 Sisters Angie and Judy at RDU ~ February 12, 2014

Angie Ready to Board Flight Back to DFW and Home

Leaving Just Before the Big Snow

 On Hwy. 70 in Hillsborough

On Hwy. 57 Headed to Caldwell

Home Sweet Home in Caldwell

Some Digitally Enhanced Water-colored Photos

of Home in Caldwell

Before long we can get back to good food and sunny days! 

By Valentine's Day afternoon the snow was melting and 

we are getting ready for freezing temperatures again tonight.

Sister Sue's Pecan Pie Bars

Sister Sue's Pecan Pie Bars

CRUST

2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 stick cold butter

In a large mixing bowl sift together the dry ingredients. With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut cold butter into the flour mixture until it is crumbly.

Place into 13 x 9-inch glass pan such as a Pyrex dish sprayed with non-stick spray (I use Pam.) With hands, press crust out on the bottom and up onto sides of pan.

Cook in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until light golden.

While crust is baking, prepare the filling.

FILLING

2 eggs
3/4 cup white Karo syrup
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/4 chopped pecans

Have filling ready to pour over hot crust and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until the edges are firm.

This is a delicious alternative to the traditional pecan pie. It is so easy to grab one and go, the kids will eat them when they might not slow down for a piece of pie! I also like to eat one when I'm having a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. Try them this holiday season and next holiday season you'll find yourself baking both pecan pies and pecan pie bars!

SOURCES:
Picture:
Photo digital format by Judith Richards Shubert using Raspberry Road Designs Secret Family Recipe Cluster Freebie

Pecan Pie

 

Sue's Pecan Pies

and Pecan Bars

 

Thanksgiving is normally when my family starts thinking of serving pecan pie, but any time is really a good time to serve pecan pie. My sister, Sue, began baking pecan bars several years ago, in additional to her traditional pecan pies and they were a hit. So easy to grab and run, crunchy and sweet, I have noticed them  more and more recently on cooking shows and recipe blogs.

 

My favorite is still her Pecan Pie. She told me our mother, Mildred, always used Granny Pruett's recipe. Mildred loved Granny Pruett's pie so much after tasting it years ago, she never went back to her own recipe. Now, after a couple of tweaks, Sue does the same thing. She uses Granny Pruett's basic Pecan Pie recipe.

 

I will miss being at her Thanksgiving table this year. I will have to use her recipe and North Carolina pecans instead of the Texas pecans she always uses! I can only cross my fingers that my oven cooks my pies to half the perfection that hers and Grandma Mildred's has always done.

 

Sister Sue's Pecan Pie

 

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups Karo syrup

6 eggs

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups chopped pecans

 

Mix all ingredients well and fill 2 unbaked pie shells. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

 

The only difference in our brother-in-law, Gene's, mother, Granny Pruett's pie: 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, bake at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!!

 

 

 



Mineral Wells Pecans

October and November is truly the time for pecan harvesting in the south, and that includes my beloved Texas. There are more memories tied up with my Aunt Irene and Uncle Raymond Stone's pecan trees than I can even bring to mind. Children from every generation played and worked under the beautiful branches of the pecan trees that they cared for over 50 years - from the early 1950s until the mid 2000s - they were a source of income as well as pride and joy!

 

Irene Checking the Pecan Trees

As little kids, we played games under the trees and then helped pick up the pecans when we could. Later it became a serious job. My sister even had to have a fella with whom she was having a first date take her to Irene and Raymond's as soon as they got through eating burgers, probably at the Dairy Queen, because she had to help shell pecans! I wonder who that date was, and IF he ever showed up again? Hmmm?

Every Easter there were colorful bonnets and dresses and dress shirts running around every which way looking for the eggs hidden by the Easter rabbit or the adults after the family got finished with the Easter Sunday meal. The pecan trees held many secret places where you might later find a pink or yellow egg that a grandchild had missed.

Raymond's knowledge of his pecans was enviable. He entered them in shows and competitions held around the county and the Texas Fair. I remember he had a large display of different types of pecans found in Texas and it was very impressive. It always hung in the hallway between the dining room and their bedroom.



Raymond Checking the Pecans Gathered

and Put Into Bed of His Pick-Up

 



He and Irene worked hard seeing that their pecan trees were healthy and produced a good crop each year. Some years were not as good as others, but that is just the way it is, isn't it? It is sad now when we drive by the old homeplace, the trees were taken by fire shortly after they had both died. The Texas heat and summer fires are unrelenting. We are all just glad they were not here to see the devastation. I believe they know and see from where they are, but it would be hard for us to see the hurt in their eyes.