We certainly can’t complain about the weather in the last few days even if we did get a bit of snow. A lot of that has melted but still enough to let us know that winter has arrived. It was good to see the farm equipment out in the fields again and hopefully, they will get done before we have any more snow or wet weather.
On Thursday we attended the Lunchbox series at the 4-H building. This time it was about small-town newspapers. Kathy Miller Brandt who is from the area spoke about the stories she has written for the Sentinel (Westbrook/Walnut Grove paper). Those of us that work for a newspaper realize how we need to keep our ears and eyes open for a story. It isn’t easy to come up with an article every week and make the deadline in time. I recall when I was in 4-H, a long time ago, Lew Hudson, editor of the Globe spoke to us at an officers’ meeting how important it was to let the paper know of events, human interest stories, etc. He continued, his reporters couldn’t be everywhere and it was up to each of us to let them know what may be of interest to the readers. That bit of information is also pertinent today. Not to say we will print everything someone may think is important but it often leads to other stories. For instance, Kathy told of walking through a cemetery and seeing an interesting tombstone and did research on it for an article. Or one time she watched a building being torn down and looked for the history of it. My sisters were at the museum just a week ago and looked up some family obituaries from the newspaper collection there. There is a tombstone at Lake Sarah Baptist cemetery where a Setterberg was laid to rest. We didn’t know how or if he was related. The small clipping in the Setterberg envelope at the museum as a thank you for the memorials received by my grandfather Alexander for remembering his brother Carl at the time of his passing. At least we know he was a relative and had died from the flu epidemic and not from battle, nothing else or why he was in the United States army as he was from Sweden.
There was a time when almost every small town had a newspaper such as the Lake Wilson Pilot, Iona Journal or the Currie Gazette. Slayton had two papers for a while. Many small-town papers have now gone away but those that remain are important to the area for announcing events and keeping us informed about the local area. If you have a story idea, let us know whether it is for the week or sometime down the road. As Mr. Hudson said, we can’t be everywhere and I know for a fact that many enjoy reading and holding the paper in their hand and often go back for a reference.
Occasionally a recipe calls for putting foil around the edge of a pie to prevent it from browning too soon such as in the recipe for the squash pie. I use a foil pie pan upside down with the center cut out leaving just the rim of the pan and it works just fine. And it can be reused many times. Very handy to have along with your pie pans.
Chicken Chowder
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks, celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced 1/2 cup half-and-half
2 cups frozen corn
2 cans condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until browned.
Combine chicken, onions, celery, carrots, corn, soup, broth and dill weed in slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours or until vegetables are tender. Turn off heat; stir in half-and-half. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until heated through. Makes 8 servings.
Golden Squash Pie
4 eggs
4 cups mashed cooked butternut squash
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 unbaked pastry shells
Ground nutmeg, optional
Combine eggs, squash, buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients; add to the squash mixture and mix until smooth. Pour into pastry shells. Cover edges loosely with foil.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 25 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with nutmeg if desired. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 pies (6 to 8 servings each).
Quick Coffee Cake
Dough:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash of salt
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
(Topping – Mix until crumbly and add nuts.)
Cream butter, sugar, add beaten eggs. Add dry ingredients (sifted) alternately with milk. Pour 1/2 of the batter in pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the topping. Pour in the rest of batter and sprinkle on the remaining topping. Bake at 350º for 40 minutes.
