Christmas has come and gone and our adult children have returned to their homes. I have mixed feelings as they leave. I am happy for them having their own lives, yet sad to see them go; tired from the hubbub, yet anxious to get our life back to normal.
It is hard for me to focus after they leave. For whatever reason, it takes self-discipline to get back to normal, which reminds me of a conversation with one of our kids over the holidays.
What is a normal farm routine? How structured is the life of a farmer, man or woman? Uncontrollable variables such as the weather change one’s plans like a feather in the wind. Unpredictable demands of a high-throughput elevator add another dimension. Unexpected repairs throw a monkey wrench into a planned day.
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Today, I have been outside helping Don unhook the stuck cable on the grain auger that he was fixing – such is the life of farm women, especially those who are not working full time off the farm. We never know when we will be called on to fetch something, hold a ladder or run here or there for something.
In the past, Don has referred to me as a “part-time job junkie.” I explain this by saying that being involved with the farm and family makes it difficult to work full time. Now that the family is grown, we are working at making this possible.
Following the holiday season, we face the prospect of at least three cold months ahead. During this season the days seem darker, with less sunshine available, and some people are prone to the blues and depression.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of winter depression that affects many people every winter between September and April, in particular, during December, January and February.
For more information on SAD check out www.mentalhealth.com.
We have had enough of the fog and freezing rain here. Thank goodness for the beautiful, warm sunshine we are having today. I hope the weather holds and the roads are clear as this week unfolds, since many farmers will be attending Crop Production Week in Saskatoon from Jan. 9-14.
This is a well-attended event where farmers overflow the rooms as they gather the latest information related to farming. For more details, check out www.producer.com and type “crop week” in the go box.
Another program to keep in mind when you are looking for a speaker for your spring ratepayers meeting is the Agriculture Institute of management in Saskatchewan consultant workshop program. Marketing clubs, farm organizations, rural municipalities, agribusinesses – any group of 10 or more persons with an agriculture focus can participate in this program.
Each session requires a completed application form from the eligible group, accompanied by a $150 registration fee. AIMS will review the application and notify the group’s contact person by mail once a workshop is approved.
Application forms and more information are available on-line at www.sccd.sk.ca/aims or at AIMS, Box 21038, 102-15 Innovation Blvd., Saskatoon, Sask., S7H 5N9, or phone 306-975-8928 or fax 306-975-8929 or e-mail magillb@sccd.sk.ca.
Another event to note is the Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program to be held in the agriculture building on the University of Saskatchewan campus Jan. 22-28.
AIMS partners with the U of S to deliver this program. Ten sponsorships of $1,000 are available for Saskatchewan producers to attend this unique, executive style agribusiness program for progressive farmers, agribusiness employees, manager, entrepreneurs and service providers.
This week-long program will provide basic strategic management and business planning skills needed to help make an ag enterprise a success. For more information, contact Tom Allen, Saskatoon, 306-966-4012.
Christmas gifts for next year?
This year for a Christmas gift for my mother, we compiled more than 200 family recipes in a book called Gramma MacDonald’s Cookbook, 2005. My mother and father have four children, and 14 grandchildren all of them 17 years old and older. So this seemed like the right year to have recipe contributions from the entire family (partners included) to put into a cookbook, along with recipes of what we remember Gramma cooking for us over the years.
The hardest part was trying to gather these recipes without my intuitive mother finding out. And we pulled it off. E-mail is a wonderful tool and many recipes were shared that way. Others were sent by fax, some by phone and some by the traditional Canada Post. Our daughter, Jaime, typed the recipes and we slipped copies into plastic sleeves in 19 three-ring binders so each adult child and grandchild would have his or her own cookbook.
I think the grandchildren may have been the most enthusiastic about this, since they now have a copy of their favourite recipes.
We put them in plastic sleeves to keep the recipes clean and allow us to make notes, like use a big bowl, or add additional recipes. And I have a suggestion. Print one edition as a gift to Grandma and then have her make editing comments, because if your mother is like mine, she doesn’t always follow the recipe. Then print off the cookbooks for others.
A gift like this needs to be started months in advance, so start collecting.
This week my sister-in-law, Sandra, called to offer this pickled egg recipe to be added to the cookbook, so I tried it. Don really likes pickled eggs.
Pickled eggs
2 cups white vinegar 500 mL
1/2 cup water 125 mL
1 cup sugar 250 mL
1 tablespoon salt 15 mL
1 tablespoon celery seed 15 mL
1 tablespoon mustard seed 15 mL
12 shelled, hard-cooked eggs
2 onions, sliced
Simmer vinegar and spices together for 10 minutes and cool. Pour over eggs and sliced onions. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand for at least two days before using.
Other personal gifts
Another treasured and powerful gift was the history scrapbook that our niece, Becky, compiled for my dad. It was full of pictures, captions and articles about my father’s involvement in the 67th Battalion in the Second World War. It is incredible.
Another gift idea that really pleased my father on Father’s Day was a portfolio of resumes and business cards from each of his grandchildren.
Each of these youngsters was required to do a resume for a class, a job application, or a business, so it was relatively easy to compile these into a portfolio for Dad.
And the resume that caught Dad’s eye was one of his own personal history in the form of a resume. It started with him as a young boy and recorded his work experience as a 14 year old. He left school early, worked off the farm, joined the army, and worked odd jobs before he became a farmer.
In those days, a resume was unheard of, but recently he wrote up some memoirs of those unspoken about days, which we included. They are precious to us.
Taco ingredients
Dear TEAM: I love to make tacos for
supper, but tonight I read the taco seasoning package ingredients and I can’t even pronounce half of them. It doesn’t sound very healthy and it’s not cheap. I’m sure there is a better way. Do you have a recipe for homemade taco seasoning? – M.S., Weyburn, Sask.
Dear M.S.: The following recipe takes only a few minutes to make and are all ingredients you can recognize and probably have on hand.
Taco seasoning mix
2 teaspoons dried minced onion 10 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
1 teaspoon chili powder 5 mL
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 2 mL
1/4 teaspoon oregano 1 mL
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 2 mL
Combine seasoning ingredients in a small bowl or container and set aside. Serves four.
Tacos
1 pound ground beef 500 g
1/4-1/2 cup water 60-125 mL
lettuce, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
onion, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
soft or hard taco shells
hot sauce, optional
Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add water and dry seasoning mixture. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. If mixture gets too thick before cooking is complete, add a small amount of water to thin. Serve on soft or hard taco shells topped with your favourite vegetables and sauce.
Source: Amanda Formaro, FamilyCorner.com.
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or or contact them at team@producer.com.
