Weekend Cook: Smoked Pork Shoulder

Pulled pork: moist, smoky, and with a little sauce, sure to please me.

It looks soooo goood! All it takes is a smoker and time - though it can be made in an oven, too.*

(Two 5 lb. pork shoulders coated in Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust at 6:00 a.m.)

After 15 hours on the Big Green Egg smoker @ 220-250f, (indirect) it looked like these shoulders would be done around midnight - so I decided to pull the roasts off at 187f internal, and finish them in the oven the next day (after spending overnight in the refrigerator). (I normally take them off the smoker at 200f, or until the meat pulls easily from the bones, but I've been up since 4:00 a.m. and I can't stay awake anymore.)

(Cooled, then refrigerated overnight.)

After 2 more hours in the oven at 250f in a covered heavy iron casserole vessel, they are done!

Can you tell the difference between nearly done, and definitely done?

The difference is that the meat pulls apart when twisted with a fork.

Still too hot to pull after a few minutes, even with a pair of food-service gloves on. I always use nitrile gloves - but they don't insulate against heat at all.

(All shredded and ready for cold sammies.)


That's a total of 1/2 weight lost after pulling (and eating some). This amount of smoked meat will make sliders for twenty or more, and all that time and effort is certainly appreciated by true blue barbecue fans.

*I'm going to defer to Guy Fieri on this one, with the oven at 225f, put the rubbed shoulder in a roaster with a rack for 7 hours, then wrap it in aluminum foil for the next 3 hours or until it falls apart. (He claimed 8-10 hours in all, but I haven't tested the truth of that.) My advice is to plan on 15 hours, check it at 10 and be pleasantly surprised if it finishes sooner.

Today at 1:00 p.m.

That's quite enough hail for now, thanks.

Field pea sized, and hopefully no damage to any field crops.

Monday Menu: Wilted Greens, Cold Noodle Salad

Chopped wilted greens on top of a cold beef pesto noodle salad with a side of fresh radishes. Hooray for farmer's market!

I cut one small head of radicchio in half, and I had a bundle of chard that I coated lightly with Cheetah Marinade (Newman's Own Lime Vinaigrette).

Set a grill to medium heat.

The small-stemmed chard took about 1 -2 minutes to wilt, thicker pieces stayed on the grill for about 2 - 3 minutes. 

It took about 3 - 4 minutes per side for the radicchio. After removing from the grill, I sliced the greens and set them aside to top the noodle salad.

To two cups of boiling water, I added two packets of rice noodles (it takes about 3 minutes for these to soften). I rinsed them with cold water, drained them, and set them aside in a 2-quart bowl.

I mixed the cooled noodles with one-pound of sliced leftover flatiron from another cook, and a 1/4 cup of pesto from the recipe printed here.

I forgot to add the cheese! That's 4 ounces of shredded Tomme Collins, though any Parmesan-style cheese will do. Adjust for salt, refrigerate, and serve cold with the greens.

As with most of my cooking, it's a great mess on a plate!

The result? The bitterness of the radicchio and the earthiness of the chard overpower the garlicky pesto and beef, so eating this as a noodle salad with greens on the side, rather than as a combined dish is the way to go. This recipe served 4 (or two people, twice).

Wheatless: thinkFruit bars

It looks good, but...I tried the cashew bar first. It is soft, pasty in texture (think: Fig Newton interior).

All of these tasted baby-foody, even the "chocolate". I also bit down on a nutshell in two of them, and at my age, 'oh, no, I've lost another filling' is not a desired result of between-meal snacking. The label clearly states to expect this - the nutshells, not groaning over the expense of possible dental work.

I think I'll keep them around for those days that I can't stomach anything more substantial. That's what baby food is for, isn't it?

Second Cut, knock it down!

Crazy day. It looked like it would be clear skies for the next 72 hours, so the second cut of alfalfa was on!

Dan made short work of the field out back of our house, and another farmer joined us with his mower to significantly reduce the time it takes to complete the larger fields.

