An unexpected change

I love smoking meat. . . been doing it for over ten years now and never ruined a piece of meat.  Before I got into it, I knew nothing about it other than the wonderful meat you can get from smoking in your backyard.  So I did my research and learned a lot.

I have always ordered wood chunks from an online retailer who was top notch.  They had fruit wood that you can't find elsewhere.  And their wood was stored indoors, eliminating piles of wood left outside subject to bugs, bird droppings, and other unpleasant situations.  They are going out of business.  The owner is retiring.  Panic set in!

After searching online, I think I have found a reputable vendor.  You can't stockpile wood for more than 6 months or so as it loses its quality in flavoring the meat.

I'm a fair weather smoker so over the winter - and this winter has been particularly harsh - my two smokers sit dormant.  Hopefully in another month or six weeks I can fire up one of them.  Nothing is finer than sitting outside by the smoker taking in the wonderful aroma coming from my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker!  Even my neighbors enjoy the smell!

If you love great tasting meat - roasts, chickens, baby back ribs, briskets - get into smoking meat.  It is easy and with just a little knowledge, you can experience the thrill of this hobby.  And I highly recommend the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker.

The car wash

Going through the Delta Sonic car wash in Rochester is an unexpected joy!  Winter is hard on cars in the North Country.  Salt is a necessary evil on the roads.  It is needed on the roads to cut down on ice.  But it is rough on cars, causing rust.

The Delta Sonic is a premium car wash.  In addition to cleaning the car, they put a coat of wax to better preserve the metal.  And they spray a rust inhibitor to the bottom of the car.

Today, with the long line of cars waiting to go through the 4 lanes, it took me a little over 10 minutes to reach the tunnel once I pulled off the road.  Approaching the tunnel, you make sure all windows and doors and securely closed, take your foot off the brake, and put the car in neutral.  Then you sit back and enjoy the show!  The sights and sounds can lull your mind into a sense of peace.  I find myself, for the moment, forgetting about the rat race of the world.

Someone recently asked me if I had every taken my dog through the car wash.  No!  Not sure how Bailey would react!  She may settle down for a nap, or she could go nuts over this new experience!

Homemade dog food

Everyone knows how much I love dogs and how important my dog(s) are to me.  Currently, I only have Bailey, my 9 year old Labrador Retriever.  Bailey never learned that she is just a dog. . . to her way of thinking, she is a human with all rights and privileges therein!

Morgan, my 12 year old Lab who passed away several months back, had terrible allergies in her final years.  Apoquel, an expensive medication for allergy in dogs, was no help.  My vet recommended Purina Pro.  That was some help but not entirely.  Morgan got to the point where she was lethargic and had no joy in life.

Bailey showed no signs of allergies or other maladies while Morgan was alive.  Soon afterwards, she developed bad skin irritations.  She scratched herself raw, even to the point of bleeding.  I incorporated coconut oil into her food and that offered some relief.

After a great deal of research and thought, I am gradually switching her to a homemade diet.  Even though Labs tend to have a stomach of "cast iron" it is best to gradually switch to a new diet.

A homemade diet is not a matter of mixing up human foods, with the notion of "what's good for me is good for Bailey."  It is MUCH more than that!  I am keeping a food journal of everything I give her each day to see what works for her.

A good friend who has owned championship Labs for years, feeds her dogs a raw diet.  I tried that quite a few years back but ran into the difficulty of being able to get all the ingredients I needed.

While I can't go into all the things I have learned so far in this post, here are a few recipes and important facts I do know at this point:

Foods that are bad for dogs:  avocado, grapes, onion, garlic, corn on the cob, processed meat, raisins, chocolate, and citrus fruits.

Breakfast idea:  1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/4 cup chopped apple with peel but not the seeds, 1 tablespoon ground flax seed.

Dinner:  1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken, 1/2 cup chopped sweet potato, 1 tablespoon unsweetened plain yogurt 

Of course, you adjust the amounts above according to your dog's size.

Here are two of the books I read that I think are excellent resources:

Homemade Healthy Dog Food Cookbook by Scott Meier

The Forever Dog Life by Becker and Habib

 

Smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving!

It was an early start to the day this morning getting the smoker prepped for the turkey!  My first time smoking a Thanksgiving turkey.

Something to be excited about!

It will just be me and Bailey (my Lab) for Thanksgiving Day.  There will be a delayed Thanksgiving dinner with my son and daughter-in-law and family after Thanksgiving.

Every year I keep saying I'm going to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving.  But when the snow flies and the thermometer plummets, I lose interest in firing up the smoker.  NOT THIS YEAR!!!  I bought a small turkey and the weather doesn't look too bad (for this time of year).

