Barbequed ribs

(Picture courtesy of Calgary Reviews at flickr.com.)

Maybe you guessed, this is in time for Memorial Day, and if you haven’t had ribs, this may be a good time.   For barbequing, there are lots of special recipes, but I like the excellent sauces that come already made, and have no problems in using what the store offers.

What works best for backyard barbeque is the baby back ribs in the pork section from your grocer’s meat department.   Get enough so everyone will have four to six ribs, more for big eaters.   Have several kinds of sauce on the table, but use a mild on for preparation.

….precook your ribs to speed up the process or to increase the tenderness of the ribs. Ribs cooked on a barbecue smoker at a low temperature for several hours will be very tender. Ribs cooked on a grill, especially a gas grill, will not be as tender even cooked indirectly. To make your ribs tenderer you can precook by either boiling the ribs for about 30 minutes or by placing them in a slow cooker. This will get the ribs going and not dried out. Once you are ready to grill then you can season the ribs and cook them indirectly until done. The disadvantage of this is that the ribs will not absorb the flavor of the smoke very well and you can literally boil out the flavor of the meat. Remember, if you boil, slow cook, or oven roast ribs it must be at a low temperature, around 200 to 225 degrees F.

Now when it comes to seasoning ribs you want to be very conservative. Good ribs have a great flavor all to themselves. It is also important to avoid adding barbecue sauce to ribs early in the process. Most barbecue sauces, whether store bought or homemade, contain some kind of sugar (tomatoes contain sugar). This can cause your barbecue ribs to burn, even cooked indirectly. I suggest using a good rub before you grill and maybe a barbecue sauce after the grilling is done. However if you want to use a sauce, try using a mop. A mop is a thin barbecue sauce (mainly vinegar or water) that you brush on during grilling to help maintain moisture and to add flavor. Sometimes you will hear it referred to as a baste.

So remember, keep the temperature low. A good grilling temperature for barbecue ribs is about 225 degrees F. Also keep a close eye on your ribs. Once the surface of the meat starts to burn there’s no going back. Another good tip is to fill a spray bottle with a thin barbecue sauce. By thin I mean practically water. I use a mixture of paprika, water and a few other seasonings. By spraying the ribs with this mixture during grilling you will add moisture, reduce burning and add flavor to your barbecue ribs.

For my taste, spicy is best, but have something mild like honey mustard barbeque for the more squeamish eater.

To go with this, for some reason in Texas the restaurants serve plain white bread.   Also sliced onions, pickled green tomatoes, and big dill pickles.   All good.

For accompaniment, some kind of baked beans are usually around.    To fill out the menu, I always want some potato salad as well.

Mom gets breakfast in bed

(Picture courtesy of edenpictures at flickr.com.)

Let’s face it, what Mom does not need is a mess.   Let’s talk about breakfasts that you and the kids can do without making one.

Coffee is essential.   Typically, a scoop of coffee per two cups of coffee works, but if you don’t know how to make it, take Mom a cup of hot water and one or two packets of instant, or the jar of instant with a spoon.   She knows what she likes.   If you don’t have Half and Half, or she doesn’t take cream, milk is fine, and yoghurt works in a pinch.  Or throw some ice cream at her and tell her this is a special morning, Go For IT.

It’s hard to mess up toast, betcha you know which bread she likes, spread on some margarine or butter, pull out the jam that she uses.   It’s the one that’s already opened and might even be the one you don’t use, the one in the back of the refrigerator.

You want to make eggs without making a mess, boil or poach them, in boiling water.  A four and a half minute eggs, dunk in cold water, take up on a tray in a cup, with a spoon to break them open.

You can skip the bacon or sausage, no way to cook them without splattering, and she would like that best.   If you thought ahead, or run out first to the store, there are pre-cooked kinds and pop them in the microwave to heat.

Juice is good, but not fresh squeezed which would mean she has to wash up the juicer after you.   If you have some in a jar/can/container, pour it half full, so you don’t spill on the way up.

Picking her favorite rose off the bush, to surprise her, just isn’t a good plan.  Maybe the neighbors have something pretty next to the fence, and you can sneak them in a vase.   Half full of water, not to spill.

Now wait until she’s gone to the bathroom, then take up the tray.

Tell Mom to thank me.

Mother's Day lemon meringue pie fresh from the oven

Taco

(Picture courtesy of jumbledpile at flickr.com.)

