On The Side: Homefries

Homefries

 This is something we don't eat anymore - except, that we are eating it right now - winter doldrums are creating cravings for comfort food.

I had some bacon-fat oven-roasted Yukons leftover, coated them in garlic and onion powders, paprika and some Italian spices.  Pan-fried - and covered them in shredded Cabot Hunter cheddar.

Panfried Potatoes

OMG You can't beat these as a side for any meal, including breakfast.

Venison in The Free Press

Venison "Nuggets"

I've had another story about growing up, and another recipe printed in the paper.  The link is here.

Weekend Cook: Tri-tip, Chicken Thighs

Traeger Pig Smoker

 This weekend, we loaded the pig with a lemon-pepper Tri-tip and a tray of chicken thighs.  This time I set the "smoke" setting for 1/2 an hour, then 300f until the thighs reached 170f.  The tri-tip finished 15 minutes later at 131f.  I used mesquite again.

Boucher Farm Tri-tip

I felt that both the beef and chicken needed more smoke; I'll got back to 1 hour next time.  The lemon-pepper was Traeger's brand and it has a very nice affinity for beef.

Weekend Cook: Rib-eye

Meat and Potatoes

I've been wanting to use the Big Green Egg for weeks, but we are still experimenting to see what the Traeger pig does best.

I coated 2-inch thick rib-eye in mustard and Traeger Prime Rib rub (the sample came free in the mail for registering my smoker).

I set it at the "smoke setting" with mesquite for an hour, then 300f until the probe registered 131f (about an hour more).

Great weather for "pigging" out.

Boucher Farm Rib-eye

I loved this, but Dan felt it was over-smoked and wants to go back to using alderwood instead of mesquite.  There are still some more woods I'd like to try first, before we go back to the beginning.

Pork Cutlets, Shake n' Bake-style

Pork Cutlets

I wanted to see if I could do katsu-style in the oven, instead of pan frying.  Our pork cutlets are already thin enough for this preparation; no need to pound them out.

425f for about 18 minutes after being floured, dipped in egg, and dredged in seasoned rice-flour.

Pork Cutlets, Katsu-style

Not crispy, and it reminded me of Shake n' Bake more than anything else.

For Crissake, Really?

Only a few hours into the snowstorm and this! Again!  How did we offend the local plowboys?

To get you up to speed:  I broke my pinky toe and all of my shoes are squishing it.  I cut into my finger with a very sharp pair of scissors being used in a completely inappropriate manner - however, I was not running with them.

The swank 1 1/2 year-old outdoor corn/pellet furnace is NOT WORKING (again), and the replacement mother-board-whatever was never shipped from the manufacturer.  We still don't have a replacement emergency generator for the house (it's at the store, but hasn't been assembled).  We are down to 10% propane for primary heat/hot water/cookstove/clothes dryer.  

There is only three days of fuel left because the house is such a propane pig, and the repairman who was to fix the indoor gas fireplace cancelled on us yesterday because of the weather. (If we bypass the electric contacts with a wire it works, but I sincerely doubt the safety of that procedure, and he couldn't reschedule until next week.)

If anyone needs me, I'll be sifting through old tax receipts and cookbooks I hate  - to find something to burn.

*8:45 a.m. UPDATE: Liberty Propane has pulled in the driveway and is filling the tank!

Quick and Easy: Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos

Looking at these, I want them again!  It's haddock covered in panko and paprika, pan-fried; plus spinach, bell pepper strips, and cheddar - heated, then spiced up with creamy sriracha mayonnaise.

(sigh) Back to work.  Taxes.  Uggh.

Life on the Farm: All About The Sharpies

My brother recently posted several very old photos to his Facebook account; they brought back a lot of memories.

In one, all three siblings mugged in front of a line-up of Christmas booty after a long morning of unwrapping presents.  

I remember it as a frustratingly protracted experience - not because we had a room full of gifts, but because we were made to wait our turn.  With five of us (including the adults), it took hours, shaking and squeezing one single present at a time that you weren’t allowed to unwrap until everyone else had opened one before you.

I’m not pointing fingers, but some in the family were dead slow at it. 

That snapshot chronicled the itchy (possibly fiberglass-covered) furniture, and the grass-green carpet in the living room.  Though a succession of couches came and went, that carpet was still there when the house sold last year.

Among the board games and socks, nestled betwixt my sister (clutching a koala bear), and myself (in a polyester wide-lapel shirt), there was a wood-patterned vinyl case, about the size of an old 78 record player.  It was mine, and it wasn’t a phonograph.

It was an art-kit containing medium-point markers, a sampler of watercolor paints, plastic brushes, various shades of grey chalk, pencils, and a sketch pad.   

Sounds like a pretty good gift, doesn’t it?  It sorta wasn’t.  The markers, if not already dried out, would expire at first use.  Always. (I received several kits over the years; I suspect they were all purchased from the same catalog.)

How can I equate this experience to you?  It was like an un-kept cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die promise, or an entire box of chocolates with only the tart rubbery jelly centers.  Those markers held so much potential, but were always a huge lump of coal.

Ahh, you say – Fractious Child must learn to deal with the impermanence of material things, and put minor upsets into perspective.  There’s an instructive Life-Lesson here about the bigger picture; mental heath and future well-being, assured.

But, no.  That’s not how it went down. 

I was emotionally scarred in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine. It was a suitcase of crushing disappointment, wrapped by Santa’s very own elves. 

(Hello. My name is Dawn. I am covetous of the Sharpies, and they are many.)

I was thrilled to have markers in my Christmas stocking this year from my sister, who knows my pain.  She had inspected the state of felt-tips in the house last November, noted they were fuzzy and faded – and new I’d need an intervention if they weren’t replaced soon.

I’ve got slick retractable Sharpies; thin ones, thick, chiseled, double ended, minis - 3 colors of highlighters – rainbow assortments, and pastels. One even writes white. White!

I sign thank you notes in Susan B. Komen limited-edition pink.  I have a pale silver pen with no practical application whatsoever, but I use it purposefully to challenge recipients with the difficulty of reading what I put down. 

Think of it as “art therapy”.  I certainly do.