Pappy's Smokehouse

After Chris watched Man vs. Food Wednesday night, he asked me to take him to Pappy's sometime.



I think he was impressed to be somewhere he'd seen on TV. The loooong line didn't phase him at all.

He ordered pulled pork, sweet potato fries and fried corn.



Dennis and I had previously been unimpressed with the pulled pork and slaw, and he was not fond of the baked beans, so we went other directions today.

He got brisket and hot links with potato salad.



I got a half slab of ribs.



With three drinks, our total was $42.

It was worth it because Chris enjoyed it. He did get some ends and edges in is pulled pork, which did make a big difference. Dennis thinks the brisket suffers from the same problem as our last batch of pulled pork; it is tender and good, but it doesn't have enough rubbed and burnt areas to flavor it deeply enough. The ribs are the best meat we've tried and must be where Pappy's really shines. Overall, I still like Lil' Mickey's better, because what I really like is a pulled pork sandwich with tangy red sauce and creamy slaw on a bun, and nobody does that better than Lil' Mickey's. Not even in Memphis.

Okra and tomatoes

We have a potluck at work at the end of every month for birthdays, etc. We don't have any February birthdays, but they needed to party. So they decided to do Black History Month food. Why not? We had a great lunch prepared for Chinese New Year!

I'm not sure if I know what "Black History food" is, but I brought okra and tomatoes.



4 sliced cooked bacon crumbled
2 T bacon grease
1 large onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
few celery ribs chopped
2 lb frozen okra thawed
28 oz can stewed tomatoes
red pepper flakes to taste

Brown about half of the onions, celery, and green pepper in bacon fat. Add the rest of the ingredients except bacon crumbles and heat through. Put in the slow cooker to finish cooking at work (high setting 3 - 4 hours before lunch is served) Add bacon crumbles and stir before serving. (You could absolutely leave the bacon out and go vegan with this.)

Other contributions include corn pudding, chicken salad sandwiches, crab dip, mixed greens with bacon, dirty rice, cornbread, potato salad, spaghetti, bbq short ribs and mac n' cheese. We also got a special treat of cheese grits for breakfast, which is something I find difficult to get made right this far north.

I'm slipping into a soul food coma now.

Yes, those are grow lights in my basement.

And yes, I checked. You can see them from the road.



I am expecting the DEA any minute now.

That white desk has been with me for a long time. I know Dad got it at an auction or traded for it or picked it up from some one's curb back when we were po'. It was in the house I grew up in on Montgomery Street. It was Chris's desk until we moved into this house. It did a brief stint as our computer desk. Now it lives in the basement, bathed in a soft fluorescent glow for 16 hours a day.

Babes in Garden Land

My broccoli (Calabrese), cauliflower (Snowball X), marigold (Crackerjack mixed colors)seeds have sprouted!



The marigold's and cauliflower's germination rate is 83%. Broccoli is only 50%. I only need two broccoli plants, but so far I only have three seedlings.

Snapdragons haven't done anything yet. They took forever last year too, but the rate was pretty high in the end.

I also turned over three of the garden beds this evening. I added epsom salts, bone meal, and a few good scoops of our compost. The compost is not finished yet, but it will finish breaking down in the beds. I'm pretty happy with the Mel's mix. It looks great after the first winter.

Random TV excitement

Andy Richter is coming back with Conan O'Brien. This is going to cut in to my before bed reading time. This has potential to keep me up too late.

Man Vs. Food St. Louis is on tonight at 9:00. Adam is going to Pappy's Smokehouse, Iron Barley, and Crown Candy Kitchen.

Chris has already asked me to take him to Pappy's sometime. No problem!

Top Model starts back up in one week. Why do I like this show so much?

Happy Mardi Gras

I made a special dinner for Mardi Gras. Andouille-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin deserves another look. The flavors were great, but I was not able to complete the recipe as described. I wound up having to split the tenderlion and stack the stuffing mixture on top of it. I think I am either going to use my sausage stuffer next time, or make the "stuffing" into "dressing" and serve it on the side. Still a capital idea! I might grill a pork tenderloin that I've shoved an andouille stick into over the summer.

I also had Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pears. I halved this recipe and still had generous left overs. Next time I think I'll whip the potatoes with cream or evaporated milk and spices, add a little salt, and then top with candied pecan halves. I personally did not find a big benefit from the pears and orange juice.

My favorite part of the whole meal was my first crack at smothered greens.



Here's how I did it:

2 smoked pork knuckles
2 lbs collard greens, stems removed, sliced
1 chopped onion
2 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 t sugar
red pepper flakes to taste
ground red pepper to taste

Put everything but the greens in a stock pot and simmer for about 30 minutes. Then add the greens and simmer until they're tender.

What I'm reading

Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! Patricia Lanza



Why: I like Square Foot Gardening, but I want to break out of the grid!
Thoughts: Seems old fashioned and self evident, confidence builder to get out of the SFG mindset.

Home improvement

I have a gardening corner in the basement now. The same things have been piled in the same corner since we bought the house, but now they're assembled and organized!



Dennis gave me this box to organize my seed packets. They're separated into fruit, vegetable and flower and then alphabetized.



Next we're going to hang a fluorescent fixture above the desk. The chains will be extra long so I can drop it down for seed starting, then crank it back up the rest of the year for task lighting.

