All posts by Red Dirt Kelly

Yukon, OK v. Los Angeles, CA: A Bona Fide Pork Rind Throw Down

May 26, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 1 Comment

This evening I stopped by my favorite quick stop, Covell Corner. Okay, it’s my ONLY area quick stop but they’re really great. I could write an entire post about the family who started that business, how nice their employees are, and how their deli pizza is scrump-deli-icious… but that’s not what I want to share with you. I wanted to let you know that I was in the store, wandering aimlessly because I couldn’t find Perrier or club soda, when I saw a full rack of El Sabroso Pork Cracklins beckoning me.

No, I don’t like pork rinds. Not really. But when I was a little girl, my mother would buy them as a special snack because SHE liked them. So a few weeks ago I purchased a local pork rind microwavable product at the Farmer’s Market because the owner of the company was a friend…AND I thought, “Give them to mom, she might like them.” My mother has made a lifetime habit of seeing some piece of clothing or other product while she’s out shopping, then thinking I might like it – purchases it and brings it to me at the next family get-together. It’s about time I turned the tables on her, don’t you think? Continue reading Yukon, OK v. Los Angeles, CA: A Bona Fide Pork Rind Throw Down →

Foodie Page, Oklahoma culture, Pint Night at McNellies

Pint Night: From McNellie’s The Abner in Norman

May 25, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 3 Comments

So, every Monday night at McNellie’s The Abner in Norman is Pint Night. Good golly gosh, I love Pint Night. The deal is, you go and buy the featured beer of the night, and you get to keep the glass that is made for that beer.

This first picture is of our kitchen cabinet:

The middle cabinet that is stacked and packed full of glasses is our beer glass shelf…and every single one of those glasses came from pint night. The next picture is a high up shelf where we keep the too-tall pint glasses, or the extra fancy ones that are more fragile (like a Warsteiner Dunkel special edition Christmas glass with a hand blown glass ornament at the bottom): Continue reading Pint Night: From McNellie’s The Abner in Norman →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden: Strawberries, Chard, Al Fresco Dining…Ahhh.

May 24, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 4 Comments

Last week I left you with the tag line, “California strawberries are for shipping, Oklahoma strawberries are for eating.” I had at that point two very full quarts of Oklahoma strawberries from the Urban Agrarian sitting in my refrigerator and my family had been enjoying…berries with creme fraiche, strawberries with homemade pound cake, berries with whipped creme and cookies, berries with breakfast, and – well, you name it. It seemed that every time I walked by the kitchen my feet would take over my body searching for berries, my arms would shoot out from my sides to open the refrigerator, and my hands would grab a strawberry then hurl it toward my mouth. Bliss.

I just love Oklahoma strawberries.

Unfortunately, my shipment from the Food Coop this week came in damaged. They were already in a severe state of atrophy and I only saved about half from one container, less from the other. So I put them with some friends: my first rhubarb harvest this year. I whipped up a quick compote and my family ate it all on homemade buttermilk biscuits. So, THAT was a melt-in-your-mouth experience. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Strawberries, Chard, Al Fresco Dining…Ahhh. →

Art, Oklahoma culture, Red Dirt Rambler

Red Dirt Rambler: Eighty Years of Osage Wisdom in a Thirty Minute Encounter

May 23, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 1 Comment

I walked into the museum and was greeted by her. She sat at the desk, surrounded by busts of ancient Osage warriors, maps, artifacts and tribal dress displayed in glass cases. “Do you have any questions?” she asked. “No,” I replied. “Not yet.” I made my way to the corner case and began mentally walking through Osage history. The voices of other visitors began to seep through my mental fog and I adjusted my angle to take on a better view. I gathered that stories were being told and wanted to hear them.

I glanced at her again as she sat behind her desk. She watched quietly as two aging white men seated on benches in the middle of the room leaned in to hear stories from the middle-aged Osage they had met in the museum. The Osage was seated on a second bench near them and was carrying two pieces of lumber. One of the white men clutched a knotted piece of Cyprus wood that had been polished by man or by Time, while the other held two books on his lap. The Osage was saying, “In order for children to properly speak the language, their pallets have to be broken. I remember my grandmother reaching her thumb up into my mouth. It hurt, but the pressure of her grip helped me bear the pain.” Continue reading Red Dirt Rambler: Eighty Years of Osage Wisdom in a Thirty Minute Encounter →

Faith, Oklahoma culture

Three Laughs with the Wizard of Oz: A Profile of Bob Waldrop

May 19, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

Editor’s Note – Today across Oklahoma, thousands of citizens are picking up their Oklahoma Food Cooperative orders. They’ll be assisted by hundreds of volunteers to pick and check their orders from producers all over the state. We’re re-running this essay we posted last October as a reminder to consider joining this highly positive system of sustainability in Oklahoma. Later today, we’ll introduce you to a Storm Tracker and his life. Have a wonderful day ~ The Editor

bob waldrop 1 — Bob Waldrop - Photo borrowed from his Facebook page with permission.