Dan said that the aphids were at major infestation levels. I don't have any photos, but they ride on the mower, inches thick, and drip down in acid-green waterfalls when the gear is stopped.

No breaking for lunch.

You can't see it here, but the semi-feral barncats skirt the fringes of the field and snag the dazed mice, moles, voles, rats - whatever is running away from the blades. 

Farmer's Market #9: Red, White, Blue...Purple

The calm before the actual storm, which nearly blew away the tent to the right. It was July 4th and the park was hopping by 10:00 a.m. - so many people!

The veggie and fruit crops are coming in strong, but you need to get here early for Plum Hill Farm cherries.

(Riverberry Farm tomatoes - those were their berries, too)

(That's Snowfarm Vineyard's sign - I never found time to get over to the tasting)

(Adorable doggie of the day)

(Mike from Tamarack Hollow Farm)

($5 bouquets from Stray Cat Flower Farm)

(Tyler of Stony Pond Farm)

(Arethusa Collective Farm radicchio, and spring onions)


(Diggers' Mirth Collective Farm bevy of giant beets)

If you are thinking about attending market this week (Saturday the 11th), there will be an adjacent "Quad Fest Specialty Food Fair" on the other side of the fountain in City Hall Park. More market-type vendors, lots of non-food vendors, and a parade as well. Parking will be an adventure - come early, we hope to see you there!

Pick eggs for me?

(I tripped in a hole in the chicken pen while trying to get a photo of our new Barred Rock rooster.)

I'm not the most coordinated walker in the world. I trip all the time, even wearing flats, even when walking on flat ground - it's all due the to The Accident No One Remembers But Me.

I hate picking eggs in the rain because of that ramp that leads into the chicken coop: it is missing one cleat near the bottom, and it's covered in carpet. Tripping, slipping central.

When my husband Dan constructed it he installed old carpet because, 'the chickens will not be able to make it into the coop.' I said, 'put cleats on it and they'll be fine,' so he did - right over the carpet - except for the bottom 15 inches.

(Looks harmless enough, doesn't it?)

And it worked fine all right, until the first time it rained. Familiar with wet carpet? If you're not, let me tell you that it is as slick as a 'slip 'n slide'.  After the first three times failing to get up the ramp in wet conditions, I declared that I would never be doing that again, and so I have always asked Dan to pick the eggs for me whenever it rains.

It has been raining quite a bit lately, and Dan finally declared that he had 'done enough of that' (referring to picking the eggs) so today I did it, after a light afternoon rainfall.

Let's shorten this story: I slipped and fell onto my back while descending the ramp, and all of the day's eggs were broken, save these few:




(The right photo shows the previous day's eggs.)

Those last ten are probably cracked, too, it's just disguised under all that slime. I was in slightly better shape, but the entire backside of me looked equally as messy.  

I will not be picking eggs in the rain again!

Knee-High by the Fourth of July

Dan demonstrates that you need to be a Rockette to get your knees up high enough for "knee high" in our stand of corn on the backside of Carter Hill.

(We don't grow no girly corn!)

It looks like we are doing well with the crop this year; the stands will be mature by the end of the season.

Turkey update: out of the birdhouse

Dan lets the turkeys roam between their pen and the reserve chicken pen twice daily for about 10 minutes at a time.

They love to eat the tall grass seeds.

If you stay still for a few minutes, they will come near enough to get a good look at you, but they won't come close enough for you to touch them. The next step is to let them out into their pasture unchaperoned during the day, but they still seem too small to be left alone for that amount of time.

Monday Menu: Grilled Veggies & Flat Iron

Perfectly rare!

Grilled beef flatiron steak accompanied by a grilled vegetable medley from farmer's market.

This is a two-pound steak that was 2-inches thick on one end, tapering down to 1/2-inch - so I cut it in half to get it to cook evenly.

I coated it with Dizzy Pig swamp venom for the habanero heat, and let it mellow 1/2 hour in the refrigerator.

The bounty from farmer's market this week:  garlic scapes, spring onions, snap peas; baby zucchini, patty pan and yellow squash, and fava beans.  I cut the fatter squashes into long strips and coated everything with Newman's Lime Vinaigrette (cheetah marinade).

