Sunday, June 20, 2010

Garden-2 Month Update



Garden-2 Month Update

Two months gone by already!

Well, as most of you know, we originally planted our garden about the 18th of April. Turns out, this whole gardening thing has a big learning curve!

Mid-April was probably a bit early to be planting some things, particularly the peppers, and too late to be planting other things, like onions and cabbage. The little seed packets give very generic instructions, like:

Plant in the dirt. Water. <--- Sarcasm

Anyway, so it is a learning curve, but despite that, and the bugs and slugs, things are going pretty darn well!

Since April we have planted additional things from starts and seeds. We just recently planted more carrots, parsnips, beets, more radishes and onions (we’ll see what happens with those!), thyme and GARLIC! The garlic is awesome! In less than a week it had sprouted and in the last two days has probably grown 3 or 4” already! We are excited to see how that turns out!

The tomatoes, potatoes, corn, peas, beans, edemame, beet starts and dill are all doing really well!

So far the winner is the potatoes!



Look at those things! For reference, the tallest ones come to the top of my hips and I am 5' 4"!

The slugs and bugs have mostly stopped attacking my cabbages and brussel sprouts, so we’ll see if those continue to do okay as we head into the warmer weather.



It is interesting, but some of our boxes seem to grow things better than the other boxes. I have cilantro planted in two boxes. In one box they are going gangbusters, and in the other box they are only a couple inches tall. It is the same with some of my second plantings of the mixed lettuces.



Even though the author of Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew, states that his “Mel’s mix” of soil shouldn’t need to be fertilized because it is the “perfect mix” of nutrients, we found that the corn and the peppers were yellowing, which apparently means they need nitrogen. So we added some fertilizer to most of the garden boxes to give everything a little boost. That appears to have worked well, as the corn and peppers are looking better, and other things seem to have perked up a bit more, also.

We also have added some more compost dirt to the boxes and did a little soil cultivating, as it looked like the dirt was getting packed down.

I planted some watermelon seeds and they have already popped up…so cute! Looking forward to seeing how that turns out! This whole thing is such an adventure for us. We are looking forward to whatever bounty we get and are learning a lot!

Last night, half our dinner was directly out of our own garden! We had salmon from the store, but we seasoned it with our garden dill and lemon basil. For sides we had a big salad with mixed lettuces, radishes and cilantro from our garden and sautéed peas from our own garden! It was fresh and delicious.



It is so fun to be able to freshly season my food with herbs from my own yard! I made roasted red potatoes the other night and seasoned them with dill and chives from the garden. We have made several salads, and also used a lot of radishes!

Chris’ pepper plants are finally taking off, now that we have had some heat!



Our lemon is also starting to turn yellow, now that we have had some heat.



Things are growing and getting bigger! Yesterday we heard about beneficial nematodes, which are little microorganisms that are supposed to travel through your dirt and eat the larvae of unwanted pests, like cabbage worms and mites, etc. So, we might head out and about today to see if we can find some of those.

It’s also about time to cage up the tomatoes, since they are going crazy!



(Tomatoes are to the far right in the nearest box)

We’ll keep learning as we go, and hopefully be able to share more of our harvest bounty with you as the season goes on!

Lower Table Rock


Lower Table Rock

Another hiking adventure, so soon? Why yes!

It was a nice day here in Southern Oregon today. Partly cloudy, but they were big, white puffy clouds and there was plenty of blue sky and sunshine in between.

Chris was up early and got a ton of yard work done. The front yard looks MUCH better.

After that, we decided the weather wasn’t really boating weather, so we decided to hit up the second Table Rock, Lower Table Rock, for another hike.

Lower Table Rock is the “twin” to Upper Table Rock, which we hiked a couple weekends ago (see prior hiking post for details). The Table Rocks are estimated to be about 7 Million years old, and created by lava flows. They rise up out of the valley about 800’ and have a flat plateau top, hence the name.

The Lower Table Rock is said by the local Takelma Indian tribe to be the younger of the two table rocks, and the more mischievous! I learned that from a local Indian storytelling session that I went to for school.

