Jenga Ribs: Recipe 2

I decided to do the ribs for our evening meal so the kids could join us (Maggie's a first-rate carnivore), and afternoons are better for slow, easy cooking in the oven.  I could imagine them coming in the door after school and smelling the ribs...mmmm!

It was a good plan.
Sadly, it was a faulty recipe...for our household.

Here's the recipe...see what you think:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 racks St. Louis-style pork spareribs (4-4 1/2 pounds total)
• Prepared barbecue sauce

Preparation

• Whisk garlic powder, salt, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, pepper, cumin, onion powder, cinnamon, and coriander in a small bowl to blend. DO AHEAD: Spice blend can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 300°. Rub ribs all over with spice blend and wrap each rack individually in foil, crimping seams to seal tightly. Place both racks on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake ribs until fork-tender, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Ribs can be made 2 days ahead. Open foil packets and let ribs cool completely. Rewrap tightly and refrigerate on same baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 425°. Cut racks between bones into individual ribs. Divide ribs between 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets and bake until heated through and golden brown, 15-20 minutes.
• Layer ribs on plates in alternating directions, 3 ribs per layer. Serve ribs, passing barbecue sauce alongside

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/02/jenga-ribs#ixzz2JTIJXIzh

The only modification I made was to use beef short ribs instead of pork.

Did you see that?

"The only modification I made..."

Several friends are wondering if I changed medication or something, because I ALWAYS modify recipes!

I prefer to think of it as "enhancing"...

In this case...this ONE CASE!!!...I should have followed my instincts and changed what I thought was an iffy amount of cinnamon in the rub.  

I could see a hint of cinnamon, perhaps a dash, just to make you think, "What IS that flavor...I can't quite place it...?"  It would drive my friend Traci nuts, because it would be familiar, yet out of place.  (I like to mess with her that way.  She's an incredible cook and usually identifies every little subtle ingredient in a recipe when she tastes it. It's SO FUN to stump her!)  

I'm hoping the recipe had a typo...a teaspoon measurement when there should have been a 1/2 teaspoon...because the rest of it was great! I felt like I was concocting some sort of secret dry potion, there were so many various seasonings in the works.  And the ribs looked very sexy after their rub down, don't you think?

I wrapped them each individually, like the recipe said, again ignoring instincts that said, "Grill them a little first, idiot! Smoke 'em up for flavor, THEN bake 'em!" but I was determined to FOLLOW THE RECIPE!  (Have I pointed out that I didn't deviate from the instructions at all??  This is huge, folks...and costly, as it turns out.)

Weather like this helped me make the decision to ignore instincts and blindly follow Bon Appetit's instruction:

We'll try it their way, just this once...

The little foil packets were tucked into a 275 degree oven around noon, all cozy and spicy, and left to tenderize and tantalize.
About an hour in, I could tell something was dreadfully wrong...it smelled like a garam masala meat from India roasting!  If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend I was in a marketplace, waiting for a street vendor to dish me up some lamb and rice.
YIKES!
That was NOT the flavor I was hoping for!
But it's the one we got.

I didn't take pictures of the finished product, all cooked up and ready to serve, because it was VERY unappetizing...even in color.  Sort of a dark brownish-grey.  I KNOW.  Ick!  The meat was very tender, but we couldn't taste it at all, for the intense cinnamon-ness.  Even Maggie, who loves most any meat set before her, pushed it aside and ate more oven fried potatoes and coleslaw.  It was unsalvageable, even with barbeque sauce.

I don't think it's a bad recipe...I just think it's unbalanced the way it is published!
As for me and my experiment in closely following directions in a recipe and respecting its boundaries?
I don't think I'm a bad cook....I just think I'm a little unbalanced the way I was created.
And the balance is in the favor of good cooking instincts.  I'll know better and trust that, next time!

Chorizo and White Bean Stew: Recipe 1

The stew was amazing!  The Farmer ate THREE bowls, with sourdough artisan bread.  We both agreed that it could use a little more zing for us, but the flavors were warm, subtle and comforting, not bland.  It's truly a comfort soup!  Who would've thought?

I had thyme, but no fresh spinach, so I had to make do with some frozen spinach...not the best, but it worked.  (I know.  Who has thyme, but no spinach?  The same person with two bottles of clam juice in her pantry, that's who...)