I recently ran into someone who went to church where Bob Waldrop serves as the Director of Music. When his name came up they responded, “Oh, yeah…we know him. We call him the Great and Powerful Oz. That guy really is something else.” They laughed and I joined them. I joined them for the same reason that anyone would join in a joke: because it was true. I had never put my finger on a description that fit this man, but people within his congregation at the Church of the Epiphany had summed it up in one phrase.

“The Wizard of Oz” was a character who was revered, feared, was a mystery and who people thought might just have the answers or solutions to every problem they carried with them. However, the Wizard ended up being a down to earth human being who had done the best he could to build an idea from which hundreds and possibly thousands of people had benefited. He also, however, contained the notions and practicality of finding virtues in those who sought him out; he was able to pass along something of value to them so that they believed in themselves…and in something bigger than themselves. Yes, Bob was Oz. Continue reading Three Laughs with the Wizard of Oz: A Profile of Bob Waldrop →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden: The Urban Agrarian and One Last Walk Through Grandpa’s Treasure House

May 17, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 14 Comments

Matt Burch (center), founder of the Urban Agrarian, shown here goofing off at their stand with Ryan Conerly (left) and David Drennen (right). The casual attitude is contagious; the mission – also contagious.

I’ve been trying to visit the Urban Agrarian (UA) Sunday food market at N.W. 23rd & Hudson (located in the Cheever’s parking lot) for several weeks. Today, I finally made it…with five minutes to spare before they closed. Mick and I had left my grandmother’s farm about forty-five minutes earlier and we were driving our truck eastbound on N.W. 23rd Street, hitting every red light possible. I finally pulled out my cell phone and Tweeted:

“@UrbanAgrarian driving back from grandma’s farm in Tuttle. Getting there with maybe 5 min to shop! Eek!” In less than a minute, I got a notice about this reply to my message: “@RedDirtKelly no worries, we will be here.”

Here, why don’t you enjoy a short introductory video about the Urban Agrarian while I finish driving down 23rd St., okay? Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: The Urban Agrarian and One Last Walk Through Grandpa’s Treasure House →

Art, Oklahoma culture, Photography

Silent Sunday – The Work of Rachel Apple: Maud, Oklahoma

May 15, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

Our photographer this week is not new to the Red Dirt Chronicles. When the site rolled out in August of last year, she put together a collection we featured in our header section for several months. She’s also served as a photographer for a few of our essays, and put this self-portrait together as a fun entry for our “RDC Best Red Dirt Inspired Photograph.” Rachel is a senior photography major at the University of Oklahoma School of Art and has completed her studies for an Art History Minor.

Are you searching for the perfect photographer to capture your senior portraits? Jen Pisani Photography dos senior portraits Kingwood, Texas. They specialize in creating stunning, personalized senior portraits that celebrate this significant milestone in your life.

During a recent course, she shot a landscape assignment by traveling to Maud and doing a series in black and white using a large format land camera on 4X5 film. We hope you enjoy your trip through Maud as seen by Rachel’s lens. Continue reading Silent Sunday – The Work of Rachel Apple: Maud, Oklahoma →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden, Entry 12: Cleaning Out…Everything

May 10, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 8 Comments

plant markers scan — These markers represent some of what is now planted in my summer garden.

Cleaning out the garden, the refrigerator, the cabinet, my neighbor’s garden…that’s what My Little Victory Garden life has been like for the past week. I’m starting to use up the cabbage in my garden which leaves space for…peppers, Cucuzzi squash and cucumbers. I’m starting to pull up and use my mature lettuce heads which will leave space for, well, more lettuce. And some late okra. And we finished the summer garden bed so I can clean out the plants in my garage that have been waiting for a nice home. I just need to hire an eco-friendly skip bin rental Adelaide for green waste removal services.

I’m incredibly pumped about the beautiful heirloom varieties I purchased in Guthrie. I’ve been waiting for a good time to swing by Terra Cotta Garden Center on Division (I can’t even find a phone number for them!) because they carry a nice variety of Red Dirt Plants. They’re large, strong and healthy and help me catch up on the growing time I missed.