Seeds in dirt

Broccoli (Calabrese), cauliflower (Snowball X), marigold (Crackerjack mixed colors) and snapdragon (First Ladies mixed colors) seeds are started. These are the first seeds I've started indoors. If any of them fail, I know I can replace them with store bought plants.

These marigolds get at least three feet tall. I think I want some shorter French marigolds to go around the tomato and pepper plants.

Caulk and mouse balls!

I took the day off today. I'm at home, listening to XM radio and doing random housework / internet "work" and other awesome things.

I redid the caulk around the toilet.


I also broke our mouse. The ball won't stay in now. So much for cleaning it :(

The plan is coming together

I've been working on my 2009 garden plan.

I've already missed some seed starting dates, and I didn't buy the seed trays and light that I'd planned to get this winter. Oops. I'll also be putting seeds in the ground in about two weeks. YEA!



So much for trying to break out of the box. It still looks pretty much like a Square Foot Garden to me. I need to plan on non-gridded paper!

I am still on the fence about adding another box and about ripping up the strawberries. The everbearing plants are too much work, but I hope I'll get a much better crop this year, since I mostly pinched the flowers last year.

Cephalopedirific

The other day we stopped at the Sappington Farmers' Market. Of all of the awesome things to eat, Chris picked out Farmers Cheese and canned octopus.



I don't know how to cook canned octopus, but he said he wanted it battered and fried.



He took a bite and asked for Ranch dressing.

O. Henry

It's just like The Gift of the Magi. Sort of.

Last week I bleached my Snooky.

The next day (out of character!) I ordered myself a new one.

So did Dennis (also out of character!)

Now I have three Snookies!

Pasties!

Mmmmm, pasties with gravy, ketchup and sour cream, cole slaw, and Scottish Ale.

High Expectations

I made country style ribs in the slow cooker last night.

Dennis just emailed me, "I was dreaming about bbq last night and even woke up around 2 hungry.... almost had a rib for breakfast!"

Man, I hope the ribs live up to those expectaions. Dream food. That's a high standard.

What's in the fridge

An embarrassment of riches, that's what!

Schlafly Irish-Style Extra Stout and Scotch Ale.

I needed a Scottish Ale for Valentine's Day dinner. Schlafly happens to have one out now. It is a seasonal release, so I don't think it is going to be too hard to find. But right above it was the Irish-Style Extra Stout. That is a special release. I missed out on the Christmas Ale that I really wanted, so I knew I had to grab it when I found it. But I was afraid it could be too much beer (too heavy) for the dinner I have planned. Oh no - beer dilemma!



Thankfully Dennis was there and said, "Just buy them both."

So I did!

Machine wash warm.

Sometime around Halloween Chris left his iPod (2nd Gen 4G Nano)in his pants pocket. During dinner, I said to Dennis, "What is that noise?"

Great, it was a freshly washed and dried iPod. It was dead. Nothing I could do would bring it back. Chris was mad at us. For washing his clothes!

So he got a nice new 4th gen black nano for Christmas. It plays videos! Shaking it shuffles songs! It's got such a cute shape!

For no real reason the other day, I plugged the old iPod into the computer. So now it works. And I have a janky old iPod with a bunch of 12-year-old boy music on it and one chewed up ear bud.



Yes, this is better than my previously non-existent iPod!

Would you care for a Fresca?

I've always wanted to make love to a woman with punctuational nomenclature.

Not my Snooky!

I got bleach on my Snooky last night. I am very frustrated with myself. I was careful and I was holding the bleach below the level of the edge of the sink, but I still managed to ruin my shirt.



Whaaaa! This was my Christmas present to me. Boooo!

Pigs might fly

If you didn't care what happened to me,
And I didn't care for you,
We would zig zag our way through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain.
Wondering which of the buggars to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing.



Thirty-two years old and it still sounds so good.

What's in the fridge

Rising Moon Spring Ale



Ew. Neither of us really like this beer. It could be good with some very spicy food.

Pizza

I made a pizza. Mozzarella, provalone, tomato, spinach & olive oil.


Dennis made a pizza. Mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and sweet Italian sausage.

What I'm reading

Ten Acres Enough: The Classic 1864 Guide to Independent Farming Edmund Morris



Why / Thoughts: I'm moving to the country, I'm going to eat a lot of peaches!

What I'm reading

Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer



Why: Oh shoot I like these, so now I have to finish
Thoughts: Book 3 upset me, so I cheated and made Chris tell me what happens!

Frustrated.

I've been working on fixing the picture links in my old blog. I couldn't help but notice that I was complaining about the same things that bother me now in September of 2005!

Ugh, and the economy was better then too.

I didn't think I was a complainer. I thought I was a doer. Like Steve.

What I'm reading

Eclipse Stephenie Meyer



Why: third in the series
Thoughts: they're fast reads at least; can't we all just get along?

Muffuletta

I had a hankering for a muffuletta today. This version is using Dierbergs olive salad with some extra olive oil drizzle. We used salami, ham, pepperoni for the guys and head cheese for the adults. Mozzarella and provolone cheeses.

What I'm reading

New Moon Stephenie Meyer



Why: second in the series
Thoughts: Vampires and warewolves oh my!