Angus looks a lot more enthusiastic in this picture than he actually was.  In fact, he was highly suspicious. And the sourdough bread had to be doctored with butter and honey before it was deemed edible.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
• 1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo or Italian sausage links
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 5 ounces baby spinach (about 10 cups)
• Smoked paprika (optional)

• Ingredient info

  Smoked paprika can be found at most supermarkets.

Preparation

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate.
• Reduce heat to medium. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add onion, garlic, and thyme sprig. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-8 minutes. Add beans and broth and cook, crushing a few beans with the back of a spoon to thicken sauce, until slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach by handfuls and cook just until wilted, about 2 minutes.
• Slice chorizo and fold into stew; add water to thin, if desired. Divide stew among bowls; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

• Nutritional information

  4 servings, 1 serving contains:
  Calories (kcal) 570
  Fat (g) 33
  Saturated Fat (g) 9
  Cholesterol (mg) 65
  Carbohydrates (g) 41
  Dietary Fiber (g) 11
  Total Sugars (g) 4
  Protein (g) 29
  Sodium (mg) 1640

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2013/02/chorizo-and-white-bean-stew#ixzz2JIdptZ9p

Missoula Children's Theater 2013

The kids were involved in the Missoula Children's Theater again this year, and the play was "The Tortoise vs The Hare".  As usual, it was very cute and all the kids did a great job.  They practice EVERY NIGHT for a week, from 3:50-8:15, stopping only for a 20 minute supper break...it's brutal! Tougher for country kids because they have a drive home, too.

Here are some photos of the play.  I didn't reset my camera for low light, darn it, so they're not the greatest!

Both Angus and Maggie were bunnies and the costumes were adorable....

Angus's pants were too big, so when he hopped, they threatened to fall down and expose his Captain Marvelous underpants; this was very concerning to him, and he took itty-bitty hops and spent much time readjusting wardrobe.  

The reptile costumes were fascinating...soft and shiny!  The tortoise was perfectly cast...he wasn't going to be rushed in any way, and the hare blew me away because I've known that girl since she was a baby and she's NOT the bad walking, punk talking character she played so well on stage!

Bonnie Bunny had a part that required her to sing a solo, and she performed it wonderfully!  We were so proud of her for being brave and learning the lines and songs.

We were proud of this bunny, too!

Okay, this is terrible, but every time I looked at this sign I saw "Welcome to Wet Sandy Bottoms"...

If you come to visit us, we'll be happy to pull out the video highlights for you!

(THAT oughta take care of the drop-by visitors....)

Pictures for Grandparents without Face Book!

Very serious about pirates...

Maggie was sick and Molly was being uncharacteristically sympathetic to her!

Very serious about cowboys...

Ice fishing with PopPops in the reservoir with about 3 feet of water!

Maggie LOVED it and was very competitive about catching fish!  Angus thought we should put them back so they didn't die.  He didn't last too long with the project and spent most of his time in the warm pickup, planning cookies and cocoa for the POST-fishing party with Grandma.

Perfect little trout!  We caught seven and then pulled out, because the sun went down and we got COLD!

Disgraceful!

There's no way I'll make up for lost blogging time, so I'll just start here and work backward.  Yes, I'm supposed to be doing 30 more important things, but if I don't take 15 minutes this morning to catch you all up, it'll never happen!  Besides, I just poured a big, ugly cup of coffee with half and half, and THAT shouldn't be wasted while I fold clothes.

So, you all know I get Bon Appetit magazine, right?  My friend Sara subscribes to it for me and every month I bless her generous, foodie heart as I wear the pages out, turning them down on the corners where I want to try a recipe or found a significant wine note.  

This month was a doozy!

Check out the cover:

Seriously...it starts out with PASTA, then the creamiest chocolate mousse, followed by gourmet nachos and a nod to one skillet dinners.

And inside, it's even BETTER!

So, I got the idea that I would profile this month's Bon Appetit magazine this week in my menu for the family.

(Like they care...)

That's right.

I do a weekly menu.

It seems a bit too....organized and well-thought out for a flake like me, huh?