Everyone goes through “cleaning out” periods in their kitchen’s, homes or gardens…so here’s what mine looked like on Sunday night when I started writing this post: 1) Hmmm, I think I’ve had that box of Green Chili Stew Mix since Christmas…2009; Continue reading My Little Victory Garden, Entry 12: Cleaning Out…Everything →

Oklahoma culture

Silent Sunday: Mother’s Day, 2011

May 8, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 1 Comment

: This wide angle shot is of my mother, my brother and I working in what appears to be a flower bed on the west side of our home, circa late 60s. Days like this probably encouraged me to like flowers. Thanks, mom. I do indeed like flowers.

: This is my first born when she was four or five years old. When she was born (May 3, 1987), her bilirubin tests were showing very high results so we had to take her back to the hospital every day to get a blood test. I felt helpless as I held her screaming little body while they drew blood from her tiny foot. The first day we DIDN’T have to go to the hospital? Mother’s Day of that year. What a gift! I chose this photo because my eldest listens and watches everything, and when I look at this shot it encapsulates those observational and analytical qualities she has.

Continue reading Silent Sunday: Mother’s Day, 2011 →

Relationships

Live Oak Equals Our Living Marriage

May 5, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

May 5, 2011 note: Today I went to the tag agency and while I was waiting on my requests to be processed I heard a man next to me provide his home address to the clerk. I was surprised to hear he lived on “Clover Glen,” the street where Mick and lived in our first home. This has been a week of weird coincidences, so I decided perhaps there was more at stake than just coincidence. Therefore, I’m reposting this entry I wrote almost a year ago in preparation for another I’ve been writing for three days. I’ve been writing, and thinking about, and researching, and writing more about the process of falling in, out, and perhaps…back in love again.

The gentleman at the tag agency ended up being a resident of the house you see in this photo on the left – he would have been our neighbor to the south. He said he still gets mail for our former neighbors, and they’ve been gone over 20 years. See you here tomorrow – Red Dirt Kelly

***

The setting was a cold February, 1986.

My husband and I had been married about six months when the bottom of the oil bust hit Oklahoma. Thousands of homes in Edmond were being vacated after the interest rates within a group of “negative amortization” loans began to skyrocket as the oil jobs started drying up.

For newlyweds living in a tiny apartment like us with adequate income, the housing market was a real opportunity. We purchased our first home from builders who had been paying interest on it for over a year. They were desperate and we felt lucky. We closed on the deal very quickly. Continue reading Live Oak Equals Our Living Marriage →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden: Buttermilk Biscuit Throwdown, PLUS Cauliflower Isn’t Cabbage!

May 3, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 5 Comments

Oh the agony of it all.

I recently received my first delivery from the Oklahoma Food Cooperative system and now I have to think about how to use my food! In my mind the first thing I knew I had to investigate was the Buttermilk from Wagon Creek Creamery. I wanted to know if I could bake with it, and how the product would act in a recipe. My solution? Have a Buttermilk Biscuit Throwdown and ask my family to judge the results.

Here is the description from their listing on the Coop website:

Our buttermilk is the direct byproduct of our buttermaking process. This buttermilk is not cultured (so it isn’t as thick nor as sour as what you purchase at the supermarket.) We freeze it to keep it fresh. Just thaw and use in your favorite biscuit, pancake, fried chicken, etc. recipes! Packaged in a sealed 8 oz. container. Because it is a by product of the butter making process, it may contain a little salt. Ingredients: buttermilk, salt.

Although I have always been fine using Braum’s Buttermilk, a small voice inside my head said, “Do it. Order the buttermilk and see what it’s like.” So I did. I comes frozen in a plastic pouch. I set it in my refrigerator on ordering day and noticed the defrosting time was about 48 hours. This product sells for $1.99, so it’s clearly more expensive than the Braum’s counterpart.

Let’s look at the Braum’s product. Here is the description of their half-gallon from their website:

Braum’s Grade A Pasteurized Buttermilk is real old fashioned buttermilk! Made with low fat milk fresh from our dairy herd on the Braum Family Farm…you can’t get any fresher than that! Great by the glass or use it as an ingredient in your favorite recipe!