In any case, the Lower Table Rock trail is a bit longer than the Upper Table Rock that we did before. There is some confusion as to the actual length because one website said it was 8.6 miles roundtrip, while the sign at the trailhead said it was 1.75 to the top. Chris and I think that the 8.6 miles includes the big long trail that goes across the entire top of the plateau. Similar to Upper Table Rock, the hike to the plateau is almost an 800’ vertical climb.



This trail is a bit more “touristy” feeling in the beginning. The trail is wider, more heavily graveled initially, and there are several signs along the trail pointing out the history, flora and fauna of the area. A bit up the trail though, these signs and the touristy feel goes away.

The hike starts out moderately, but then has a pretty significant climb, followed by some more moderate climbs that weren’t too difficult, and finishes, like Upper Table Rock with a pretty significant last steep climb. About halfway up the main trail, the gravel mostly stops and it becomes more of a packed dirt trail. In most places it is two people wide. The majority of the trail is in shade, which was nice, since it was fairly sunny and warm in the open.

Once we reached the plateau there was a well worn path leading southwest across the plateau to the edge of the table.



The majority of the plateau is covered by grassy meadow and wildflowers. We did see one vernal pond. The Lower Table Rock meadow had more wildflowers than did the Upper Table Rock meadow.



Also, the Lower Table Rock plateau was much more meadow with fewer big lava-type rocks, which made it much easier to walk across.



We walked across to the southwest side where we sat and looked across the valley below.





We ate a lovely picnic lunch and enjoyed the view of the birds playing on the updrafts of air.



After we ate, we hiked around a bit more and got a great view of the Rogue River down below.





We also got to see a real treat: Erickson Air Crane has a Sky crane Helicopter that they were doing test flights on. So we could see them take off and fly around the Table Rocks and then head back to land. It was very cool.

After that we headed back toward the trail down. It is a pretty steep descent! There was quite a bit of almost jogging down the trail on the steeper parts to keep from slipping.

All in all, we figured that we were out there for about 3 hours or so, most of which we spent actually hiking and walking, with a short lunch break. By the time we were done we were both tired and worn out.

Lower Table Rock was a more challenging and longer hike than the Upper Table Rock, and a significantly longer hike than Roxy Ann, though the last section to the summit of Roxy Ann is still the winner for almost killing me. The views from Lower Table Rock are equally as impressive, though we were disappointed that the clouds were blocking our view of Mt. McLaughlin to the east, again.

We aren’t sure what is on tap for tomorrow, but we may go looking for a fishing adventure! I’ll keep you posted!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Boating!


Boating!

On Sunday June 13, 2010 we took our boat out for her maiden voyage of the year.

We have a 1974 21’ Spectra jet boat. It is purple and yellow. It’s cool. ;-)

We LOVE to take the boat out. I think that Chris and I both find the most relaxing place to be is on a nice, beautiful lake, chillin’ in our boat. I don’t know if there is anything more calming and soothing.

We have had this boat for about 6 years now, I think. We have taken this boat to a lot of different places. While living in Portland, our favorite place was actually in Washington. We would frequently take our boat to Lake Merwin, which is in the foothills of Mt. St Helens. It is a huge lake, and gorgeous! We will miss Lake Merwin!

We also would take the boat on the Willamette River, near downtown Portland or in Newberg. We have taken it out on Haag Lake outside of Hillsboro, Oregon, as well. We have taken the boat to Detroit Reservoir east of Salem and up to Black Lake in Tumwater, Washington. We try to get out on the boat as often as possible.

We don’t necessarily DO anything while we are out there, except relax and enjoy. We don’t ski, or board or tube, normally. We don’t normally fish, either. Although we have done all those things, typically going out on the boat is an opportunity for us to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Well, and of course there is the added bonus of zooming around on the water in a cool boat with a big block Oldsmobile 455 motor in the back of it, too!



Our maiden voyage of 2010 was awesome! Chris had pulled the motor to do some maintenance and updates, so our maiden voyage was also a shakedown of sorts to make sure that all the maintenance was good and no leaks!



We took our boat to Emigrant Lake in Ashland, Oregon, which is about 30 minutes from our house. Emigrant Lake isn’t that big, and it is at the bottom of some big hillsides, so almost like a mountain lake.



The weather on Sunday was about 90 degrees, sunny and HOT! Perfect for boating. There was a nice breeze coming down off the hillsides, which kept us from melting. We also have a cool umbrella shade thing to keep the sun off of us when we get too hot.

