snowangel

Honor, what a lovely piece, and one that brought back many memories. I am no stranger to "odd" food, having spent growing-up summers on a farm in NE, I'd killed my first chicken before I entered third grade (and plucked it, and learned how to cut it up). But, it was on my 9th (or perhaps 8th?) birthday that I had my first true Thai food, for my birthday. The first thing I ate was raw pork larb. Trich be damned, it gave me a taste for the odd and unusual, and taught me that just because it's not typically served in the US doesn't mean it's bad. BTW, I didn't know it was raw pork for many years, and it remains my favorite form of larb. This is not as off-the-wall as dog, but, remember, I was 8 or 9 and had been largely midwestern raised.

We head north again tomorrow. As a sign of us aging parents, we are going because of work conflicts, and the fact that my best friend's son, who has loved the cabin as much as we have, heads to college (UWM -- think Mad Town) soon, so it is an ideal time to go up. Plus, the water is really great. But, back to The Art of the Midnight Swim. First, it needs to be dark, and if there is a good moon, or is not cloudy, it is even better. Second, fortify with a munchie and a cocktail. Grab a pareo and strip to one's skivvies (or further), grab a flashlight (if the moon does not provide enough light). Lay in the water, sculling (yes, I did take a synchronized swimming class in college) and feel the water. The water, late at night, seems to have greater viscosity, feeling positively silky. Climb up on the deck, barely dry off with said pareo, eat a piece of fruit or make a s'more, and crawl in bed cool, with hair that feels beyond silky, and ever so cool. It's all about the senses. The tastes of the food, the feel of the air and water seem so heightened up North. And, August at the cabin is the best time. The biting bugs are "somewhat" minimal, the type of dragonflies and butterflies/moths have changed. I'm so lucky! Edited to add: The most perfect munchie is room temp brie on a freshly baked take-and-bake baguette (no comments about the latter, please; we are not up there to bake, but to consume) or leftover Nicoise.

We're already making plans for what will be the 30th (or is it the 31st) year in a row that Paul and I have gone to the Great Minnesota State Fair, and it appears that there will be a new food on a stick, courtesy of Big Fat Bacon: I'm sure this is not the only new entry to the Food On A Stick category. But, a 1/3 lb. slice of bacon? Wonder if it's deep-fried? I'll have to check this one out, and see what kind of dipping sauces they offer.

You are right on the daisies and ferns. Front and center is "pearly everlasting" (these dry very nicely and look good for months). The stuff that looks like Queen Ann's Lace and wild mustard are actually yarrows. Sunfish. Assuming they are of respectable size, the best thing to do is gut them, cut the heads and fins off and fry them up. Should you choose to filet them, you'll end up with barely a morsel, but the sunfish is firm enough of flesh that once cooked, the flesh peels off the bones easily (no Y bones like the northern). Oh, do scale them first. Do not skin them. I really love sunnies. The walleye was good, but the flesh is not as firm. I'd like to get a mess of them this coming weekend up there and try frying them and applying some sort of hot and spicy Thai sauce.

