HILLBILLIES RULE

I once was a flatlander( the folks who don't have the mountains to look at)...but now I am a Hillbilly(the folks who live in, look at, love and lament for the mountains. It's a special breed of people because you HAVE to learn how to take care of yourself and survive a lot of conditions. I'm convinced that if the world went to "hell in a hand-basket" it would be the Hillbillies that survived. First of all, we(Hillbillies) all know how to make a FIRE... the number one means of survival.... warmth, cooking and light. Now I don't mean one of those pretty fireplaces in the den that you build when you want aesthetics or at holidays or when the power goes out.....I mean a gooood Buck Stove fire that's a utility fire...that must be stroked and stoked...that must be fed...that you must never let go out or you'll loose your entire sense of well-being and security. You see, in the colder weather climates (those areas where your dish rag doesn't sour every two hours and stuff actually goes dormant in the winter) you are "in love" with that fire at least 9 months out of the year. You always get brown paper bags in the grocery store...cause they're the best things to start a fire with or.....newspapers...read them then feed them to the fire...cereal boxes...tear them up and feed them to the dragon...twigs..bark pieces...splinters of wood....pallets...anything that's burnable and clogging up the land fills in the cities, is used as fire starters in the mountains. And best of all....it's great for slow cooking. I promise, if you try cooking on a live fire, you'll never need electricity again. Get 2 trivets(those little
things that you didn't know what to do with) put them on the top of the wood stove and sit a kettle of water on one, it'll boil directly for tea. On the other, set a 6 quart pot and put in one chopped onion,a chopped celery stalk, 4 big carrots cut in chunks..wash and cut up three potatoes(leave the skins on) a cup of corn and a cup of green or lima beans, a can of whole tomatoes, 4 cups of water, a teaspoon of red pepper flakes ,salt and pepper, put the lid on and let it slow cook all day. If you want to, drop a few pork chops or chicken pieces in. It's soooo good! Even better, you've done something that doesn't need modern technology...that sense of Crow Magnum raw power and survival...ooahh! Hey, if anyone has anymore live fire stove top recipes, e-mail them to me at Mikell@depotlodge.com.

If you haven't put in that wood stove yet, come on down to Paint Bank for some slow-cooked Buffalo Trail Stew....it's mouth-watering good and the healthiest meat you can eat...even healthier than chicken or fish.

Just 42 days left till Spring!!!!

Make your own wood floor polish
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
mix ingredients well, rub on wood floor, buff with clean dry cloth