I STILL can't find my Weber veggie grill trays - I'm thinking I may have loaned them out last year - so I put a piece of aluminum foil on a grill set to medium heat.  I closed the lid for 5 minutes, stirred everything, then put the cover back down for another 7 minutes.

The result is beautiful roasted veggies, and the big surprise was the fava beans, as they were "bleh" when eaten raw, but became wonderfully sweet when roasted.

I cranked the grill back up to high, and put on both steaks.  The 1/2 to 1-inch steak went 5 minutes per side, and the 2-inch thick steak was on for ten minutes per side.  After the sear, I took the skinny one inside to the counter, covered it in foil and a heavy towel.  I moved the large steak to the side of the grill that was "off", put the grill cover down, and turned the high burners down to the lowest setting for 20 minutes. No peeking during the baking stage!

The hot pepper heat from the rub went very well with the sweetness of all the grilled veggies.  This recipe serves 8 people.  (Since we are not 8 people, leftovers have made great cold Thai-style fresh spring roll filling.)

Scenes from Highgate: July 4th

It's not our barn, but it is in Highgate near our farm.  I've always thought it was cool, and a fitting photo for the Fourth of July.

Can you see the round bales?

On the hill in the distance beyond the alfalfa field in back of my house are about one hundred 250-300 lb. plastic-wrapped round hay bales. They look like mini-marshmallows from over here. Hmm, you might say - I remember that the Boucher's don't do bales. Well, we don't. We recently purchased some adjacent land (that's a whole 'nother story) which had hay on it, so we asked someone to harvest it and keep the majority of the bales for themselves, leaving us 25 or so to deal with. What are we going to do with them? We don't know. But, hey, we've "Got Bales!"

The alfalfa is getting long again -- second cut coming soon.

Pumpkins Progress

We surely are not "veggie people" by any stretch.  Here is the progress of my husband Dan's pumpkin hill out back of the barns.  A few leaves were burned from the lack of rain the week prior, and a dandelion has moved in to keep one hill company.   I've noted over the years that the man never waters plants, preferring to treat the patch (or any garden) as though it were an entire field of corn or alfalfa: put seed in the ground, then leave it unattended to live or die.  In spite of that, they seem to be doing well, but no flowers or fruit, yet.

Farmer's Market Food: Folk Foods

Mmmm, burrito.

It's the Breakfast Burrito from Folk Foods, Dan's first choice for breakfast on Saturday mornings in City Hall Park during farmer's market. It used to be mine, too, but - you know - I can't eat wheat anymore.

My husband is not the only one with breakfast and lunch in mind at this busy stand.

There are 3 other sandwiches available, plus you can buy their hot "Master Sauce," and vegetarian wheat gluten patties and crumbles to take home. They cheerfully supply recipe ideas, too.

That's Dan getting his burrito from the owner, Jason Frishman.

Really, any sandwich with an egg in it is filling fare, and I find that I can't look away from the psychedelic designs as they sizzle away on the griddle. 

Practically perfect veggie patties await turning, and completed sandwiches are warming on the planchet.

As a bonus to being the stand beside this one, I get to inhale the aroma of toast and eggs all day. Mmmmm, toast. (I miss you! Kiss, kiss!)



(They are currently out of the Master Sauce, but more will be available, shortly - I have a jar of my own in the refrigerator.)

What are you waiting for? Come to market!

Farmer's Market #8: Chow, Chow, Meow, Meow

There was a cool breeze all day, and sales were brisk after 10:00 a.m.


This is the burger from Jericho Settler's Farm stand which Dan ate AFTER consuming a breakfast burrito from Folk Foods, and a raised donut with chocolate Amaretto frosting and sliced almonds from Dinky Donuts.

I really must find a pair of socks like this for myself.

Most adorable doggie of the day, and his little girl.

Our entertainers; I think they moved around, or burned out, I didn't hear them for long.

Dan's pick for favorite T-shirt of the day. See you at market!

