Carrot casserole

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May 22, 2024

OK, I need someone to ‘stretch’ the weekends! Just not long enough to get everything completed. Today I made my first fresh pasta salad for the season. I think I made enough for 20 people, which is the norm. I also can say that my sourdough bread seems to be taking off nicely, but it’s taken a while to get there.

I cannot wait to start sharing the starter and loaves, it seems like such an easy way to warm the hearts of those we care about the most.

This weekend I found someone in Nixa with ostrich ferns for sale so Sunday afternoon we took off to purchase beautiful ferns. Ervin, my husband, says he will have the spot ready for them when I get home from work. I also purchased a few bulbs of caladiums; they will be going in a pot about midweek. I’ve never had a great deal of luck raising them, so this will be interesting.

I’m also preparing an arrangement for my mother’s grave which is made of silks, and something fresh and bright for my dad to enjoy. Ervin and I are headed back to Northeast Missouri for Memorial weekend. Phillip will hold the fort down on the home front. We purchased a new traveling Coleman grill so I’m hoping to fix some wonderful steaks this weekend. Then; there’s the hamburgers with Vidalia onions. Dad will probably read this column before I get there, so I best not tell everything I’m up to.

The carrot casserole is simply something ‘different’. It can be pulled together pretty easily, perhaps a great deal done the night before, which is what I always like. This would be good to take to a potluck or carry-in at church. Now, if only the kitchen dishes were all done. Heck, they will be there tomorrow! OK, reach out to someone this week with a smile and a kind word. It’s amazing how wonderful it feels to make someone else’s day.

OK gang, it’s time to set the recipe and chat with you again next week. Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Cheese Scalloped Carrots

12 medium carrots, peeled and sliced ¼ – ½ inch thick

¼ cup butter

1 small onion, minced

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon dry mustard

2 cups milk

1/8 teaspoon black pepper or white

¼ teaspoon celery salt

½ pound sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled

3 cups buttered bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pre-cook carrots for 15-20 minutes, drain well. Place butter and minced onion in a medium saucepan and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the flour, salt, mustard and milk. Cook, stirring mixture until nice and smooth; add the celery salt and pepper. In a 2-quart casserole, place a layer of carrots, layer of cheese. Repeat until both are used, ending with carrots on top. Pour on the sauce, top with the crumbs. Bake uncovered 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 8 persons

I’m sure some of you would like a different crumb topping, get creative!

Cowboy Code Of Conduct

By

Frank Buchman

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May 22, 2024

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Today, the West continues to celebrate the “cowboy spirit” of adventure and entrepreneurial pursuits.

Some of the politest and most modest individuals have made their living horseback or in the livestock business.

Their principled behavior became codes of conduct that many of America’s cowboy heroes of the past promoted and illustrated for viewers back in the early days of Western movies.

Fourth in a four-part series, the inspirational philosophies of movie cowboys, unknown to many today, are being shared.

The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the Old West with his Native American friend Tonto.

First appearing in a radio series in 1933, the Lone Ranger show proved to be a hit. It spawned a series of books, an equally popular television show that ran from 1949 to 1956, comic books, and several films.

Clayton Moore portrayed the Lone Ranger who rode his white horse named Silver. Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk, was cast in the role of Tonto riding his spotted horse named Scout.

“Return now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the West with the speed of light and a hearty Hi-Yo, Silver.”

The Lone Ranger Creed

1. I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one. 2. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world. 3. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself. 4. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right. 5. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has. 6. That “this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people” shall live always. 7. That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number. 8. That sooner or later … somewhere … somehow … we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken. 9. That all things change, but the truth, and the truth alone, lives on forever. 10. I believe in my Creator, my country, my fellow man.

Reminded of John 14:6: “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

XVIII–21–5-120-2024

The Toad Abode

By

Steve Gilliland

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May 22, 2024

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There’s just something about a toad that “conjures” up visions of a witch in a huge black hat with a big hairy wart on her nose mumbling spells as she stirs a bubbling pot full of potion. Toads just look creepy, and then of course there is that propensity they possess to pee on anyone picking them up. Despite having a face only a mother could love, toads are extremely important to our planet. It is reported that a toad can eat ten thousand insects in one summer and are a big part of natures pest patrol (the person who did the counting for that study really needs a life!)

Toads begin their lives as tiny swimming tadpoles and eventually crawl onto land and begin breathing air, yet another of God’s creative mysteries. Toads, like other amphibians actually absorb air through their skin as well as getting it from their lungs with occasional breaths. They also absorb water though their skin rather than drinking it through their mouths.

If you have a dog, I’m quite sure you already know that toads have a mild toxin on their skin as protection. After licking or grabbing a toad with their mouth, a dog will begin frothing-at-the-mouth uncontrollably for a few minutes. It’s very temporary but quite funny at the time. One of our two little dogs doesn’t have the sense God gave a goose, and despite this being nearly a daily occurrence, she still cruises the flower beds looking for toads, after which she emerges, slobbering and frothing like some kind of crazed beast.

Because of toxins in their environment, toad populations are said to be declining nearly to the point of crisis, and I do believe we see fewer now than we used to. Raccoons, skunks and snakes are natural predators of toads. Besides protection from these predators, toads also need cool dark places to get away from the bright sun and weather.

