Thursday, August 4, 2011

Dinner and A Possum?

We have been having such bird activity this past week.  The other day I had a female Summer Tanager on the railing of the deck.  Of course when I got the camera she had flown into the trees.

 While looking for her I saw the male nearby.  I am happy to see these songbirds in the garden.


Wait, this isn't dinner or a possum!  Time for that Food Setting on the camera again!
Dinner was amazing!  When the kids are here we enjoy lots of good eating.  Charlie has a smoker in addition to a grill.  We had mega meats....lots for dinner tonight, the next night and the next night, half frozen for later on in the fall....once the coals are hot, might as well take advantage and smoke a lot.

Beef brisket
 Pulled pork....oh man.
We make our own BBQ sauce for the pork... 1/2 cup yellow mustard, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 3 TBS brown sugar, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp Worchestershite sauce, 1/2 white pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Put in a jar and shake... done.


Smoked brisket and smoked pork shoulder and/or boston butt is out of this world!!  To accompany the grand smoked meat we had Beer Bread (easiest recipe ever-- 3 cups self rising flour, 3/4 cup sugar, and a bottle of beer. Pour into greased loaf pan.  Mix and bake at 350 for about an hour, remove and brush with melted butter) I like using hearty beer for this recipe-- a Black and Tan or a Bock beer, lots of flavor.

If you have barbeque you also need to have coleslaw----we don't do the mayo based one, ours is vinegar and oil.  Shred cabbage and carrot, chop onion and green pepper.  Mix 1 cup cider vinegar, 3/4 cup oil, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp dry mustard -- bring to a boil and pour over cabbage. 


It isn't summer without some melon..... we have been buying yellow and red watermelons from our local farmer's market...very tasty.  I don't seed the melon....you are on your own.


Come and have a seat....


Dessert?  Well, yes, my little baker is home and we have been eating some yummy desserts. 

 Lemon bars.... five lemons worth.

Wait, did I mention a possum?   Why yes I did.  As we were letting the dogs out at bedtime I thought Newton, the bunny hunter, had found a bunny.  Well, not exactly-- think a juvenile possum made its way into my garden .....my hope is that it doesn't return. 


And speaking of gardens....
Prince Charles my newest Clematis, is blooming.  It is in our family garden. 


And, the Phlox 'Robert Poore' that Racquel gave me is finally blooming.  I love it!  What a great color in the garden.  thanks Racquel!

With hope we will have a break in the weather and will have more blooms to share!


©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

18 comments:

  1. Those tanagers are fast, so you were good to catch the shots you did!
    BBQ--we're having one this weekend with friends, so the timing of your post couldn't be better. I plan to try your coleslaw recipe-yum. The lemon bars look incredible, as do your featured flowers.
    And the possum, cute but...

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  2. Thanks for the cole slaw recipe, I think I will try it. I have tried mayo-based dressings in the past, and didn't like it. Your meal looks delish!

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  3. Such a feast! You guys know how to celebrate being together with food - something we do to. Though without the benefit of a smoker, which sounds intriguing.

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  4. Yum on the barbeque! I might just give that recipe for the sauce a try here. No smoker here though-yet. Very very neat on the tanagers.

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  5. You have some cool birds down there;-) Yummy food...thanks for the recipes (although, we don't have a smoker). Perhaps we should put one on our 'want' list! The bread sounds so easy! I love lemon bars too;-) Possums, not so much! SWe had a possum in our backyard last fall, and our dog wouldn't come in--he barked non-stop and had cornered it against the fence! I was worried the possum would bite him, but he just would not give up until we went out to separate them with a 2x4! So glad your new clematis is blooming in your family garden.

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  6. Janet, Your food pictures look so yummy that I am sure just looking at them is fattening! I think you have found a new calling.
    One of my favourite Canadian short stories is about a Summer Tanager that gets stuck in Canada for the winter.
    If it is not a racoon that has been shredding our garbage, it is most likely a possum. Either way, whatever it is, it is a nuisance!
    That purple phlox is a beauty!

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  7. Janet, you are making me soooooo hungry {it's getting lunch time}. lol I love the recipes, all of them. Will try all.
    Sorry about the possum. They can be destructive. Love the little bird tho.
    Would you like some of the lily bulbs? I'm sure they should make the winter in your area as it gets mighty cold here. I've had them roof high.

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  8. I have never saw Tanager's here and I would love to. I keep trying to draw in Oriels too but nothing. They are such pretty birds.
    Oh, yummy. What good eating. I love Coleslaw that way too. And as for watermelon, I am worse than the kids. LOL!
    So that is what Robert Poore phlox looks like. I had not looked that one up yet. Pretty!
    Have a wonderful weekend on the lake.

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  9. I might have to try that Beer Bread recipe, sounds tasty. Glad to see 'Robert Poore' is blooming for you! :)

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  10. Thanks for sharing all of those tasty recipes! But what about the lemon bars? I have some lemons at home destined for lemon-aid if I don't get around to making lemon bars.
    Funny little possom...I remember having those at our place in Michgian but I haven't seen them in our Colorado mountains YET.

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  11. Aerie-el, All these birds are so fast! I had to zoom and crop those pictures of the Tanagers. I still say--try the bread! ;-)

    Alison, hope you like the slaw recipe, I like that you don't have the worries about leaving it out like you do with mayo. We are on night three of the yummy smoked meats.

    Janet, We do like to eat! A smoker is a necessity for us.

    Tina, yum is right! you need to have Roger get a smoker... off-set firebox is the way to go.

    Jan, we do have some fun birds...lots more than we had in Virginia. Like I said to Tina-- off-set firebox.

    Jennifer, thanks! It was yummy!
    Sounds like a cute story about the Summer Tanager.

    Lola, Still hungry? You should give the recipes a try...pretty down to earth kind of cooking.
    As for the possum...ugh! Hope he doesn't come back.
    Lily bulbs? You are so kind to offer. Roof high? wow! I would love it.

    Lona, The Tanager song is so pretty. When I first saw the male I thought it was a cardinal.....really red! We sure ate well while all the kids were here.

    Racquel, you would like this bread. Very nice. I am glad Robert Poore is blooming as well.

    Rosey, Check your email! Sent you the lemon bar recipe.

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  12. Janet,

    Meg and I both like the yellow mustard based barbeque sauce, we'll try this recipe. Tell Charlie to start up the grill I'm coming for dinner one of these days, it looks too yummy to pass up.

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  13. Randy, hope you and Meg like the mustard BBQ sauce. Come on down! This kind of dinner IS too good to pass up!

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  14. Whew! for a moment there I thought possum was the dinner....

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  15. They will be on their way as soon as they die back. May be late Fall. Will try to send some more little azaleas if you wish.

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  16. Wow! Your dinner looks A M A Z I N G!!!! Can I come over?? I've been a terrible cook this summer. I sure need to start doing better.
    Love the tanager photos too. They are beautiful birds.

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  17. I'm coming to your house for dinner!! Everything looked incredible! I really miss Carolina style pulled pork withe mustard bbq sauce. I have Robert Poore in my garden, too. Fabulous plant! He looks happy. :o)

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  18. Nickie, hahaa yes, wouldn't that be a little different?

    Lola, thanks so much!!! You are so generous.

    Kathleen, sure come on over! I don't cook a lot when it is just the two of us, but when the kids are home or we have company......pig out!

    CM, well, now you have a BBQ sauce for the pulled pork. My Robert Poore does seem happy.

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