A Couple of Things . . .

By Keith Fisher

I had another birthday this week. Normally I would be depressed but not this year. As time passes, and I get older, I noticed that thoughts and ideas don’t remain in my head as long as they used to. I’ve found a need to write things down. A few months ago, I accepted an invitation to offer a prayer in Sacrament meeting. Not only did I forget, I was late for the meeting, so I sat in the foyer.

Last week, I looked at the program, and watched the assigned person go up front to pray. Suddenly, my invitation came back to me. I looked around the chapel, wondering if my ward thinks I’m a total flake.

As I get older, I tend to remember the past and wonder about the youth of today. I see them make the same mistakes I did, Oh how easy life is to live in retrospect.

So I celebrated another birthday with gratitude for another year. Of course, life hasn’t gotten easier, but I’m grateful I don’t have to make the mistakes of my youth. So, my young colleagues might poke fun at me for letting a prayer commitment slip my mind, but I get to smile peacefully, when I see their mistakes.

A while back, Your LDS Neighborhood started an online radio station. We bloggers were asked to check it out. Because of the age thing, I forgot. (I know it’s a lame excuse, but I’m sticking with it.) I finally checked it out and it’s great.

Great LDS music, spiritual and otherwise. Also, thoughtful and pertinent interviews, and commentaries. I can open it up in a small window and work on my computer with a peaceful feeling. Thanks LDS Neighborhood for the boost in my prospective. Check it out Here.

I also need to update the contest. We have been receiving a lot of great food combos and each one is entered in the drawing. I want to hear from all of you and I know it’s hard to leave a comment, so send an email to bloggame57 (at) yahoo (dot) com I will enter you in the contest. So far, it’s been going great, but if you want to ring in the New Year with your new Chuck Wagon Dinner bell, you’d better send me your food combo idea.

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Finding Dad for Christmas

By Keith Fisher

On a cold winter day 22 years ago, I had worked the graveyard shift the night before, so I was sleeping in my apartment. I got a phone call from my aunt telling me that someone had called her and my dad had been in an accident at work.

I woke up quickly and listened to the sketchy details. He had fallen from a great distance, had been revived a couple of times and was on his way via Life Flight to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake. I picked up my brother and booked it up north to find out more.

Our family began a vigil that would last several months. I found my mother in the waiting room and learned more details. Dad was a millwright/welder. He worked construction, and had been working on the power plant at Castledale, Utah. The crew had been mounting venting units in the ceiling. Dad had started across the beams, to retrieve a needed tool, while the crew waited. He stepped on a loose piece of grating and fell an estimated 90 feet, hitting beams and cable trays on the way down.

Several questions came to mind while we waited for him to be brought up to ICU. Would he die? Would he be crippled? Would he ever be able to work again? The big question was when, and where, could I give him a blessing?

While working in Castledale, Dad had been staying in his camp trailer, parked in his uncle’s driveway, in nearby Orangeville. My Great Uncle Dave was a patriarch and had expressed to me his profound regret that he hadn't been able to give Dad a blessing before he left Castledale. Uncle Dave made me promise that I would give Dad a blessing.

Myriad emotions passed through my heart while I waited to see my father. I walked the halls outside ICU. I watched many people deal with the grief of having hurt loved ones in the hospital. Finally the doctors stabilized Dad’s condition enough to bring him upstairs. To say he looked nothing like himself would be an understatement. His appearance was that of a lump of flesh. It shocked me and brought tears to my eyes.

After much pleading, the nurses allowed a few of us to go into his room and give him a blessing. I was able to fulfill my great uncle’s wishes. I knew Dad would be okay. I also knew it would be a long time before he would be well.

The vigil continued. As the days went on, my mother began to worry about Christmas. She had always made a big production out of the holidays, but this year she wanted to stay with Dad. We finally talked her into going home. She stayed Christmas Eve and went back to the hospital on Christmas night.

While we were together, we tried to make merry, but someone was missing. Understandably, our conversation turned to Dad, and Mom mentioned how he’d bought her a special gift. She didn’t know where he’d hidden it, but she didn’t care. I went looking. When I finally found it in his shed, I was touched by the magic. Dad had placed it with care and pride. I imagined what he must have felt as he hid the gift in anticipation of the holiday. He was happy to be able to give that gift to his wife.