And for those that are concerned, yes we wear sunscreen! SPF 50, hats, sunglasses and our umbrella shade all help us to stay safe and enjoy the sun and lake at the same time. We also wear our life jackets whenever we are under way. Safety First Kids!

We had an excellent day on the lake. No problems with the boat, motor, leaks, fires or anything like that. She started and ran great. The weather was awesome. We watched some kids jump off of the rocks into the lake, saw a few other jet boats, and just generally had a really relaxing and fun day.

We look forward to MANY more relaxing days on the water.

Upper Table Rock/Roxy Ann


Hiking!

I’ve never been much of a hiker before. I don’t mind walking and I don’t mind walking on trails and stuff, but what I do mind, is hiking on trails that have exposed sides. I get really nervous and am not very surefooted.

That’s putting it politely. Actually, I’m terribly clumsy; add to that the nervousness from sheer edge trails and we have a recipe for disaster!

So, while we lived in Portland, and throughout my life, I have been on various hikes. I have hiked up Beacon Rock east of Vancouver, Washington on the edge of the Columbia River, more than once. I have hiked up to the top of Multnomah Falls, once that I can remember for sure, but I’ve been to Multnomah Falls more than that, so it is likely I hiked it as a child as well. Chris and I did some hiking around Portland a couple of different times and places.

But it wasn’t until we moved to Southern Oregon that we have gone hiking multiple times in a short period of time. We have found a few places that are relatively close by, one is about 10 minutes from home, and another is about 20 minutes or so. There are several more that we hope to find time to check out this summer and fall as well.

About two weeks ago we went hiking on Upper Table Rock. This flat topped rock was created by lava flows about 7 million years ago. Upper Table Rock and its twin, Lower Table Rock, rise about 800’ above the valley floor. Up top they shift from rocky to grassy with seasonal ponds. I understand in the springtime they are quite pretty with all the different meadow wildflowers blooming.



Upper Table Rock meadow.

The hike to the top of Upper Table Rock is about a 740’ vertical climb. We forgot to check, but think it took us about an hour or so to reach the plateau. We were surprised that the trail, mostly gravel or hard packed dirt, was not muddy after the few days of rain we had experienced prior to our hike.

The weather had been sunny when we decided to go for the hike. As we got in the truck to head to the trailhead it sprinkled a little bit. We were very lucky though. Even though you can see the rain hitting the foothills of the south valley and even some of the south valley floor, we never got rain and in fact, it was quite sunny and warm up on the plateau.




The hike is pretty darn steep, with a significant climb in elevation. The bottom section starts off pretty steep, no nice gentle slope to get you started. In the middle, the trail flattens a bit, giving a false sense of ease. As we approach the plateau-summit, it gets pretty steep again, and also quite rocky. Throughout the trail, though, there are no significant edge drop-offs, so I am quite comfortable along the whole trail in that regard.


Looking off the side from the top.


Those are not bushes, those are the tops of trees!

The first time we hiked up this trail was last fall. I was out of shape and unprepared. It was BRUTAL! I was huffing and puffing and my legs were burning and I seriously wasn’t sure if I could make it. This time, I am much more in shape and prepared. I hiked to the top without much trouble. Of course, it was steep so I was breathing heavily, but I managed to keep up with Chris the entire way and thankfully, all the working out I’ve been doing paid off. My legs felt great and I had enough energy and power to keep going. When we got back to the truck I was pleasantly sore and tired, but not painfully so. It was a great hike!

Enjoy some photos of our view.


Roxy Ann Peak from Upper Table Rock (looking south)


Lower Table Rock to the west of Upper Table Rock
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The next hike we went on was to the summit of Roxy Ann Peak.

Roxy Ann Peak is a small mountain located directly east of my house. When I look out my back windows or sit on my patio, I look at Roxy Ann.

Roxy Ann summit is at about the 3500’ level. My house is at about the 1500’ level. It takes us about 10 minutes to get to the gate where the hike starts on Roxy Ann.

The hike we did is basically up the west side of the mountain, curved around to the east side and then up to the summit. This is all a gravel road hike. The mountain does have several other single track style trails on it, but we have not attempted those yet.

