June 26th, 1990

Do you remember where you were on that date?  If you were in Phoenix AZ, I think you would.  Fortunately for me, it was a day off,  I was living with my (now) ex-wife.  Back then, I was rather skinny, and due to the heat, running around in only a pair of shorts.

This was the day that Phoenix set some all time records for "high heat."  Early afternoon the temperature soared, and at some point I heard on the radio that the airport had been shut down... we were at 122F !!  Seems to me that there were no incoming, or outgoing flights for a few hours.

We have just come somewhat close to repeating that record, though while hitting 119F a few days ago, this year, we skated past that record setting day with only 106F, I believe.  I still feel that it's going to be a long, hot summer, despite it being a "dry heat!"  I also won't be surprised if we have a very wet and productive monsoon season this year...

It was many years later, that I learned the reason for the airport closure.  I'd never heard of "heat" causing travel interruptions...  Apparently, the hotter it gets, the longer the runway needed for a plane to lift off the ground, and the professionals had no guidelines to predict if the runways at Sky Harbor Int'l were long enough...  Also, I learned that jet engines are (or were,) only tested to 121F.  Thus, airport closure, until the temp dropped....

Got to run all, I'm fading fast...  Don't think I'll see the sunrise this morning!  Be well!

Summer Supper

It has been an interesting day, once again, and dinner was delayed for a short while as a dear friend stopped by... she really needed to decompress after the folks she had interacted with much of the day.  I'm always here at times like this, as heaven knows, I've had my share of them....

I had taken out what I thought was some rather large, raw shrimp.  I thought "no problem," they thaw quickly, and once cooked and chilled a bit, I'll make a cold salad of some sort or other...  Boy was I surprised!  I was lucky that it turned out to be imitation crab, which I thought "close enough, and once thawed, ready to eat!"  I added some of it to leftover spaghetti, whipped up a Catalina French type dressing, and called it the entrée.  Along side, I made garlic bread from a hoagie roll, and set out some multi-bean salad.  Enjoyed it immensely, but I'll bet it will be better tomorrow for lunch! 

So, there you have my last minute, impromptu meal for this evening!

Be well, friends!

Smoked Chicken

I know... many of you have been waiting for me to get off my ass, and chat about last week's first attempt EVER at using a smoker.  Well, here it is, guys!

While I was cautioned (by blurbs on the net) that hickory wood is too strong a smoke for chicken, that's what I had, so that's what I used!  After the fact, I would say that I have to agree, and have since procured some Applewood chunks for next time I'm using a more "delicate" meat.

According to my two willing taste testers, and of course myself (my own worst critic!) the meal turned out wonderfully!  Yes the flavor was rather strong, but I'm now prepared for another round of chicken!

I'm very happy with my smoker.  I simply swapped the propane tank from grill to smoker, added water and the soaked wood chips, and lit the fire, about 30 minutes before I would have the leg quarters ready to cook.  I sprinkled them liberally with a mix of salt (not much, due to my kidney issues....) pepper, and paprika.  Onto the cooking grids, they went.  Smoking time was about 3 hours total for approx. 8 lbs of chicken.  I had hoped to put on a small pork roast also, but alas I was so pooped from getting this far, that I said "later."  I needed only once to check the wood/water, adding no extra, despite the fact that the wood had all burned.  I'd also read that most of the smoke flavor is achieved within the first hour...  I did check the temp more often, and frequently had to adjust first down, then up, down, etc.  Maybe someday I will find a "happy medium" setting, but each time, it was either too hot, or way cool...  Experimentation, and experience should help me out....  Right?  Well, I'd like to think so...  So, IF our weather ever cools down, I'm ready to smoke a ham, and when I get a good deal on a turkey... and of course that pork roast, but I'm finding that there's so much room in the smoker, I'd really like to "load it up" each time, and deal with the cooked meat after the fact.

I'm also told that I can smoke veggies, salt, and all sorts of other things... (thanks, Laurrie P!)  I might even try some fish sometime!  Wonder what smoked cod would taste like?

So, friends, there you have the story of my first attempt at using a smoker!  Till next time, be well!

Firing up the Smoker

Sadly, I've been dragging my feet around "Casa de Crazy..."  I've been wanting to try out the new smoker, but having never used on of these contraptions I feel like a fish out of water.  I did however, thaw out about 8 lbs of chicken leg quarters, and a pork roast.  Will tomorrow be the day?

The weather folk are predicting record breaking heat beginning Saturday thru at least Monday.  If I'm going to do this, guess I'd best get off my butt and DO it!  Am I prepared?  I believe I am.  I've got an almost full propane tank, a bag plus of hickory chips, the chicken/pork, and of course all of the ingredients/seasonings for the recipe I found.  For the chicken, I'm expecting 2, or 3 hours, maybe a bit longer to cook.  Not sure about the pork, or if there will even be room for it, after all, I've never used a smoker!

