Tag: Food

It’s Grillin’ Time

Just a couple quick thoughts that jumped into my head while grilling up some steaks tonight.

Some of you have outdoor kitchens with countertops & covered storage. Not me. I’m old school – charcoal and a Weber kettle is perfect for me.

Say hello to my little friend
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Think outside the box (or range)

Another holiday tip – you’ve got a slow cooker. USE IT! (And if you don’t have one, get one.)

Back to is your kitchen big enough? Do you have enough burners on your stovetop? And the answer is always no, even if you’re kitchen could be a studio for a cooking show.

So how can I make this hosting the family thing easier? If you’re like most Americans, you’re trying to include traditions from all sides of the blended family, while taking care of special dietary needs, and trying to one up your sibling who hosted last year, but in a low key friendly way. And you have to do all this without breaking a sweat with a smile on your face and a jig in your step.

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Welcome (back) to the Smoke Show

It’s been a long time since I’ve used the smoker, but Thanksgiving next week has me dusting it off.

I purchased a new grill thermometer and tested it out on some turkey tenderloin in the oven.

I got the ThermoPro TP25 which comes with four probes and a grate clip. Bluetooth connectivity to your phone lets you remotely monitor the cook.

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Camp Coffee (Hipster Style)

(part 3 of the ongoing coffee series)

Letting gravity do its thing.

In terms of pack space & weight, this pour over filter definitely beats the Moka pot & French press.

I’m not as fond of the coffee, but I put most of that on me. Pour over coffee is an art that requires dedication and patience, neither one of which I have in great supply early in the morning.

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Food Forest inspiration.

My wife has had a veggie garden for the past ten years in two houses. It always struck me as too much work for too little harvest. Add in the fact that the garden plants are annuals and I think our garden costs more per pound than a trip to Whole Foods.

I want perennial plants to feed me so I only have to buy them once. And I would like them to be native, or at least well-enough acclimated to the mid-Atlantic region where I live so the plants can tend to themselves.

Reaching back to my childhood, my immigrant grandfather had a fig tree in his yard. I always thought it was purely decorative as I never saw any fruit on it. I found out long after the death of both my mom’s parents that my grandfather was eating the figs as soon as they became ripe. His tree was barely cold tolerant enough for where he lived. I know that figs have been bred to be cold tolerant enough to survive winters in Chicago.

For Father’s Day in 2020, my family gave me a baby fig tree. It yielded its first fruits in 2021. In late summer 2022, I noticed a plant sprouting at the edge of our yard with distinct human hand shaped leaves. Some bird or squirrel planted a second fig tree for me. In spring 2024, there is a fruit growing on it. Hopefully the fruit is good.

Food Forest (pt. 1)

I love the idea of foraging for food. Ever since my friends and I used to gorge ourselves on blackberries & raspberries in the woods as kids.

And there’s a little bit of woods behind my house.

This weekend my wife went to an event to collect seeds from native plants and she came home with some Paw Paw seeds.

If you’ve never heard of it, the paw paw is the largest fruit native to North America. I’ve heard of them, held them, but never tasted them.

So I planted 13 paw paw seeds in the woods behind my house.

Hopefully some of the seeds germinate and survive long enough to grow fruit.

I learned after I planted them that I’m going to have to wait five to ten years before they yield fruit.