The first time we went to Roxy Ann, Chris’ pager went off after about 15 minutes, so we had not gotten very far before we had to turn back. The second time we got quite a bit farther, but it was an after work hike, we still needed to have dinner and I had homework to do, so we cut it short as well.

This time, we went prepared. I packed us dinner of skinless breaded fried chicken and homemade coleslaw and plenty of water. Chris got home a few minutes early and we took the quick trip to get to Roxy Ann. This time, it was the summit or bust!

According to Wikipedia, Roxy Ann road is a 2.64 mile loop that goes all the way around the peak, and there are 6 trails that range in difficulty from moderate to steep. We did not do the entire loop, as on the east side of the mountain there is an additional road that heads up to the summit.



We hit the road at the upper gate and set off at a brisk pace on a sunny, although somewhat cool and breezy afternoon. The first ¾ of the hike has a nice, relatively gradual climb to it. It is a nice workout, but nothing terribly strenuous. As we wound our way up the road we came to a point where we were on the north side of the peak looking north. From there we could see the two table rocks off in the distance, where we had been hiking the weekend before! Cool!



After this point, we start curving around the east side of the mountain. All of a sudden the road becomes this ridiculously steep grade! Seriously, as soon as we started up this last ¼ of the hike, I immediately fell behind Chris by 5 or 6 paces. It was that steep! Up – Up – Up! Man oh man was I feeling the muscles in my glutes and thighs! I was sweatin’, my heart was pounding and I was huffin’ and puffin’! I actually had to stop a couple of different times to get some water and try to catch my breath a bit.

This is so much steeper than it looks! Truly!




We finally reached the summit! I was so excited! I was so thankful to not be climbing anymore! I did it! It only took us about 55 minutes (including a couple of photo stops) to reach the top!



Here are some of the incredible views:



Also, totally awesome, there is a picnic table at the summit, looking east to Mt. McLaughlin. This is where we ate our chicken dinner.







Beautiful!

We made the descent after our dinner in about 45 minutes. It was a gorgeous day, a great hike, and awesome workout and I am looking forward to doing it again soon!



Mt. McLaughlin

Food, Portions and a recipe!

Well, it’s been a little while since I posted anything! I have a handful of posts coming, probably in rapid succession, so be prepared!

In my blog title it says that Blurb Column is my place to share thoughts on life, ideas to improve our world, and reviews of places I go, things I do, and food I eat.

Well, I have done quite a bit about the food I eat, and not so much about the things I do or places I go. This post is about food, too, but there are a few coming that will be about some of the stuff that Chris and I have done lately. So, stay tuned for that!

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Part of the reason I do this blog is for me, of course, because I enjoy writing and getting my thoughts and ideas out there. But, part of it is for the reader, as well. I have spent the last 4-5 years doing a LOT of learning about health, nutrition, meditation, wellness and balance. I am a work in progress and I learn more all the time. So, part of this is a way for me to share the things that I have found over the years that work, maybe some things that don’t, and especially a reminder that this life is supposed to be fun and fulfilling!

Part of a fun and fulfilling life, for me, is food. But one thing I want to point out: portions are important. I don’t think I have really talked about this much, but it came to my attention that I should talk about it. Particularly if people who read this are considering using these recipes in their own life to try and lose weight or are just health conscious. So let me tell you a couple of things about my food beliefs and then we’ll get to the recipes.

First of all, I don’t really believe in “bad” foods, as long as it is REAL food. Real food consists of whole, natural, unprocessed (or minimally processed), non-chemically created foods.

Examples:

Fresh Fruits-all of them
Fresh Vegetables-all of them
Whole Grains: Quinoa, Red Rice, Brown Rice, Couscous, Amaranth, Barley, and much more.
Fresh Meat: Fish, Poultry, Pork, Beef, Lamb
Legumes: lentils, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, and many more.

What I do not believe in is non-food. Non-food is stuff that comes in a package, packed with chemicals and ingredients that are unrecognizeable, unpronounceable and can be traced back to corn, soy and sugar.

I avoid these foods. I avoid convenience foods. I avoid added sugars. I avoid the center of the grocery store, where these foods are kept. Notice I say I avoid them. That doesn’t mean they never enter my diet, but it is rare and the exception to my overall plan.