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday in neighboring Mexico, celebrating freedom from European rule.   Celebrating the event with a basic dish is great practice, especially since it’s all healthy.

We think of tacos as probably our best known food derived from Mexican cuisine, and most of us have it as a tortilla with a filling made from meat, usually beef.   I love several varieties of taco filling, including fish.   Topping the taco with shredded lettuce, chopped onions and tomatoes, and grated cheese is our usual practice, and pouring hot sauce over it makes this our national celebration of Mexican food.

Here’s a recipe that assures us it’s delicious, hope it’s as good as claimed.   I prefer a crispy corn tortilla base, myself.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds flank steak
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 dried New Mexico chile pods
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 (32 ounce) package corn tortillas
• 2 cups grated cotija cheese(optional)
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

Directions

However you celebrate, be sure you have the healthiest snack I know, the taco.

Trail Food Snack Bin

Most of us occasionally want something that we think isn’t good for us, usually sweets.   As a kid, I ate candy compulsively.   Fortunately, I grew out of that craving, and have a new one now, for trail food sorts of items.   Nuts, raisins and other dried fruits, seeds and crackers sit in a bin on the kitchen counter here, and we take a handful instead of going for candy.   Okay, I confess, there are yoghurt covered cranberries in there, almost candy, too.

Researchers combined data from 31 trials conducted across the globe and found that on average, there was very little difference in changes in weight or waist measurements between people who were put on a normal or nut-supplemented diet.

“Most of the nut-enriched studies don’t show that patients gain a significant amount of weight, in contrast to what one might think,” said Dr. David Bleich, head of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.

The craving for sweets isn’t all bad.   I’ve known it to be an indicator that a body is hungry for something, and in my late mother’s case meant a lack of vitamin B12, pernicious anemia.   

Sweeteners may also affect the balance of chemicals in our brain and impair our memory and may be a contributor to chronic joint pain and arthritis. So, if you have ever gotten the sense that your sweet tooth is getting out of hand, I provide the following strategies for you to try.

Respect the craving. Your body is trying to tell you something. Our body is a beautiful interconnected system that is constantly working to maintain our balance and health. When our body feels it needs something, there are many ways it will work to signal our mind of its needs. By really tuning in and listening we can decode these messages and provide our body and mind what they most need to function their best. A craving for sweets may signal general hunger or low blood sugar.

We can always act wisely and substitute something for the urge to eat something sweet.   Taking a walk, or gardening, or eating something healthy are ideal.   Of course, blogging about it works, too.

Try the health food snacks, you’ll be glad you did.

Home butterfly garden

(Picture courtesy of woodleywonderworks at flickr.com.)

The world isn’t altogether friendly to many butterfly species, so if you’re putting in some crops for yourself, this would be a good time to consider putting in something to keep these beautiful creatures afloat.

Recently, visiting the Smithsonian I took a few moments to wander through the butterfly garden there.   While it was too early for much of a population, during warm seasons, the plants attract many butterflies and the signs there give visitors ideas for their own.

One sign struck me as good to know, advising that we shouldn’t be cleaning all the old materials out in the fall, because eggs may be in them waiting for spring to hatch out.   Here, spudtruckowner tells me it’s been a family practice that he still follows to take out the old dead stems and put them in the back of the barn.   Burning them just isn’t done, as there will be hatchlings waiting for warm months.

Of course, using insecticides is obviously the reverse of what we need for these delicate insects.   Planting varieties that are well adapted to your area would make it easier to avoid their use.   There are a lot of hardy plants too, and I was delighted to notice that my new sprouts of Kohlrabi will be a butterfly attractant as well as providing good veggies for the table.  Plants and butterflies vary by area.  For the monarch, milkweed is a must, for black swallowtail, carrots and fennel; and be prepared to see big holes munched in the leaves they like best.

Creating a butterfly garden should start with some serious research to learn which kinds of butterflies are native to your area. You can learn that from our article “Butterfly Gardening by Area”. Make a list of all of the different kinds of butterflies you would like to attract, and then learn which flowers and plants they both feed on and lay eggs on. All of the plants will certainly be native to your area and therefore easy to grow with the right conditions and care. Adult butterflies will visit for a longer period if they find plants to lay their eggs on. These are called ‘Host Plants’ and you can read about them in our article on “Butterfly Host Plants.”

Plants that are local to your area may be ordered in advance, but as now is planting season, you can check with nearby greenhouses and growers for the ones you want.

