Saturday Humor - Senior Moments

My friend David Myers over at Big Daddy Dave sent me this and I laughed out loud, which qualifies it for Saturday Humor.  If you're a senior citizen you can probably identify with it and if not you can see what life will be like all too soon. Just click on the link for the 3 minute video - it passes fast.
http://www.rtbot.net/play.php?id=Xv1tMioGgXI

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Reverse Seared Rib Roast 

Two years ago:  “Once Again Peace Returns To The High Country” 

Larry

Fermented Cabbage and Cucumbers

Or, in other words, kraut and pickles.  Back on 6/20, I posted about our kraut making afternoon and now seven weeks later, we have the finished product.  It is the old fashioned, fermented-in-the-crock, variety.  I forgot the shot until I'd removed half of it.

After seven weeks, I put it into pint and quart plastic bags for storage. 

Many people can theirs, but I prefer to just store it in the fridge.  I thought it was very good with a nice tang and not too salty – some kraut must actually be rinsed before using, but this will require a little salt when cooked.  My next step will be to buy a bag of my favorite kraut from the store for a taste test to see if the homemade version was worth the effort – and it definitely took effort.

This year we also decided to make some dill pickles from our abundance of cucumbers – we use a white variety that works very well for pickles – crisp and rarely ever bitter.  Even though I’ve never been satisfied with those I’ve made, I was inspired to make them by Mary’s post over at Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes for Best Dill Pickles Ever!!! 

After looking at several, I selected her recipe as the various proportions sounded good and the name grabbed me.  I used her recipe except I substituted dried dill and I made mine in a plastic bucket that came to our neighbors school kitchen with dill pickles in it.

Bucket Fermented Dill Pickles – Adapted from Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes

Ingredients:

8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers

4 cups white vinegar

12 cups water

2/3 cup pickling salt

12 cloves of garlic peeled and halved

1 T dried dill weed

4 T dried dill seed

1 T crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Wash cucumbers, slice off 1/16-1/8 inch of the blossom end, and place in the sink or large pan with cold water and lots of ice cubes.  Soak in ice water for at least 3 hours and refresh ice as required.

2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt and bring to a rapid boil.
3. If using jars, check out Mary’s site.  For a bucket or crock that has been sterilized, add everything but the liquid.
4. Pour the boiling liquid over the cucumbers, add an inverted place to keep them submerged, and top with the lid (just lay it on the bucket).
5. I allowed them to ferment for 24 days in a cool dry place at room temperature and they tasted just right, so I sat the entire bucket in the basement refrigerator to stop the fermentation process.

This jar is for the kitchen fridge.

I believe these are the best dill pickles I’ve made and all who’ve tried them liked them a lot, so I believe this is the new go to recipe – Thanks Mary.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Salmon Cakes

Two years ago:  A BBQ Send-Off

Larry

7/25/12 event date

Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad & Filet

Bev searched the internet for a recipe using the zucchini we are getting from the garden and found this salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen for Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad.  We also had a whole beef tenderloin in the fridge from which I cut a couple of steaks.

The steaks just got a treatment of Montreal Steak Seasoning and a little extra salt, then reverse seared to an internal temp of 125*.

We followed the recipe for the salad but included a grilled green onion and added no additional salad dressing – check out Kayln’s site for the complete recipe.  This is my plate.

The photo leaves a lot to be desired but, we thought this was a company quality salad, even without the vinaigrette, plus we both thought the steak was outstanding.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Salmon And Quinoa

Two years ago: Fried Cheesy Grits And Stuff

Larry

7/17/12 meal date

Junior High Reunion

Yep, that’s what I said, junior high, and who does that, you asked.  When I was a kid, we all grew up in a small neighborhood, went to grades 1-9 together, played after school with one another, and had our first loves together.  Then it was off to high school a bus ride away, except after one year, it was off to a different state, leaving all of my childhood friends behind.  They continued thru high school together and have had the opportunity to see each other at the HS reunions, but I haven’t seen them in 51 years.

I came across one of the classmates on Facebook and as we were chatting last summer I mentioned that it would be great to have a Barnes School 9^th grade reunion to catch up with the old gang and the next thing I knew she had one planned.  Nancy worked diligently and found all but a few of the 30 class members, arranged for a place, and sent out invitations.

So on July 12, 14 members of the class and one very special teacher (social studies, boy’s phys. ed. and basketball coach) assembled at the Say-Boy Restaurant in Fairmont, WV.  While most of the attendees came from the local area, we had attendees from Ohio, Maryland, New Hampshire, Tennessee (me), and North Carolina (the teacher).

This is the class less one person who had to leave early.  Nancy and I are sitting beside Mr. Doddrill.

I hate that one person was hidden and I’m hoping someone else got a shot where he wasn’t – this is him and the person who had to leave early.

It was very obvious everyone was having a great time visiting and catching up – I could hardly get them to sit down and order lunch.  One person made a beautiful quilt for Mr Doddrill and we all signed it - the school colors were orange and black (note Mr. Doddrill's clothing) and we were the Barnes Tigers.

She also brought a hat or visor with the school initials for everyone.

Another person brought a collage of pictures and I made a CD of the top 39 songs from 1960-61 for the attendees.