I do eat some dairy, but I have an aversion to cow’s milk, so stick with rice milk when milk is called for and I limit my cheese to small portions, more as a way to season or finish a dish. I used to eat yogurt, but I find it to be so loaded with sugar, that I have mostly avoided that as well.

For many things, I try to buy local and organic. For the meat, I try to avoid major manufacturers because I don’t agree with their practices. I try to buy local or organic meat. For fish I NEVER buy farm raised fish. Just don’t do it! It doesn’t taste the same and they feed the fish colored food pellets to get their flesh to change colors, otherwise their flesh would be grey! YUCK.

These are things that I do. They may work for you or they may not. But I felt like people who read this blog should have a basis to draw from regarding my philosophy on food and eating.

Plus, I’m not perfect and I never intend to be. There will be times when I enjoy or choose to partake of a treat or convenience food. That is not bad either. That is life and there has to be balance.

Okay, so, back to my cooking and portion sizes. It is important to remember that if I make a rack of ribs I am not eating that entire rack of ribs! I would typically have one rib, possibly two at most. So, please remember that when you are reading through the recipes and thinking about trying them. It is important to remember what an appropriate portion size is for you, especially for more calorie dense foods, like meat and grains.

Okay, I’m going to cheat a little, because I did not take my own photo’s. I got a request for this recipe after I mentioned making it, so here it is:




This was our dinner last night. The recipe is from Cooking Light: Pan-Seared Shrimp and Arugula Risotto. It was quite tasty and creamy. If you have never made risotto before be prepared to stand at the stove for the 30+ minutes it takes to cook the rice, stirring constantly. The stirring is the key to the creamy consistency of the risotto.

Also, I did not use homemade chicken stock, though it is not difficult to make. I used Swanson’s low sodium chicken broth, which works just fine. Also, if you can’t find shallots, you can use regular onions.

A serving of this, according to Cooking Light, is 1 cup and equal to 344 calories. You can round this out with a side of green veggies, raw or steamed, or a nice green salad. If you do a salad be cautious with your dressing choice. Go for something light, like a nice homemade vinaigrette or a squeeze of lemon. Also, you could lower the overall calories a bit by reducing the butter/cheese amounts in the risotto. I didn’t, as I felt they were a good flavor addition.

After I eat something creamy and carb heavy like this I tend to feel like something sweet. A couple of ways to combat that are to drink some cold lemon water after you eat, or have an herbal tea with a slightly sweet flavor, like licorice root or orange zest.

Remember, portions sizes are important! You can eat many different types of real foods in your daily life, as long as you remember portions!

Here is a handy guide to appropriate portion sizes.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day is a day to remember, honor and thank the past and present members of our armed services. These men and women sacrifice many things in order to protect our country and our rights. So, first of all I would like to say thank you to all those who have served.

But, we all know that Memorial Day is also the unofficial beginning of summer; a time for backyard barbeques and get-togethers with family and friends. Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to break out those delicious barbeque recipes. Some families roast a pig, others might do chicken, while others stick with the tried and true burgers and hotdogs. Chris and I like to break out the ribs for a good day long barbeque.

A few years ago I bought a cookbook called “How to Cook Meat” written by Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby. I loaned the cookbook to my brother, who as I have mentioned before, is a good cook in his own right. My brother was the first to prepare this barbeque beef rib recipe, and it was such a hit, that I have made it two or three more times since. Now that may not seem like a ringing endorsement, but as you will see, the recipe is a little bit time intensive. Most of that time is unsupervised, but still, you have to do a bit of planning to make these ribs.

The rib recipe is called: Flintstones-Style BBQ Beef Ribs with Hot, Sweet, and Sour Bone Sauce. YUMMY!


Now, a couple of things I will mention before I get into all the details. First, as I said, this recipe is a bit time intensive. The ribs cook for about 5 hours in the oven on a low heat setting. While you don’t need to watch them every minute, you probably do want to plan on sticking around the house for most of that time. Second, the recipe calls for generous amounts of spices. It is a good idea to plan ahead a little bit with this recipe. If you want to make it this weekend, review the recipe and really look at how much spice is left in your jar of ground cumin. You may need to add something to your shopping list besides beef ribs.

First, the recipe, and then some thoughts.