At my mother’s request, I drove to Orangeville. She wanted me to bring Dad's camp trailer home. Uncle Dave gave me the personal effects the paramedics had taken from Dad, along with his stuff from work. I began to go through it all. I felt as though I was looking at a snapshot of a moment in my father’s life. I knew what he’d made for lunch that morning. I knew how much money he had in his pockets. I fingered the tools from his coveralls, and I was touched.

I think we all tend to immortalize our parents, but in that moment, I was given a glimpse into the humanity of my dad. I learned that in many ways, he is just like me.


Dads recovery wasn’t easy, in fact he was never the same, but the insights I was given during his blessing came true. There have been many times since then, when he should’ve died, but God continues to bless us with Dad’s life. My mother often talks about that Christmas and is grateful that Dad survived. She feels he was her Christmas gift, but I remember it as the Christmas I discovered my Dad.


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On Your Mark, Get Set, Go

By Keith Fisher

Since Christmas is fast approaching, and since I promised in a previous blog. It’s time, once again, for a contest.

I was thinking about foods that go together the other day. You know, dishes that taste great separately, but when they are combined with another dish, the combination becomes an iconic dish. Foods like, cheese and crackers, beef and potatoes, or chicken and dumplings. I love to drink a glass of milk with a tuna sandwich, even with pizza, but when you combine my glass of milk with chocolate sandwich cookies, my milk becomes a taste treat.

Can you think of your favorite combination? List your favorites like Corned Beef and Cabbage, and I’ll put your name into the drawing. You could win a brand new, Lodge Chuck Wagon dinner Bell. Leave your favorites in the comments section, and I will announce the winners on December 26. Good luck.



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Disaster at the North Pole

NORTH POLE, Top of the World, Dec, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) – Reliable sources say Christmas may have to be canceled, Santa’s been pumping Iron.

A source at the North Pole said today, “It’s a disaster. Santa has changed.” Others were quoted as saying, “How can we have Christmas? The big guy went buff.”

Of course not everyone is complaining. Santa’s reindeer are taking it easy. “Pulling the sleigh is like pulling a feather, now that Santa slimmed down,” Donner said. “I didn’t want to say anything before, but the past couple of years has taken the prance out of my step,” Prancer said. “But now, I've been skipping through the sky.”

We asked Bernard, the chief elf, what happened? “Well, he’s been delivering too many heavy Dutch ovens. He gets too much execise lugging them around, and four cookies and a glass of milk. just isn't emough to replenish his portly stature. Sometimes he doesn't even get that much." When asked what they would do now, Bernard said, “I don’t know. We’re going to have an emergency meeting of the Elf's union local 911 to bounce ideas around.”

He suggested that all those good boys and girls who got Dutch ovens last Christmas take them out of the box this year, and cook something for Santa." "It’s the least they can do," Bernard said. "Give back a little of what they received.”

We asked Doctor Mortimer, Santa’s personal physician, about Santa’s condition and he told us, "Santa's on a strict diet of 5 meals a day, along with forced resting. He's watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island to get his jolly chuckle back."

So there you have it. The elves are sure that Santa will be back, but you can help out. You can cook a 4-pot meal on Christmas Eve, and give it the the Jolly Old Elf. (Especially if you want a Cast iron gift this year.



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The Outdoor Symphony

By Keith Fisher

Now that the holiday is over, It’s time to get into your backyard and do some serious cooking. The weather has been great where I live, and for those in Warmer climates, I can hear the call of the camp cook. Can you hear it? It sounds like the clang of a cast iron lid placed on the pot.

Cold weather can make things harder, but it’s not impossible to cook marvelous meals in your backyard or campground. In fact, I’d like to invite you to check out these pictures. They were taken at a Dutch oven cook off called Klondike.

In 2002 I organized this cook off as a challenge for Dutch oven cooks. That first year, it was 9 degrees when we started cooking. By afternoon, it had warmed up to a tropical 20 degrees. We had cold extremities, but the food was world class.

The cooks found it hard to keep butter from freezing. One team wiped a table top with a wet wash cloth and left the rag on the table. When they came back moments later, the cloth had frozen to the table. Another year, I saw ice being scraped from a marble bread board.

