Before springs craziness set in, I escaped the cold and snow to sunny Arizona for a little R&R. The 80° weather that greeted me was a warm welcome, as well as the “out door” grilling. We are year around grillers at the ranch, but this winters sub zero temperatures kept us in the kitchen. My sister Susan owns a restaurant called, “The Gilbert House”. It is just a few blocks from her home, which is very handy for visitors. Open for breakfast and lunch 7 days a week, with delicious home-style meals prepared whenever one was hungry, including a fantastic Wild Idea Buffalo Burger. No cleanup required and they also provided an occasional poolside delivery. Pretty nice – huh! All this came with one small pay back, to be the guest chef for their once a month “evening date night”. After 5 days of lounging in the sun and reading, I was ready for a little hard work. But, cooking with my sisters is so much fun, it takes the hard out of work. We offered a delicious selection of entree’s; I prepared Walleye Cakes with Polenta Fritters and Grilled Wild Idea Buffalo Hanger Steak with Green Garlic Butter & Celery Root Puree (this months recipe). My sister created a lovely pasta dish, a fantastic salad, plus a selection of homemade pie’s. If you happened to eat at the Gilbert House that night, you were treated to some of the best food in the valley. So thank you sister Susan – for everything – I had a fabulous time. I returned home via Casper Wyoming, as we were having another snow storm and the plane couldn’t land due to the severe snow and wind. A small inconvenience in a pretty good life. It snowed off and on for a few days. By weeks end the snow was gone and our first baby buffalo calf was born! The momma buffalo allowed me to get pretty close for this photo. What a treat! The storm clouds rolled in on Sunday and even with our significant snow fall, the prairie is always in need of “April Showers”. This shower, like so many thunderheads – are more show than go, which worked out well, as I was hosting a baby shower at the ranch for daughter Jilian. The rain cleared away as the baby shower began, complete with double rainbows, needed gifts, and good friends who offered sage advice, humor, and lots of laughs. There were “farm themed” baby decorations with chicks, ducks and lambs. Of course we had delicious food, including; Buffalo Carpaccio, Blue Cheese Shortbread, Citrus Salad, Pasta Salad, Orange Chicken, and Lemon Curd Pavlova’s. This will be the first Grandchild for both Jilian and Colton’s families. Parents and Grandparents are all very excited. I’m looking forward to all of it’s gifts ; the smell of its hair, the grip of its hand, and the many, many lessons it will teach me. We are going to have so much fun! After we had worn out the expecting mother, a switch to more comfortable clothes was necessary. Nice basketball belly Jilian, you are just adorable! Not only adorable, but you and Colton will be terrific parents! Lucky baby Jones, lucky you. Spring is such a magical time of year, but also very hectic, with so much to do, in so little time. So, don’t forget to stop and appreciate the little things in life! I know we will be doing plenty of that in the months to come. Happy spring everyone! Grilled Hanger Steaks with Green Garlic Butter Ingredients: 1 – 1 lb. Hanger Steak …
Baby Buffalo & Blizzards
Last week we were lucky enough to get a blizzard. It’s very dry here and at this point we aren’t too particular in how moisture comes. We were also expecting to see our first calf at anytime and although we received 20″ of snow we weren’t too concerned. Bison evolved in this country and are well adapted to weather extremes. There is a theory that bison can hold off giving birth until after a storm has passed. We’re unsure if this is fact, but the morning after last week’s blizzard, we got our first glimpse of this year’s first baby. Mother and baby are doing well. Dan brings hay to supplement the lack of grass. I tag along to get photos of the herd and a glimpse of the new babies. The new mom’s remove themselves from the main herd and set up what we call “the maternity ward”, complete with new and expecting mothers. Within a few days we had 5 baby calves, and another blizzard on the way. The snow came heavy last night without wind, frosting the landscape all the way to the horizon. I grabbed my camera gear this morning and headed out with Dan for the morning hay feeding. The weight of the snow quiets the ranch to where all you can hear is your heart beat and the soft grunts of the buffalo. They seem undisturbed in their warm down, wooly coats. While Dan rolls out 2 tons of hay, I go off in search of the maternity ward to insure that all is ok. I find them content in a shallow wooded draw. Babies close to their mothers, until the little ones take off, leaping occasionally on their new wobbly legs! The mothers stay close behind, nudging them further into the draw and out of my view. A great morning!