Category Archives: outdoors

Taking Outdoor Cooking to the Next Level

There’s something remarkable about outdoor cooking that combines authenticity with a memorable experience. It’s a chance to show your love through food like no other cooking process. When you do things right, you get robust flavors that are teaming with juice and smoky taste. It doesn’t matter how good you are in your indoor kitchen, nothing compares to perfectly grilled barbecue food done by a master. If you’re wondering how pros do it on a regular basis, it’s not always because they have extra training. But they do know the importance of putting as much effort into preplanning and organization as possible. If you are wondering what the missing secret ingredient to your barbecue routine is, it could very well be the amount of work you put in beforehand.

If you want to take your outdoor barbecue to the next level, then it starts with planning great menu ideas while trying new things as well. Obviously there will be favorites like BBQ chicken wings, hot dogs, and corn on the cob. But there’s no reason why you can’t incorporate more creative ideas in addition to these authentic barbecue dishes. There is an abundance of possibilities that come in the form of seafood, vegetables, and multicultural inspirations as well. If you aren’t extending your menu and try new things then you’re wasting an opportunity every time you fire up your grill.

It’s all about flavor when it comes to this cooking technique and you have to do your best to add as much as possible. Your barbecue is going to do a big portion of the work for you, but you also have to help it along with marinades, herbs, spices, and a natural flavoring. And above all else, make sure that you don’t settle for a generic barbecue sauce out of the bottle. This is a common mistake that relegates many barbecue meals to mediocrity. Taking things to the next stratosphere involves combining your own flavors using natural ingredients and a bit of experimentation. Once you find a base recipe you like, expand on it in order to achieve perfection.

There is a bit of technique when using gas grills, but you don’t have to get too fancy either. It’s not like you’re working as a line cook in a kitchen. Take the time to be patient and space of your food evenly so that you can keep an eye on everything. Remember that you need to keep your food on long enough to get a great crispy outside that keeps in all the juices. You won’t achieve this effect if you’re constantly flipping your food and putting it to the back or front of the grill. Bide your time and let the barbecue do its job while you oversee the process. It seems like a simple premise but it will undoubtedly be responsible for improving your barbecue technique.

 

You can Hunt Better and Longer if You are in Good Shape

Hunting is always a great thing to do in your life, and if you do it with your friends, it could be a nicer way to hang out; however, it’s pretty tough to hunt successfully when you aren’t in good shape. Diet and exercise will help you stay in shape.  We suggest TRX and Diet to Go, but we’ll get to that in a bit.  Did you know one of the main reason why so many people give up or stop during the hunting season is because they in poor shape? The truth is that you have to walk and really move around when hunting, and the only way to cover more ground is to really be in shape for the hunting season.

Don’t let this happen to your this hunting season!



To do this you need to be in shape.

Hunter with Deer

How to get in shape

The best way to get in shape is to start eating healthier, as it’s mainly what you eat that plays a big role to your overall health. Try eating the food from the Diet To Go program, as each of the meals that they offer are of high quality food that can help keep a person healthy. This program has really gotten lots of attention because of the huge results people have, and if you’d like to get that energy to keep on hunting, then this program can help you. Try using a Diet To Go coupon to help save money on the food that you buy.  Also to workout with a system like the TRX.  This system gives you the overall best workout for your body.  If you cannot afford these tools simply running and eating healthy is a great start.

Hunting is a great way to get exercise and even find some great souvenirs, but without the right nutrition, you won’t have the energy to keep going. Stay healthy and you can be sure to hunt longer than usual.

Growing a Penis Pepper

I admit it, I am a sucker for a crude joke, a bit of innuendo or some banter with my male friends. I am also a dedicated gardener, with my preferred plant being vegetables of any kind. Therefore can you imagine my delight when I discovered a website that told me I could grow a variety of chili pepper (or chilli pepper in the UK), called a Peter (Penis) Pepper. This pepper plant was apparently voted ‘Most Pornographic Vegetable’ by an Organic Gardening Magazine, and once I saw the pictures of it, it was easy to see why. Peter Penis Peppers can be grown in red, green or yellow, and the majority of them come out looking distinctly like a penis in shape, so much so it is scary. They are also extremely hot in flavour, and are apparently 10 times hotter than a jalapeno chili pepper according to the scoville scale that measures the heat levels of chilli peppers. The site I discovered this article on was a mine of information on growing vegetables at home, and I have bookmarked it for future use.  I have also followed the advice on the article How to Grow Yourself a Hot Peter (Penis) Pepper, and managed to achieve a good degree of success. I also gave away a number of my plants to friends who were fascinated by the idea of growing a penis shaped chili pepper. The seeds for the Peter (Penis) Pepper are now increasingly rare and hard to get hold of!! I found my seeds on a specialist site for heirloom vegetables, and I shall definitely grow more of these next year. I reckon there could be quite a market for selling these plants at local car boot sales and fetes, as people are clearly highly amused by the idea of growing a pepper that looks distinctly pornographic in nature.  This is definitely one good reason why you should grow vegetables at home :)