In 2003 someone else directed and me and my wife won. This cook off continued in front of Sportsman’s Warehouse in Provo, Utah for six years. Due to time constraints I wasn’t able to direct the cook off last year, but this year, well stay tuned.

The pictures will show that great looking, great tasting food can be prepared in adverse conditions. I’m sure you will be invited to dozens of Christmas parties this year. Just think of the praise you’ll get if you show up to the potluck with a Dutch oven full of good food, cooked in your backyard. It will be all the better if you had to shovel snow to make room for your Dutch oven table.

I think it’s contest time again. Come back next time and get the details about how you can win a Lodge chuck wagon dinner bell. The outdoor symphony continues . . .



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Black Friday

by Keith Fisher



I’m writing this on the day after Thanksgiving. The merchants call this day, Black Friday. I used to spend this day chasing bargains and rubbing shoulders with humanity, but I’m older now.


Instead, I launch the start of the season by putting up Christmas decorations. I fell in love with Christmas lights years ago. When I moved into my house, I was always the first to turn on my lights. Now, my neighbors beat me to it by at least two weeks, but I have my traditions to uphold.


In my book of customs it says Christmas shouldn’t start until after Thanksgiving. Not this year, however, I have to wait until the roofers I hired are finished.


So, how did Thanksgiving go? Did you take pictures of your turkey? Send them to me and I’ll post them here. I rose early on Thanksgiving this year. I had a turkey to inject and get into my Ultimate Turkey Roaster. Things went well, the Ham turned out okay. The stuffing was delicious, but the turkey . . . well, lets just say I made an error.


Remember I told you to keep moisture in the pot? I did, but . . . well, I had about 60 minutes left and I hadn’t reached temperature yet. I turned up the heat and added water. I never dreamed I would be in trouble. Now, in my defense, I haven’t used the roaster for over a year, but I should have known better.


I went upstairs and lay down. When I got up to take a shower I smelled something burning, went down and found my oven smoking. The water had evaporated and the turkey fat was dripping on the flame. Needless to say, I had smoked turkey this year and it wasn’t a good flavor.


Well, some of the meat tasted fine, but some of the rest tasted like an incinerator. (Good thing I had a ham to serve). We ate both but I noticed the ham went quicker than the turkey, and I have a pile of leftovers.


Remember to make the season Joyful and give of yourself.







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Happy Dutch Oven Thanksgiving

By Keith Fisher

Since my Monday blogs get posted on the neighborhood on Thursday, You might be reading this on Thanksgiving. I would imagine you got up early, set up your table in the carport. Hitched up your resolve, and started cooking the turkey. Hang in there, I know you can do it. If it helps, I’m right there with you. My job this year is to cook the turkey, and a pineapple glazed ham. Oh, yeah, I’m making stuffing too.

When you get everything going and you sit down to relax, perhaps you can bask in the joy of the service you performed for that person in need. You know---the one we’ve been talking about in several blogs? Here’s a couple of thoughts for you.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
-Matt 25:34-40

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thess 5:18

What better way to give thanks to the source of all blessings then to do something nice for our fellowmen?

Here’s a tip for mashed potatoes:
When the lumps go away, make a hole in the center and pour shredded cheddar cheese in the hole. Fold the spuds around the cheese and blend it. Even with gravy, your mashed potatoes will be great.

Gravy is easy:

Use the juices from the meat, add a sufficient amount of hot water and stir. Add seasoning and bring to boil. Meanwhile, make a roux with about two cups flour and add hot water, mixing with a whisk to the consistency of wallpaper paste. When the water boils, stir the roux into the boiling broth slowly. Stop when the gravy is the consistency you want it to be. The key to good gravy it to make sure there are no lumps in the roux.

It’s been a long day so I give you permission to cheat a little. Buy a pre-baked pie at the grocery store. Put it in a warm Dutch oven with plenty of ashes on it. Make believe you baked it. I’ll never tell. It will be our little secret, but don’t forget to put a trivet inside the pot. At least you need to make it look real . . .

Don’t forget to hug those you haven’t seen for awhile and give thanks to God for so many blessings. Remember those who have passed on and give thanks that you were blessed to have known them.






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