Joyce has several large flower gardens and scattered throughout each garden she has created what she calls “toad abodes.” She takes broken clay or ornamental flower pots and turns them into cool, dark, secret hideaways for the resident toads. She finds an already shady spot beneath a big perennial plant, then simply lays the broken pot on its side to form a little round-top enclosure into which the toads can easily crawl and hide themselves away from predators, pets and the heat of the day. One such hideaway is even made from the bleached white pelvic bone of a cow, drug home from the woods by our grandson. Laid beneath a big plant with long slender leaves that hang down over it, the arched shape makes a perfect secret hideout for a toad or two. Any object that has room for a toad to crawl inside will work, and besides protecting the toads, they look very decorative and rustic in the flower bed too.

So the next time you buy your pet a new toy or treat, think about your insect removal friends too. Find a broken clay pot or bowl and place it in a new spot in the garden for yet another toad abode. And next year, when you ask yourself what in the world that broken pot is doing in your flower bed and pick it up to remove it, don’t be surprised to see a pair of dark eyes looking back at you from beneath it. If you pick up that toad, hold it out away from you or you’ll probably get your shoes wet, and if you suddenly find your dog frothing and foaming at the mouth, don’t shoot it, it just licked a toad!… Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Mystic Dan Wins The 150th Kentucky Derby By Less Than A Nose

By

Frank Buchman

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May 22, 2024

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The photo to determine the winner of the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky, took a few minutes to post but to those involved it might as well have been hours.

Mystik Dan, with a smart ride up the rail, had pulled to about a three-length lead with about a sixteenth of a mile to go.

But Sierra Leone was coming fast on the outside and Forever Young was in between horses with a lot of finish.

The lead kept getting smaller and smaller until it seemed to evaporate. Watching it live, the eye couldn’t pick a winner. But the replay looked as if Mystic Dan had held on. Maybe.

“It took about two minutes,” said winning jockey Brian Hernandez. “And then finally when they said, ‘Yeah, you’ve just won the Kentucky Derby,’ I was like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s a long two minutes.’ Yes, that was the longest two minutes in sports, from the fastest two minutes to the longest, by far.”

The official margin of victory was a nose and another nose separated Sierra Leone and Forever Young.

But it was really just one nose, and a small one at that, separating all three horses.

It was the closest finish since 1996 when Grindstone beat Cavonnier by a nose and the closest three-way finish since 1947 when Jet Pilot won by a head.

Most of the 156,170 in attendance knew they saw an ending for the ages.

“Between the post-position draw and the job that Brian did gave us a huge opportunity because we saved ground, saved ground, saved ground,” said winning trainer Kenny McPeek. “And when you look at that photo finish, I think we needed all of it to hold off the second and third place horses.”

The win completed a dream couple days for both Hernandez and McPeek. The pair won the Kentucky Oaks, the female equivalent of the Derby, with Thorpedo Anna. It was only the fourth time the same trainer had won both races. This was the first Derby win for both McPeek and Hernandez.

“For three weeks, I’ve felt like we were going to win both races,” McPeek said. “I can’t tell you why. Both horses have been easy to deal with, the team has done such a great job every day. There’s been no drama. I just believe in mojo, in positive energy, and we’ve had a lot of it.”

Mystik Dan’s path to the Derby went through Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he was fifth in the Smarty Jones, won the Southwest Stakes over a muddy track, and then finished third in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn.

The Preakness should be a rematch between Mystik Dan and Arkansas Derby winner Muth, who was ineligible for the Derby because he is trained by Bob Baffert, who is facing legal matters.

It was the second straight year that trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole had the favorite but came up short for very different reasons. Last year they had the favorite in Forte but he was scratched by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on race day

This time, their horse Fierceness didn’t break sharply but was hustled to the lead by jockey John Velazquez. He backed off a little down the backstretch but folded in the stretch of the 1 ¼-mile race.

The rap on Fierceness is that he only runs well every other race, and he fit that pattern in the Derby.

“Johnny Velazquez said he hopped a little at the start,” Pletcher said. “Then he got wound up in all the company around him trying to make the lead. He couldn’t shake loose like he did in Florida. Just one of those races.”

The race was a celebration for Japanese racing with Forever Young finishing third and T O Password getting fifth. Forever Young was the third betting choice despite the fact that horses that had their last race in the Middle East were 0 for 19. Now that handicapping angle may go in the trash can.

Jockey Kazushi Kimura is hoping that T O Password sticks around.

“This was his third time running and he was in a new country,” Kimura said. “He probably wasn’t 100 percent mature, but he finished up strong. I hope the horse can stay for the Preakness.”

The only California horse in the race, Stronghold, was in a good stalking position through the first mile but got swallowed up by closers and finished seventh.

“I had a beautiful race all the way around,” said jockey Antonio Fresu. “I was very relaxed all the way and then in the stretch when I tried to make a move, he went for it a little bit, he got discouraged and didn’t show up in the last part.”

The final order of finish was Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone, Forever Young, Catching Freedom, T O Password, Resilience, Stronghold, Honor Marie, Endlessly, Dornoch, Track Phantom, West Saratoga, Domestic Product, Epic Ride, Fierceness, Society Man, Just Steel, Grand Mo The First, Catalytic, and Just a Touch.

Mystic Dan paid $39.22 to win, $16.32 to place, and $10 to show. He had won $641,360 entering the Kentucky Derby.

The winner’s share of the record $5 million purse was $3.1 million, with the jockey and trainer typically earning 10 percent each.

By covering 1.25 miles in 2 minutes, 3.3 seconds, Mystik Dan won for the third time in seven outings.

Being homebred, there isn’t a reportable cost for Mystic Dan. However, the other top racers were costly: Sierra Leone: $2.3 million; Forever Young, $720,603; and Catching Freedom: $575,000.

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CUTLINE

Mystik Dan wins the Kentucky Derby over Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a photo finish at Churchill Downs.