Food & Fodder

RANCH FOOD & FODDER by Deanna Dickinson McCall

Old Time Cobbler

We are blessed to have old fruit trees on this ranch. When we moved here there were many big old stumps in what was once a family orchard and scattered around the perimeter of the house. Some of the still standing fruit trees were in very poor shape. Water and a little TLC cured them, as it does many things. The month of June usually bring the first fruits, apricots and cherries. We share with the birds, or maybe I should say the birds share with us. Last year was the first year in 16 years I got almost no fruit. The drought was so bad the birds ate the actual blossoms before they opened. I’d never seen that before. Despite the drought and cold dry winter, my fruit trees are loaded again.

Apricots are something that seems folks either love or want no part of. They were one of my dad’s favorites and apricot pie or cobbler rated right next to blackberry for him. We ate quite a bit of pie and cobbler growing up, and my Granny made some of the best cobbler I’ve ever eaten. Her recipe doesn’t just use pie crust, or biscuit or cake dough, as some recipes do. This is a soft crust, while still being flaky. It only has a top crust, no bottom crust. I always found it interesting the name “cobbler” came from the saying of cobbling something together. That pretty much describes what ranch cooks are called upon to do pretty frequently.

Old Time Cobbler

4 cups of all-purpose flour 1 tsp of salt 2 c of shortening 1 beaten egg 1 TBS of cider vinegar ½ c cold water 2 quarts or more of cherries, blackberries, peaches or apricots 11/2 to 2 cups of sugar 2 tsp cinnamon

ANIMAL & RANGE animal & range SCIENCES sCienCes

The Department of Animal & Range Sciences is part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences The Department of Animal & Range Sciences is part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences Four on-campus animal facilities house: beeF CaTTle/horses/swine/sheep Students can major in Animal or Rangeland Resources and are provided with the very best of “hands on” academic instruction by our faculty. Fully equipped labs allow students access to cutting-edge research in:

LIVESTOCKNUTRITION / GENETICS / PHYSIOLOGY / ENDOCRINOLOGY / MEAT SCIENCE / WOOL / TOXICOLOGY / WATERSHED & RANGELANDECOLOGY / WEED & BRUSHCONTROL / PLANTSYSTEMATICS / GRAZINGMANAGEMENT

The Department also offers pre-veterinary studies –our graduates have a high acceptance rate into veterinary medicine programs. We offer graduate degrees at the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy levels. The M.S. or Ph.D. in Animal Science can emphasize nutrition or physiology, and offers a Ph.D. in Range Science to study range management, range ecology and watershed management. THE DEPARTMENT ALSO OPERATES

• The Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland

Research Center (The College Ranch) – 64,000 acre ranch just outside of

Las Cruces • The Corona Range & Livestock Research

Center – 28,000 acre ranch & facilities in

Corona, NM • Student organizations, including a

Block & Bridle Club, Pre-Vet Club,

Range Club, Horsemen’s Association,

Therapeutic Riding Club, &

Judging Teams • Clayton Research Center hosts research on shipping protocols, particularly evaluating the health and performance of newly received cattle, and nutrition and management from feedlot to slaughter

Dr. Shanna Ivey – 575-646-2515 • Dr. John Campbell – 575-646-6180 Dr. John Campbell –575/646-6180 / Dr. Dennis hallford –575-646-2515 http://aces.nmsu.edu/academics/anrs http://aces.nmsu.edu/academics/anrs/

Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl, mix with a fork. Cut in the shortening, but not as fine as you would for a pie, leaving it a little rough. In a small bowl beat the egg until lemon colored, add the vinegar and water. Sprinkle the egg mixture over the flour mixture, tossing with a fork lightly. Gather the dough up and form into 2 balls. (I wrap one ball in plastic wrap and freeze to use another time. You can thaw it in the frig for easier handling. It is nice to have one on hand.) Cover the ball you will be using and chill it for 15 minutes so the fat will set up and be easier to handle.

Mix the cinnamon with the sugar

Pour fruit into a 13 by 9 inch pan, add sugar mixture and gently stir. Taste and adjust the sugar. You can add more sugar, and not worry about adding more cinnamon.

Roll the chilled ball into the size to fit the pan on a floured surface. It will be thicker than a pie crust. I like doing this on one of those silicone mats. You can pick the mat up and place it over the pan and gently peel the crust off right over the pan. Or you can cut it into strips if you want a lattice top. Don’t worry if the top isn’t perfect. One thing about cobblers, they are supposed to look rustic, with the fruit juices often boiling over onto the crust. Once the crust is into place sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 until the crust becomes a light golden brown, around an hour. It probably won’t hurt anyone’s feelings if you serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside this. ▫