There are a few varieties called ‘butterfly bush’ and all have a wonderful aroma, but are not adapted to your everyday garden as they are not particularly dainty.    Any bright color will attract most species, and they are among the few species of insect that ‘see’ red.

Here’s hoping you can set aside a little space to help this wonderful species to survive and brighten our lives.

Smithsonian butterfly garden sign/butterfly and hummingbird attractant

Taken in Dallas State Fair Butterfly House

Bananas

Okay we probably all know that what you want from bananas is potassium, but just yesterday I actually saw in print that heart health is a major benefit of that potassium fix.   If you already know that, pardon my ignorance.   Now I know why we keep bananas around.  That is one of many reasons for munching that banana.

• It contains health promoting flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin, ß and α-carotenes in small amounts. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes.
• It is also a very good source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), provides about 28% of daily-recommended allowance. Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role for the treatment of neuritis, and anemia. Further, it helps decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors in coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels within the body.
• The fruit is an also moderate source of vitamin-C (about 8.7 mg per 100g). Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
• Fresh bananas provide adequate levels of minerals like copper, magnesium, and manganese. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has a cardiac-protective role as well.  Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells.
• Fresh banana is a very rich source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides 358 mg potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure, countering bad effects of sodium.

Once in my long ago toddler stage, I lives on Okinawa and acrtually got tree ripened bananas, so of course, no store bought banana will ever be good enough for me.   However, I do make a point of eating one, usually just plain peeled and munched, a couple of times a week.

After making the discovery that my heart is the reason for eating the bananas, I did check for the amount of potassium dried bananas retain is good enough.  Yep, you’re fine with the dried version, something I have in my snacking dish with the trail food.

(Picture courtesy of Michele Ursino at creative commons at Wikipedia.)

I do hope you have a bunch of dyed eggs to eat up now.   I did as I always do at Easter, got a bunch of white eggs and dyed them different colors, also used the dinky design stickers and made them silly.   Now to use them up.   Sometimes I make creamed eggs, sometimes deviled.   This year we’ll be devilish.

12 eggs
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
2 teaspoons sweet relish
Salt
Pepper
Paprika, for dusting
Directions
Place eggs in a large wide saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil for 12 minutes. Remove eggs and and cool in refrigerator. Remove shells from eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Separate egg yolks and place into a bowl. Place whites on a separate plate. Add mayo, mustard, relish and salt and pepper, to taste, to yolks and mash together with a fork until creamy and smooth. Using a large star tip and resealable plastic bag, pipe the yolk mixture back into each egg, enough to fill yolk holes completely. Dust tops with paprika. Refrigerate. Serve cold.

If you had them in a basket, the family has probably already eaten a few – so figure for less than a dozen and cut back the mixing ingredients.

If you sprinkle them with paprika or cut up a bit of red pepper, it’s prettier.   Olives are a favorite treat, so I cut up bits of olive to decorate the tops as well, sometimes.

Easter eggs, deviling ready

Apple Custard Pie

(Picture courtesy of avlxyz at flickr.com.)

Today I have a few things begging me to use them, and this is the solution.   Incidentally, the local Amish discount/bulk food store sells sleeves of pie filling of several types, and the remaining apple filling just has to find a home.   There’s a graham cracker pie crust in the freezer I feel like pulling out.   And we’ll always have Paris custard, got those farm eggs from the same little store.

With those things in mind I went searching and found a recipe, which is below.

1 1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs (beaten)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk

Mix applesauce, sugar, cinnamon, eggs, salt and milk. Line 10 inch or 9 inch deep dish pie plate with pastry. Pour apple custard mixture into crust and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes more or until knife comes out clean.

Okay, obviously I will be substituting apple pie filling for the applesauce.

This is going to happen later this afternoon, and maybe I’ll have a new picture to add in later.

Newmade apple custard pie

Irish soda bread

(Picture courtesy of  Benn W. Bell at Wikipedia commons.)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, wishing you a bit of Irish lilt, and good food to go with.  Please remember those who are hungry, and do something for that increasing number of the needy.

The standard Irish soda bread is worth a try, always something to go with the other parts of the meal and an addition to your day.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

• Place raisins in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water; let stand for 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
• In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raisins.
• Transfer to a 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices).

Celebrate well, and a pint of Guinness with this is just the top of the day for its proper enjoyment.