The closest restaurant to us is the Stockman's Cafe in Rapelje. This is another unincorporated community although it is much larger than the one I live near. Though they still don't have a gas station or grocery store, they have a church and this restaurant.
The place is set up like a community hall or center, with tables covered in cowboy themed fabric with clear plastic on top. The food is fine, the specials are popular, they make their own fries which I highly recommend. Their hours are mostly open for lunch with one night a week for dinner. The decor around the edges of the dining area comprise local information, historical displays, a few shelves of books, display of brands and a freezer of Wilcoxson ice cream.
So in summary, this is not only the only restaurant in town, it's also a community meeting place, a museum, a library and the only place to buy "groceries" if ice cream is the only thing on your list.
On our third visit, the waitress said, "now that you're regulars, let me get your names." She knew where we lived and we exchanged polite information. We are also the only people that don't know anyone else there. Everyone else chats to each other.
We went to pay our bill and I noticed a sign for farm fresh eggs, $2 a dozen. I bought a dozen because not only are farm eggs much better than store bought, this is a pretty good price around here. When I went into our fridge to put them away, I belatedly remembered that I already had one and a half dozen. What to do? Make a quiche.
The next night we enjoyed a delicious quiche made with bacon and Gruyere cheese. We enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast the next day. I hadn't made a quiche in quite a long time and I don't recall the previous ones turning out so well. If you're curious, here's my modified recipe.
When I lived with four grocery stores within five miles from my house, I decided what recipes to make and bought the ingredients. But I'm starting to switch that around. More often now, the ingredients I have decide the recipes and meals.
Lamb chops from the sheep ranch just south of us dictate a grilled lamb chop meal with steamed vegetables from the freezer and mashed potatoes from the pantry. Hamburger given from the neighbor's ranch made a meal of cheeseburgers with a side of tater tots from an unending bag in the freezer and steamed green beans.
Meals are planned in advance and there are still some ingredients I get to complete a recipe. I purchased pie crusts (haven't learned to make decent ones) last night so I could make a pot pie today with leftover chicken from last week. I am using what I have more than I used to.
And when all else fails, lets hope it's a Wednesday night. Because that's when the Stockman's Cafe is open for dinner.
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