Life on the Farm 062909: Grazing the park

This past Saturday was the eighth week of Burlington Farmer's Market. The day-trippers have  me plum worn out.

It was "Chew Chew" weekend, supposedly the last, ever; it brought a boost for local tourism, a few more cheese buyers, and an influx of "Grazing-types".


Many food vendors offer samples for people to try, especially if what they have is unique; carrots, for example are not sampled out, but farmstead cheeses are. The Granola Guy does it, the Cake Lady does it, and the prepared food vendor next to us, Folk Foods, does it, too.


I offer tastes of all our aged cheeses, as the flavor profile can vary each week. My samples are small squares the size of peas; they break and fall off a toothpick if you try to stab more than one at a time. It's key to have some portion control when sampling, or you wind up giving all your product away.


Over the years, most of the people who tried my cheese have bought some, but about two percent of all visitors to my booth have been Grazers; of those 98% are tourists, a small remainder are students; the common factor is that they have no intention of making a purchase.


(They are quite different from people who don't anticipate buying, but can be enticed by an amazing product.)

Pure Grazers fall into the following categories:

A Professional Grazer will complain that the samples are too small, and that I don't offer accompanying free bread and crackers. Some have even taken these items from other cheesemaker's booths to eat with a piece of cheese from our table.

Opportunistic Grazers call out for their friends/relatives/children's children to come over because there are "...free samples over here!"

Drive-by Grazers grab a sample and walk on, and may return again and again, until the dish remains empty.

Allergy-free Grazers will eat anything without asking what it is first, as though our table were located at the end of an aisle at Costco; a few each season will spit the cheese out into their palm, and look around wondering where to wipe it off. One has tried to hand it back to me!

The most common Grazerspeak at our stand, while eating samples is: "I'm on vacation and can't buy anything". Number 2 is: "My doctor won't let me eat cheese unless it is fat free/salt free." (So, just plain "free" is okay?) The third is: to say nothing. Or to continue to talk to their friends, or on a cellphone without acknowledging us, as though they were helping themselves to hors d'oeuvres at a free buffet.


I realize that I am in a venue where product sampling is entertainment - it's all part of the day, it creates a festive atmosphere. It drives sales.

But there are those who would seek to take advantage of a generous nature, and they might want to consider the courtesy of a smile, and offering a "Thank you," even when away from home, or while on vacation.

On the road again: Brault's under construction

This morning, we went up over the mountain (Jay) into Troy to pick up our beef at Brault's.


They are under construction at the moment, adding more smoking area - that's meat smoking, not an employee lounge.

Tony (the owner) is using salvaged materials from an old barn for this project, which has increased the labor costs, but as he says, 'we are trying to be "green"'.

Our sirloin tip steaks are beautiful and well marbled.

So are the tenderloin, rib-eyes, and I think that's a skirt in the cooler.


Such a nice, sunny day! This road trip was a pleasant distraction from being stuck on the farm all day.

Monday Menu: Grilled Beef Skirt

Rare beef skirt with grilled greens and red jasmine rice.

I put a few tablespoons of Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette in a plastic baggie with our 1 1/2 pound steak; I squeezed out as much air as possible so the marinade had full contact with the meat for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

I took one baby Bok Choy from Arethusa Farm, cut it in half and coated them with EVOO.  I put about a tablespoon of oil on a plate, spread it out, and swept the cut halves across the film.  I gave them a sprinkle of salt before grilling.


They take about 6 minutes on the grill, 3 min. per side.  I tried to move the delicate leaves over the cooler part of the gas grill.

The steak was a 10/10/20 because it was so thick.  Ten minutes per side on high with the cover up, 20 minutes moved to the unlit portion of the grill with the flame side turned down to the lowest setting, cover down.

The Bok Choy was still a bit crunchy, but cooked through.  The skirt is very rare this time, due to pulling it off the grill too soon - Dan grew impatient with the wait.  Serves 2 hungry farmers.

Weekend cook: Saucy Beef Stew

It all started with two one-pound packages of mystery meat, mismarked as "skirt steak".

