Smokin' Rainbows

          Freshly caught rainbow trout, in the spring, cooked up in a smokin' hot cast iron skillet. It melts in your mouth. It tears up your taste buds. It lingers on your tongue.  Maybe you can go a fishing. There must be a rod and a reel around somewhere, just waiting for you. Sneak the kids, or the iron horse cowboys, thats what I do. A rushy litttle brook, some warm sunshine on your back, some rubber boots, and you are off. If not, you might be lucky enough to have a young 'un that likes to fish, or an old retired friend that will gift you with his catch. You can clean it yourself, or sweet talk some one else into doing it. Have 'em cut off the head and tail, then cut down the middle, and you have a nice butterfly fillet to cook.

         A picture can't convey the beauty of the rainbow. In the water, nor when he jumps out, swirling and flashing in the sunlight, spraying you with drops of diamond glitter water. There he is, plump and ready for the pan. You need to heat up that skillet, so it's smokin' hot. When you plop in that dab of butter, you want it to smoke and sizzle in the pan, and turn immediately brown. Drop in your butterfly fillet. Careful, now, don't let it splatter you..it's smokin' hot! About five minutes should be good. The skin will be crisp and crinkly and the flesh pink and flakey. Slide a fork under the back bone, and it will glide right off. Stick the bones off to the side. Turn off your heat. Brush the trout with some heavy cream and sprinkle it with finely crushed Ritz crumbs. Put the trout,( in the pan), under your pre heated broiler and let it brown nicely. Done! Sweet! Eat it up. Sit there staring at your empty plate, almost wishing you had some more.

       Clean up your mess! There's not much , everything was done in that one cast iron skillet! When it cools wipe it down, rinse with hot water, and set it away for the next good thing that happens along.I have a cast iron cooking range, too. I use it when the weathers cold and the fire burns and crackles. You gotta keep that wood box full, though. Said one small boy the other day, as he dropped in an arm load of wood, "I can't believe you are making me do this." Quite under his breath, so the iron horse cowboy would not hear. But he did it, none the less, and beamed at me as he strode back out the door.
      When iron horse and I first started house keeping, we were rather poverty stricken. We would rent a row boat every evening for the large sum of $1.00 and catch our limit of rainbows. Then it was trout and eggs for breakfast. It was good, and good for you, they say. Sometimes I remember back then, how much fun it was and how good trout and eggs tastes, when you are hungry.So maybe, I'll go a fishing in the morning.. Come over for breakfast!