The best things in life are FREE

NEW SKILLS

New skill number one: cooking a seriously tasty rack of BBQ ribs. While searching for new recipes online I came across a "comfort food" section and began drooling incessantly! They had a picture similar to this one of mine, and my tummy told me that's what I had to make for dinner.

I was excited at the prospect and went to the grocery store in search of some baby back ribs. Well, what I found was quite intimidating... a whole side of pork that had to be at least 3 ft long. At the Rexburg grocery store this huge slab (covered in fat mind you) was my only option. Uh.... not quite sure what I was doing, but I bought it. hahahaha. I had a coupon, so this rather large chunk of meat only cost me $10.

Once I got it home I just trusted the internet cooks to tell me how to proceed. Apparently you have to do what is called "stripping the membrane" --- sounds gross, I know. And it pretty much is. It's the white slimy layer on one side that you have to peel off. It wasn't as hard as I expected it to be, just kind of unnerving. (This, coming from the girl who has hunted, shot, and gutted a moose - eye roll.) Anyway, the point of removing that layer is so that the seasoning can saturate the meat. Flavor cannot penetrate the membrane - thus the reason for taking it off. I also trimmed a bit of the excess fat off. The hardest part was breaking the rack into smaller portions. I used a big knife, and cut the meat into 4 sections but then you have to break the bone. Kind of tricky, but if you get a good notch in it with the knife, it snaps pretty easy. Grossed out yet? It's easy from here on....

Next step, making the dry rub. Here is the recipe I came up with after researching the matter:

1/2 C Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Paprika

2 Tbsp Salt

1 Tbsp Pepper

1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper

2 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder)

1tsp Cayenne

I also added some onion flakes that I had and a few sprinkles of a grill-mate mix that I had.

Just mixed it all together and rubbed it onto the meat - both sides. I let it sit for about 15 minutes and then brushed a layer of BBQ sauce on. (Our favorite is Jack Daniels Original so I used that.) I wrapped each of the 4 sections tightly in tinfoil and let them sit in the fridge for about 4 hours --- probably be good to do it overnight, I just didn't have time.  Once they had been in the fridge for a considerable amount of time I took the tinfoil packets and put them on a cookie sheet. Baked them at 300 degrees for 2/12 hours. For a finishing touch (that I highly recommend) I unwrapped each one and added more BBQ sauce - then let them broil uncovered for about 10 more minutes.

Just have to say that I had one very happy husband that night and a couple of friends who were sufficiently impressed. The only thing I might do different next time is use one of those disposable tinfoil baking dishes - clean up was a little intense. :)

New skill number two: learning to sew. I have discovered a few fun projects lately that require this skill. When it comes to sewing, I have always kind of found a way around it (namely doing without or calling Mom) - but decided that I might really like it. So I claimed my grandmother's sewing machine (manufactured in 1965) from my parents storage room and my Dad helped me restore it to working capacity. It's funny to me how it is part of the desk. It does not sit on top, but actually folds down into the furniture. But it's well built, and I'm actually amazed at what it can do!

 

In the picture you see brown burlap material to the left and a strip of cream muslin under the needle. It is the workings of a very basic table runner that I made to compliment some of my Easter decor (see burlap bunnies in next post.) With the help of this awesome machine, I made a muslin ruffle at each end and was quite happy with the outcome. The whole project was intended to look shabby so it worked out well that my edges, and lines weren't exactly perfect ---

 I have a few other ideas about what I will be using the machine for, and you might even see some future posts about my lavish fabric piecing skills. (yeah right!)