Whole Wheat Pancakes... they really do taste good!

Yes they do. Believe it or not. I didn't think they would but I've since been converted. Aunt Jemima makes a whole wheat pancake mix that we tried over the weekend. The pancakes were fluffy, hearty and full-flavored. I was very surprised and impressed. We will definitely be purchasing more of this mix. It does have a minimal amount of sugar in the mix but not much in comparison to the fiber it has. When used with sugar free syrup or, in my case, honey, you can't go wrong.

My only problem was the deer in the yard distracting me to the point of burning that last wonderful pancake! LOL  So here is how our weekend went...

After work on Friday I met Wally out at Pee Wee's Place and we stayed just long enough to get our drink on...For whatever reason there were more people there than usual and it was a fun night. They were playing pool, singing with the jukebox and swapping lies, uh stories... and generally enjoying the evening. Being the big partiers that we are, we were probably home by 9:00 - 9:30 :)

I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and we mellowed out in front of the tv. The heater was on in anticipation of the low twenty degree temperatures that the weather person said were coming. We hooked up the light for the doghouse so the boys would be comfortable and we talked about what we needed to do on Saturday.

Well Saturday rolled around and we tossed all those well made plans out the door as we decided to lay up in the warmth of the covers and catch the early morning news show while the sun came up over the hills. Gosh, are we old or what? lol The news was mostly about the weather and how everyone needs to start preparing for what's to come. They showed a couple of places where fake snow was being brought in so kids could play in it meanwhile the parents were expected to bring canned food donations for helping feed the hungry people of Nashville. It seems to me they could just use the money they spent on the fake snow and buy a bunch of food with it instead... hmmmm?

The weather girl said it was going to warm up to about 47, 48 degrees and then drop back down to the 20s overnight. That little piece of information is what changed the day's plan for us. Too cold to be on horses, too cold to be on 4 wheelers. It sounded like a ride in the black truck was our best option. I made us some breakfast, which we favorably called gruel for lack of a better word, and then we made our list. I'll get back to the list... for now, here's how the gruel was put together:

Ingredients:
1lb hamburger, 1 onion chopped, 1 green pepper chopped, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can dark red kidney beans with the juice, a pinch of anise, Lowrey's Seasoning salt and a generous helping of black pepper.

Instructions: brown the meat, add in everything else, cook until the vegetables are tender and devour!! It just doesn't get any easier than that. If you really don't like the whole business of chopping the vegetables, you can buy a bag of frozen ones already chopped up and you can sometimes even find them already mixed together.

For those of you without an aversion to starchy vegetables like potatoes, you can drain a can of sliced potatoes and add them to the mix as well. You could even substitute them for the beans if you don't like beans. However, keep in mind, beans are REALLY, REALLY GOOD FOR YOU. They have more fiber than any other food, they provide a healthy dose of protein and they make you feel fuller faster so you eat less. We could all stand to shed a few pounds. I'll get off my bandstand now...

The list was pretty much all about stocking up on supplies so we don't have to leave the farm. There's just something about being here that makes you want to stay here. First up, the bank and the post office. They are pretty close together so it's easy just to go from one to the other. In fact, when people come to visit, the bank is usually where we meet them so we can bring them the rest of the way in. There's only one so it's not like you can miss it. If you do, just ask someone. It's right across from the school...

We needed to stop at Tractor Supply before heading to the grocery store and they just happen to have one in Fairview so off we went down Hwy. 100. We bought 50 lbs of dog food, 50 lbs of sweet feed for the horses and 50 lbs of chicken scratch for Roo and the Rooster Thugs. It's not just me and Wally that I feed... lol! I named another rooster, by the way. He is called "Feather Foot." He has feathers down at the very bottom of his feet just before the feet actually start. At first I thought he had a leaf stuck to that back claw that they have but closer inspection proved it to be feathers. So Feather Foot it is :)

Next on the list was Food Lion in Fairview. I usually go after work but remember I met Wally at Pee Wee's last night instead. Food Lion is just down the road from Tractor Supply. It's about the same distance as the Food Lion in Dickson but the ride is much more pleasant. It's the same route I take to work so I'm in favor of it. Horse and cow pastures, old barns now full of hay, goats and chickens roaming around, fresh eggs for sale $1.75 a dozen, newly posted deer processing signs and chimneys smoking from the fires burning inside to keep the families warm.

All that and we're only going to the grocery store. Food Lion had all kinds of sales but we stuck to our list and we were out of there in about 1/2 an hour. Not bad all things considered. That's why it's nice to have a list. The problem isn't so much finding everything on the list but rather sticking to it. We did good this time. We didn't get anything that wasn't on the list :) Rarely happens!

We had one more place to stop and it is one that just opened a couple weeks ago. It's one of those places where they sell the dented canned and boxed goods or stuff that's being discontinued, you know what I mean? Well, they had some deals we just couldn't pass up! I bought a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour for $1.00 > it's $3.99 in the grocery store. Does flour go bad?