Before daylight this Thursday morning I will begin the preparation for my first smoked turkey!  It's a 12 pounder so no need to start the night before like you would with a much larger turkey.

Mmmm!  I can just taste it now!

The Barefoot Contessa

I have long been a fan of Ina Garten and own some of her wonderful cookbooks.  Recently I read her newly published memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens.  This woman is phenomenal!

From what little I knew about her, I assumed she lived a charmed life.  Wrong!  She grew up in a home with strict, authoritarian parents.  She was in a dead end job in the government in Washington, DC that brought her no joy.  But she had the tenacity to go after what she wanted in life, despite any risks along the way.  By chance, she saw an ad for a small bakery for sale in Long Island, the Barefoot Contessa.  In a leap of faith, she bought the business and overcame multiple obstacles to grow it into a big success.

You don't have to be a passionate cook and baker to appreciate this book.  It is a story that speaks to all of us.  Early in their life together, she and her husband, Jeffrey, traveled to Europe "on five dollars a day!"  They dreamed of someday coming back to Paris and that someday came years later when they bought an apartment there.  

If you are looking for a feel good, inspiring book to read, this is the one!

Look what I saw in the Home Depot parking lot!

 

Cheap entertainment!

It doesn't take a lot to entertain me!  Last week I was aimlessly scrolling through ebay while watching TV and the dogs at my side.

"Lot of 29 community and church vintage cookbooks" caught my attention.  My finger stopped scrolling.  I had to know more.  After all, if you know me, you know I am a "cookbookaholic."  One of my cousins has already laid claim to all my cookbooks when I die!

When you buy books in lot on ebay, you don't get to choose specific titles.  I find it exciting to see what you get.  The package arrived today.  I felt sorry for the mail lady walking up my long driveway with this big box!  I eagerly cut the box open to see my treasure trove.  With each cookbook that I pulled out of the box, I got more and more excited.  There is a 1934 Hershey's Cookbook updated for today's kitchens, several Southern cookbooks, Amish cookbooks, many church cookbooks.  Oh! And a firefighters' cookbook.  Now those guys know how to cook.  These are from all over the country.

The Keiffer Family Cookbook is a collection of recipes handed down from multiple generations of Keiffers.

I was particularly drawn to the soup and stew recipes as this time of year I build up my inventory of soups and stews to freeze.  Avocado Soup!  Never heard of it but you can bet I'm going to try that one!

Cooking and baking are among my passions.  I thrill at the chance to try a new recipe.

Some of these have handwritten notes that are fun to read.  There may be one or two that are really tattered and worn, but scotch tape will remedy that!

Now I really must get back to my To Do list that I was vigorously attacking before this package distracted me!

The drawer underneath your oven

I didn't know this!  That drawer underneath your oven is not meant to store pots and pans.  In fact, storing plastics or other flammable materials can be dangerous.

It actually is intended to keep food warm until everything else is ready to serve.

Another reason for not storing pots and pans there is crumbs or tiny food particles left on them can attract pests.

Some newer range models place the broiler down there.  That would not be desirable to me having to get down on my knees to take a platter of food out!

My current stove does not have a bottom drawer and I was disappointed with that.  For my needs, I can't see the value of the warming drawer!   

The joy of smoking meat

Smoking meat is my passion.  For many years I wanted to try it but was put off by the unreasonable belief that it was difficult.  Ten years ago I decided I was going to learn how to do it, no matter how many pieces of meat I ruined in the process.   Poking around on the internet, I decided the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker was probably best for me.

I amazed myself that I could actually assemble it all by myself!  I started out with all the pieces spread out on my living room floor.  It was much easier than I expected.  With the dogs looking on, I took it one step at a time and soon it was standing - fully assembled - in my living room.

After ten years of smoking all kinds of meat - whole chickens, a roast, baby back ribs, even briskets - I am proud to say I have never ruined any meat!

There is nothing finer than sitting beside my smoker, enjoying the warm, sunny weather and watching the puffy white cumulus clouds above in the blue sky with a glass of wine and the dogs running around the backyard.  Oh, and the aroma coming from the smoker is divine.  I buy my wood chunks online from a very reputable company.  They store their wood indoors, away from the bugs and other undesirables that can infiltrate the wood.

Whenever anyone asks me about getting into smoking meat, I am more than happy to oblige!  Meat coming out of the smoker not only tastes delicious, it is so very tender.

There are all kinds of smokers on the market.  I am a strong - very strong! - advocate of the Weber Smokey Mountain.  It has worked well for me.  Many smokers on the professional circuit choose the WSM.  I now have two, my original one is the 18 inch (diameter) and a few years back I got the 22 inch.  I believe a charcoal type is the very best for flavor and wouldn't have an electric or pellet for any reason!  Admittedly, those types do have their proponents.