That's not skirt!  It was either kabobs or stew meat, and there was only one sure way to find out.

I pan seared it on both sides, then covered the pan and let it rest for 6 minutes.

That's a perfectly rare piece of: stew meat.

I have a very lazy cooking method, so there is no braising step in this recipe. I just added the meat chunks on top of 3 large carrots (julienned) in a 4-quart stew pot.

And added what I had in the refrigerator: 3 Serrano peppers, deseeded, deveined, and finely sliced; 2 colored bell peppers, thickly sliced; 2 bunches of scallions, sliced; 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro; basil microgreens (there were only a couple of pinches of left in the bag, and I put them in, why not?)

Add one jar of plain strained tomatoes, this will help cut the intensity of the next ingredient.

This is 1 1/2 cups of the "House BBQ Sauce"; I promise to post the recipe sometime. Any leftover barbecue sauce you have in the refrigerator will do here, but you have to add water to make 1 1/2 cups.

After three hours in the oven (1 hour at 300f, covered; 2 hours uncovered at 250f) the mix has condensed to a sweet and smoky, thick, spicy, barbecue-saucy beef stew. Stir once every hour if you have the time. Adjust for salt when completed, and voila! This is a great way to use up the leftover veggies you have on hand, and it serves 8.

*Hint: if the stew meat is still chewy after 3 hours, just add another hour on, until it falls apart. Watch the liquid level; you may have to put the cover back on to keep it from condensing too much and scorching.

Turkey update: 2 1/2 weeks

At 2 1/2 weeks old the birds are getting tall and very curious; Dan lets them out for about 10 minutes in the morning and evening to graze, and to train them to come out of the building and go back in when he wants them to.

They are too small to let out on their own during the day, as falcons, hawks, ravens, and semi-feral barn cats frequent the pasture areas.

Farmer's Market Food: Tamale Girl

(Red Chile Chicken tamales made by Monica Mead, the "Tamale Girl".)

There's very little prepared food that I dare to eat at our local farmers' market. Nearly everything has wheat in it, or could possibly have been touched by gloves that are also handling bready buns:( - but not Tamale Girl and her tamales (stand located on the St. Paul side of the market in City Hall Park on Saturdays, 8:30-2).

I've been buying frozen 4-packs for a couple of weeks to eat at the house, later. Locally raised chicken and spicy goodness; and the most important instruction: DON'T EAT THE HUSK!

The sides are fresh from the farmers' market; a handfull of snap peas cut in half the long way, several thin colorful baby carrots, washed and trimmed.  Tip: the carrots should be no thicker than the peas in order for them to cook at the same rate.

The rice is leftover "Forbidden" black rice (high in iron) and the white rice was all that remained of a weekend Chinese take-away. Previously cooked rice in a heat-proof dish easily reheats in the time it takes a tamale to get hot.

(I threw in a couple of garlic scapes along with the other veggies.)

(If you are sharp you'll notice this is a two layer stack, when in actuality it was 3 trays high: veggies, tamales, rice. I've staged this so the method would make a little more sense to those without bamboo steamers.)

Not much for instructions or amounts here, we are simply cooking vegetables for two in the bamboo steamer stack as the tamales and rice are reheating. Water at a simmer, 45 minutes, or until everything is heated through. 4 tamales and sides = 2 servings.  (I did not preheat the water.)

Now, you have to understand that we are two very tired people here, so glad of having something "Wow" to eat at home after a hard day that I did not take any plated photos.  The chicken tamales are very spicy and very meaty; Monica also makes them with beef, cheeses, and offers sweet tamales made with local strawberries, and almonds/chocolate.

  

On a cold day, the hot chocolate is awesome.

Cornish chick update: one week old

Just one week old and settled in, most of our Cornish chicks are sleeping beyond the lights while Dan unloads bags of feed, and piggies snort in the background.

Farmer's Market #7: Gone to the dogs

Market started a little overcast and cool, but turned out to be the best day in sales so far this season.  We were so busy in fact, that I had little chance to leave the stand but still managed to take a few photos of the dogs that walked by.

