Jambalaya

I guess you could call this dish a combination of jambalaya and gumbo. Maybe it's jambalumbo . . . or maybe gumbolaya. My husband says it could be mumbo jumbo. Jambalaya traditionally does not have okra in it; gumbo does. We like okra and it grows like a weed in Oklahoma so I like to add it to my jambalaya. With the weather cooling it's officially soup and stew weather, so it's a great time to make jambalaya.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs raw shrimp
• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1 lb andouille sausage or Creole smoked sausage
• 1/2 lb cooked chicken, diced
• 1/2 lb cooked country ham, diced
• 1/2 stick butter
• 4 Tbsp flour
• (2) 16 oz cans beef broth (or 3 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium white onions, chopped fine
• 6 scallions, chopped
• 4 Creole tomatoes (or 16 oz can) peeled and chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• salt and pepper

Melt butter in Dutch oven, then add sausage. 

Add ham and cook on medium heat until browned. 

Stir in flour.

Add garlic, onions and peppers, cook until onions are transparent.

Stir in tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. 

Add beef broth and mix well. Heat on medium heat to slightly boiling. 

Add shrimp and chicken and simmer a couple of minutes. 

Add okra and simmer a few minutes. 

Stir in rice, salt and pepper to taste. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, 

cover and simmer until rice is done, about 20 minutes. 

Serve with French bread. Bon appetit!

Little House on the Prairie

We recently reached a milestone of one year since arriving in Oklahoma. The heat wave broke last year when we arrived and, lo and behold, it broke at the same time this year. How wonderful to awake to pleasant temperatures and a steady breeze. I had been wanting to visit the Little House on the Prairie Museum southwest of Independence, KS for a time now and this seemed like the perfect day for an excursion.

In 1869, Charles Ingalls and his family left the Big Woods of Wisconsin in search of the "perfect place" to settle on land that had been Indian territory. They settled on the open prairie about 14 miles south of Independence, KS. As I read Laura Ingalls Wilder's writings about their journey to the prairie, her descriptions of the landscape, the openness of the prairie, the wide open skies, the colors of the sunsets are things that I've tried to describe in a previous post on the views of the prairie entitled "Wonderful Scenery". Laura has written:

Kansas was an endless flat land covered with tall grass blowing in the wind. 
Day after day they traveled in Kansas, and saw nothing 
but the rippling grass and the enormous sky. 

When the sun went down . . . the edge of the sky was pink. 
Then slowly, the land became black. The wind made a lonely sound in the grass. 
The camp fire was small and lost in so much space. But large stars hung from 
the sky, glittering so near that Laura felt she could almost touch them. 

Laura . . .liked this place, too. She liked the enormous sky and the winds, 
and the land that you couldn't see to the end of. Everything was so fresh 
and clean and big and splendid.  

In 1963 research began to determine the location of the Little House on the Prairie. Around 1969-1970, Margaret Clements determined that the Little House site is located on what was known as the Horton Farm which was then owned by Brigadier General William A. Kurtis and his wife Wilma Horton Kurtis. It was designated as a historic site in 1970 and plans were developed to build a replica cabin to show visitors how the Ingalls family lived on the prairie. The museum was opened in 1977 and, since then, other buildings were brought to the site including a historic one room school house and a historic post office. 

Replica one room cabin

Entry door to cabin

Interior view with rough hewn log chair

Fireplace

Implements for daily life on the prairie

Simple bed

View of the garden area and the land beyond to the north

The Ingalls family endured harsh weather while living in the one-room cabin and dealt with wolves and the fear of Indian attacks. Unfortunately, the Ingalls time in Kansas was short lived as the land that they settled on was not yet legally open to homesteaders and was still considered Indian territory. Charles Ingalls decided to leave the area rather than wait for soldiers to come to remove them. The Ingalls left Kansas in 1871 and settled in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. 

While it is clear that the Ingalls lived far from others and that buildings such as the schoolhouse and post office would not have been located nearby, the availability of these historic structures for inclusion in the museum site provide additional insight into these facets of life during the time that the Ingalls lived in Kansas. 

