happy birthday, farmer boy
Last night, when I could hardly climb into bed with all my sore muscles, I wondered if Laura wore herself out on the end of a crosscut saw when she and Almanzo had just moved to Mansfield and were working so hard on Rocky Ridge Farm?

Since backtrailing east a while back, I have been trying to take my mind off of things by throwing myself into all the work that needing doing around a place sorely neglected for decades. When the sun is shining, no matter how cold it is, I I go outside after lunch (for the time being, I do "Little House" research in the morning). So I've raked leaves, chopped underbrush, pulled ivy, dug trenches, hauled rocks, pulled weeds, and cut down trees. People stop by and tell me that the place sure looks better than it ever has! It's a sad day when bare dirt and nothingness looks better than what was there.

I tell people that I live in Hooterville, but I need to come up with a suitably derogatory "Little House" reference -- maybe "Eastville"? Laura didn't like Westville, but if I had moved there, at least it would be a "Little House" site... After all, fictional Hooterville was supposed to have been located in Missouri, and I stayed in love with Missouri until I lost my heart in South Dakota.

Anyway, I'd be blogging if I wasn't so worn out. I blog in my head but I'm too tired at night to visit the computer. I'll try to do better.

I had planned to make dinnertime stacked pancakes to celebrate Almanzo's birthday, but I think I'll make Neta's swiss steak instead. The recipe is in the LIW Country Cookbook, but I heard it from Neta herself. The story is that Almanzo used to always compliment Neta on her swiss steak and it made Laura a little mad the way he went on and on about it, and she told him so. So the next time Neta made swiss steak, Almanzo told her that "Bessie says I brag on your cooking too much" so he wouldn't say anything about it this time, but she was to know that he enjoyed it just the same. By the way, Neta told me that she didn't use garlic, although garlic is included in the cookbook recipe.

Neta's swiss steak is what I grew up knowing as country fried steak. You can buy cubed steak or pound your own round steak; you'll need 2-4 pieces, depending on the size of your cast iron skillet.

Salt and pepper the meat, then pound as much flour into it as it can take. Set the meat aside for thirty minutes, then dredge it in flour again before cooking. Brown on both sides in hot oil, then remove to a plate to pour off any excess oil. Add a can of cream of mushroom soup to the pan, and stir in a can of water and a bit of sliced onion. Turn the heat to low and add the pieces of meat. Simmer for an hour or more, or until quite tender, turning the meat once during simmering. Serve with rice or potatoes. Fried apples and onions only adds to the goodness.

In a recent newsletter, the Almanzo Wilder Association (the Wilder ::::shudder:::: Homestead) asked for people to write and tell them how they would be celebrating Almanzo's birthday this year. I guess they are going to publish the best of the contributed suggestions at a later date. Rosebunting said she was going to shove some popcorn in some milk. I said I was going to cuss like a sailor. We did not write in with those suggestions.

How be you celebrating Almanzo's birthday?
- posted by pioneergirl at 8:25 AM