Tomato Farming and Sauce Craving

How was your Labor Day> As always we celebrated the holiday (any holiday) with food. There was ...





1. pulled pork
2. coleslaw
3. trailer park baked beans
4. and homegrown tomatoes

I made the 3 Day Slaw Julie talks about here and it was okay, but probably not my favorite. If I made it again I would use 1/2 the celery seed and maybe add some mustard seed. Also it was really, really juicy. I think you should either prepare the cabbage ahead of time and get some of the liquids out, or use less dressing, or both. And don't use red onion if you can help it. It made the color kind of off.

And those tomatoes? Grew 'em myself. Yep. Sure did. Here's another shot to give you some perspective.



Oh. By the way. That's the entire harvest. Anyway, moving on.

Good news! There is one thing that I can do better than growing tomatoes and that's making barbecue sauce. I was seriously craving a certain style of sauce. Memphis style sauce I guess it is. Vinegary and peppery and sweet. And guess what? I nailed it. Really! I did! It was exactly what I was looking for. I know sauce is a personal thing, but who knows? Maybe this one is just what you're craving. And if you make it with organic ketchup there's no evil HFCS! I know, right? I shall share.

Crave Sauce

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
5 drops of liquid smoke
1 cup ketchup

Mix everything except the ketchup in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the dry stuff dissolves (the onion powder takes the longest) then add the ketchup. As soon as it starts to bubble turn the heat all the way down and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir it pretty frequently and watch out for eruptions. You can eat it as soon as it cools down but it's better the next day.

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BBQ Salad

A few days ago a co-worker brought in a BBQ Chicken Salad from somewhere made with lettuce, corn, black beans, chicken and cornbread croutons. Cornbread croutons! Why didn't I think of that? Well, this salad isn't that.

This salad is just a mess.

1. lettuce
2. baked potato
3. some beans
4. pulled pork

It was still pretty damn good though. Even without any cornbread croutons.

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Ribs and Raspberries

Anyone else get meal ideas from This is why you're fat.?

No, me either.

Anyway.

When I saw this I suddenly couldn't get the Shack Tater outta my mind. And honestly? I didn't want to.

In fact I may or may not have forwarded it to Him, who may or may not have replied with "what kind of chips?" blah blah blah "want Joe's tonight?". I might have asked for an add-on of ribs. Or maybe not.



1. ribs & sauce with gratuitous green onion garnish
2. the most delicious raspberries I've ever eaten in my whole life
3. approximately ZERO cents worth of fabulous little yellow tomatoes (gift from co-worker's garden)

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Spiteful Ribs

1. ribs
2. macaroni salad
3. red pepper strips
4. strawberries
5. black grape
6. little bit of a cream horn

My friend Julie (The Sporadic Cook) made ribs for Labor Day. I wasn't invited. But that's totally fine. Really. Yeah, anyway, I wanted ribs too, since I wasn't invited and all so I decided to make my own, and not invite anyone named Julie. And I certainly was not going to make them the same way she did. I had to do something different. Out of spite, of course.

At first I wasn't even going to marinate them, but then I changed my mind. I mixed up equal parts of soy sauce, orange juice and vinegar then added half parts of vegetable oil, Worcestershire and pomegranate molasses. I -really- liked the flavor of the marinade. The ribs though? Not so much. See, I had planned to baste them while they cooked and maybe reduce down the rest as a finishing sauce. Sounds great, no? And He wanted to help. Sounds great, no? He put the ribs the on the grill, and then he dumped all that sweet saucy love right down the drain.

I have this really cool thing that I do sometimes to let my beloved know that he has disappointed me. Basically don't talk. Or smile. And I sigh. A lot. It's really terribly effective, you should try it sometime!

So the ribs ended up a little more bland than I hoped. And less saucy. And a more than a little over-cooked. Out of spite, or course. But that's a different story for a different day.

Don't forget to Haiku that Blog! And I am available most evenings if you need any relationship advice.

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The Only Thing Better Than Leftovers

The only thing better than having leftovers to pack for lunch is having leftovers that someone else packs for your lunch!

1. barbecue beef
2. barbecue sauce
3. coleslaw
4. love

I'll probably just dump the meat on top of the slaw and call it a salad. Thanks honey!

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