farmhouse frontier

quesadillas on a plate
Brenna

You know how sometimes you have those go-to recipes under your belt? Something that’s likely quick, awfully satisfying, and ignites the warm and fuzzy on the inside? A dish that makes you feel nostalgic and content. It is exactly what you need after a long day, or a rough night? Well for me, that recipe is for quesadillas.

And not just any quesadilla’s, I’m talking about the quesadilla’s that they used to serve at The Three Amigos Cafe.

quesadillas ready to be cooked

 

Now, I know you’re thinking to yourself (or at least Pop is as he reads this over) “Jeez Brenna, what are you doing? This is a farming blog!” Yeah, I know, I know, but bear with me. I like food. I like making food, and eating food (I mean, who doesn’t?), and talking about food, and taking pictures of food, and pretty soon I’ll be blogging about food (more on that another time).

 

One of my favourite things about food is how it brings people together.

Making muffins, and cooking up dinners were always a great way I could contribute to the work on the farm. When I was too small to operate a tractor or chase the cows, I was at least able to toss together a batch of something delicious. I loved seeing my family gathered around the table (or sitting on the grass, or in the back of a pick-up, or in the cab of a tractor) enjoying something I had made them.  A favourite memory I cherish is of my parents enjoying a mid-summer supper, long ago.  The night Jess and I created a restaurant experience for Mom and Pop serving up quesadillas,  piping hot.

cheese, salsa and flour tortillas

Quesadillas are easy to make, like SUPER easy.

You can make them with so many different ingredients, they cook up in a snap, they aren’t toooooo unhealthy, and my goodness they are satisfying. When I was about 8 years old I found a recipe for them in a kid-friendly cookbook, and they became just the handiest snack around.

I quickly got Jess hooked on them, and we made them after school whenever Mom had the ingredients on hand. One summer evening when Mom and Pop were out in the field working away, and Jess and I on kitchen duty, we knew just what to make. In the spirit of Mary Poppins, my favourite thing to do when it comes came to chores is was to turn the upcoming project into a game…and that summer night The Three Amigos Restaurant was born.

As he was always better at drawing than me, and because I was the oldest and thought it better for me to deal with the oven, Jess oversaw the menus…

menu card

handmade menu for quesadilla supper

 

We knew that Mom and Pop had been working hard all day, so we decided to really roll out the red carpet for them, with a variety of different drinks, an appetizer, and two (gasp!) different types of quesadillas up for order.

It seems silly thinking back on this now, but this memory of a small contribution to farming is one of my dearest. I love summer on the farm; how the hard work brings people together, and the evenings spent around the table with everyone after toiling in the hot sun.

For this reason, these quesadillas are my go to. Sometimes I put eggs or veggies (woohoo I’m so healthy), but most of the time I do them Three Amigos Style, just like what Mom and Pop got when they came in for food that summer night. It wasn’t the fanciest meal, but it was made with the utmost love and best intentions.

Here’s the recipe below if you’d like to give it a try, let me know how it turns out!

quesadillas

 

Three Amigos Cafe Quesadillas

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 quesadillas):

  • 1 1/3 cup salsa (your spice preference, I’m a fan of spicy, but you do you)
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 4 flour tortilla shells
  • additional toppings to your hearts’ content. Refried beans are a Three Amigos favourite, but you can also add cooked veggies, chicken, beef, or a scrambled egg.

 

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (not mandatory, but it makes clean up easier!).
  2. Place tortillas on cookie sheet, and place 1/3 cup of salsa on each tortilla, spreading it so it covers half of it.
  3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheddar, and any additional toppings, on top of the salsa, and fold the tortillas in half.
  4. Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes on each side.
  5. Allow to sit for a few minutes, then slice into 3 or 4 triangles (a pizza cutter works best).
  6. Enjoy! (They are AMAZING dipped in sour cream or guacamole).
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cowlick on a cow
Jim

During the last 15 months or so I’ve begun to feel that I’m being observed.

It’s as if I’ve become a player in someone’s private showing.  The play is nothing special – it’s a terrible script, there’s no plot, and the actor is sub-par.  In fact, if I had to describe it, the word would be tedious.  Not only is it dull, but it repeats.  Daily.  There are subtle variations of course but the overall message and general narrative remain nearly the same.  And yet somehow the audience seems mesmerized.  She must be, for she has been seen standing for hours every day, just waiting for the curtain to rise.  Even again today.

