Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
Curtis Stone once said, “Cooking is a caring and nurturing act. It is kind of the ultimate gift to cook for someone.” I thought that was a pretty fitting way to start off this episode of Ranch Raised.
June kicks off National Country Cooking Month which not only celebrates my favorite kind of food but also those moments when we spend more time with family. Country cooking is a style of cooking that has no hard and fast rules but, in my book, it is however your family taught you to cook in your part of the country.
My favorite memories are learning to cook alongside my grandma. And I know my time on this earth won’t be done until all my girls have mastered the art of making gravy. Your country cooking might be a little different than mine but some of our family favorites include digging into the stick-to-your-ribs biscuits and gravy for breakfast. No one complains when I announce that I’m making chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, gravy, and sweet corn that was put up the summer before.NI promise you not all our meals include gravy. We do have chili and cinnamon rolls or beef & noodles during those cold winter months. Desserts made with rhubarb or home preserved peaches or apples are always highlights.
But there’s so much more to country cooking. There is soul and heart that goes into it. And a whole lot of love, too. Never miss an opportunity to learn a recipe from someone a touch wise and maybe a little older in your family. And by all means, it is all our duty to keep country cooking alive and teach the next generation!
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Watching the cattle industry go the path that it has gone, she could no longer sit quietly at home checking cows, fixing fence, and doing all the everyday tasks wondering when some else was going to make it all better. As she became more active and outspoken on industry issues, she was asked to join the R-CALF USA staff in September 2020 as the Checkoff Petition Campaign manager. That position transcended into her current role as full time Field Director for R-CALF USA.
You can hear her almost every Friday on Your Ag Network’s Hot Barn Report, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and industry reforms. Listen to Ranch Raised on a Your Ag Network hometown station or www.youragnetwork.com where she talks about her daily life on the Jones Ranch.
Cattle producers are her people. She will meet you at the county fair, at the sale barn, or anywhere the dusty trail leads.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
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