And the winner is . . .

Saturday was the Nebraska Beef Cook-off 'What's For Dinner' contest. It's part of the River City Roundup and was held at the Qwest Center in beautiful downtown Omaha.

Good recipes. Good food. And I earned 5th place. I'm happy with it, especially since it was my first time competing in a live contest; however, it was fun to listen to some of the other cooks talk about how they thought things would turn out.

I'm already thinking of what I can create for next year's contest.... :)

Beef Cookoff

Tomorrow's the Nebraska Beef Council's "What's For Dinner?" Beef Cookoff. I'll be cooking live from the Qwest Center at 3:15. Winner brings home new kitchen appliances!

I need to get my tote packed with all my cooking supplies. Will stop on way to Omaha and pick p shrimp and easy to heat red beans and rice mix.

Husker Jambalaya is so good!

Will post pics after contest.

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A Saturday without Husker football....

is depressing. So depressing. But, it will allow me to get some work accomplished at home!

Gearing up for the Nebraska Beef Cookoff which is the same day as the Va Tech game. Husker Jambalaya at the Qwest Center! Woo hoo!

In Search of I.M. Hipp

Thirty years ago, when I was a high school junior, my family met a Husker walk-on - Isaiah Moses Hipp - who had traveled from his home in Chapin, South Carolina to play football at Nebraska.

We understood the travel difference. During the summer of '68, we ventured to Greensboro, North Carolina, and spent part of the summer there while my dad attended classes at UNC-Greensboro.

We'd travel to out-of-town games and wait at the locker room for him to come out. Sometimes, he'd be hit up for autographs, which he would always sign. And he always spent time talking to our family. Once, at a KU-NU game in Lawrence, he and fellow Husker Andre Franklin asked if we were going home through Lincoln because they wanted to ride with us. Umm, Isaiah, I'm pretty sure Coach Tom wouldn't have allowed that, although I know we would have done it had he granted permission.

And there was the time we played at OSU. Our family had t-shirts made that said "I'm hip for Hipp" along with the number 32 blazing on the back. After meeting and talking at the locker room door, we began our journey home. We stopped somewhere in Kansas - I think Hutchinson - and the kid at the gas station said, "Hey, I saw you on TV. They showed your shirt."

And at home games, my sister and I always made a mad rush to the south field house and staked our spot to wait for him to come out. We'd wait with Tom Sorley's wife, dad and mom, and some times, Rick Berns' family would wait there with us, too.

The last time I remember seeing him was after the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day in 1980. We lost to Houston, 17 - 14. I don't remember seeing him at Andre's and Becky's wedding either (but that is another story in itself).

He was the subject of my first story I submitted to a newspaper, a personal profile of the Husker walk-on.

Why am I writing about the most famous walk-on football hero of all time? I read something about him today and it made me wonder where he is. And when I subbed at an area high school a few weeks ago, a teacher was telling the lunchroom crowd that he lived above her in the dorm. And I just smiled, remembering a small apartment, I think over on 18th street, where we met him a few times.

I discovered he lives in Virginia Beach. But I want to know more. Did you get married? Have children? When did you finish your degree? What things are important to you now? What do you think of Husker football and your time in Lincoln?

I'm searching for I.M. Hipp. And I'll find him. :)

Farm notes

The new tank is in and working nicely, I might add. If the winter months are as nasty as I hear they are predicted to be, it is possible the milk man might not be able to get here every day. Now, we can make it two days before we'd be in trouble.

Of course, Scott wanted to keep the other tank too, so we could do some experimenting with organics and raw milk. But....that isn't going to happen now.

Stopped and looked at a bean head for the combine yesterday. We were laughing that we have all Case-IH tractors and a JD combine (that's a piece of junk...). If we get the one we looked at, we'll have to adapt a Case head on the JD combine. Should be interesting.

Cut (or chopped....I always get in trouble when I try to associate a verb with a crop because it seems I never get it right, even though they all mean the same think: it's out of the field!!) silage and it should be ready to feed starting tomorrow or Wednesday. Have to finish feeding the bad silage we had to buy because the head feed man (=Scott) says if he mixes it, he's afraid we'll have a herd of sick milking mamas. Don't want that!

And the cherry tomatoes are overtaking the garden. I'm going to pull two plants today or tomorrow and make more salsa. You can never have too much salsa!! Plus, it's so good!

Beef! It's What's for Dinner

So the dairy farmer's wife entered a cooking contest...

I'm a finalist in the Nebraska Beef Council's 'What's For Dinner' Beef Cook-Off. Around this farm, beef is what's for dinner nearly EVERY night (except in the middle of summer when we have roasting ears, fresh tomato slices, and watermelon).

I'll be cooking live from the Qwest Center, Omaha, at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 27. It'll have to suffice for our tailgating party since we won't be able to go to the Husker game and instead, my sister and my dad will attend. But that is OK with me. Grand prize = new kitchen appliances! I'm all in favor of that!!

That just means that if we have the appliances, we really need to get going on the new house. :)

At least that's my theory!

I'll whip up a scrumptious batch of Husker Jambalaya. No recipe posted until AFTER the contest.

Made a crock pot full of it this weekend - used Nebraska 'Jersey' sirloin steak. Mmmm Mmmm! Tender, juicy and spicy!