This was definitely a long standing wish come true for me and I hate I didn’t persue it several years ago – I’m extremely grateful to Nancy for making it happen as I likely would let it stop as an idea.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Surf & Turf At The Lake

Two years ago:  Berry And Peach Breakfast And Tomato Juice

Larry

7/14/12 Event

Saturday Humor - Fly The Friendly Skies

A Preacher was seated next to a Cowboy on a flight to Texas.

After the plane took off, the cowboy asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him.

The flight attendant then asked the preacher if he would like a drink.

Appalled, the preacher replied, "I'd rather be tied up and taken advantage of by women of ill-repute, than to let liquor touch my lips."

The cowboy then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "Me too, I didn't know we had a choice."

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South

One year ago:  Gardening Thursday – Planting Your Garden – Step 9

Two years ago:  Chandlers Deli In Knoxville

Larry

Spicy Crappie & Jalapeno Hush Puppies

When I read your blog recipes, I save many of them on an Excel spreadsheet under various categories, one of which is try ASAP and when Marguerite over at Cajun Delights posted her recipes for Cajun Catfish Feast, I knew two of them had to go on this list.

Since we always have crappie in the freezer, thanks to friends Ronnie and Nancy, I used it along with the Cajun spices I had on hand to make my version.

Spicy Crappie Filets:

25 crappie fillets (approx)

1 cup flour, self rising

¾ can beer - add slowly til right consistency

1 ea egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp  Emeril's Essence        

A few shakes of hot sauce

1 pkg panko bread crumbs

1. Wash fish and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Combine flour, beer, egg, Essence, and hot sauce - add the amount of beer to get the batter thickness you want.
3. Dredge fillets in batter and allow extra to run off.
4. Roll in Panko and sit aside for about 5 minutes.
5. Fry fish in 360* oil until golden brown, turning once. Salt to taste and drain on a wire rack - keep warm in oven or grill.

For the hush puppies, I used Marguerite's recipe as written and it's available on her site (link above).

As I often do, I cooked on the grill side burner and had a grill burner on low to keep the early batches warm – I cooked the hushpuppies first and then the fish and we sided it with some grilled green bundles and our new favorite apple bacon slaw.

I thought the hushpuppies and fish turned out very well and I will definitely make both again. Thanks Marguerite for a delicious meal.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Tomato Juice And Dolly

Two years ago:  Grilled Pork Tenderloin Filet

Larry

6/25/12 meal date

Hamburger Steak And Ratatouille

This meal is what happens when the real cook in this family takes over the kitchen and it was built to use stuff we had on hand.  Our summer garden is in full swing and we are giving away lots of produce, especially about a half bushel of zucchini before eating any ourselves, until this meal. 

Bev decided she wanted to make two things from the burger and veggies we had on hand  – Salisbury Steak and Ratatouille, which I decided I really liked after the Hoffer boys made it for us on Memorial Day.  We didn’t have any mushrooms for the steak dish and Bev decided it was really the meat recipe she liked and we could just top it with the ratatouille – similar to tomato sauce or ketchup on meatloaf.  We used the same recipe as the two previous times.

Hamburger Steak from Lynda's Recipe Box

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

2 teaspoons oil 
1 1/4 pound ground beef chuck-80/20 blend

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (homemade from Garlic Tuscan Bread – Sam’s)
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, or can use steak sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

The recipe calls for caramelizing the onions, but Bev just mixed everything together and we shaped it into four 7 oz steaks.

Ratatouille from American Profile.com (we halved and adapted it to get the following)
Original recipe from the Duluth Grill, Duluth, Minn

Vegetables:

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1¼ cups bell peppers, coarsely chopped
2 cups zucchini, coarsely chopped
2 cups eggplant, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon pepper  

Sauce:
3 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tomato (14 oz), peeled and pureed
6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh basil
20 basil leaves, chiffonade
Leaves from 5 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
3/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
To taste crumbled feta cheese

Instructions:  The recipe calls for baking the veggies but we decided to grill them.

To prepare the sauce, add the tomatoes to boiling water for about a minute, remove and drop into cold water.  Peel the tomatoes, chop three, and puree one.

Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large Dutch oven.  Add the garlic and sauté over medium heat until golden and add the pureed tomato, tomato paste, and bay leaf – cook about 10 minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook 10 minutes (At this point Bev turned off the heat while we cooked the veggies, but they can be done at the same time).

Preheat grill on high heat.

To prepare vegetables, toss onion, bell pepper, zucchini and eggplant on a jelly roll pan (or a bowl) with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.

Cook over high heat on the grill in whatever pan works for you until they are getting tender and caramelized. (I cooked them in three batches so they would be in a single layer in the pan).

When veggies are ready, add to the sauce along with the olives and the herbs and simmer about 15 minutes – adjust salt and pepper.

While the sauce cooks, grill the meat over medium high heat to your desired level of doneness.

Plate the meat, top with the ratatouille, and add feta cheese and basil chiffonade.

In our house there are the basic everyday meals, the good everyday meals, the company quality meals, and the I-could-make-money-on–this-in-a-restaurant meals.  This one was the latter, and not only were the meat and ratatouille each very good alone, we both thought they worked outstandingly together.  I may never go into the kitchen again and just let Bev work her magic.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Leftover Eggplant For Breakfast

Two years ago: Grilled Chicken With BBQ Sauce

Larry

7/09/12 meal date