As I alluded to in the the previous post, we are just back from the cabin. Our previous trips have been with Peter and Heidi, and since Peter is at camp, and Diana is home from being a counselor at said camp, it was just the four of us. No friends. Just us. To celebrate a birthday. We left home on Friday morning. Stops included a gas station (on the way out of town), a liquor store ( ), Gordy's in Cloquet. Since I can't seem to eat much and sit in a car any more, I opted for a raspberry shake. The girls shared an order of fish and chips, and Paul had a California burger and a coke. Next stop: F & D Meats in Virginia. We got brats (regular) and Jalapeno (I think these are my fav sausages in the state). No bacon. Since we didn't get bacon at F & D (their's is so thick cut it cooks like smoked pork, not bacon), we stopped at Zup's in Cook to get bacon and all of the other stuff I forgot ). Zup's has what I think is the best Up North bacon around, although their slicing is somewhat irregular, and I am rather picky about how my bacon is sliced. So, for the meals, after the swims, we had brats and Sweet Corn ( ) on Friday night. Saturday morning, before we picked berries, we had bacon and waffles (no photos since I have taken way more photos of bacon and waffles than anyone should be subject to). The girls were on their own for lunch, but, when Paul and I got back from berry picking, we laid into this for lunch: This stuff was very good. Whitefish is very oily. But, I do prefer what Russ Kendall does with salmon or cisco's. I'd buy it again it since Russ's place involves a trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. I chose not to nap on my birthday, but pick a birthday bouquet. Can anyone guess what flowers//flora are in the bouquet? And, are any of these edible? For the birthday dinner, we had a beautiful salad of baby greens, feta, spiced pecans and blueberries (surprise), and chuck eye steaks: Next morning, scrambled eggs and blueberry muffins, which were very popular: (As a side note, I filled the muffin cups with liners the night before. This is what greeted me the next morning: Lunches were as normal -- sandwiches, leftovers, etc., etc. Somerwhere along the line, I made potato salad, and for breakfast today (our Leaving Day), we had the last of the blueberry pie). Other occupants of the fridge -- which are long gone -- incluce pita and hummus, a wedge of brie, some bananas, and the first of my Bloody Butchers (which were To Die For). Finally, this morning, Paul and I went fishing. We came home with a Walleye and a sunny: We had them for dinner tonight. Edited to correct photos and to add this one, from the gas station in Orr, MN: And the fact that we spend a boat-load of time playing cards, doing crosswords, napping, and ust flat being. The best part of the cabin is just hanging loose, napping, swimming, walking to the point, talking politics with our future voter, reading.

We have been to the cabin three times since I last reported, and right now, I report on the third of the three trips. The Art of Northern MN Blueberry Picking First, you pick the right day, and know that the day after will probably be better. You want a day that is cool, overcast and breezy (think bugs and heat). But, first, you choose the blueberry hill. We have had a few over the course of the years, and let me tell you, Google Earth sure makes it easier. You can look easily for granite ridges that have areas that have fairly recently been logged off. And know the area and whether you will be able to drive to them within a reasonable distance. Blueberry hills here have a tendency to become unproductive after a few years, and, more important, become inaccessible because the plants grow and you just can't get there. So, two years ago, we realized that our hill wasn't meeting our needs, so we targeted a new place, which we visited last year, and filled the bill. We could get close enough by vehicle, the site was lovely (if I'd taken my camera, you'd have seen an unbelievable vista from the top of the hill), so we returned this year. But, first, the gear. You need sturdy shoes. My in-laws gave all of the kids these many years ago, and I count them among the most precious of gifts I have ever received: Paul insists on long pants, but I have these fab Columbia shorts with nice deep pockets that will hold a bottle of water and one of bug spray (we are partial to Ultrathon). The other essential is a 5-quart ice cream pail per person. They are the right size, the right width, and have handles. Oh, and a hat. I am partial to my Duluth Pack baseball-style cap. As you exit the vehicle that has brought you as close to The Spot as possible, spray every part of you with bug spray, except your hands (I actually take along a pair of gloves. Spray the cap, neck, legs, back, etc., etc. You want me to be a poster child for bug spray.) Head up the hill. Fortunately this year, it was just Paul and I. Kids can berry pick, but they quickly tire of it, and just want to go to the car and play, or (worse) stay with you and whine. Paul and I are happiest when we are close enough that we can call to each other and hear the other person respond, but, for us, it's a nice time to spend time alone but with another person. But, back to the picking. First off, you stop at the first plant you see. Then you walk around, and start looking for more lucrative places. You want a place where you can occasionally sit in the shade, and literally scrape handfuls of berries off in one fell swoop. Make sure that the spot in which you place your bucket is fairly level so that you don't lose all of your take with one brush of the hand. Pick cleanly. You don't want twigs, leaves or green berries into the mix. And, I'm so restrained that I don't eat my first berry until we call it quits and get back to the car. Then, you crank up the A/C in the vehicle, each drink a bottle of water, head to the cabin, grab a cold beer, shimmy into the bathing suit, and head to the lake before starting on the pie! The berries. In 45 minutes, Paul and I had picked 4 quarts: Two hours after my languishing in the lake, we had a pie in the fridge: (Trust me, the crust was brown. I was wet and dripping and didn't feel like fiddling with the camera). Edited to add: These are small berries, about half the size of those in those plastic containers at the market. There is a pop of the skin, and a silky interior, with a ton a flavour. A bit of sugar, a hint of lemon, and WOW! We picked on my 51th birthday. I can't imagine a better way to spend a birthday. And, the girls had a good time and a good swim at the cabin while we were doing The Deed.