(Most adorable dog of the day.)

(Biggest puppy)

(Best hangdog expression, first place)

(Best hangdog expression, second place)

(German Shorthaired Pointer - I think, Dan and I argued about this one)

(One of the best-behaved large dogs, several others decided to mix it up in the crowd)

(The sweetest little dog I spotted; it kept leaping up to give kisses to the larger dog on the left)

See you at market!

Our Normandy Steers

We don't have many steers, but here they are: all twelve of them. Well, there are twelve, but the others are further out in the tall grass. They are all different ages and were born on the farm; females enter the milking herd, males become service bulls or steers. Nearly all of them have the circles of color around their eyes that are characteristic of this dual-purpose, high altitude French Normande breed.

Monday Menu: Sirloin Tip with Asparagus

That's a one-inch thick steak, with asparagus and butter lettuce from farmer's market. The dressing is a horseradish mayonnaise.

(Nicely marbled, one-pound steak.)

I coated both the meat and the asparagus lightly with EVOO and sprinkled on some salt.

On to a hot grill on "high" - the meat was 5 - 6 minutes per side (cover up), then moved to the opposite side of the grill (which was "off"). I put the cover down and turned the working burner to "low" and left it alone for 15 minutes. That makes this steak cook a 5/5/15 for "rare".

The asparagus cooked 2-3 minutes per side, and were removed to a plate, covered in foil and a towel to finish cooking and await the steak.

I was a bit nervous about over cooking this, since it's a cut and a size that I don't often have at hand.  No worries, though, it came out exactly as I wanted. 5/5/15 for a one inch steak - a new rule!


As you can see, the asparagus cooked all the way through during the resting step. This recipe made three servings.

Wheatless: Boomi Bars

I'm really trying to stop skipping breakfast and lunch - especially on Saturdays when we are in City Hall Park.

These were purchased in the gluten-free aisle at Healthy Living. The macadamia one reminded me of those sesame/honey candies they used to sell from a big jar in the deli section of the Grand Union (back in the day). The cashew bar was so good I ate most of it before I remembered I was supposed to be taking a photo and noting the cholesterol, calorie, and sodium content for future reference.

I will definitely purchase them again.

On the Side: Carrot Slaw

Hop into the Wayback Machine with me, because this is an updated version of the carrot slaw I learned to make while working in the kitchens at the Dairy Center restaurant (Enosburg, Vermont) as a dishwasher/salad station girl over thirty years ago.

Carrot Slaw

5 pounds of carrots, julienned
2 cups of craisins, raisins, and dehydrated strawberries (found in the natural foods section of our local Hannaford)

Combine and set aside.

Mix together the following as a dressing:

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 Tb. white sugar
1/8 tsp. curry powder

Mix the dressing with the dry ingredients. If it doesn't seem creamy enough, add more mayonnaise. Not sweet enough? Adjust the sugar. This easy side can be made up ahead of time and keeps for a few days in the refrigerator. Serves 20

Market Snaps: Signs

Here's a rarity. I actually appear in a photo.

This week was next week last week - so this week we will have chickens!

I really think that the wide variety of eye-catching signs are part of the charm of Burlington's Farmers' Market. So here's a few more, just for you.







See you at market!

Farmer's Market #6: Chalk it up, jazz it up

This week at farmers' market: a sidewalk art competition. Too bad we had to run over the submissions with our carts to pack up our vehicles at 2:00 p.m.

(Most adorable dog of the day.)

Two live performances right in front of our stand that were pleasant, unobtrusive, and in keeping with the market atmosphere. They made being here great fun!

New Arrivals: Cornish chicks

On Monday, a shipment of Jumbo Cornish meat birds arrived in the mail.

They were a little cold, but perked up after a drink of water and some warmth from the red heat lamps.

This is the free bird that came with our order. I wonder what breed it will be?

As you can see, they are quite lively.

Life on the Farm 061509: Chicken Day

This past Sunday was the first Chicken Day of 2009. Family and friends came to the farm to process meat birds while I stayed at the house, cooked them a lunch, and kept the cats from molesting the flower arrangements.

