More coffee today. This time, I'm drinking from a mug we bought at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. If you've never been to the place, it's definitely worth a visit. It's amazing that such a place could have been built one hundred years ago. It's a reminder, to me at least, that there were plenty of grand ideas and even grander ways of executing them back at the turn of the twentieth century.
Cute idea, huh?
Wandering, with Food
My wife and I did a little local wandering late yesterday afternoon (after our lunch at La Calle Doce in Oak Cliff), managing to get lost of the eastern half of Loop 12 around Dallas. It was interesting...we saw many parts of the city we'd never seen before. After our adventure, we decided to stop in at one of our favorite pubs, The Old Monk, where she had a glass of wonderful sangria, I had a Guiness, and we shared some frites with spicy mayo and tarragon mayo (neither of which I like...I sprinkle them with malt vinegar, instead). If I'd been thinking, I would have taken photos, but I wasn't thinking and you probably wouldn't have found the photo interesting, anyway.
Speaking of Food
Between sips of coffee this morning, I made a batch of barbeque sauce/marinade for some boneless pork ribs I'll grill this evening. Here they are, soaking up the sauce/marinade, anxious to get on the grill, where they will be seared quickly, then grilled just long enough to cook them through and through but keep them very juicy. My recipe for the sauce is not really a recipe. No, it's simply a list of what I used, without precise measures. Here are the ingredients, all of which are put into a small sauce pan (all measures are estimates...I just pour "stuff" in and don't bother with cups, measuring spoons, etc.:about a cup of tomato ketchup
3-4 tablespoons of juice from a can of pickled jalapeños
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of juice from an empty jar of dill pickles
2-3 tablespoons of chile powder
2 teaspoons of ground oregano
3-4 dashes of worstershire sauce
1 tablespoon of mustard seed
1 bay leaf (that is the exact measure), broken in half
Heat the concoction on low heat for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and begins to bubble just slightly.
I spoon it over the pork ribs and let them sit (covered, in the refrigerator), all day. About 45 minutes before I'm ready to serve, I fire up the grill and sear them on both sides when the fire's hot enough. I move them to a cooler spot on the grill and regularly lather them with more sauce until I cannot control myself any longer. Then, I rush them inside, throw them on some plates, and eat them with wild abandon. Some things that are good with grilled pork ribs are spiced pickeled beets, baked and diced new potatoes mixed with a bit of butter and chives (warmed on top of the stove), and anything else that sounds good at the time you're ready to eat.
Send Them to Canada
My next door neighbors, according to the teenaged male child from that family, are moving to Canada. Not that I wish any harm to Canada, of course. The house has a for-sale sign in front of it and I hope it sells soon. Good riddance. The neighbors are a basically unfriendly lot who do their best to stress how little they care about the neighborhood and the neighbors. If I were selfish (What?!, if I were?), I'd wish for a couple who are liberal in their politics, adventurous in their taste in food, completely non-religious, friendly, and fun to be around.
That about wraps it up for now. More when the mood strikes.
No comments:
Post a Comment