Now for the ingredients: Cultured Grade ‘A’ low fat milk, stabilizer blend (modified tapioca starch, carrageenan, locust bean gum), gelatin, salt. I’ll refrain from my commentary fighting to erupt out of my fingers right now. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Buttermilk Biscuit Throwdown, PLUS Cauliflower Isn’t Cabbage! →

Oklahoma culture

Grandma Goldie Rolled Over in Her…Casket

May 2, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 3 Comments

Goldie Bennett of Tuttle, Oklahoma was one of the few people I knew personally who regularly had her hair treated with bluing. Washed, bluing-ed, rolled, teased, styled, sprayed, and… good for another week. Goldie was my great-grandmother. Her son Frank married my grandmother Emma Lee a few years after Emma Lee’s first husband passed away. Frank was a joker. Goldie was stoic.

Well, Goldie was generally stoic. She did have her moments. Take for example my wedding day during the summer of 1985.

The scene: Family photo-taking after the ceremony is all a-whirl. As the photographer worked through grouping after grouping of the bridal party, the groom’s party, grandparents, uncles, and aunts, Goldie waited patiently on the front pew.

“Grandma Bennett, it’s your turn,” someone cued from the midst of the hubbub. She slowly rose and moved to her position in front of the communion table, turned around and waited. A few jokes came from the onlookers. “Goldie, where’s your smile?” “C’mon, Goldie, this is a happy day! Smile for the camera!”

Goldie hadn’t moved and neither had her facial muscles. This wasn’t unusual, however, as Goldie had a face that quite frankly reminded me of The Grinch. I loved my grandmother Goldie, make no mistake about that. But young children tend to get signals from their elder’s faces, and the vibe she generally sent the world was one that uncannily resembled Grant Wood’s famous “American Gothic” painting. No, not the female. Put an older woman’s hairdo on the farmer holding the pitchfork and you’re getting close to her expression.

“Goldie, you better smile. You don’t want Kelly’s picture album to have you frownin’ now, do you?” came a third comment. Goldie hesitated, her face staid. Continue reading Grandma Goldie Rolled Over in Her…Casket →

Art, Music Scene

Sherree Chamberlain’s Quarter-Life Crisis: A Journey Down Her Musical Path

April 28, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

Screen shot 2011-04-28 at 11.57.04 AM — Sheree Chamberlain singing at the OKC Farmers Public Market, 4-07-11

When you sit in an espresso bar like Coffee Slingers, the spot you choose determines how you can then divide your attention. Sit by the window? Watch life pass by on the sidewalk or streets outside, or perhaps carry your gaze across the shop interior and watch the scene inside.

Sit behind a laptop? You’ve just planned to fade the espresso bar and exterior buzz, and crank up your “inner brain buzz” for a bit.

Sit across from Sherree Chamberlain? Be prepared to take the metaphorical hand she reaches out to you, walk by her side, and hear what she’s been up to for the last nine years. At least this process was my own experience a few weeks ago when I met with her. Armed with our drinks (she had tea, I drank an iced latte) and carrot muffins, we settled in for some catching up. The last I had seen of Sherree in person was while I was working with her as her secondary schools Drama Coach during our production of “Oklahoma!” I learned at least two things that year: 1) Never test the fullest load shotgun blanks by firing them inside a university auditorium for the first time; and, 2) Sherree Jane Chamberlain could sing. Continue reading Sherree Chamberlain’s Quarter-Life Crisis: A Journey Down Her Musical Path →

Oklahoma culture

Oh Yes I DID Just Block That Shot!

April 27, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

Screen shot 2011-04-27 at 11.40.53 PM — OKC Thunder Fans got to see this KD face several times tonight. After an excellent offensive possession, after he blocked a shot, after his three-pointer...I mean, after several of them. Thunder won, and they move on to the next round. What a night! For all OKC official photos (including this one), please click this photo and you will be taken to the official OKC Thunder site!

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden, Entry 10: Teaoli, Delivery Day and “Garden Improvement”

April 25, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 4 Comments

Sometimes I go back and re-read my posts then really cringe. Take last week’s “Victory Garden” entry, for example. Here are all the Blog Boo-Boos I found: a) I talked about Teaoli and didn’t even provide you with photos or information. b) I wrote some sort of introductory statement like, “And now…here are the finished quiches, feast your eyes!” and followed that up with a photo of my broccoli. Wha?? And, 3) I talked about Teaoli and didn’t even provide you with photos or information. The Teaoli little faux pas is worth two bullet points.

