Good Morning Stomach

This post is a rather short one which showcases the power of the waffle maker I received for Christmas. After an early morning of a few drills at the gym, I came home with an empty stomach and the waffle maker happened to be the first thing in my sights when I walked in the door.

Ain't Dead Yet

This blog is in dire need of an update. The first month of 2009 and this will only have two posts. I'm going to summarize what's been going on. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but the first story I'd like to visit is the weekend my truck spent 24 hours in Dom's garage. The tale REALLY begins a few months ago when I heard some whining. I didn't have time to look at it myself so I took ol' Babe in and the outcome was there was nothing wrong. The same week I went over to Dom's, I was having problems with grinding and the truck would jerk to one side or the other. Enough was enough and Dom let me bring 'er over. After a quick disassembly we discovered the problem was a badly blown inner wheel bearing. And that was the brick wall. We started simple by trying to pull it off with our hands, no go. We took a trip to Auto Zone where I bought replacement bearings and Dom bought a puller, which is a tool designed for this kind of job. That and a pizza later we were back to work. Even with the puller, the bearing would not budge. The next logical step was heat and cutting wheels. But for crying out loud, the bearing did not want to succumb. Eventually, we were able to make it turn in place using the puller and a clamp. I mentioned that I wish I had gotten a Dremmel recently which brought us back to cutting wheels, only on a smaller scale but much higher RPMs. This is when we ate more pizza and stopped for the night. Kelly had to come pick me up since I had no vehicle.

The next morning, Armed with a Dremmel and a set of cold chisels, we finally made a crack in the wheel bearing run which released the pressure of the run on the spindle. We were then able to use the puller along with a large clamp to pull the bearing run out.

What was meant to be a blurb turned into a longwinded tale of frustration. So for those of you still with me, I'll spare you the final part of the tale only to mention the most awesome part of the whole ordeal. The new bearing was almost as tight to go on as the old one was coming off. Heat was the first thing that came to mind. "Bake it," Dom said. "Let's bake it." 250 degrees for 20 minutes...just enough time to finish the pizza from last night and watch an episode of The Office. The bearing slid right on and everything went back together successfully. We attempted the left side, but after hitting two hurdles in a row before getting close to the bearing we quit and called it a job well done.

Well before this and over the holidays, Will came home. My old man, Dom, Will and I all got together for a testosterone filled day of Cracker Barrell and target shooting. I'll leave you with a few shots from that.

On Appeasing The Gods

It's a longstanding tradition in the South to eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day. As the legend goes, a hearty dose of black-eyed peas brings prosperity and good luck for the entire year. So when I missed my chance on the actual day, I vowed to make things right. I knew there was no way I could just eat black-eyed peas. I had to combine it with my love of something else.

Mexican, I knew, was the answer. You see, black-eyed peas are not really peas. They're actually beans. As we know, many types of beans find their way into a number of Mexican dishes. So on January 2nd to atone for missing a day, beef enchiladas with a black-eyed pea base. Oh and guacamole.

Don't Be Fatuous, Pork Chop

Silly pork chop, I already made a gravy last time. You're right, this one would be prepared slightly different, but I'm thinking more of glazing you. Wouldn't you like a nice sauce to lie with? What's that?...you want it to be memorable? You're already getting a blog post what's more memor...oh...you say you demand a sweet sauce. Between the two of us, pork chop, you're in no position to demand anything. You're uncooked, already dead, and been manhandled by a number of butchers on your trip to my cutting board. You're about to be trimmed of that fat and slowly reaching a state in which no one could ever love you if not cooked soon. Demand you say? Well let me check the cabinets. How about this:

That's right we're talking the king of dried cranberries. These babies make the snacking process a downright pleasure. Oh pork chop, you're about to enter a euphoric state of affairs. So here's what I was thinking to go with you.

You, pork chop, and three of your brothers
1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, mixed together
1 medium onion sliced and separated into rings
1/3 cup + 1 TBSP water
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp corn oil
3 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup orange flavored cranberries

So pork chop let's trim that fat and sprinkle you and your buddies with the seasoning mixture. Now let's get you all cooking on medium high heat after heating up the corn oil. When you're all done, take a rest off to the side and keep warm. But, before I do, smile!
Wait, what? You want some buddies? OMFG pork chop! You wait this long to tell me you must have more than a sauce?! Dazzle me, you say. Ah hell pork chop, you're so needy. I'll see what I can do, so just relax.

