From author: forward:
I was raised in wide-open-spaces kind of a family. So, naturally, I'm a wide-open-spaces kind of a girl. All my life, I have rubbed elbows with old time cowboys and ranchers as well as young cowhands. In the areas I have lived, I have been surrounded by horses and pick up trucks, rodeos and roundups, dust and sagebrush, simple wisdom and terrific cookin'. As a young "cookie" during a round up with my family, I have seen hired cowboys toast Rocky Mountain Oysters on a stick over the fire, although the cowboy delicacy never appealed much to me. I have sweet memories of this wonderful lifestyle, and in my family tradition, most good memories are combined with food.