Sally's Poppy Seed Dressing Cole Slaw

Danny continues to grow and it continues to rain so there still are no current photos or video to post. I do promise that by or before his birthday on May 1st, I will scrub and brush off the mud, trim the winter coat that still holds on tight in odd spots and pretty up this already pretty boy....at least he is always pretty to me even with a thick coat of mud and muck.

Since, there isn't any Danny news or photos, I thought I'd use the opportunity and space to post a recipe that's been requested many times over the years. Maybe I shouldn't give my secret away but since I got it from someone else, I figure that sharing again is the least I can do with this delicious, easy recipe that always receives rave reviews from hay crews, family and friends.

This recipe comes from Sally sister and business partner of Nancy Gould who owned the Gallery Americana in Huston (sadly, no longer exists). Their gallery was in an old house that had been a restaurant in a previous incarnation. All of the ladies who worked there, most family, cooked and each day, they had wonderful, delicious lunches. Occasionally, a confused businessman would wander in off of the street asking where the restaurant had gone. They never turned them away but invited them in for a lunch that was probably more memorable than what they'd gotten at the actual restaurant. I've often wondered if the business men weren't like the little boys who use to feed their lunches to my dad's dog (a well known thief of bagged lunches and women's lingerie) so that he would buy their lunch. I'm sure that word got around in the Huston business district that there were some generous ladies who were not only good cooks but very gracious and easy on the eyes southern belles who would take in stray business men and give them a free and delicious lunch, lol.

Put in Blender:

1/3 cup vinegar (although the original recipe does not specify, I only use Nakano Roasted Garlic Seasoned Rice Vinegar)

1 tsp. mustard (Steve loves mustard so we have many varieties on hand. I've used them all and can never really tell much difference.)

1/3 onion

1/2 cup sugar 

1 tsp. salt

1 cup salad oil 

Blend until smooth then add a rounded teaspoon of poppy seeds and pulse until well mixed.

The recipe calls for one package of prepackaged cole slaw but that is way too wet for me and I usually use two packs of slaw.

Also, this recipe seems to turn out well even when I guess at amounts.....I never measure the mustard or salt and the onion sizes are widely varied. But I have found that even though people seemed to love it before, they love it even more since I started using the Nakano Vinegar....know that we love it more anyway:)

Visitors

A few weeks ago, we had a very busy but very enjoyable weekend. First my little nephew, Randy, finally got to come by and see my horses. We'd been to an Introduction to Horses at Brandy McDonnell's farm, Blue Point and Randy, who is horse crazy, had a fantastic time. His mom had driven so when she was dropping me off at my house, I asked if they wanted to go see the horses. This was Danny's first experience with a "little" human and I wish I'd had my camera with me because the curiosity was so evident.

He was still curious the next day when our friends Rhonda and Alex DelCarmen brought their youngest daughter, Adison, by to see the horses. I'd planned to just have Django haltered and standing there for her to pet and brush and get acquainted with since Django is the friendliest of my big horses. He loves people and adores attention but then so unfortunately, does Danny. I finally had to halter Danny just so I could lead him away. At first, I would just say food and he would run like a puppy to his bowl and lift it up to me so I could fill it. But eventually, when he started jealously biting the attention getting Django on the rump, I decided that maybe I'd better get him under control.

He is a smart little guy but I'm not certain that he understood everything I said to him when he started getting rambunctious and impatient after I'd haltered him. I whispered in his ear, "I don't care if we do have company DO NOT think that I won't put a knot on your little head if you don't start behaving!" True, that is a lot for any baby to understand much less a little horse baby for whom "human" is a second language. No, I doubt that he understood what I was saying but how I said it must have gotten the message across because Danny was a polite young man for the rest of the visit.

Adison and Django getting acquainted

A Busy Day

On the morning of the eighth, we had visits from both our farrier and vet scheduled. The day started very early for us. If you are expecting a story totally about Danny, you aren't getting it. Danny was actually better behaved than his older counterparts. He did protest a little bit when our farrier, Dale Collis, trimmed his front hooves but he was a perfect gentleman for the back hooves and acted like an old pro with the vet, not even flinching when she gave him his shots. The other horses made up for his complacency....big time.

 

If you've been following any of my blogs for long, you know that the only difficult thing about our big red boy, Riley is that he can be a bit head shy and hard to catch and halter. Expecting the farrier to arrive not long after 8 AM that morning, I herded all of the horses into the round pen and put their halters on the very first thing. I envisioned a smooth transition from horse to horse with Steve and I taking time about bringing one of them up to the tying post. 

When Dale arrived, I already had Django ready. I started with Django since he's usually the most difficult where the farrier is concerned. He was actually, almost a gentlemen with just a wee bit of protest but nothing as drastic or dramatic as the time he threw Dale about ten feet and then dragged me down the hillside. No, this time there was just a little eye rolling and snorting but he soon realized that the large, solid post was a lot more difficult to intimidate than me.

As we'd planned, while I helped with Django, Steve brought Brandy up, who is always easy all around. I brought up Mouse after her and she was having a "lady's day" so the diva exploded a bit but we got her under control quickly and then she just stood there and looked offended. 

Steve asked which one I wanted next. I told him to just get Danny because Riley was difficult to catch. He of course took this as a challenge and said that he would get Riley. I reached in my pocket and handed him the "Indian" halter that Huston made for me and that I try to always carry with me. It is basically just a length of soft rope with a loop on one end. It is usually easy to slip it around even the most skittish horses neck and capture them before they realize it. Steve said that he didn't need it but I made him take it anyway. Dale and I were concentrating on the oddly, disagreeable Mouse and paying no attention to Steve. Just as we finished up with Mouse, he comes walking up with not Riley but Danny....no explanation, no excuses, just Danny. 

So, it was now my turn to go and get a horse and only one was left. I walked off forgetting to get the rope halter from Steve so I was left to my own wiles to capture him. He was wise to me and avoided me at first and no matter how I tried to corner him, he quickly slipped away. So, I decided to follow some of Huston's advice, I stood still and waited. At first he was concentrating on the feed I'd put in his bucket in an effort to distract him hoping that I could grab his halter but that plan had proven fruitless. As he ate, I stood silently behind him and he kept looking back at me with more than a little concern but then, the oddest thing happened, he turned and walked toward me, stopped right in front of me and dropped his head for me to hook the rope on the halter. Then, we calmly walked up the hill. Steve didn't seem to notice that I'd managed to capture Riley and he certainly never asked how but I did make sure he knew the entire story before the day was done. ;-)