Florida Backyard » smoking http://floridabackyard.org Growing far too many things in far too small a space. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:56:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Weather and Gardening and Still Smokin’ http://floridabackyard.org/2008/01/01/weather-and-gardening-and-still-smokin/ http://floridabackyard.org/2008/01/01/weather-and-gardening-and-still-smokin/#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:28:01 +0000 Stacy http://sekimori.org/index.php/2008/01/01/weather-and-gardening-and-still-smokin/ Florida drives me nuts, it really does. I’m sitting here right now, at 9:13AM, contemplating changing into shorts because it’s so, er, sultry out there, and yet tomorrow night it’s going to be all of 27 degrees. Maddening, I tell you. I don’t see how any of us survive.

It does make for some extensive planting seasons, though, and in light of that, we’re already buying seeds to start in the spring (read: March). A made a huge purchase from growitalian.com and sent me some of the bounty, and I just made a purchase from rareseeds.com and will reciprocate. Here’s what’s on the garden agenda for this year:

  • Red Onions (Tropea Rossa) – Very sweet. Gods, I love onions.
  • Cucumbers (Picollo di Parigi) – A pickling cucumber, about 4 inches long. Mmm, pickles.
  • Tomatoes (San Marzano Redorta) – I’m skeered of the whole canning thing, so we’ll just have to rough chop these, sprinkle with kosher salt, and eat as-is. Darn the luck.
  • Tomatoes (San Marzano 2) – Apparently the premiere sauce tomato of Italy. Can. Not. Wait. To get my hands on these.
  • Red Bell Peppers (Quadrato d’Asti Rosso) – Rough chopped and thrown into a batch of eggs/cheese/hot sauce/onions… *pant, pant*
  • Carrots (Pariser Market) – These are ideal for containers since they make nifty ball shapes instead of long thin shapes.
  • Broccoli (Romanesco) – A “nutty” flavor it claims. We are so there.
  • Red Onions (Rossa Savonese) – Did I mention I LOVE onions?
  • Peppermint – Despite it’s fearsome growth habits, it is a staple in our garden (and teapots).
  • Rosemary – Chicken just isn’t chicken without it.
  • Oregano – For use in the San Marzano sauces, of course.
  • Broccoli – The non-nutty variety, I think.
  • Melon Ananas – There are more varieties of melon, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. This one smells of pineapple.
  • Tomatoes (Gioia della Mensa) – I know, how many varieties of tomato does one garden need? All of them, kthx.
  • Cucumbers (Beth Alpha) – A slicing cucumber. Did you know cucumbers don’t like to be transplanted?
  • Paprika Supreme – These are the peppers from which you make paprika. You knew paprika came from peppers, right?
  • Peas – I’ll get these kids to eat peas if it kills me. And eensy = cute.
  • Red Rocket Peppers – This is the pepper you harvest, dry, and turn into ristras. Hello enchilada sauce!
  • Tomatoes (Sun Gold) – A lovely little cherry tomato. I plan on eating these things like grapes.
  • Leeks (Carentan) – Already planning some wonderful things for these lovelies…
  • Peppers (Topepo Rosso) – A pimento-type pepper, very sweet. Mmm, pickles…
  • Tomatoes (Cream Sausage) – As far as I know, they don’t actually *taste* like sausage, that just refers to the shape. But how freaking cool would that be if they did?? *drool*
  • Tomatillos (Purple) – As A commented, “coolest salsa ever.”
  • Tamarillos – A fruit that tastes like a tomato. Bonus!
  • Metki Painted Serpent Melons – A cucumber-shaped Armenian melon.
  • Tigger Melons – Come on, it looks fake! It looks like one of the Green Goblin’s pumpkin bombs. How could you NOT want to grow these things??

Yeah, that’s a lot, isn’t it. How many acres do I have, you ask? Er, somewhat less than half of one… Yeah, we’ve got LOTS of pots.

On the home cooking front, we got up at a stupid hour (for a holiday) this morning to start a 4lb pork butt in the smoker. In a little while it’ll go into a low-heat oven to braise for another 4 hours or so. Carolina-style bbq coming up! Here’s a good vinegar sauce recipe for the true North Carolina pulled pork sandwich (with cole slaw on top):

Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce:

  • 6 parts apple cider vinegar
  • 1 part Tobasco sauce (yes, it has to be Tobasco)
  • finely ground black or white pepper (to taste)
  • white sugar (amount to use = “some…” again, to taste)

And that’s it. I plan on microwaving it a touch before we’re ready to serve the pork, just to heat it up, otherwise it’s use as-is.

Merry New Year to you all.

Updated to add…

Convo just had via AIM with the Husband:

tedbronson2007 (10:35:03 AM): baby, what bird down here is the size of a condor?

Sekimori (10:35:14 AM): no bird

Sekimori (10:35:41 AM): or, the magnificent frigate bird might get close, but they do not come this far north

tedbronson2007 (10:35:40 AM): dragon then

Sekimori (10:35:48 AM): definitely dragon

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2008/01/01/weather-and-gardening-and-still-smokin/feed/ 2 Smokin’ the Ribs* http://floridabackyard.org/2007/12/30/smokin-the-ribs/ http://floridabackyard.org/2007/12/30/smokin-the-ribs/#comments Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:13:33 +0000 Stacy http://sekimori.org/index.php/2007/12/30/smokin-the-ribs/ I do so love our KC Rib Rub, but as chock full of brown sugar as it is, keeping it from charring on the grill is quite the challenge. Enter the Smoker, courtesy of A. Rub down the ribs thoroughly with the dry rub, then oven-cook them for an hour at 180 degrees. Then switch to a 220 degree smoker (with hickory-flavored pucks) and cook until done (about 3 to 4 hours). Slow-cooked goodness.

Don’t you wish you were our neighbor? We do too, because our neighbors all suck.

*Paraphrasing one of the Greatest Movies of All Time.

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