The recipe I'm going to try uses a dry seasoning mix, smoke the chicken, and for the last hour baste with a sauce of oil, vinegar and hot sauce.  Not too sure about the sauce, but the reviews I read were all positive, so what the hell?  Get daring, I'm telling myself!  The "rub" is a mix of salt, pepper, and paprika... a do-able blend right out of my well stocked seasoning cabinet. 

If you have any experience, insights, or thoughts, PLEASE share with me!  I am certainly entering uncharted waters, here.

Up all night again!  Been perusing other smoker info, and now I'm getting all jazzed up to tackle a multi meal marathon.  If the smoker will hold everything, I've got the chicken sorted out, directions for the pork roast, and suggestion for smoking to aging ears of corn on the cob I've got standing by.  Hope I can get up and "going" early enough to pull this off by dinner time tomorrow!  If this all comes together, next up will be a ham...  Just HAD to come back and add this paragraph.

Be well, friends!

Beet Juice?

First, I must confess....  Raised in the Midwest (mostly) by a father grown up on a farm, we have always been pretty much meat/tater eaters.  Veg's and fruits were more of a teaser - a garnish, perhaps?

So, I'm on a mission to improve our eating habits!  First, I must resume shopping at the stores on a regular basis, rather than relying on delivery.  Do I need to explain?  I am healthy enough to leave home and shop - but when it's 115F in the shade (if one can find any!) it's just too easy to stay in and hunch over the puter while placing an order... 

I also enjoy gardening, but in the above said climate, not only is it difficult to be motivated to drag the hose around the yard, not to mention that it takes gallons of water, but after all of that, the plants do finally burn up in the heat.   The argument is valid however, to garden in the cooler growing season, which we are fortunate to have out here.

Now, back to my mission...  I've been researching blood pressure v. fruits and vegetables.  Now, at a few of the sites I've looked at, beet juice keeps being mentioned.  What I'm in a quandary over is if the juice is great at battling the systolic number, would eating a beet have a similar effect?  (Or is it affect? Can never remember that one, for some reason.....)  While the cogs of my brain are spinning out of control trying to process this new information, I am also forced to consider issues of diet and the kidneys.  Both issues strongly recommend low or no salt, kidneys; sugar, caffeine, nuts... well I've shared all that with you  already.... 

So, for now, that's about it....  Time to decide what to do for dinner...  I'm sure this line of thought will become a regular topic of mine for a long time, as I continue to expand my knowledge!

Till next time, be well!

When the "shoe drops..."

So many times in my lifetime I've been faced with obstacles, loss, sadness, even overwhelming happiness on occasion.  Human emotions run wild during our daily lives.  Each day we deal with stress, frustration and a myriad of other issues, that's simply a "fact of life."  I have found one way to decompress, and I hope that this may give peace to anyone who tries it!

Whether I'm "down," or "up..." if I need to just unwind, I turn to music!  I find one of my favorite artists, and just sit back and listen for a while...  Somewhere within your realm of availability, you WILL find someone singing that special song or songs, that will battle your emotions, and bring you back to your "centered self."  I promise!

I just sent a dear friend a link to a song on youtube.com that I thought she might enjoy when she reads my email.  She recently lost a lifelong friend and is suffering with her grieving process... perhaps listening to my song will help lift her heart, if only for a while, that she might make decisions whether to return from the US to England, to attend the funeral.  My song... Josh Groban singing "To Where you Are..."  Since I listened to this, and decided to remind her that "we" are out here for here, I'm continuing to listen to Josh, and I'm finding my tension/stress melt away....

Please, if you've read this, and think it might help you from time to time, say "hi."  Just click at the bottom of the post on comments and say hi... I'd really appreciate it!

Be well, one and all, and put on some music if you think it will help "lift you up!"

Needing help with recipes for a Smoker

My new smoker arrived a week early, which I had no issue with, but now I'm faced with learning how to use it...  The instruction booklet describes the "method," but contains no actual recipes, so if you have any insight to share, I'd love to hear from you! 

After much debate, I opted for a propane fueled smoker, found one at what I thought was a reasonable price and ordered it for delivery...  It arrived, I managed to drag it into the house using my "folding" dolly, and tore open the box.  Spreading the pieces all around the dining room, I left it all sit for a number of days, as I had other chores to deal with at the time.  It is now fully assembled, and waiting to be carried out to the back patio.  Now that it's here, I'm eagerly awaiting using for the first time, but be the frugal man my dad taught me to be, I must learn more about using it...

I have a ham in the freezer I'm dying to smoke, but feel that when I'm well enough educated, I can cook an entire meal along with it, rather than wasting gas for just the ham...  I've got the propane, wood chips, etc. but not yet sure what else I can place in the "space" to cook a meal...

I've found a website smokegrillbbq.com and hope to learn plenty about smoking foods there, but I'm sure there are plenty of other sites that I will find in time.

So, this is the most recent adventure of a "crazycook" continuing my journey into the culinary world!  Any and all advice or comments will be appreciated!

Be well, Steve