Rachel at Home on the Ranch

I love steak- most any type, as long as it's cooked medium and not over-cooked! When we got our first freezer of meat last fall, I had only ever cooked steak on the grill and I knew that there were other ways to prepare it. So, I did what I do all the time when I want to learn something new, I looked it up on Pinterest. And I found it! The perfect way to make the perfect steak- in my cast iron skillet! It's not a difficult technique nor does it take long to prepare, in fact, if you have a cast iron skillet, you can make it too.  An Hour Before Dinner Ahead of time, I make a Herbed Compound Butter. There is no real recipe that I follow for this but rather it is dictated by the contents of my refrigerator. It starts with a stick of softened butter in a bowl, add some basil, scallions, garlic and some parmesan cheese. Combine and then finish with a little salt (if the butter was unsalted) and pepper. Give it a final mix and dump out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Fo...

 Today we started the journey back to Wyoming from Arkansas. This week, Vic and I learned much more  than just how to build a pair of cowboy boots... we learned about a craft, about a legacy and about a trade that has been largely replaced by machines.  We met Floyd who is a multigenerational shoe maker (I can't remember how many generations back). He has tools from his grandfather and more knowledge than I will ever hope to learn. He starts his day around 4 am and completes more before we wake up than most people accomplish all day!    By the time we joined him in the shop in the morning, Floyd already had been at work for hours! He is a great teacher and has lots of stories about the boots he has made (and a few of their wearers), his family and dreams that he has for the new shop up with us in Wyoming.  Did I mention that? Oh yes- that was the purpose of our trip to learn this craft. We are in the process of adding a boot shop to the guest ranch this sum...

A week ago, we embarked on an adventure that made me feel apprehensive, excited, nervous and thrilled. We packed up our bags, dropped our girls off at Granny’s house and set off for the Diamond 7 Bar Ranch Staff Retreat/Getaway. There are many reasons I was anxious and nervous, the first being that Lydia (22 months old) had never spent the night away from us and then there is the baggage that I carry from so many other “staff retreats” that I have attended (I would love to just leave those bags in the past… but they still try to come with me from time to time). We arrived at the Spearfish Canyon Lodge on Friday morning, dressed with brave faces and covered like eskimos. We were going on an adventure! After some paperwork, I climbed behind my husband and onto a snowmobile that was ours for the day. The helmet I had to wear felt confining at first but I was so glad to have it as we went zipping down the trails. Isn’t it funny that sometimes the things that feel the most restricti...