Halloween Decorations

Every year after Labor Day my family starts the great Halloween debate – what will we wear for costumes? We like to have a theme for the entire family. Well this year it’s going to be witch costumes. Our oldest child had to read MacBeth when school started. To his (and our) surprise, he loved it. Especially the part about the 3 witches or weird sisters. We live quite near the Massachusetts town of Salem, known for Colonial witch trials and the many witches that reside their now. So we’ve been spending some Saturday afternoons visiting and looking for inspiration.

We’re definitely going to wear black witch robes. Many of  the current day Salem witches appear to be partial to black clothing. They make their living telling fortunes, seeing into the future and even with spells and potions. So our yard will have a witch cauldron in it and our son and two of his sisters will be the three witches from Hamlet. For fun we’ll have bottles labeled with all sorts of fun potions. Their labels will guarantee A’s on exams and spells to clean rooms.

For humor there will be a Halloween door cover that shows a witch slammed into the door. For a touch of authenticity we’ll lay a broom off to the side.  And of course we’ll all be in our costumes handing out candy.

Figurine Collectibles

I love to travel and to collect mimentos from all over the world. One of my favorite ways of remembering where I’ve been is to buy a figurine that is based on the area where I’m traveling. I’ve always loved bringing them home and then finding a special spot for them.

Ever since I was a small child I’ve had a world map on the wall. I’ve carefully put a pin each place I’ve been. During the ensuing decades, quite a few pins have been placed all over the world. As a result figurine collectibles can be found all over the house, and not just the map room.

There are eskimo figurines from a wonderful Alaskan cruise and tour where we saw glaciers and eskimo villages. From the Far East we have Oriental figurines from Japan, China and Indonesia. The exquisite Buddha figuines from India have always been favorites of ours.

As I walk around my house each day, every figurine collectible reminds me of the wonderful travels and friendships that I’ve made along the way. Quite frankly, even dusting can be a pleasant walk down memory lane. That’s one of the reasons that I think have a home filled with great memories is a great idea.

Homemade Sauces for Homemade Hamburgers

You can add a lot of flavor to homemade hamburgers just by using a different sauce, turning a regular burger into a gourmet burger. The traditional ketchup and mustard are fine, but you can get really creative when you start exploring all the possibilities of saucy flavors for your homemade hamburgers. Think about adding spices, herbs, fruits, soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and other ingredients. Start experimenting with your own next time you do some BBQ cooking. I’ll give you a few ideas to get you started!

Apple burger sauce

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons apple jelly
  • 1 tablespoon minced onion
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions: Place jelly and onion in a bowl and microwave until jelly has melted and onions are soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

California burger sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions: Puree avocado until smooth. Mix with mayo, salt, and chili powder.

Beachy burger sauce

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup tartar sauce
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • 1 teaspoon minced onion

Directions: Combine all ingredients and chill in fridge.

Steakhouse burger sauce

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup seedless raisins
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

Directions: Place raisins and soy sauce in a microwave-proof bowl and cook until raisins are soft. Add remaining ingredients and puree in the blender until smooth.

Horseradish burger sauce

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon grated horseradish
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions: Blend all ingredients together. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

Aloha burger sauce

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons pineapple marmalade
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions: Melt marmalade in microwave and stir in remaining ingredients until smooth.

BBQ Cooking: Caramba Drumsticks

Chicken and BBQ cooking go hand in hand. One reason poultry is so popular with BBQ cooking is because chicken is inexpensive, and the flesh “soaks up” other flavors well, and you’ll find this to be true with my Caramba Drumsticks. “Caramba” is a Spanish oath that more or less means something like, “WOW!!” And that’s just what you’ll utter when you sink your teeth into these tasty chicken legs. These legs are hot and spicy, with a sweet-hot glaze. If you don’t like this much heat, alter the recipe, accordingly, by significantly reducing the amount of Tabasco sauce I use.

Caramba Drumsticks recipe

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 8 meaty drumsticks
  • ½ cup lime juice
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1/8 cup Tabasco sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Cooking spray
  • ½ cup sugar

Directions: Rinse chicken legs and pat dry. Place in a large zip-loc plastic food storage bag.

