Beef Lo Mein

 I've been playing with Asian Spices again.  That and the Beefz.  Cherry wood smoked Beefz.  Homemade noodles are always better than take out.  This one is Beef, Mushroom, and Onion...

Lets look at the Beefz first.  I am not starting with raw meat.  My Grill was down when I made this so I used the Smoker.  I don't usually smoke steaks. but it was the only option this time.  This was a couple Chuck Steaks that I seasoned with my usual rub, Tony Chachere's, and Black Pepper.  Then they hung out in the Cherry Wood smoke for around an hour.

This is the next day after I prepared the Beefz, and they are cold.  This helps to make nice thin slices.  Then we need some Beef compatible vegetables.  My favorite are Mushrooms, and Onions chopped into large pieces.

This is an Asian flavored preparation, but I am still going to start with butter, and not oil.  It's a country boy thing.  Also I am using Extra Wide Egg Noodles instead of Lo Mein Noodles.  I don't like messing around with noodles that are too long.

Once the vegetation softens up, and the Egg Noodles are cooked I'll add the Beefz into the pan with the vegetation to warm it up.  Then dump in the Egg Noodles and mix them up.  The last thing is the Asian flavor.  This time I have used Soy Sauce, and toasted Sesame Seed Oil.  Itz Nomz Time...

August Barbeque

Wow, it's a nice day out there.  Really mild for August in Texas, low 90s.  It makes me want to play with Fire!  Apple Wood Smoke specifically.  I found some Pork Shoulder cuts at the grocery store today, and Apple Wood Smoke seems like the right way to cook them right now.

I am simplistic with the seasoning so that the smoke flavor can stand out.  All of this drives Harley krazy.  He's been waiting for the Barbeque for many hours, and getting restless about it.  I like a fairly light smoking of the Pork, and I'll keep it in the smoke for two or three hours.

Also I like to use cuts of the Pork Shoulder Roast, and not the whole Pork Shoulder, sometimes called a Boston Butt, or Pork Butt.  The reason I use cuts is to get more surface area to season, and smoke the Pork.  Better flavor penetration is the whole idea.  Then after smoking I put the Pork in the Crock Pot for several hours.

At this point the flavor is delivered, but now we need to use slow, and steady heat to breakdown the connective tissue in the pork.  This gives the correct texture to the meat, and when it is done it will be like Pulled Pork.  Finishing in the Crock Pot also produces Au Ju, the meat juices, which I will then add to the Beans I have prepared separately.  This is Sunday Nomnomz...

 Once all the cooking is done I package the Pork and Beans in 12 oz. containers, and label them with both the preparation date, and the expiration date.  This is a little side business that has earned a formidable reputation where I work.  I have people asking about when I am going to start cooking again.  Well, I guess now is the right answer...

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree...

We had one of our Bradford Pear Trees die this year. Over the past few weeks we had the dead tree removed. Then, last Thursday, we had the stump ground down. So, I had a big pile of mulch in the front yard, and needed to do something with it. Hmm, well I do have a potted Pine Tree in the back yard. Lets see what we can do with a big pot, a pile of mulch, a pile of clay soil from a post hole, a bunch of stones, and a small Pine Tree...

 and the pile of mulch...

Greenhouse Stub Fence

I've been working on a way to seal the south end of the garden from my little garden glutton.  Given the opportunity Harley will eat everything in the garden.  Yes he is just a walking stomach.  Previously I had an impromptu piece of wood blocking the north side of the greenhouse to the garden.  Well, that wasn't really a good solution, and it was deteriorating.  So, I had a need to replace it, and also one of the fence posts broke adjacent to the spot I wanted to add this stub fence.

Above is the finished stub fence.  Below is where I started.  On the right there is a broken post on the outer fence.  Need to fix that, but also wanted to tie the outer fence into the greenhouse frame to make this stub fence.  The greenhouse has been in this state for about seven years.  It is time to do some renovation.

