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Grilling season and backyard barbecues are right around the corner.
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And I’m sure you’ll all want to get a pair of these.
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Subtle? Not so much.
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But you have to admit, they are eye catching.
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Tag Archives: grilling
What is it with men and old westerns?
They say there’s a little boy in every man….. and if that’s true?
Mine is playing cowboys and Indians.
Left to his own devices, my husband could easily watch the western channel 24 hours a day. I know…. because True Grit, Fort Apache and Rio Bravo have been the background soundtrack to my life for the past 36 years.
He likes westerns, ergo he likes John Wayne.
Not as a real person, he neither knows nor cares who that was….. but rather as an idealized portrait of what a real man is supposed to be. At least on screen.
So when we went to Lowes the other day and were standing on the check out line? You know he had to grab this:
“Manly meals”.
I’m sure you can hear my eyes rolling from there.
Who knew my husband wanted to be a cookout legend?
The man who has never read a recipe in his life, but had to buy this book. And may I just say?
I was not impressed.
That is the saddest excuse for steak I’ve ever seen. And with pesto made from cilantro as an accompaniment? The Duke and his horse should be run out of town with their heads hanging down in shame.
Now correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Texas do everything up big?
If so, these are misnamed…. because those are the skimpiest, most pathetic tacos to ever grace a shell.
And I’m from Maine.
We fill our tacos with haddock and lobster… what do we know?
I’ll spare you the Gun Smokey Barbecue Chicken and the Ringo Kid’s Skirt Steak, but suffice it to say I doubt any of Wayne’s dishes will ever make it to our table.
And now, because this is my blog and you know I can’t help myself…. here’s one final picture of the quintessential manly man.
You can thank me later.
Things there are no explanation for.
- The grill cover that came with our new grill.
Mind you, it’s custom made for this particular grill so it’s not a matter of fit.
So why on earth would a cover, that’s ostensibly used to protect the metal from the elements, have an opening of netted mesh where the metal controls are located?
Why?
2. Mexican toilet paper.
I live in Maine, which is as far as you can get from Mexico and still be in the United States….
So why were these the only brands available on the grocery store shelf this week?
Why?
3. Why is there a squirrel on top of my bicycle in the garage?
If your answer is “You don’t ride it, so why shouldn’t he?” that’s technically correct, but doesn’t explain how he got in the garage or why he wouldn’t rather use that special car wash broom attachment my husband had to have but never used instead. He had to walk past 2 dirty cars to find the bicycle…. and that’s just rude.
Why?
4. Why is there coffee all over my kitchen cabinets?
Not the lower cabinets mind you, where I could understand a little spillage…. but the upper. Did Micheal J. Fox sneak in for a cuppa while I wasn’t looking? Was the husband gettin’ jiggy with it while I was in the shower?
I don’t drink coffee, so no. I didn’t catch a glimpse of a bare chested Jason Momoa on the television and have a muscle spasm.
Photo for reference purposes only.
Really.
And to think it only took me an hour to choose that particular shot. 😈
So…. why?
If you can explain any of these unexplainable circumstances, I’d be most grateful.
CSA and grocery store horrors.
This week’s offering from our CSA was a little lean on our end because there were a lot of things we don’t eat and elected to let our neighbor take.
Cilantro, bok choi, kale, turnips, spigarello, fennel, and kohlrabi? We passed.
But the chard was rainbow colored…
So there is that.
And in the continuing saga of bizarre grocery items found on my local shelves…..
Every possible mutation of pasta imaginable are still being pushed.
As is the ever present (and still disgusting) kale.
Delicious? I doubt it.
Crazy good? Not possible.
Stop the insanity and put kale back where it belongs…. in a rabbit’s colon. Other than the trash can, that’s the only proper place.
Thankfully there was one sane product line of which I took full advantage.
Let the grilling begin.
A Covid 19 4th of July.
We were invited to a few get togethers last weekend, but passed on all of them. I’m afraid I just don’t trust people well enough to gather in groups yet.
So I took a picture of my new, appropriately patriotic flowering plant….
And we stayed home to mow the lawn instead.
Yard work is an all day event ’round here, but it’s quite satisfying.
The daylilies are popping…. and when we were through mowing and whacking and trimming we fired up the grill.
And had an adult beverage while the husband stared, still enraptured by his new toy and it’s viewing window.
( Latest Seagram’s flavor review: Wild Berries – meh. Won’t be buying that one again.)
After some truly marvelous steaks, husband raked grass clumps…. and while I was cleaning up the kitchen?
I looked out the window….. and took a picture through the screen which looks like a bad acid trip.
( Or so I’ve been told. I have no personal experience. No. Not me. Uh uh. )
But yes.
That cute little bugger was at it again.
Eating one of the flowers he’s not supposed to like to eat.
Someone needs to revise that list.
CSA Week 3 and 4… because I forgot and you probably don’t care anyway.
Our half share of the 3rd CSA from our neighbor was a lovely assortment.
Swiss chard, white radishes, green leaf lettuce, carrots, mesclun mix, spinach, cucumber, basil and ….
What I thought was parsley.
But turned out to be chervil. If nothing else, I’m learning a lot about green things this summer.
With those fresh ingredients, it was spinach salad with apples, radish, mushroom and purple onion for dinner.
Yes, I like a little parm on top as well.
A bright berry mixed green salad was dinner the next night.
Week 4 saw the family we split with out of town, so we received the entire share.
And that’s a big bag of veg.
Zucchini, turnip, cucumber, mustard greens, parsley, carrots, mesclun mix, parsnip, spinach, lemon basil, butterhead lettuce and cilantro.
Not being fennel fans, we passed that and the dreaded cilantro off to a friend.
But ooh la la!
Fresh aromatic lemon basil meant from scratch marinade…
For delicious grilled chicken breasts that night.
Recipe below if anyone is interested.
I think he likes it.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say my husband likes our new grill.
After a long day of yard work, instead of going inside to take a shower and change….
He sat in front of it, spell bound…. watching our steaks cook through the viewing window.
A man and his grill.
Grill shopping.
The unthinkable happened last week.
Our beloved… and only 3 years old damn it… Weber grill died. Not wanting to spend a summer without one, we immediately went hunting for it’s replacement.
I wanted a small one without a side burner, so naturally all the husband looked at were large ones with side burners.
Ah, marriage.
Have you been grill shopping lately?
Holy crap!
I’ve paid less for cars.
Here’s the husband taking one for a test drive.
Literally driving it…. he spun it around a corner and had it up on 2 wheels.
Because Christ, at over a thousand dollars? That bastard better taxi us to the pub on its day off.
I found one I wanted.
Really wanted.
It came with wine!
But no. The husband dragged me to 5 other stores and ended up choosing one from Tractor Supply.
Large?
Oh yeah.
Much larger than we need, but it has stainless steel grates and radiant embers.
What the hell are radiant embers?
I have no idea….
But I bought some lovely filets and we’re going to find out tonight.