In a bowl, combine lime juice, brown sugar, Tabasco sauce, vinegar, garlic, onion powder, and salt. Pour mixture over chicken legs. Close bag and place in a bowl in case of leaks. Refrigerate for two or three hours.

Remove drumsticks from grilling marinade and place on clean grill that has been coated with cooking spray.  Grill chicken over medium coals, turning frequently for even cooking.

Meanwhile, make a basting sauce from the marinade. Pour marinade from bag into a small sauce pan and add sugar. Bring quickly to a boil and immediately reduce heat. Cook until syrup forms, stirring occasionally.

After drumsticks have cooked for thirty minutes, dip them in the sauce, using tongs. Return to grill to cook for a few minutes longer.

Serve the chicken legs as a meal with rice, or as an appetizer with a cool, creamy dressing like blue cheese or ranch.

The Best American Food is Southern Food!

I was thinking the other day about the best American food, which in my opinion, is Southern food. Yeah, I’m probably biased. I was born in the South and have spent more than fifty years eating Southern food, so it’s easy to understand why I think it’s the very best American food.  Southern food, however, is an extremely broad category that includes a lot of different foods, dishes, cooking techniques, and recipes. Within the category Southern food, which specific dishes do I think are best? Here are my top three, in descending order of preference.

Fried chicken

My favorite Southern food is fried chicken. I love just about any kind of fried chicken – spicy fried chicken, hot fried chicken, buttermilk fried chicken…you name it, and I like it. I even like cold fried chicken on picnics. I also like fancy, over-the-top fried chicken dishes. My favorite one of those is fried chicken with a honey-pecan glaze. I had that several years ago in Savannah, Georgia, and I came home and started figuring out how to make it at home. It’s awesome!

Barbecue

A very close second is barbecue – Southern barbecue. With Southern BBQ, I mean pork that has been cooked long and slow over charcoal or wood. The perfect barbecued meat, in my opinion, is tender, juicy, and smoky, with a layer of “bark” on the surface. The crunchy bark is my favorite part! I like smoked pork slathered with a sweet barbecue sauce.

Biscuits

Southerners know how to make biscuits! Most Southern cooks use buttermilk for biscuit making, and it gives the biscuits a wonderful flavor. When I take a pan of biscuits out of the oven, whoever is at my house at the time often burns their fingers and tongues gobbling up a biscuit drowned in butter. They can’t wait for the biscuits to cool! Sometimes I step it up a notch and add grated cheese and garlic to the dough.

Saltwater Fishing – Cleaning your Catch

Saltwater fishing

The great thing about saltwater fishing is that there’s such a wide variety of species available. With saltwater fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic Ocean along the coasts of the southeastern states, you can catch an amazing variety of saltwater fish right from the beach or from a fishing pier, without ever having to step foot in a boat. Here’s what you might catch in such a situation:

  • Spotted seatrout
  • White trout
  • Weakfish
  • Flounder
  • Redfish
  • Black drum
  • Sheepshead
  • Gafftop catfish
  • Hardhead catfish
  • Pompano jack crevalle
  • Whiting
  • Spanish mackerel
  • Mangrove snapper
  • Spadefish
  • Croaker
  • Sand shark
  • Atlantic sharpnose shark
  • Bonnethead shark
  • Scalloped hammerhead shark
  • Snook
  • Stingray
  • Ladyfish
  • Cutlass fish
  • Bluefish

There are other species you might land, too, but the above are just the most common. Most, but not all, of these fish species are edible and are quite tasty when cooked properly. Of course, they have to be cleaned first.  The way you clean a fish depends on the fish species, the size of the fish, how it will be prepared, and personal preference.

Of course, for all fish species, the entrails have to be removed before cooking and eating. As for the head, it can be removed or left intact. If the head is left on, the gills should be cut out before cooking because they can give a bitter taste to the flesh.

Many anglers prefer to fillet their catch. Most of the times, the scales are removed first, but when the fillets will be cooked on a grill, the scales are sometimes left on. Some fishermen prefer to remove the skin altogether when filleting. For sharks, you really don’t have a choice. Their skin is like sandpaper, so it needs to be removed before cooking. Larger fish might be cut into steaks instead of fillets. This is done by cutting the fish crosswise, across the backbone.

If you’re going to bake or grill a fish, you might want to leave it whole after removing the entrails and scales. The cavity of the fish can be stuffed with shrimp, crab, bread stuffing, lemons, limes, or fresh herbs.