I got some Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares for .50 a bag. C'mon people - that just never happens and you know for a fact that dark chocolate won't go bad with me around. Before we knew it, we had canned olives, Hooters Hot Sauce, Sugar Free candy, some onion soup mix for Darryl, Trappey's Jalapeno Black Eyed Peas and some spices (2 for a $1.00) like chili powder, sage, etc. There were a few other things in the buggy and we got some really good deals. Who cares if a box is crushed so long as the oatmeal packets inside are okay? For $1.99 I got my Quaker Oatmeal with 40% fiber that would normally cost $2.99 in the store. I was feeling all thrifty!!

It's a good thing we took the truck because you better believe it was full by time we made all of our stops. Wally took care of the animal food and I put away the people food. We were only gone a couple of hours but it felt like forever. I seasoned a pork shoulder and browned it in the big red pot. It went into the oven for a couple hours while another pot of pinto beans simmered on the stove top. We had all our running around done and the cabin was smelling delicious! That's how a Saturday morning should be. Well, unless I can make it to the Grinder's Switch Hour... then it's a whole different story.

As it turned out, the weather was nice enough for us to hop on the 4 wheelers and take a ride around the fence line. No cuts in the line and we didn't see any hunters although we did hear gunshots so we knew they were out there somewhere. It doesn't appear they're on our property though - not yet anyway. Wally saw two deer running up the hill but they were too fast for me to see them. We rode for about an hour and then headed for the cabin.

I think I mentioned already that the horses dismantled my Fall Decorations... well, I had to get that mess cleaned up. The mums were out of the pots, the pansies were half in, half out of their pots and the hay was strewn all over the place - I mean it was everywhere. I found the pumpkins and gourds under the hay and one of the pansy containers was completely crushed. No biggie - it was from the Dollar Tree so it wasn't a great loss. Everything was scattered about so I cleaned up as best I could and loaded the flowers on the 4 wheeler. I rearranged the pumpkins, gourds and milk jug (the big brown thing that was in the middle) so I still have a little something to look at when I come down the driveway. What about the 2 straw bales, you ask?Ha! Perfect condition. Not a straw out of place. Horses don't eat straw. Mental note for next year... ha ha ha ha ha

Wally took the straw down to the dog house and spread one bale underneath their blankets. The second bale wouldn't fit so we set it outside the door. Eventually they'll kick out some of what's there and we'll have plenty to replace it. Those dogs are spoiled huh? Well, it is getting colder and the extra insulation will be nice for them since they're getting so old.

I brought the flowers up to the cabin and I still need to re-pot them and set them on the porch or the old cart I found out by the grill. Tonight? Hopefully :) We only have a few more days of 70 degree daytime temperatures and then it gets cold again this weekend.

We ate the pork roast with the pinto beans and some leftover mashed sweet potatoes that I heated up. It was a good dinner, an easy one to fix and very warm and comforting after riding the 4 wheelers and working around the yard on a chilly November afternoon. Can you believe it's November already?

Now that the time was changing, it was starting to get dark around 4:30. We sat in the living room in our comfy clothes, looking out over the hills in the front yard, watching the horses blow steam out their noses and felt pretty much like the luckiest two people in the world, if not the happiest.

I slept like a rock. A little physical labor like that will do me in every time :) We awoke Sunday morning to below freezing temperatures and were sure glad we didn't have to go anywhere. Remember those pancakes I wrote about in the beginning? Well, here's where they came into play.

I gathered all the ingredients, a bowl, a whisk and a few measuring cups and I stood at the kitchen window putting everything together. The whole wheat pancake mix comes out looking like whole wheat bread crumbs that have been very finely ground. It smells so fresh and the texture is light and airy just like white flour but with a little edge to it. Not much though.

So I'm looking down at the bowl as I whisk everything together and then I take a glance down the driveway. There were 4 or 5 deer standing right there. They were maybe 75 yards away but not as far as where my decorations were. Just so you know, I didn't shoot one yet but boy they sure were tempting. As I stood there watching they took off running down towards the holler. I couldn't see any reason for them to bolt like that but Wally explained someone was probably hunting on the property that borders ours and it was likely a gunshot that spooked them.

I poured some batter into the skillet and waited. Now, I have to say that pancakes, like fried chicken, have been a challenge for me. The first time I made them, I put too much oil in the skillet (the directions didn't say exactly how much, they just said oil the skillet so that's what I did) and they were floating and boiling and popping all over the stove top. It was an utter disaster, a goopy, gloppy mess, and I didn't try them again until Jarrett was about 2 years old.