Meet Sophia, the pail-bunter turned audience-stalker.

There is an old, rough lumbered, grey wooden corral just a few steps from the front door of the house.  Within you will find plenty of fresh water, acres of green grass, and a cozy warm shelter.  From time to time there can also be found special rolled oat treats in a red plastic feed pail, treats never last longer than a second or two.   In fact that pail will usually just be touching the grass when a soft black muzzle plunges deep to retrieve all those scrumptious bites. Sophia cannot seem to get enough. And in case you’re a bit late with those tasty morsels in the morning, she’ll remind you.  She’s as good as any rooster we’ve ever had, and will unabashedly inform you that your clock is running a little behind.


Sophia has never lived anywhere else.  Often times on the farm things come at you a bit sideways and you just have to deal, there really is no choice.  That’s how Sophia came to be in her home.  Her momma, although she is a great cow, just didn’t have the milk Sophia needed.  This new born calf had to be fed from a bottle to ensure that she would get everything any young heifer needs to grow.  Soon she went from milk bottle to pail, to water trough, to grass, and even oats.   She stayed with us, in her corral, and grew.

The sun is up as I close the door of the house, enter stage left, and walk towards the barn.

Soft big brown audience eyes are palpable with my every step.  I look at her as I pass, moving only my eyes.  I can’t move my head.   If I turn my head she’ll notice, get excited and start bucking up and down on her side of the fence trying to get my attention. It’s her way of saying “Come on!  Come over here!  Let’s play”. Oh, by the way, did I mention she likes to wrestle?  It was kind of fun and funny to wrestle with her when she was a small calf.  But now, 600 (or more!) pounds later, the wrestling is completely-one sided.  But even so, her invitation is always irresistible.

“Ok Sophia, just a minute or two.”   If oats are her favourite, well then getting attention and spending quality time with her family is a close second.  What a character.

Exit stage right.  Curtain.

 

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Transformer Robot in the Garden
Twyla

A snippet of my morning to do list: deadhead flowers, then water all containers and tomatoes.  I love making my rounds throughout the yard watering can in tow each morning.  I feel as though I’m getting something accomplished long before the real work begins.  Scents abound as the dew slowly lifts and flowers share their unique fragrances.  I groom pots and quench them for the day ahead. Making my way to the tomatoes, one of my favourite garden plants.  Some may disagree, but I enjoy the pungent aroma that these babies emit, and even more-so, I love the fall bounty they’ll produce.

I enter the garden, shears and watering can ready.

Instinctively I take in that something is amok.  I drop the tools in hand and approach the heirlooms with trepidation.  Scanning the area, my mind racing, I realize an epic battle has taken place.  The Early-girls and Romas quiet sentinels.

Quite obviously Jess has been in the garden!

Debris lies scattered along the broad black space between the tomatoes and potatoes.  With a nod to my Dad I always leave plenty of space between the two!  Tiny pieces of white and navy blue plastic everywhere I look.  Judging by the surroundings this was quite a match.  My eyes land upon a mangled heap of dirt and white plastic.  Obviously dead.  I survey the area for more casualties.  None. Clearly this creature met his demise against whomever shed the blue bits during battle.

This scene, I swear encountered just this morning, takes me back in time.

Jess loved loves transformers!  And what better play setting than in the garden plot?  Where dirt, rocks, sand and gravel await his imagination.  I cannot begin to count how many times I’ve happened upon similar scenes, or worse, taken out a robot in disguise with the rototiller.  Oops!  A great gardener in the making, the boy is a good hand throughout the gardening season.  I marvel that all these years later, he’s 20 now, I’m finding remnants of his play.  Still a little boy at heart, do they ever grow out of it? I doubt it.

As I take it all in and debate grabbing the camera, I flashback to the days when he would list off all the members of the opposing clans.  And then quiz me on it!  An accepting interest in his passion, kept me in the game.  He loved to draw audiences in to his world.  I gladly went along.  Always cheering for the heroes, I knew just what to say when he asked who my favourite character was.

As I examine the fallen soldier, dusting away the dirt and grime, I’m relieved to see that he is not one of the good guys.  Another villain taken down, good-bye Decepticon, may you rest in peace.  I chuckle as I say out loud for all the fruits and vegetables to hear.    Call it habit or a Mother’s heartstrings –

Yes Jess, Optimus Prime is still my favourite!

 

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