Sunnyside School

Sunnyside School, circa 1872-1947

Inside Sunnyside School

The medicine man's room at the rear of the school house  -  the Ingalls family had become ill with "fever 'n' ague" later thought to be malaria. A neighbor cared for them while they were sick. These medicines are typical of what a doctor would have had available during that time. 

Wayside Post Office

Wayside Post Office

Behind the Post Office boxes

Customer counter and Post Office boxes

Museum Store

Old farmhouse used as museum store

View of museum buildings including schoolhouse,
post office, cabin, store and a barn beyond

The Little House on the Prairie Museum open April 1-October 31, Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To get there, follow Highway 75, south from Independence, KS or north from Bartlesville, OK and follow the brown and white historic site signs. The museum is located on County Road 3000, at the intersection of 2500 Road. 2500 Road is a gravel road, so I would recommend taking 2700 Road, a paved road, to CR 3000. There is no fee for admission but donations are gladly accepted and appreciated. 

Dung Beetles

It must be the month for observing insects around the farm. Recently on a walk to the mailbox, I happened upon some dung beetles busy at work . . . O.K. maybe it's not the nicest subject to blog about but I found these beetles fascinating just the same.

I discovered that dung beetles are quite the workers. Makes me wonder who works harder . . . . dung beetles or ants? This group of beetles busily divided a mound of dung into round balls and quickly moved their find across the gravel driveway and into the neighboring pasture. Using their front legs to walk or push along the ground, they use their middle and rear legs to maneuver the ball of dung all while moving backwards. I walked past the mound an hour or so later and it was gone. 

I learned that dung beetles play an important role in pasture management. The beetles tunnel into the ground and carry the balls of dung down into the tunnel. Once there, they lay an egg into each ball. When the larva hatches, it feeds on the dung through its pupal stage and, as an adult it emerges to the surface and the cycle starts again. According to the Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, dung beetles are beneficial to the pasture environment including the following:

• They improve pasture yields by adding organic matter and nutrients into the soil.
• By using and consuming the dung, they reduce insect populations that breed on the dung.
• They help to reduce animal diseases by removing the dung from the pasture.  
• Cattle will not graze near dung; thus, removal of it increases pasture grazing area. 

Who would have known?

Simple Wonders

As I tarry about the garden, peeking here and there and under leaves for hidden treasures --simple wonders-- I'm finding vestiges of the nymph stage of the cicada. Yet many of these vestiges lie in plain sight firmly affixed to rubber tires and brick walls or any surface the nymph can attach to as they are about to begin the molting process from their old "skins" or exoskeletons into the adult stage. I imagine they must need a firm grip as they push their way out. 

    One recent morning my husband happened upon a cicada attached to a tire and in the process of molting. Rare is the chance to watch one emerge from its skin.

                                     

Every now and then we could see it wiggle its way out slightly,
taking its time, rhythmically, as if having labor contractions. 

After emerging, the wings are still folded. 

The wings slowly unfurled . . . 

revealing beautiful, lace-like wings. 

It's colors were like gems, green with shiny gold, 

It's features so intricately detailed. 

The sound of the cicada provides a near constant hum, so noticeable here compared to other places I've been. Many have written about the song of the cicada such as this poem by David Granville.

Cicada Songs  (for "Cicada Mania")

by David Granville

They say your songs

portend the end of summer

just as chirping robins

usher in the spring air.

Listen to the sound

whirring, buzzing through

leaves of trees that shelter

the thrumming brood.

Insect monks chant

hymns of nature

for us and for

their silent females: “mate her.”

More musical than electric currents

that hum along power lines,

your symphony hovers,

guarding the sultry night like armored palatines.

Constant and pervasive,

we humans sometimes hear

sometimes ban your frequencies,

lulled to sleep by drums so dear.

Air conditioners and headphones

drown out your beautiful noise

but others sing with you

till Fall’s frost steals these little joys.