For the Rub:

¼ Cup freshly cracked black pepper
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons ground cumin
2 Tablespoons kosher salt


5 -6 lbs of beef back ribs (about 2 racks)



For the Sauce:

1/3 Cup molasses
1 Cup ketchup
¼ Cup balsamic vinegar
¼ Cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
½ Cup orange juice
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 Tablespoons minced fresh chile peppers of your choice (or to taste-these do have some kick!)
½ Cup thinly sliced scallions
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

So that is the basic recipe. Here is what you do:

Take the rub ingredients and mix them together in a bowl. They should look something like this:



Next take the rub and “rub” it all over the beef ribs. This makes a big mess, with bits of the rub getting everywhere. Just be prepared for it. Make sure to rub the spice mix all over all sides of the ribs and kind of pat it/pack it on there so they get well covered. Like this:



Next stick them on a foil lined baking sheet or broiler pan and put them into a preheated 200 degree oven. Leave them there for 5 hours. This is what is called “low and slow” cooking. Low temperature for a long period of time.

About an hour before the ribs are ready to come out of the oven start working on your sauce ingredients. Peel and mince the ginger, mince the chile peppers, slice the scallions and add those with the remaining sauce ingredients to a saucepan.



Somewhere during this last hour, depending on the type of grill you have, get your briquettes going, or start heating up your gas grill. You want it to be nice and hot.

While the grill is heating up, begin to simmer the sauce ingredients over low heat for about 15 minutes or so, until it starts to thicken.



(My sauce never really “thickened” but it was still good and useable). Once it has thickened, remove from heat and keep warm until ready to use on the grill.

At the 5 hour mark, pull the ribs from the oven and slice them into individual ribs. Put these on your hot grill and cook for about 5-7 minutes per side, or until they are nice and brown.



Baste each side with a portion of the sauce, cooking on the grill for about a minute or so more, until they look nice and glazed.



You should end up with something like this:



Now, before you rush off to cook these, I will give you the recipe for the coleslaw I made to go with them. This is another Cooking Light adaptation.

Coleslaw with Mustard Dressing

1 package premade coleslaw, no dressing
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons brown style mustard
dash of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste



Now this is how I made it this time. The actual recipe calls for ¼ Cup of white wine vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. The first time I made this it was quite bitter, so I reduced the vinegar to 2 Tablespoons. That helped a lot. I did not use the sugar either time, but I do feel like the dressing could benefit from a little sweetness to round out the flavor, so next time I will add some sugar, but probably only 1 Tablespoon, if even that much.

Mix the vinegar, mayo, mustard, cayenne, salt and black pepper together in a small bowl. Add the premade coleslaw to a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Make this early in the day and stick in the fridge allowing the flavors to blend and mature. Toss again prior to serving.

I also added corn on the cob to our dinner, which is just boil water, add husked corn and boil for about 10 minutes. Drain and serve.

Our delicious Memorial Day barbeque dinner looked like this:



Afterward, Chris looked like this:



His plate looked like this:



These ribs are delicious, with a hint of sweet and a kick of spice. They definitely are a messy food to eat, so be prepared, dig in and enjoy!

Some additional thoughts: We made a half rack of pork ribs at the same time. If I did that again I would cut the amount of kosher salt in the rub by at least half for the pork ribs. They were pretty salty. Also, these ribs could be cooked "low and slow" on a smoker or on an outdoor gas or charcoal barbeque, but would require MUCH more supervision as the temperature would need to be maintained at 200 degrees for the five hour cooking time. I imagine cooking them for the full five hours outdoors would add yet another layer of depth to the flavor.

While these are a bit time intensive, they are very tasty, and even heat up well the next day for leftovers. They are not a terribly unhealthy option as long as you limit your portions. Serving the lighter sides of coleslaw and fresh corn on the cob also helps minimize your calorie consumption. By avoiding the heavier side dishes typical of barbeque, like potato or pasta salad or baked beans, you can still enjoy this dinner, even if you are trying to watch your diet. Remember, it's a celebration! That doesn't mean go hog wild, it means enjoy the moment, enjoy the food, but be reasonable!

This dinner goes great with a nice cold beverage to wash down the spicy kick of the sauce.

Enjoy! If you try these out, let me know what you think!

Happy Summer!