kayb

With you on hard scrambled eggs!

Go on and cave. You'll love it.

Quite simple, but quite good, Fourth of July dinner. Still hobbled by the ankle, I decided not to grill. Seared pork loin chops over high heat in olive oil, then simmered in hard cider. Parboiled new potatoes, drained, tossed in butter, then salted, peppered and roasted at 475 for about 15 minutes. Tomato from the garden. Last night, my annual hot dog. Nathan's Coney Island all-beef frank, seared in a non-stick skillet filmed with olive oil (see above about not firing up the grill), on a toasted bun with homemade coarse mustard, ketchup and sweet pickle relish. I'm good for another year.

Had leftover bananas that were about to breathe their last, so I made banana bread tonight. And promptly dropped it on the floor, upside down, when I took it out of the oven. After reflection, I think I'm going to make bread pudding with it tomorrow.

OK, y'all tell me. Can I set it on top of a microwave, if the dimensions are right?

Original plan was ribs, slaw, baked beans, maybe potato salad. That may change. Just two of us. I have shrimp I may thaw and just boil or grill those. Or the pork chops that are going to have to be used in the next day or so. But I will have a special dessert with fresh blackberries. Because I love me a blackberry.

Kenji gives a choice of 165 for 12 hours for "traditional" ribs, or something lower (145, I think?) for 36 hours for meatier, more toothsome ribs. He contends the 165 at 12 will still have some "chew." Looks now as though I may not do them after all; I still have thawed pork chops to do, as we opted for hot dogs today. Ribs may wait a day or so.

Just kill me now. Although I am not certain I ever experienced such a phenomenon as "too much bacon."

Going to SV some baby back ribs for the Fourth and finish them under the broiler, as I'm not ambitious enough to finish them on the grill. Any critiques of Kenji's method of 165F for 12 hours?

@Shelby, You know it's summer when there's "fried okry."

Dear sweet baby Jesus. You had me at gochujang with sour cream and honey. I'm sold. Cute dog! Hope he/she got a snack! First Farmers' market dinner of the year, delayed about three weeks because that's how long it's been since I have been able to go due to the bum ankle. Had pork chops. Didn't want 'em, didn't need 'em, didn't cook 'em. Tomato from my poor, grassy garden; possibly the best tomato I have ever eaten.

All that has kept me from getting one of these is the lack of anywhere to put it. After seeing GFWeb's post, currently inspecting the top of the microwave to see what else besides the "junk bowl" will have to move. Didn't take but once turning on the oven when the temps got near 100 to remind me why I don't bake much in the summer. I suspect I'll have one before the month is out.

Where can one acquire about a case of this stuff? Afflicted with damn-near-permanent sinusitis.

That's it. No added sugar in the traditional. Not much in the honey vanilla. I'm not fond of the texture of the brown sugar cinnamon, and I don't like the dark chocolate at all. But I love the honey vanilla.

Y'all, don't be hatin' on peanut butter. In fact, if you want some primo peanut butter, try this kind. My personal favorite is the honey vanilla flavor. Full disclosure: It's my kids' business. Still damn good peanut butter.

There is a small "chain" of burger places in Little Rock called Big Orange (I think there are three, all in Little Rock, AR), that has without a doubt the best commercially prepared burger I have ever eaten. Anywhere. Local farm-raised beef, locally baked bread, top-notch condiments and add-ons (the avocado and blue cheese burger is, I swear, a Gift From God). If you're EVER in Little Rock, do not fail to eat there. The truffle fries are pretty awesome, too. A similar, but not quite as good, burger place/small chain in Nashville is Burger Republic. And of course, a million Mom and Pop burgers at diners and dairy bars across the land. My personal favorite of those, and I'm not sure if it's still in existence, was the Dairy Freeze in Hiwasse, AR, a tiny wide spot in the road that's probably now been swallowed up by Bentonville. Fondly known to all as the Hiwasse Hilton. Best burger ever. Hand-patted, flat-top grilled, piled high with lettuce, cheese, onion, tomatoes, bacon. Have mercy! I had one there one night with Bill Clinton, back when he was still governor of Arkansas. He'd never been there, and I had ridden to an event with him to interview him for the newspaper. We passed it and I mentioned it (knowing his fondness for cheeseburgers); he vowed we'd stop there on the way back, and we did. Gotta love a small state where you know everybody; I'd called them and given them a heads up not to close at their usual time!

The zucchini trick is my next effort, as soon as the garden yields me another zuke or two.

Ahhhh...Island time! I love this time of year!

@ElainaA, I'm so happy you do this with your excess produce! I have a soft spot in my heart for hunger ministries of all kinds. Way to go! @HungryChris, I did make it out there and picked tomatoes and cucumbers. Am ordering some black plastic to put down between rows and plants and smother out the damn bermuda. Better'n nothing. Hope you get good news and some restrictions lifted at your doctor visit -- but please don't bend too many rules! Eyesight (like mobility) is not something with which to take chances! @Shelby, definitely next year for green beans! And barbecued rabbit.... So glad your garden is recovering somewhat. Good to hear you'll have Silver Queen. I've just learned my annual jaunt to a conference in N. GA, where I generally buy my Silver Queen on the way home, has been called off , so I guess I'll make do with the ubiquitous Peaches and Cream, which is good stuff, but it ain't Silver Queen. Garden squash and tomato-cucumber salad tonight!

That's a thought. I hate to get one for as small as my garden is, and with the knee messed up, I can't kneel, but the seat might work. Then again, I may just muddle through this year and try again next year!

During my enforced absence from the garden, which is now just about taken over by grass, the damn rabbits ate the green beans again. I give up. Liquid Fence is not worth the $24.95 I paid for it. No more green beans until next year, when I can put a fence up. Crabgrass is also prolific in the squash/cucumber bed, though I'd thought the spreading vines and leaves would shade it out. No such. Have been getting a few zucchini and yellow squash. Cucumbers, which are supposed to be pickling cucumbers, are turning out to be little globes, but very cucumber-y. Big tomatoes are not bearing much at all, but cherries and Romas are pretty prolific. I have graduated from crutches and knee brace, now in just an ankle brace I can wear with tennis shoes. My ordered cane arrives tomorrow (have threatened the children that the first one to tease me about it, I will use it to whack them soundly), and once it's here, I'm journeying to the garden. Probably to weep, as I won't be able to do much but survey the damage. Thank God for sturdy tomatoes!

@rarerollingobject, that grilled cheese is a thing of beauty. I want one. Now. Might check your local farmers' market. Several of our area beekeepers sell their honey there, in half-pints, pints and quarts. I tend to buy it a quart at a time because I use a fair amount of it. They also have local honey at the local organic foods store (like a baby Whole Foods, but better quality and lower prices), that one can dispense (warm!) from a big vat into pint or quart containers. I do that a lot as well.

Give 'em hell, @Shelby!

Me too! Thank you!

I believe I'd be acquiring myself a pellet rifle and taking to bird-hunting. Birds and squirrels have, to date, left my tomatoes alone. Liquid Fence seems to be working on the green beans. Grass is overrunning the garden since I can't get out and work it. Squash continue to bear nicely; cucumbers are stubbornly slow.