-DFG

Thai Green Curry with Chicken

One of the benefits of having lived in the Sacramento area was the array of restaurants, bakeries and cafes available. And if that was not enough, the Bay Area was just a couple of hours away. One such restaurant is Lemongrass owned by Mai Pham. She is the author of a couple of Thai and Vietnamese cookbooks, one of which I have and love cooking from (The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking). Here's an article about Mai Pham from the California Heartland website. California Heartland is show that is aired on the Sacramento PBS channel KVIE

Here's an easy Thai recipe from The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking.

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon green curry paste or to taste
1 stalk lemon grass cut into 1-inch pieces and bruised with the back of a knife
1 cup homemade unsalted or canned low-sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 kaffir lime leaves, cut into thin slivers
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick strips
2 cups bamboo shoots, blanched in boiling water for 5 minutes and drained
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 red ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

My family likes water chestnuts so I substituted those for the bamboo shoots.  

1. Heat 1/3 cup of the coconut milk in a nonstick stir-fry pan over moderate heat until bubbly and hot. 
2. Add the curry paste and lemon grass, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
3. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar turmeric, and lime leaves. Bring to a boil. 
4. Add the chicken and cook until it turns white, 3 to 5 minutes. 
5. Add the remaining coconut milk, bamboo shoots, peas, and tomatoes. 
6. Continue to simmer until vegetables are thoroughly hot, about 3 minutes. Do not allow coconut milk to boil vigorously, as it will separate. 
7. Remove from heat and add the basil. Garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice. 

The salad shown was made with a mango/apricot/ lime coleslaw recipe from my friend Esther. I did not use the purple cabbage and I used frozen mango chunks.

Ingredients for coleslaw:
1 small green cabbage, shredded
1/2 purple cabbage, shredded
juice of 2 limes
1 lemon
seasoned vinegar to taste, such as sushi, rice or balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
2/3 jar of apricot preserves
2 fresh mangoes cut into small pieces.

1. Shred cabbage. Sprinkle with salt and massage out the water. Let it sit a while, then rinse out extra salt in colander. Drain.
2. In a large bowl, mix the juice of 2 limes, 1 lemon, vinegar, salt, pepper, apricot preserves and mango. 
3. Toss with cabbage. Chill and serve.
4. Enjoy!

First Corn

We enjoyed our first corn of the season -- from our very own corn patch -- on Father's Day.  It was so sweet and tender. Since then I've picked well over 150 ears of corn. Oh my! We've eaten some and I managed to process much of it over a couple of days, and there's still a lot more in the garden. I've been looking for good recipes that use corn. I can't wait to try making tamales. I've been saving some of the husks and drying them but they sure look different from the husks in the supermarket. Those are wide, flat and so light in color.  Perhaps I need to press the husks to keep them flat and dry them in the sun to bleach the color out of them.

The rest of the garden is slowly coming along. With temperatures nearing 100 degrees, the plants are struggling a bit. We finally have one tiny squash growing. Scratch that . . . we had one squash growing. It was in the garden last night but some critter apparently feasted on it during the night. 

There are lots of flowers on the cantaloupe and I'm anticipating having lots of it. The pumpkin plants are getting pretty big and sending out tendrils.  The watermelon is not quite as far along.

Amish pie pumpkin

Sadly, squash bugs and stink bugs attached most of my Amish pie pumpkin plants. 

     

Fairytale pumpkin

  Keeping my fingers crossed that the fairy tale pumpkin survives. 

Fairytale pumpkin with corn

And then there were the potato beetles -- that quickly met their demise. 

It's amazing the damage they did in one day.  

With the heat we've had recently, I'm surprised anything has survived in this planter.  

          The previous hydrant was broken when debris went sailing across the yard during a spring storm. After replacing it with this new one, I decided to build a little planter around it that also serves to protect the hydrant as well. It's been an eventful week in the garden. I've chased the dogs and some calves out of  the garden and something ate summer squash but left no real evidence. Next year we'll have a garden around the fence.