The Dam

Lyman Run Dam, the ice fisherman a little dot on the far right.

The weather has been down right frigid and the wind relentless in our little Clara Valley.  Saturday I never left the house and Dick only to do the morning and evening chores.  Sunday it was time to warm up the car and head out for a ride.  I knew where I wanted to go so with warning I said, take a hat and gloves.  Even Quincy was excited to get in the car, he does not like being left which has me believing he has separation anxiety.  If I leave he's ok but let Dick leave even if I'm home with him and he still goes into a "do not move, do nothing" mood.   I can't believe we treat him like a human but we do.  So off we went for a few hours.


We try to share the driving, that way we each have the opportunity to look around for animals and just enjoy the view.  My turn to start out by way of Coudersport, Denton Hill, Galeton and my destination, Lyman Run Dam.  It's beautiful every season of the year but winter is my all time favorite.......NO WORRY, NO RATTLE SNAKES!  I can walk as far as I want and enjoy the view.  In the other seasons my eyes are looking down and slightly ahead on the ground.  Regular snakes are bad enough but a Rattler, good Lord I would probably never be the same if I even lived through the moment.  One summer we took our camper to Lyman Run, a huge and I mean huge Rattler was killed by the bath house.  I had the kids in the car waiting while Dick hooked the camper up and away we went home!  Young and naïve, Dick knew there were rattlers there, I didn't.  We never went back.

 It was so nice Sunday, all white, lake completely frozen, clear blue sky and the sun so bright it let the barren trees cast long blue/gray shadows across the snow.  What a day to enjoy!  On the ice was one lone ice fishermen setting on his little stool waiting for a bite.  We were too far away to see if he was having any luck and I'm glad we were.  After all for this sportsman to be on the ice with air temperature at 5 degrees and probably lower than that I have a feeling he was loving what he was doing.  The beauty, peace and quiet is 50% or more of his enjoyment.  Maybe I'm a dreamer but I would like to think he was setting there reflecting on his young life right up to present day with a big grin on his face.  Looking across the lake and taking in the view made me relax and be so thankful for the day and this beautiful area we live in.  The creation of it all is far beyond imagination.



The spill way.

Dick took the wheel once we left the Dam and took us up through the Susquehannock Forrest that comes out to the junction of Rt. 44 at Cherry Springs.  It is a winding road with some sharp switch backs, beautiful scenery.  We were surprised not to see animal tracks along the road.  Once we got on Rt. 44 north back to Coudersport another surprise.  They have a very nice groomed snowmobile trail along the edge of the road but not one snowmobile track to be seen.  The snow isn't real deep but there is enough to ride the trail.  Maybe because by the time we did get snow the temperatures dipped below zero.  It turned into not such a nice view,  gas and oil drilling, clear cutting the beautiful trees on several hilltops.  Not what I like to see.  I know it creates jobs, I get that but I don't like how much of the forest is being ruined.  I think of pictures from long ago when all the hills were bare from cutting wood for the factories in our area.  Double sword for sure.

Have you ever ate or even heard of mush?  As in cornmeal mush.  We had it a lot on the farm.  There are 2 ways I fix it.  I make a pot of mush which is simply water, cornmeal and a little salt cooked to a thick consistency.  Then either pour it in a greased bread  pan or spread it on a greased cookie sheet.  The loaf goes in the refrigerator overnight and will last about a week in the frig.  Of course that never happens around here because we eat it for breakfast a couple times.  I slice the loaf in 1/4 or 1/3 inch slices, dust flour on it and fry in oil until crispy on each side.  Then drizzle maple syrup over it.  Add a couple fried or scrambled eggs and that is breakfast. To bake I spread it after cooking while it is hot on a greased cookie sheet, bake at 375 until crispy but soft in the middle. Break it up in a bowl with butter, salt, pepper, warm milk over top and of course maple syrup.  You can buy mush already made at the Shop and Save in Coudersport or the little store next to Hess Tire in Andover.  It is as good as homemade.

I like to watch cooking shows (no surprise), read recipes from the internet and go through all my cookbooks from family, friends and the ones I can't resist when I find one for sale.  What made me laugh was the time a chef introduced a fantastic recipe using.......tada...... mush.  Of course he didn't say mush he called it polenta loaf, I say mush!  He showed several ways to serve this wonderful alternative to pasta and potatoes.  He sliced and fried, he sliced and just warmed it or he put a spoonful on the plate hot from the pan.  Then he would add all kinds of sauces, meat or seafood over it.  He even mixed cheese in it or grated it on top.  You would have thought it was the best thing since air conditioning.  So all these years I have been eating and fixing "5 star" food and didn't even know it.


What is nice lightly dusting the mush with flour stops it from holding the
grease.  Place paper towels on a rack to get what ever oil is left on it.
Remember a rack keeps fried food crispy,  draining on a solid surface
allows the hot food to sweat on the bottom.
 

Tuesday breakfast, fried mush drizzled with maple syrup,
scrambled eggs with chipotle chile sauce canned last August and
toasted leek biscuits with hot pepper jelly.  That jelly is the frosting
on quite a lot of things around here.  My friend, Valarie gave me
the recipe a couple years ago.  We make it every fall.  Please don't
think we eat like this every morning, it was miserable weather this
morning and just seemed fitting to have a hardy breakfast.
 

The blog I wrote about "every once in a while",  I have been proven wrong!  Yesterday the hubs decided to make his famous dry rub ribs.  Wow, that is 2 meals in 3 days he has fixed.  Makes me wonder.....what's up!?!  They are delicious so no complaining.

I pulled some leek butter from the freezer we made last April.
It worked great for the biscuits instead of lard and of
course leek butter and hot pepper jelly on top.