A Traditional Farm Life
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends! How about those strong winds this week? Hope you didn’t blow away! At our house, the
children enjoyed playing outside in the warm temperatures despite the howling
winds Thursday.
Earlier this week--before all the wind--the boys painted
their forecart. The body is bright red,
the tongue shiny black, and the two seats are their original yellow.
Our boys have enjoyed trying out this new “toy” this week, testing
its ability to pull trailers around the yard, and moving bales with the bale
mover.
They did some blading in the horse lot with the utility
blade attached. This task fills up both
seats on the forecart as one handles the lines driving the team while the other
runs the blade. It looks to me like a
teamwork building exercise, and so far the results have been in line with their
expectations.
It was so much fun they invited their Grandpa and Grandma
over Wednesday night for supper and rides.
This was a great opportunity for my parents to see the fruit of all that
labor this winter in my Dad’s shop.
My folks watched as the boys harnessed Tom and Jerry, led
them over to the forecart, and hitched them up.
Then it was time for a ride.
It’s probably safe to say my Dad’s last experience with
draft horses was some sixty years ago.
He mentioned how small these draft horses are in comparison to his
memory of being a little boy looking up at those huge draft horses. (Hafflingers are smaller than other draft
breeds, so it is indeed possible they are smaller than Bob and Patsy were those
many years ago on the farm, even with the memories from childhood taken into
account.)
Thankfully the ride went well for all involved. It was fun to see my Dad running the lever
for the blade while they rode around the horse lot. My Dad has used a blade countless times on
the back of a tractor in his years, so running a blade behind horses must have
been a unique blend of the familiar with the novel.
It was a poignant moment for me, watching two generations
learning from each other, yet not in the way you would expect. This time it wasn’t the Grandpa giving some
young whipper-snappers a demonstration on the way farming used to be, it was
the other way around!
My Mom bravely got in on the fun, too, and took a ride. It’s probably fair to say that some special memories
were made on a beautiful, unusually warm evening for Kansas in February.
In honor of this special evening with my parents, I reached
back in my own memory for a favorite recipe from my childhood. I always looked forward to Mom’s Caramel
Rolls, a quick and easy sweet treat she could whip together with frozen dinner
rolls when time was short--without all the fuss of kneading a batch of bread
dough.
These rolls are a great accompaniment with soup on a
winter’s evening, but just as yummy with a cup of coffee at break time. The same syrup can be used with cinnamon
rolls for a simple sticky bun.
Surprise your family soon with this old-fashioned
treat. You don’t have to be an expert
baker to pull this one off--simply follow the rising and baking directions on
the package. Before you know it, you’ll
be making your own memories at meal time!
Mom’s Caramel Rolls
28 frozen dinner rolls
(such as Rhodes brand)
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
1. Microwave brown
sugar, butter and water 2-1/2 minutes to make syrup. (Or bring it a boil and cook until bubbly on
the stove.)
2. Spray cookie sheet
(jelly roll size) with non-stick spray and pour in syrup, spreading it evenly.
3. Place 28 rolls
evenly in pan. Follow “speed bake” or
other baking instructions on roll package.*
Turn upside down on waxed paper immediately after removing from the
oven. Cool a bit, then dig in!
Yield: 28 rolls.
*Mom notes that the rolls can be out of freezer 30 minutes
before preparing.
Copyright © 2016 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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