Now for your sauce. First let's drop the heat back to medium low, about 3 on a 1-10 scale. I'll put the onion and 1 TBSP water in the pan with your juices and cook the onions until they start to brown, stirring periodically. Then I'll toss the brown sugar in and stir until it dissolves, about a minute. Next here comes the rest of the water, balsamic vinegar, and cornstarch. Once stirring that together, I'll add the king in all his glory. Stirring frequently, I'll get your sauce up to the beginning a glaze. I know it's coming to this because it's getting bubbly and thick. Now, pork chop, it's time for you and your buddies to meet the sauce I've prepared for you. Ahhh, you like that don't you. Feels good. OK settle down pork chop. It's time for you to see what I was doing as your surprise.
Give up? They're plantains! Aside from the fact that they're a bitch to get out of their peel when they're actually ripe, they're very good just grilled up. They turn into these sweet little chips that go well with many things. What you see is a live action shot of them in the grill pan. It's a shame they had to bend over and take it because you're being super lame about wanting a partner. So pork chop, I'll present you to the world.

Have Turkey Will Gravy-fy

After spending some time on Stash's website, I thought I'd contribute to society by putting up recipes and such once in awhile. That said, let's start with a dish that's all about leftover turkey. Of course, you can make turkey just for this, but it's really more of a "this will do" recipe. To summarize, you take turkey and make gravy with it. The addition (dare I call it a pairing?) is sweet potato fries, just not fried. Let me explain. I grew up where I can count the number of times we ate out in a year on less than both hands; the majority of which were special occassions. Not to say that we didn't eat well...hardly. This meal goes back to the homely ones that, as a kid, I thought had such a creative spin so it was more than just "leftovers." The other half came from a restaurant where Kelly had sweet potato fries (deep fried of course) and I thought, "Hell I can do this better." What's more, it goes fantastically with my down home cookin' idea. Now to the food.

Turkey Hash and Sweet Potato Fries Ingredients:

Turkey

A Sweet Potato

1/2 Cup Flour

3/4 stick of butter (what's that?...6 TBSP)

Water, about 3 cups possibly more

Bread -> Toast

Seasonings

It's best to start the sweet potatoes since they'll take time in the oven. Go ahead and preheat it to 350. While that's warming up, cut the potatoes into strips leaving the skin, like fries. Spray or brush with some oil and sprinkle with what you like. I used salt, pepper, and paprika. You'll probably add more of each when it comes out of the oven, so set it aside. Next time, I'll probably try some steak seasoning and sea salt.

Slide that into the oven on the top rack for 20 minutes, we'll be back. Next melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. When that's good, start pouring and mixing the flour into with the butter. It should be crumbly when you've got it all mixed. Let that get brown, then start pouring your water in and stirring. Personally, I started with about 2 cups and slowly went up from there to meet my consistency needs. I ended up with about 3 cups of water. You're welcome to use milk instead. Once you've got a gravy going, add your turkey. I didn't mention an amount, because as the rule goes: the more turkey you want, the more you put in. If backed into a corner and forced to tell how much turkey I used rather than hand over my wallet, I'd have to say between 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups. Salt and pepper it to your tastes and let everything marry.

By now the fries should be almost done in the oven. When the 20 minutes are over, put the heat up to 385 for about 10 minutes. Afterwards, they should be crisp on the outside and done on the inside. For plating, cover a few pieces of toast with the turkey hash and lay it next to a pile of fries.

Just Another Day in Augusta Co.

myThanksgiving

Dad Me

Situated at the base of the Shenandoah National Park sits Crimora. Housing the abandoned mines which founded the township, Crimora has no stoplights, a fistful of trailer parks, baseboard heating, and a post office right next to a Dollar General and The Village Market. It's my home. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is long gone and Crimora's 100 miles away. Kelly and I went there first for 1/2 Thanksgivings. Before eating, we were able to snap a few images.

A shot of the mountains (above) and my sister unveiling the oreo cheesecake she made me

Here, Uncle Jimmy takes a shot with the bow.

And now, it's the old man's turn.

Sadly, we had to leave for Inwood the same day so we could have Thanksgiving all over again at our house with Kelly's family. Both meals were gut busters; I wish I could eat like that all the time.