Another Wintry Day

Took the boys for a nice walk through the wash this morning, while the weather couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to do. And as has happened a few times over the past couple of weeks, it's a good thing I got it out of the way because right after that the weather socked in good. Wind, cold, heavy overcast. Now all my boys are sacked around me, not a peep from them except when they got a whiff of horse a while ago. It drove poor Ghost crazy, because with the wind he couldn't find them. I didn't know what was going on until I saw the pair of tracks down the middle of the wash; just the neighbors out for a ride. Just as well the boys didn't find them, because last time they went down among the horses and I thought the lady's mare was going to spill her.

Last night I got to wanting something quick to eat, but there just wasn't anything in the lair but ingredients. Wintry days are good for baking, so I decided to whip up a couple of batches of crackers so there'd be something to knosh on when that mood struck me. This is a really simple recipe, about the same as hardtack but without all that "bake it till it's inedible" business. It's just two cups of flour, one teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, two tablespoons of butter, and 2/3 cup of milk. Stir it together, quickly knead it into a ball and roll it out really thin on your floured board, 1/2 of the batch at a time. Lay it out on an ungreased baking sheet, score it into squares and poke it with a fork. Bake it at 400 degrees till it's brown. Don't let it get too done, or you've got hardtack. Once it's cool, break it up and store it in a breadbox and you've got snacks for days. Really good dipped in honey.