Nestled in the northwest shopping corner of 15th & Bryant in Edmond awaits a very special place for you to explore. The owners would love you to come in and taste olive oils, infused olive oils, balsamic vinegars, blended balsamic vinegars, and teas…and teas and teas. Every time I go shopping for olive oil, I always want to taste it. And now I finally can. I’ve spent between $7.00 and about $30.00 for approximately 14-18 oz of olive oil. Their 14 oz bottles are $14.50, a mid-range price-point for oils by and large from California. I can recommend my first purchase: Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The description reads, “Fresh and lively with a mild to medium intensity with notes of green apple peel and herbs.” I just uncorked it again to take another whiff and see if I agree with their narrative. (*inhale….okay, another inhale*) Yes. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden, Entry 10: Teaoli, Delivery Day and “Garden Improvement” →

Oklahoma culture

Oklahoma City Bombing Memory and Moment of Pause

April 19, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 2 Comments

I was working with a colleague of mine administering the “Iowa Tests” to seventh graders at Oklahoma Christian Schools. We had already completed our short devotion, read the daily announcements, turned in the lunch counts and absences and briefed the students on instructions for their exams. I hated Iowa Tests; to this day I tend to be a conscientious objector to the whole process. However, my co-teacher Tammy was one of the “radical” teachers at OCS and if there was anyone to be stuck with all day long, coaxing our students through the never-ending task of coloring in circles, it was her.

I was strolling from the front of the class to the back, observing 24 heads bent down tediously over their papers as I passed when a rolling thunder-like roar filled my ears. The ceiling tiles were lifting about six-inches from their positions as the shock wave passed, much like you might observe a crowd at any football game do “the wave.” I immediately turned and caught Tammy’s eyes. “Students,” I said, “please remain in your seats, close your tests, and pass them forward in order,” I said trying to keep my voice calm. We had been experiencing a long-term construction process on the campus grounds and I assumed one of the Bobcats had hit a gas line. The result from any explosion wasn’t going to be good. I began to feel shaky. I couldn’t imagine what my students were feeling at that moment.

Tammy and I conferred. She would go check on the situation while I stayed with the students. I opened the back door to visually check the construction zone while the students buzzed in speculation behind me. All clear. In fact, there weren’t any construction workers on the grounds at all. The equipment was parked. Could it have been a low-flying plane? Continue reading Oklahoma City Bombing Memory and Moment of Pause →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden, Entry Nine: Gimme a Little Quiche!

April 18, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly 1 Comment

One of my favorite Spring sights: Our Japanese Maple unfolding all its beautiful leaves to receive the sun's rays.

When I started these posts, I was a little worried about having enough content. After my first two or three entries, however, I now struggle with CUTTING enough content to avoid overwhelming our reading friends with too much information! This week was certainly another struggle. Included in today’s post will be information about the bargain eggs at St. Francis of the Woods on Highway 33, the opening of the Edmond Farmer’s Market and some treasures I found there, a beautiful olive oil, tea and vinegar shop in Edmond, broccoli and why it bolts, and…101 ways to cook with spinach. Okay, I’m joking about the spinach – I’m just sharing one way. If I were going to write a book on 101 ways of anything right now, it would be, “101 ways to pack 12 gallons of cleaned lettuce in your refrigerator.” We’ll get to that. But first, my journey to St. Francis of the Woods… Continue reading My Little Victory Garden, Entry Nine: Gimme a Little Quiche! →

RDC News & Updates

All Quiet on the Western Front

April 18, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

A few days ago, I recieved a message from one of our fourteen contributors: “Hey Kelly, I’m helping someone write a book and I have ten special letters to write for a ceremony over the next two weeks.”

Then two days later from another contributor: “This is such a busy time of the year. I think I’ll need to write ahead so I can take a break over the next few weeks.”

Then, another writer: “Hey Kelly, ___ is filling in for me because we have to leave for Dallas at 4 in the morning.”

All these quotes are paraphrased, but I think you get the picture. Collectively, our team was experiencing more stress than usual, they have been turning out posts (some of them) for almost nine months. Two of them have written more than 30. We won’t talk about my numbers. I was feeling it too. The last two weeks in Spring simultaneously represent final homework to submit on my part, final grading, finishing preparations for summer interns, guiding the completion of those who served in the Spring, the final weeks of legislative session, etc. “Et Cetera, Et Cetera, Et Cetera!” Continue reading All Quiet on the Western Front →

Art, Photography

Silent Sunday: The Work of Joy Franklin

April 17, 2011 Red Dirt Kelly

About twice each week I check on “Expedition OK,” Joy Franklin’s photography blog. These past few weeks have provided us with photos of her kitty, four-wheeling’, a Rattlesnake Festival, and much more. Two of my favorites were the University of Science and Arts “Droverstock” festival and some quiet moments looking over love letters written by her grandparents. Here is just a taste of that work. See the bottom of this post for more information about Joy, her blog, and how to follow her on Twitter. Have a great Silent Sunday ~ [kelly]