I cleaned out the greenhouse several weeks ago, and that gave me some ideas about where I wanted to go with it.  At first this was a legitimate greenhouse that I used to start plants.  Then I kept building on it, and the Trumpet Vine grew over it, so it wasn't as useful as a greenhouse.  Then it was repurposed to overwinter plants.  Well, it wasn't sealed very well, and the heater broke, so it failed that mission.  After that it became sort of a garden shed for the power equipment, and garden tools.

So, first I need a new post for the outer fence.  This is a regular thing for me.  The outer fence was built with Cedar posts, and they just don't last very long.  So, when they break I replace them with Pressure Treated Pine Posts.  Also, I use two posts per panel in the middle of the runners instead of at the ends.  This doubles the strength of the fence.

Post holes are tough to dig in this Texas Clay Soil, and it is oppressively hot during the day, so I've been digging my post holes at night.  I did this one at about 10 PM.  It's still hot, but not beat you down, and burn you to a cinder hot.  Also I have added a 2x4 support beam on the greenhouse to support the runners that hold the slats.

Previously I had tried to seal the greenhouse for overwintering plants.  Well, that didn't work too well.  So, now I am going for a flow through design to let the air freely circulate through the greenhouse.  This involves removing that materials that I had previously used to seal the greenhouse.  I've pulled the slats off the sides of the greenhouse to remove the plastic sheeting, and I'll replace the slats with an air gap between them.

Then, finally, the white door has to go.  It was another attempt to seal the greenhouse.  Again, didn't work very well.  I am going to replace it with a gate type half door that can be folded back against the greenhouse on the right.  After cleaning all of this up the last thing to do is to put the slats back on.  This has been a neat project over the last week.  Now I got to hit that Trumpet Vine again...

Saured Kraut

This is the Red Sauerkraut after 6 days.  It is starting to get that "Kraut" smell which I sense as Chlorine Dioxide.  It has a very chlorinated smell.  This may be why Cabbage is a Super Food, possibly a Super Healing Food because it outgasses Chlorine Dioxide.  Cruciferous Vegetables are known to have super health enhancing properties, and maybe also some healing benefits, but what if it is more.  What if Sauerkraut can kill viruses?  I know that the Lactobacillus Acidophilos will take over a culture, and kill off all other inoculations.  What if it also kills off viruses?  I don't know but, I do know that eating Sauerkraut gives me Mega-Energy, and makes me feel like a Super Hero...

Red Sauerkraut

Craving Fermented Food, and I had a head of Red Cabbage.  Hmmm...  Red Sauerkraut?  I have a book called Wild Fermentation that covers all sorts of fermented foods.  Kimchi is one that I like, and made a few times.  Giardiniera is another that I have made which contains a medley of vegetables.

The Red Sauerkraut is much simpler that either the Kimchi, or the Giardinera.  You basically chop the Cabbage, put salt on it, then wait for it to sweat, pack it in a jar, and let it sit around for a while.

It is a little more complex than that, but not much.  You have to take some precautions to keep it submerged.  Also you have to punch it down after you salt it.  Kind of beat it up to hasten the osmosis process that makes the brine.  You have to come back to periodically, and beat it a little with a muddle to encourage the osmosis which pulls the water out of the cabbage to form the brine.  You also need to monitor the water level, and keep it above the cabbage.

It will take several days for the fermentation to kick it.  As it ferments you will see the color change, and brine will accumulate.  Just check it periodically, and punch it some more.Within a week it will start getting that sauerkraut taste.  It is edible already, so try it.  After three weeks, roughly, you can put it in the Fridge, to store it.  It will still ferment,  just a little slower, and get better.  After a few batches you will find a time where it is just right, and it's time to go to the Fridge.  I like simple food, but I think I want to make this one a little more complex, maybe by adding Beets, and Carrots.

Greenhouse and Tomatoes

These are Heirloom Tomatoes, and various other vegetation.  Some of these Tomatoes have very interesting shapes.  I've grown various Heirloom plants before, but these are the strongest ever.

This one has ridges.  I not sure of the variety, but it's looks like it be like a large Beefsteak variety.

 Then this one has Black splotches on the sepal.  I think one of the varieties I got was called Bob's Black.  There are thousands of cultivars of Tomatoes.  You can even cross your own species to make one your own.  Horticulture is a very advanced science, thousands of years old.  Explore it...