I really don’t have a story to tell this week. We had company from Ohio and it seemed like our wheels were on the ground constantly. We had fun showing them around Goliad and even ran down to the Coast to see the Gulf and eat seafood. The beaches were deserted, the water muddy, and they didn’t see one ray of sunshine the whole time they were here.

So the refrigerator is empty and I’m tired, but it was nice having them around. But tonight I didn’t feel like creating something from nothing again, so I fell back on one of my Aunt Naydine’s cards she would pull out for supper when we begged her ... fried bread and boiled sausage with homemade jelly. She would make her regular bread dough and let it rise and then make dough balls and let it rise again before rolling out the dough and frying it. I didn’t have the patience for all of that, so I made the quick version ... Navajo Fry Bread.

I first had this bread at a café on an Indian reservation out West. They use it as a base for their tacos which are delicious. You can also sprinkle on cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar with honey and make them into a dessert. I cooked some of that good sausage from Striedel’s in Cuero that I just found out about, and served it with some fig and tomato preserves I made last year. Just the kind of supper I grew up on.

Navajo Fry Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• 1½ tsp. baking powder

• ½ tsp. active dry yeast

• ½ tsp. salt

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees)

• 1 tbsp. butter or shortening, melted

• Vegetable or canola oil for frying

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, yeast and salt.

• Whisk melted butter into warm milk and pour milk into dry ingredients.

• Stir until mixture comes together and forms a ball. Dough should be slightly sticky and elastic.

• Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest 10 minutes.

• Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet to about 350 degrees.

• Depending on the size you want, scoop out dough and with floured hands, flatten or roll out dough into a circle and gently drop into the hot oil.

• Cook until golden brown and turn. Remove from oil and drain onto a plate lined with paper towels.

• Serve warm with butter, jelly and boiled or dried sausage, or your favorite taco toppings.