Any accomplished butt smoker knows that sometimes a "piece just falls off." Kudos to johnny for a job well done on an unknown smoker. Although I claim that the Trusty Old Kettle is a piece of cake, it is only so after many years of learning!

I scooped up all of the change on my dresser a few days ago, took it to the bank and got dollar bills, took them to the biggest gas station chain, bought a few gas cards and gave them to meals on wheels. Amazing how those quarters and dimes add up! (BTW, if you travel and stay in hotels, donate the travel bottles that come with the room to your local food shelf.)

There are so many varieties of peppers! I think trying to identify without more knowledge -- how tall were the plants; what did the flowers look like, etc. make it so difficult. And, to classify one type of pepper -- be they "Thai" or "Jalapeño" peppers does not do them justice as there are many, many types of both of these peppers. In any case, use them as appropriate. Be it in a nam prik, on larb, in a salsa, or on nachos, be glad that you have them! Things here in MN are ripening so slowly we're hoping for a ripe tomoto before the first frost. My bachelor buttons have just begun to bloom!

Thanks Rob. I know well how much goes into hosting, and I was starting to wonder when you took over the restaurant! Oh, and thanks for giving me the kick to get the muscovado sugar. I'll never look back...

Well, I'm in love. Thank you so much, Paul, for entering your recipe into RecipeGullet. I followed it to the letter (well, sort of, since drop-in guests prevented me from adding the browned butter to the sugars immediately, and I did use dark muscovado sugar, since that was what was available). I started by baking just four of them, and made them smaller, and think I over-baked them. Interesting that my first reaction to testing whether they were done was to give them a touch with the index finger. It was hard to tell when they were brown around the edges, since the sugar was so dark, the dough was as well. But, the second group (this time six of them) seem perfect, and I have vowed to leave at least four of them alone to "age." What I especially appreciate is the minimal quality of chocolate, and the complexity of the sugar, and the browned butter. New standard here for chocolate chip cookes (I am not a big chocolate fan, BTW, but loved these).

I did something like this last night using a tweak of something from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone: sautéed onions then garlic in olive oil, added a bit of anchovy paste, then a can of crushed tomatoes, S&P, and oregano. Stewed the whole thing until done and served it over brown rice with some sausages. Lots of leftovers, too, for work lunch. What're you doing with your green beans? ← What? No bacon????? It's bean season here, too, and when we grill, I take a mess of blanched ones, stick them in a foil packet with whatever (olive oil, butter, garlic, shallots; whatever is handy) and oh my, do the leftovers go well with greens and tuna the next day (think stay-at-home mom's nicoise -- if we're out of olives, it's capers, and oh my, if there's a leftover hard-cooked egg, oh me oh my). Another favorite preparation is from Madhur Jaffrey's "An Invitation to Indian Cooking" -- the "Green Beans with Mustard." Like southern-style green beans, they are cooked longer than you think you'd like, but you'll wish you had doubled the recipe for something for lunch the next day. And, a good excuse to use that extra cilantro that is growing a bit "long in the tooth" and that blog of plain yogurt in the container in the fridg (so you don't feel guilty about pitching said container a few weeks from now when you aren't sure whether it was a leftover of whatever."

The chuck eye is often one of those cuts that never makes it to the counter, but in the butcher's grocery bag! I have easy access to them. Just goes to show what "giving" (read bribing) your local meat gal/guy with smoked butt or brisket will do. More readily available, BTW, when chuck roasts are on sale.

