Our Dynasty

We've been watching a lot of Duck Dynasty lately and I think that their way of life is creeping into mine.  Now, before I tell you what I've been doing, I feel that I should take a moment to give a super quick summary of the characters.  If you do not know these folks, you should.  They are quite funny, sincere, hillbilly types but fascinating non-the-less.

Phil Robertson (Founder of Duck Commander duck calls)
Miss Kay (Phil's wife)

Willie (Phil's son and CEO of Duck Commander)

Jase (Other son of Phil and Willie's brother)

Uncle Si (Phil's brother)

Phil is a college graduate and even has his Master's degree in English.  He enjoys duck hunting (obviously), spending time in nature, knowing how to live off the land and be self-sufficient and all of this with an undercurrent of hillbilly southern charm and a deep belief in God.  Miss Kay, his wife, is usually in the kitchen, loving her family through home cooked food.  She is proud to be cooking what Phil brings home:  duck, frog, squirrel, gator, wild honey...  They are quite a "happy, happy, happy" pair and perfectly suited for one another. When they interact on screen, it is highly evident that they have an amazing love for one another.

Willie and Jase are brothers.  (There are actually two other brothers too.  One named Jep and the other isn't on the show.)  Willie and Jase work together at the Duck Commander warehouse.  Willie is the college grad and CEO and Jase helps design and build duck calls with other members of the Robertson clan.  Willie and Jase are super competitive:  golfing, fishing, money making...

But, I think my favorite character (and I mean "character" as in, "Oh, he is such a character!") is Uncle Si.  Uncle Si is part hippy, part red neck, part Vietnam Vet, part seamstress, with a little roadkill to fill in the gaps.  He carries a gallon of tea with him wherever he goes and drinks it from an old fashioned Tupperware cup.  He is famous for saying, "Hey!" and for making up kooky expressions.

I'd like to say that as woman, I identify with Miss Kay most, but I don't think I do.  She's so loving and sweet and appears to not get rattled by much but yet she always gets her way.  I love that she loves her family through food.  No matter what the family dynamic may be, at the end of the day, Miss Kay puts on a big spread of home-cooked goodies and the whole family sits down to pray and eat together.  In a way, I wish I was more like Kay...able to cook and tend to the house all day, have a glass of iced tea ready for my husband before he even asks for it, not be so judgmental about others - just a real "Life is Good" kinda gal.   But, I guess that's kind of simple and backward....
Or is it?

A few days ago, my husband and I watched an episode where Jase, Willie, and Si stumbled upon and then obsessed over a bee hive filled with...honey!  Needless to say, they tried to get the bee hive but also, needless to say...without success.

Wise ol' Phil heads out with his grandson, Cole(Man) and shares an analogy of how bees are like women.  Phil, calmly goes up to the bee hive with a bee smoker and lulls the bees into submission.  Then, he removes the hive, places it in a box, and all without a single bee sting to him or to Cole.  Phil takes his fresh honey to Miss Kay who then makes a honey pecan pie.

Honey?  I love pecan pie.  I love honey.  We actually have a small farm less than a mile from our house and they sell raw honey on the honor system.  If you go onto the farm, you will be greeted by a super friendly dog, Bible verses, mismatched brick pavers, rusty things, and on this particular day, by Mrs. Marion Lambert (the wife of the man who owns and operates the farm).

So, while my husband was out with my precious darling sweet itty bitty baby boy (SHOOTING A GUN!!!), I decided to be a little more like Miss Kay.  I went to the local farm to get some fresh orange blossom honey. (I wimped out when it came to buying unpasteurized fresh cow's milk, butter, and free range eggs.)  I was fixin' to make me some honey pecan pie!!!

Pie in the oven

Muffin size individual pies.

Red neck cooling rack:  Oven shelf with cans of tuna

Sun tea to pay homage to Uncle Si

For more information about Marion Lambert's farm and products for sale:CLICK HERE

The recipe I used to make the pie filling:CLICK HERE

Nicholas and Shawn in the "duck blind"

It's a good thing, Shawn is teaching Nicholas how to shoot a gun.  Because we are under attack!  This is our dock with a "Chinook" helicopter preparing for the mock invasion of Tampa.

I think that allowing a little Duck Dynasty into our life is a good thing.  My husband calls my son "Dork Dynasty" which is probably a more accurate description of our family.  But, we are happy, happy, happy!