Summer BBQ

After not having felt that cooking bug for quite some time, I awoke this morning with the urge - nay, the NEED - to cook up a storm.

Hrm, could this have something to do with our plans to clean the attic, which is necessary to do in order to clean the back office and turn it into a nursery?  This is procrastination at its finest - what better way to avoid work than by cooking?  It's doing something that is both productive AND yummy!

As an aside, I really REALLY hate the attic.  It's filled with junk, looks like a bomb went off up there, and makes me resentful because it used to be neat and tidy.

So there.  I'm going to cook some stuff today.  Maybe I can convince Gene to get a start on the attic while I'm preparing various things for dinner.

When we were in Massachusetts an online friend of Gene's invited us to his house for a BBQ.  We'd never met him before - which my aunt and uncle thought was bizarre - but accepted their invitation gladly.  We had an awesome time!  Ted and Teresa are marvelous hosts: funny, casual, gracious, warm, and inviting.  We felt like we'd known them for years and it made us regret the 3,000 miles that separate us. 

Teresa had spent the day cooking, and that woman is a kick-ass griller.  One of the things she made was grilled flatbread, for which she had made 2 toppings: a garlicy bruschetta and a tzatziki.  She smoked up a huge batch of ribs and a gorgeous chicken that was the juiciest and most tender chicken I'd ever had.  Her secret: brining before smoking.  Holy moly it was delish.

Inspired by Teresa, I'm going to make grilled flatbread.  Here's the recipe I'm going to use.

Also on the docket is fresh strawberry ice cream.  I've bought 2 flats of local berries in the past week and just can't keep up with them, especially since it seems that I'm the only one eating them. I'll probably double the custard in the recipe and also make a chocolate-cherry ice cream.  I recently bought a quart of deep red cherries and they'll be perfect in ice cream, along with slivers of shaved chocolate.

Doesn't the Fourth of July just beg for homemade ice cream?  I remember making peach ice cream in a noisy, giant ice cream maker as a kid.  Do you remember the ones that looked like they had wooden  sides (maybe it did), and required constant monitoring of the ice and rock salt?  I'm so glad that modern ice cream makers came into being.

Are you making any special treats for this holiday weekend?

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Happy belated Canada Day to our friends to the north!  We hope you enjoyed your holiday and visit from the newlywed royals.