Christmas is coming and time to check out the ribs!

CLICK on the above picture to read more!

The trouble with so many recipes today is : 1) the limited number of ingredients utilized and 2) the emphasis is rapid preparation.Frankly, I really don’t care how many ingredients something takes or how long it takes to prepare IF the final product is worth all the time, energy and expense.

There are any ways to prepare BBQ’d ribs and there are many ways to cook them. Some folks like to take ribs, slap some sauce on them, and throw them into a brick oven; however, when eating these, one has to assume you still have all your teeth as it can be a bit chewy. In defense of this method, you can feed a lot of people quickly and easily. A second common way to prepare ribs is to boil them first and this has a number of proponents as the meat easily peals from the bone; unfortunately, most of the flavor is lost in the boiling process and all you end up tasting is the sauce.

Now, if you want to be more adventurous and you would like to make the meat more flavorful, all you have to do is throw your favorite seasonings into the pot while boiling the ribs and the rest is magic.

There is one more thing you can do and that is to soak your ribs in your favorite cure. When the ribs are ready to be boiled I throw the entire mixture into the pot and boil away, replacing whatever extra liquid might be necessary. The liquid the ribs have been soaking in for a couple of months is…. beer.

Your Barbecue sauce should be something special and there are many fine recipes on line… look for those that use ample brown sugar and are more than just a tomato base. You’ve worked this hard on the meat, you might as well find a great sauce for it. You might be interested to know that a lot of folks have come up with their own ‘sauce’… like Teddy Roosevelt. You might like to try one of these.

That is the way of good ribs… lots of preparation and gone in a second!

You can tell it is the fall here in this part of California, the insect life is coming alive! In a couple more months we'll enjoy our ribs!

Are you a Supertaster?

My bride is a Psychologist and for more than 40 years I have been her ‘lab rat.’ She has determined that I am a  ‘supertaster’  and felt that I would love to volunteer, have my tongue painted so she could photograph it! Well, whatever turns you on, I always say.

In any event, being a supertaster (25 % of Americans are) is not always a wonderful thing. We ‘taste’ something very intensely and many of us avoid things that are very strong tastes such as chili peppers. I do enjoy chili peppers, but I do admit they send me to the moon.

So, would I allow her to paint my tongue blue again? Probably… but the next time around it will be something different.

Happy Birthday, Karen!

Happy Birthday Karen Freberg!
The cartoon drawing is of Karen by her sister Karla. Starting at the top right and moving clockwise, Karen as she looks today, when in Athens we dance!, Mom and Karen while she was a Florida Athlete, Karen talking to Trojan Legend Louis Zamperini, and finally Karen and me in the kitchen whipping up something yummy!

 

Karen will be visiting us this Christmas and it will be fun to bake and cook and BBQ… but first I need to lose a little more weight!   “Happy Birthday Karen!” — Coach Dad

Happy Birthday Kristin!

Above is a drawing by Karla of Kristin and she is surrounded by blasts from her past: top is of Kristin as she appears today, followed by her as an itty bitty Kristin with Mom and Uncle Leroy... then, a picture of her as a platoon leader during the Invasion of Iraq... and on the bottom is a picture of some Vino that she and I made to be consumed when she returned from her last tour.

 

Happy Birthday, Kristin! I am looking forward to you joining me in the kitchen this Christmas! BTW… the ribs are getting better day-by-day!

Happy Birthday!

do you remember what you learned to cook first?

Here is a Scandinavian Mushroom Cookie that goes by a different name and shape in each country in which it is made... and it was my father-in-law's favorite! CLICK on the above picture for the recipe

Now cookies and desserts weren’t the first thing I learned how to make as a child… but it was the first category of edibles that caught my attention!

Frankly, the first thing I learned how to make was to prepare rice by boiling. I wasn’t very old and I had to use a chair to get to the controls of the stove, but one afternoon when my mother was off, I measured our a portion of rice added salt and water and made myself a nice snack. We didn’t have butter in those days, so a slice of margarine made the meal complete and headed off to my room to devour my creation! This would have gone unnoticed , except for the fact that I left stove on under what small remained of the rice and it carbonized! I learned an important lesson that day… to hide my tracks!

Making the cookie is a multi-step process of rollong out the stems, making the caps and then assembling it all with a nice frosting as a glue!

There is nothing quite like a mushroom cookie to allow you to sit back and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee!

This year, I am starting early with cookie making... but then, I normally don't 'diet' this time of year and it is 'therapy!'

Bon Appetite!