Here's the thing, though; because I'm easily distracted, I often find myself in a panic at 11:20 a.m. wondering what in the world I'm going to feed the guys at noon and how fast bologna might thaw in the microwave! (Not the preferred method of thawing lunchmeat, by the way...)

A weekly menu saves my life.

And my friends and family's life, too.

(You'll note that Sundays are the Farmer's day to cook.  That's because I'm watching football.)

Please don't judge the nutritional balance or lack thereof...it's just a kick off for the main dishes.  I can "accessorize" with sides, later.  

I decided to try one recipe a day, beginning with Chorizo and White Bean Stew, today.  

I bought the artisan bread, and we'll probably have a salad on the side (that the Farmer will slice a steak over), but other than that, it'll be the B. A. recipe.

I'll take a picture and let you know how it turns out!

Next week, Food and Wine profiled!

If you give a man a gun....

he'll need a new scope to go with it.

He'll shop and shop and shop for "the perfect scope", and order it; a smashing deal from the local gun smith/buddy.

When the scope is finally delivered, he'll be SO excited that he'll call all his friends! (Two, total.) His friends will be excited, too, because it's a new gun with the perfect scope!
They'll have to get together to try it out.

If the buddies are coming over to try out the new gun and scope, the man will need more beer.
So, while he's mounting the perfect scope with great precision and nerve-wracking holding of breath, you'll have to go to town to get the beer.  It will not be the right kind, but it will just have to do, because when you return you'll find...

an informal shooting match going on in the back yard!  All the buddies (two, remember) brought THEIR guns to shoot, too!

This will take most of the rest of the daylight hours and nearly all the ammunition.
They'll come in to the house for a beer and "snacks" (full meal) when they're finished.

As they're refreshing themselves, the man will start admiring one of his buddy's guns.  The more he talks about it, the more he realizes...
He NEEDS it. Desperately.

So, for Christmas, you'll give a man a gun...

(Have you read the children's book "If You Give a Pig a Pancake"?  Then you recognize the form of the story!  This is loosely based on real-life events, details changed to make the story work. I would NEVER be able to give a man a gun, because I have no clue whatsoever about them...men OR guns.)

*You can plug in anything and make this story work.  For example, I'm sure Tracileeg could say, "If you give a man a tractor..." and have the same sort of outcome....*

Exercise Spells Happiness

For the last month or so, I've quit running.  Not altogether, but I'm certainly not running every day like I had been; maybe two reluctant runs a week.  It was painful, cold, boring and early.  It was much more pleasant to have another cup of coffee, sit on my ever-widening butt and check out Pinterest. (Which, by the way, is an even bigger time sucker than Facebook; it's like flipping through this HUMONGOUS magazine that never ends.) Also, there was Fat Pete's fudge, appetizers every time I turned around, comfort food for the family during snow storms and...this is the worst...cocktails every evening.  Of course, when one has cocktails (yes, more than one), the motivation to run the next morning at 6 a.m. in the dark and snow is pretty much non-existent.  To top it off, we couldn't seem to get organized to do yoga, so there went that workout.

The Boston 5 pounds had friends over.

And I haven't had my hair done in 6 months.
I'm a mess.

A mess on the mend.

This morning, I woke up pain free for the first time in at least a month!  And I wanted to run. I wanted it in a hungry way.  I NEEDED to run TODAY.

Got the kids fed, lunches packed, dogs situated, coffee made, email checked, then left.

I was sort of creaky.  I felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz...happy to be moving, just not moving really all that gracefully or fast.  Okay, I NEVER run all that gracefully or fast, but it was even worse this morning.

I started thinking creatively; planning books, sewing head bands, filing. It's tough to creatively file, so that was a stretch.

My brain was clicking away, my body was creaking away...I hit 3/4 of a mile and realized something:
I was enjoying myself!
It was like seeing an old friend, unexpectedly.
Gosh, it's been a long time since I enjoyed a run; the sunrise and the squeak of the snow under my shoes.
I warmed up, loosened up, lightened up (no more filing in my head) and really enjoyed the run. I kept it to an easy two miles because I was limited by time and also didn't want to break that little magic that had come back.  Now, it's an hour later and my body is STILL thanking me. Mostly because I'm finally drinking coffee, but still...