My husband Dan began by lighting the smoker at 4:00 a.m. when he got up for chores, and a half hour later I was dressing carrot salad, making vinaigrette, and putting the pork ribs on.

(Our own country-style pork ribs, coated in mustard and the spicy house rub.)

I like making low-and-slow barbecue; after farmers' market the previous day, it's a swell way to unwind from rushing around and work, work, work.

This time we had a newbie on the line. Her reasoning was that if she wanted to keep her own egg-laying yardbirds, she ought to experience the responsibilities that come with owning livestock, specifically, processing. She tried all the stations: beheading, scalding, plucking, gutting, quality control (a.k.a. bag 'n tag). No easy task to accomplish.

(Front to back, Tomme Collins, Boucher Blue, Brother Laurent.)

I wanted to award her for going through it with class and style, but instead spilled a rootbeer on her when I leapt from the double Adirondack chair as a meat timer alarm went off. Mortified!

The closest I'll ever get to what she did is fixing a processing date for my layers and selecting which ones to keep so that we have eggs over the winter (older hens also teach the new flock to go into the coop at night). I'm 'The Decider'. I know that in order for my egg-laying operation to be viable, hens must be 'turned over' every two years, but with less than 80 birds of different breeds and colors, little "chicken personalities" emerge and many become familiar. This violates the cardinal rule: NEVER make livestock into pets.

(After 4 hours at 220f, a "bark" has formed on the ribs. They were put into an aluminum pan with 1/4 cup of Corona and covered tightly in foil to finish cooking.)

Meat birds are another story. They aren't here very long, aren't pretty, and it's a given that they are meant for the plate. But, I've never been involved in the processing, or even seen it, except in photos.

(Close-up of that bark.)

The 'thank you lunch' featured ribs and chops (which, in spite of brining, were uncharacteristically chewy).

(The pork chops were better the second day.)

There were three veggie salads, fruit tartes from farmers' market, and Rookie's Rootbeer floats. One of the appetizers was based on a dish Dan and I had eaten at Leunig's Restaurant called "Chilled Shrimp Trio".

(After 2 hours of steaming, these ribs are ready to be enjoyed.)

I recall that while we were enjoying our shrimpies that day we heard a commotion of clapping and whooping outside. Dan looked in the street and said, "It's the pickle parade."

The "pickle parade" is actually the World Naked Bike Ride to bring awareness to alternative transportation, or alternative fuels, or recycling, or something - honestly, I didn't get a good enough look to see what the banner said, but I was already as close as I wanted to be. So my concentration fell to my plate, 'Hmm, I taste chili and Parmesan, do you taste cilantro?' and identified enough ingredients to create a facsimile of their dipping sauce for my guests on Chicken Day.

Today, another box of fluffy yellow day-old chicks arrived in the mail.

Monday Menu: pasta w/baby beets & cube steak

(Meat, cheese, pasta - just the ticket.) 

I usually use a southern smothered onion gravy for a cube steak recipe, but I was in the mood for red sauce.

I had one bunch of baby beets from Half Pint Farm - to make it healthy:)

Eight large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced.

Two medium red onions, sliced - and I found a banana pepper to slice up as well.

One pound (4 pieces) of cube steak from the freezer, still partially frozen, but that doesn't matter because I am going to be lazy with this preparation.

(These beets are so pretty!)

I sauteed the veggies for a few minutes, until the onions became soft. I'm missing a photo of the step where I add the meat on top, along with one jar of pureed tomatoes and Italian spices. 

(I used about 1/2 tablespoon of this Italian seasoning.)

 Simmer on low for about an hour and a half, covered, until the beets are done and the sauce reduced. 

(The pasta is 1/2 box of wheatless Tinkyada rotoni.)

There's a serving of cube steak and some awesome beets underneath all that shredded mozzarella.  The cube steak was probably cut from the top round, because it was a little too dry; if I were to repeat this one-pot dish I would probably use ground beef (or even ground pork).  This recipe made 4 servings.