It's Grilling Season Around Here!

Ok, so last fall my grill started shooting fireballs at me while cooking chicken and I told my husband it was to dangerous to use any more.  Of course he could not just take my word for it. He had to try it out and have fireballs shot at him in order to agree. We decided we either needed to get a new grill or buy replacement parts for the one we had. Well after a wind storm a few months ago our grill was toppled over and the handle was broken off and the grate were broken also in addition to the already broken burner. I guess our decision was made for us. So this past weekend my husband went to Lowes and bought a new grill and we made our favorite ribs recipe. The recipe includes dry rubbing the ribs and cooking them in the oven for three hours in a water bath. This is what they look like when that is done. The meat is already falling off the bone, as you can see.

 the are great now but then you slather them in bbq sauce and cook on the grill for about another 15 minutes. The final product looks like this...

I thought I did not like ribs until I had this recipe ( my sister gave it to me).   We started making these last summer and we sent some to our neighbors. They all loved them and now when I go buy ribs at BJ's wholesale I buy them for us all and we take turns cooking a package from each neighbor. That way each family gets a rack and nothing goes to waste.

Maura

I am an addict!

But not the kind you think. I am addicted to homemade bread.  As most of you know I got  a Kitchen Aid Mixer for Christmas this year. I started out making my old favorites -chocolate chip cookies in it and they came out even better than usual, more light and airy. Then I started making meatloaf in it and now my kids are asking- did you make it in the mixer? again it is so much lighter and less dense then when I mix it by hand. But now I have moved on to making homemade white bread and my family loves it. I am making about 2 loaves a week and I have not had to buy bread in about a month. It does take a few hours to make, not working the whole time of course, but if you ask my family it is totally worth it. I just took my loaves out of the oven and here they are.

I got the recipe from Baking with Julia. It is a great cookbook and I have been eyeing a few other recipes including chocolate truffle tartlets and croissants.  I am not sure about the croissants yet as it may be a little above my skill level. If the pictures of the loaves above are not enough to tempt you I thought I would post my "lunch" today.  Yum- first a slice of bread.

Then a little butter

and finally a little homemade strawberry rhubarb jam we made last summer

  

put it all together and it is heaven on a plate

are you guys addicted to any foods? 

A Baking Day

Ok I can't stand it when Halloween goes by and the kids have tons of candy! My kids argue over who has more or who has a better selection. I just let them have at it until it is gone. Well today I can finally say it is gone! So in celebration I baked today. I know, are baked goods better then candy?  I think so. They don't stick to your teeth,  My kids get the same exact thing and number and I have more control over what goes in it. Well at least I do with my cookies which I make from scratch with butter eggs flour sugar and all that other good stuff. My brownies I make from the box (Ghirardelli) because I don't think  I can make them any better.   My husband loves it when I bake. He is known to get up in the middle of the night, sneak downstairs to the kitchen and pour a cold glass of milk, and stand over the kitchen sink having chocolate chip cookies and milk.  Only thing that gives him away is the chocolate breath when he gets back into bed.  Oh and all the noise he makes taking the tin foil off and getting the milk and glasses out. He is not very sneaky!

Kids have the day off for the holiday tomorrow so I am trying to come up with something fun to do. I am thinking we may go to visit my husband at his new office in the sky ( in a skyscraper). The kids have not been there yet and there are lots of other fun things to do in the city for the day! 

Painting Frenzy

I went to maine this weekend and even though we had family things to do, I did make it into 2 antique shops both in Windham Maine.  The first was the Ruby slipper where I found some great milk glass, and the second was pendexters antiques where I  found a few cute things. I found a really cute plant stand/ table there. It is just small enough to leave at my entryway. It was a dark ugly brown stain and I just primed and painted it today! Yippie! I love the way it turned out and cant wait to accessorize it when it dries.

Some cool finds!

Had a nice outing with my neighbor the other day. We stopped by a favorite antiques market place and I found the best wreath to hang in my stairwell. I also went to homegoods that weekend and found this cute mirror to hang by my front door. I am still looking for a little table to put underneath it. I am also thinking of doing beadboard in this hallway. I am not sure I am up for the task yet. My big project coming up is painting my kitchen cabinet. They are old and dark and I can't afford to tear them out so I am thinking a coat of paint will help. I only hope I can pull it off. I am thinking it will take me a week or two to do the whole project and my kitchen is going to be in turmoil for that period. Looks like we will be doing a lot of take out. I am hoping to do this project in the next few weeks. I will keep you posted In the mean time here are some pics of my cool finds.

New Bannister

Here are some pics of my new bannister. I can't wait to decorate it for the holidays!