I don't know why my heart is so stubborn.  I found this last week that the more people talked about fitness goals, whole foods, signing up for marathons, posted workout motivational signs on Facebook,  blah, blah, blah, that instead of wanting to be part of that momentum, I wanted to be the opposite.  I'm sure you find that shocking.

I guess I'm writing this more as an accountability post than anything.  (In case you were wondering where I was going with it...)  I wanted to tell SOMEBODY that I had a good run, an enjoyable run.  I wanted to admit to my sloth, because writing it down makes it impossible to pretend it didn't happen.  I wanted to make sure I remembered where I'm starting from, again.

A mess on the mend.

Feed cows?

When Angus was much younger, he always tried to engage his dad in dinner conversation.  It would go something like this:

"So...how was your day?"
(Dad chews, in his own world...)
"Feed cows?"
(Kick under the table from Mom to Dad's shin...)
"Yep.  Fed cows."

If you were to ask Angus how HIS day went today and what he did, he'd say,
"Fed cows."
And that's what the whole family did this morning...
Feed cows.

Another thrilling blog post from the Farmer's Wife about....wait for it....
COWS!


Hoar frost on the trees and fences when we took off this morning...

Fuzzy barbed wire!

The bully-boys were nearly in the yard, indicating that we were neglectfully late with the grub. (We weren't.)

Little man, loading up...

Ready to go, Mom?

I'm sorry you can't see the utterly disgusted and obviously wronged face of the Irish Sitter, cast out in the snow.  How it's possible to look sad AND disdainful, I don't know, but Twilla's got it nailed.

Molly yells at us and lifts her paws up, one at a time, letting us know how desperately cold it is for good dogs.  Really, she wants to go in the pickup and thinks we should leave the kids home, instead.

Got the boys fed...

Breaking the ice in the bulls' water tank.

Throwing the ice out with a nifty strainer-type shovel....

And here's the pile from days gone by.  It just gets bigger and bigger through the winter!

This is the bunch of cows I run with, occasionally.  They didn't know what to make of me just standing there taking pictures.  There's something fishy about that sort of behavior...

Sneaking a snack before the bale is rolled out.
See the way the numbers are written on those ear tags?  We can usually tell who numbered the tag by the style of writing...I didn't do these tags...maybe Vern, because it looks like his "2"s.

Maggie was so delighted that the cows were rushing the pickup to get the cake!

The cake is neatly dispensed from the feeder mounted on the back of the pickup.  You could run the feeder in the middle of the summer with nothing in it and cows would come running from everywhere.  Kind of like me and an ice cream truck...

Hay.  It's what's for breakfast.

That itty-bitty reddish speck is Sparky's pickup.  He's looking for coyotes. 

Sparky usually accompanies the Farmer during feeding and they discuss guns, call coyotes, break motion sensor cameras, eat jerky, and (I'm certain of it) fart. 

The kids and I seriously cramped their style, this morning.

So we did what any good friend would do and sent one with HIM.
Actually, Angus went first.  This is right after we swapped kids with him.  I think they ate nearly his whole bag of deer jerky. This is fine; most days Sparky eats lunch with us and there aren't many leftovers, if you know what I'm sayin'...

Cow 739 steals cake!  She just boldly steps up to the feeder and fishes out whatever extra cake didn't get dumped with the last bunch.  Cheeky little thing! Well, she's no little thing, having thieved so much cake, but her audacity tickles the heck out of us.

You remember the prettiest cow in Montana, don't you?

Miss Daisy!!!

Let's pause for a moment and appreciate her beautiful bovine features...

(If you happen to run into my father-in-law on the street in Miles City, be sure to comment on how this little cow has improved the Lang's Fork herd, please.  Then take a picture of his face with your Smartphone for me.)

:)

One more...this time with her homely little pals. 

She DOES stand out, doesn't she?

What have we here?

"Mom! Guess what Aaron Carroll and I shot?!?!"

Sharp tail grouse!!!!

Nothing squeamish about this kid...

I had forgotten that sharp tails have hearts on their feathers.  Isn't that lovely?

And their backs look like pineapple!

Sparky and the Farmer, excitedly making plans to find the perfect gun for Maggie!  It's high time the girl had her own firearm!  PAST time!  (New project...this oughta be good.)

One last look at the girls before we head home!