I mastered the Jiffy Blueberry Pancakes with the help of the cast iron griddle that Ernie gave me and we were fine with those for years. I still burned the occasional "first" pancake but from what I hear that's how it's supposed to be. Jarrett eventually took over as head pancake maker in the house and his are so much better than mine. His are fluffy, tender, and with just the right amount of brown on them. When he serves them with a little pat of butter and swirls of syrup why you just think you're in heaven. Ask Beverly, she was the recipient of his very first one and claimed it to be the best she had ever had :)

So back to November, 2010... Wally said for me to watch for the bubbles. Well, I watched for bubbles but didn't see any. I kept watching... no bubbles. I saw holes - but no bubbles. He laughed at me and I laughed too because you sometimes have to be very specific with me when it comes to cooking. Ask Neccy or Ernie or anyone, I'm just funny that way. He said bubbles but what I saw were bubbles that had popped and when that happens (as you well know) you get holes. Well that solved a big mystery for me! I watched for holes, not bubbles and my pancakes came out perfect.

Until the very last one... remember those deer in the driveway? Well, they came back up from the other side of the driveway this time. Probably another hunter over there shooting at them and running them back up to our place. They must have felt safe there because they dropped their heads and started eating. What got me was the last one to show up. He was really big and he had a 6 point rack. I sound like I know what I'm talking about huh? lol That just means he had horns and the horns had 6 points on them. He was a good size deer and apparently the females were his herd. I had a perfect shot, too bad my gun wasn't loaded. As I stood there in awe and watched him through the window, the last whole wheat pancake burned to a fairly crispy crunch! booooooo  it wasn't so bad that it couldn't be eaten but it sure wasn't pretty like those first few.... lol! Darn deer! I should have shot him. I didn't.

The deer ran back and forth like that for about 3 hours that morning. At one point when I was cleaning up, Wally noticed that there were two little ones right in front of the dog house. As we watched, they came closer and closer to the cabin. I couldn't believe they were walking right up like that. It didn't last long though because Wesson caught on to them and started barking. They took off into the woods but not really far. I could still see them and after a minute or two they were back in the yard eating again. Viscious dogs we have, lol! Those two deer would have been perfect for shooting too. Not too big (sometimes tough meat), not too small (illegal to kill them when they're too young), just right... like my pancake would have been were it not for the darn deer. lol!!

My day will come. I think I'll set my sights on Saturday morning. We already found a good place for me to sit and wait for them. We already know other hunters will unknowingly send them my way and we know we want venison in the freezer. That makes for a good plan.

Sunday was nice all day. We fed the horses and then let them go back down to their lower pasture where they have access to water in the creek. When it gets below freezing, the water in the bucket ices over and we have to break it for them to be able to get a drink. When it freezes in the creek, they can break it themselves with their hoofs. Plus, and it's a big plus for me, I don't have to get the gate when I leave in the mornings. When it's cold, it's no fun getting the gate :)

We were having chicken wings for dinner but the big red pot had pinto beans in it so Wally dug out one of our cast iron dutch ovens instead. Well, it hadn't been used in a long, long time so it needed some work. It needed a fire to burn off the old stuff so we could start the re-seasoning process. We took a big stack of beer boxes, Mt. Dew boxes, cereal boxes, anything that would burn hot and quick, and we stuffed them into the wood stove that we use at the outdoor kitchen. Wally lit the fire while I collected sticks and stems and other pieces of wood to keep it going.

The sun was shining, the dogs were napping in the leaves, the roosters were pecking and scratching the ground and we were having a couple beers outside, in the sunshine, while the cooker did its thing...  I had my "joe-veralls" on and a thermal shirt. I had my pant legs tucked into my muck luck boots and I had on the wool socks Mom gave me before I came here... peaceful and relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.

We ended up using the red pot after all. The cast iron was too hot to take out of the cooker because it was cold outside and we didn't want it to crack. The red pot was filled with oil and we dropped the wings in gently. They sizzled and simmered and eventually floated to the top of the pot so we knew they were done. We melted some butter in the Hooters Hot Wing sauce and added the wings. They were heat hot, crunchy, spicy hot from the sauce and juicy on the inside. I've never made them like this before and they turned out really good. The only thing I would do differently is maybe run them through some flour first. They didn't get brown like the ones in the restaurant and even if there is no flavor difference, I still like to see the color.

We saved the oil since it was only used for the wings and I'm hoping it will still be good for the next batch. I know restaurants keep their oil but I don't know how long used oil stays good. Anyone? I remember Marcia always had to clean the fryer and change the french fry oil every Thursday. You could always count on fresh oil for fries on Thursday! I bet she's glad that fryer is out of action even if we do miss those yummy fries she used to make us :)

Well our weekend came to a close while we watched the race and darkness descended on the farm. We headed for bed and cozied up for our night's rest. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Me and the roosters woke up promptly at 3am - darn time change! lol as days go by, I'll get used to it but for now, I'm wide awake at 3am because my body thinks it's 4am. What's a girl to do?

I hope you spent your weekend doing things that make you happy. Not that it's so obvious, but I sure did...


"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn." Henry David Thoreau