A Traditional Farm Life
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends! Question: How long does it take for the Hamilton’s to
move into their house? Answer: More than a year!
We’ve taken another holiday break from restaurant this week,
but it has undoubtedly been worth it.
After more than a year of living here in our house in Enterprise, we’re almost
fully moved in.
With the pressure of restaurant duties taking hold soon
after moving last October, we’ve spent a year “surviving” with remodeling
projects and household maintenance “on hold.”
This week has been an encouraging combination of progress both inside
and out here on the farm.
The outside progress took shape first. We obtained a lightly-used double carport,
and with the help of friends Larry Karl and Dean Hansen, were able to safely
move it to our property. Local farmers
Roger and son Chris Kelley dumped almost 2 truckloads of limestone screenings
and packed and leveled the pad with their Skid Steer.
Thanks to the generosity of these kind local gentlemen, our
horse-drawn wagons and Surrey now have shelter from the Kansas elements.
The new “home” for the wagons provided the impetus for even
more welcome changes around the yard. After
the “simple” matter of moving a corral fence to allow easier access to a
lean-to portion of our shed, loose odds and ends around the yard found shelter
as well.
Not as easily visible from driving by our yard are the
changes that have been transforming the inside of our house. Even so, one big home improvement—which also
increases our own visibility--is clearly seen by all going by.
The west window in our kitchen was a non-insulated mobile
home cast-off covered with thick, cloudy plastic when we moved in. The plastic had begun to tear in our stiff
Kansas wind, so our son removed it this past Wednesday with the intention of
replacing it. We couldn’t believe the
amount of light that now flowed into the kitchen!
Upon closer inspection, my husband found the window was not
complete. No wonder the previous owners
put up the plastic! As he looked the
situation over, a tug on the window caused the glass to break. Now we had a really
incomplete window.
Did I mention it was raining?
No matter, my quick-thinking husband had a plan. About 10 years ago, Michael obtained three
very nice single crank-out double-pane windows from a customer who was
remodeling. Four moves and a couple thousand
miles later, they amazingly arrived in Enterprise fully intact. The plan had always been to put them in the
kitchen here, but the fuzzy future now became the crystal clear present. Thus, through a flurry of activity on a rainy
December morning, our kitchen is now bathed in light.
In addition, as of this week, our front room is also bathed
in the soft glow of an heirloom light fixture.
Part of making one’s house a home is adding those special touches that
not only increase one’s comfort, but also bring a smile to the face.
This special fixture was rescued many years ago from the
house my husband’s father grew up in before its demolition. It was then placed in the Hamilton dining
room on the farm until Michael’s mother moved to Wichita after his father’s
passing many years ago. Just like our
“new” kitchen windows, this heirloom light fixture has moved with us everywhere
we’ve lived for many years now.
A sentimental touch accompanying the light fixture is a wall
clock from the old Hamilton farmhouse.
Michael also had the time this week to install the bookshelves in the front
room and unbox his extensive theological library. It’s so wonderful to see those “friends”
standing straight and tall again in their places.
Regarding the light fixture in the living room and other
changes around the farm, our 12-year-old son summed up the entire family’s
feelings: “This place is really starting to feel like home.”
One of the simplest comfort foods easily prepared at home is
a baked potato. Even so, the results can
be less than a “moving experience.”
My most recent issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine
published a recipe that delivered as promised:
A dry and fluffy interior with a crisp, seasoned skin.
A word of caution learned from experience this week: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, and follow
the recipe exactly—it took America’s Test Kitchen’s Lan Lam nearly 200 pounds
of potatoes to perfect it.
Cook’s
Illustrated’s
Perfect Baked
Potato
(Jan./Feb. 2016, pp.
14-15.)
Salt and pepper
4 russet potatoes (7
to 9 oz.), unpeeled
1 tablespoon
vegetable oil
1.Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450
degrees. Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 1/2 cup water in large bowl. Place potatoes in bowl and toss so exteriors
of potatoes are evenly moistened.
Transfer potatoes to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and bake until
center of largest potato registers 205 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 hour. [Note
from Shasta: Use a digital thermometer
for best results, if possible.]
2.Remove potatoes from oven and brush tops and sides with
oil. Return potatoes to oven and
continue to bake for 10 minutes.
3.Remove potatoes from oven, and using a paring knife, make
2 slits, forming X, in each potato.
Using clean dish towel, hold ends and squeeze slightly to push flesh up
and out. Season with salt and
pepper. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 perfect baked potatoes.
Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in
Enterprise, Kansas. She and her husband
own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled
children. You can reach The Buggy Stop
by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com
.
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