I don't think I have a more favorite meal: The burger is merely incidental, and that first of the summer's sweet corn is gold. Bless Paul. He whizzed by the corn stand, noted the sign, made a u-turn in very heavy traffic, yet another u-turn, and picked up 1/2 dozen ears. More precious than my diamond ring. We also had last night's leftover "in a pouch on the grill" green beans in a light mustardy dressing, but I primarily made a meal of 4 ears of corn (no kids tonight). What will I be eating nightly for the next month and a half?

In a very eG moment, Diana just called and said that yes, the fancy grocery did have the muscovado sugar. She bought the last two bags, and her friends were amused that they had to stop at this market and get sugar. As they said "only your mom would want some sugar that is way expensive, and has an unpronounceable name." Sugar to be delivered tomorrow, and the dough making will commence! It all in the details, isn't it?

"Bump" Diana came home from camp a vegetarian (eggs and fish are OK), but really likes veggie burgers, so share some new ideas. BTW, neither she nor I like cooked root crops (no beets or carrots need apply). Something that could be frozen would be great, and she does like spicy. I've got things mostly covered, but the ability to slap something on the grill for her when we want burgers, steak or (chicken) thighs would be most helpful. The purchased ones are at most mediocre, and really expensive.

Any idea what the dark muscovado would do?

OK, this gives me a good excuse to burn up some gas and get some great cheese and other treats! (or, have my daughter get it since she is often near the Fancy Store.)

I made a huge batch of the brown butter muscovado cookies four days in advance of needing them. Kept in a sealed plastic container they stayed completely fresh. I like them better at four days than I did right out of the oven. ← I live in a culinary wasteland, and so on the way back from a dr. appt. for a kid, stopped at a "fancy" coop, and they didn't have the muscovado, but what they did have was "Fair Trade Raw Cane Sugar from Malawi." Will that approximate, or should I drive the extra few miles to a store I know will have it? The browned butter really intrigues me. I have a dynamite Oatmeal Cookie that calls for browning the oats in butter (therefore browning the butter) which does make all of the difference in the world.

Come mid to late-June, here in MN, the standard is spinach, fresh strawberries (and I'm not talking about the ones from CA, rather the ones from my neighbor's patch), fresh feta and some sort of nut, with some sort of nut. At this time of year, it's dependent on what's at the farmer's market!

Tomato phyllo pizza -- click here for a report I did on the pizza cook-off. And, you can find the recipe here on the Food Network website. We prefer it with a lot less grated parm -- it's a bit strong for those luscious tomatoes. BTW, I'm jealous. I have tomatoes on my plants, but they are still a few weeks away from ripening, so they just taunt me.

Ray's advice is spot on. BTW, as you fill the freezer, you might want to check out this topic for additional ideas and advice. Good luck!

Chris, I've quit brining bone-in/skin-on butts. I'm not sure it added much. And, when I brine a boned, skinless butt, I'm more likely to give it a short brine, since smokin' is often spur of the moment! Since June 1, I've smoked 60+ pounds of butt for several graduation parties for kids of friends. Now, given that the Trusty Old Kettle can only handle two butts at a time, I have spent many hours, used a lot of charcoal, and a lot of wood. (Oh! And, a lot of beer!) Pure joy to share pure bliss with so many! BTW, ribs are smoking on the Trusty Old Kettle as we speak. The grand dame of many a smoking adventure turns 24 on August 2. Best damned birthday present I ever got.

Serious jonesing for an ear of that sweet corn here in MN. Our spring (wait, we didn't really have a spring this year!) was so late, cold and wet that the corn was not knee-high by the 4th, and hasn't even tassled. The supermarkets are touting the sweet corn from Georgia as "fresh," but in my book, if it wasn't picked that morning, or while the water was put on to boil, it just ain't fresh. I must confess that after looking at that photo, I have lust in my heart.

We have been twice; report to follow once I finish up with all of the graduation parties I have "catered" (IMHO, catering is a term applied loosely -- I think it implies that you are paid for more than the supplies...).