Foodie Friday: Bandwith BBQs Again

Welcome to Foodie Friday.
If you are participating this week, please type your Foodie Friday permalink, and add your name or recipe, too.



Bandwith has been cooking all week. Today, he grilled ribs. These were even better than his previous batch. Same recipe, except he used ribs instead of a roast and added 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to each slab. You can find that recipe here http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com/2009/07/foodie-friday-bandwiths-bbq-pork-roast.html

Foodie Friday: Edible Art

My husband brought home a sugar free cake.
It was almost too pretty to eat.
Of course, I had to play with it a little--not cat and mouse, but food and foodie.
The icing seemed architectural, like something you'd see on a building in Paris.
Or lace on a wedding dress.

Not to leave out the scientific world, here is an Eclipse of Cake

Drapery Trim Cake

Lingerie Cake

Plain old Piece of Cake

Okay, you knew I couldn't resist, right?

Mr. Linky awaits your entry.
Have fun visiting bloggers and sampling their Foodie Friday offerings:

Outdoor Wednesday: Poolside at Gollum's

We're working on a faux creek bed. It extends from the waterfall and winds around the pond.
A few shots around the pool...

This is our 2nd umbrella. The wind sweeps relentlessly over the hill, sometimes hard enough to rip off the gutters, so an umbrella doesn't stand a chance. It ended up in the pool. Next day we found it in the pond--hopelessly broken. So I ain't taking chances with the new umbrella.

It stays tightly buttoned unless we're right there.

I will see you all on Foodie Friday. Mr. Linky should be up by 8 pm Thursday.

Visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for a tour of the great outdoorshttp://www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Foodie Friday: Key Lime Pie

Store Bought Key Lime Pie--perfect on a hot summer day...

...even more sublime when you are tired and frazzled.
First, my poor, little blog was blocked by Blogger as "spam," then my mom was admitted to the hospital. So I'm zipping in and out. If you are participating in Foodie Friday, you know the routine with Mr. Linky Loo--and thanks so much to all for cooking and posting to Foodie Friday.

Metamorphosis Monday: Library Draperies

When it comes to decorating, I don't mean to be such a foot-dragger.

But some projects don't fall into place. They take time, money, and luck. The library draperies, for example, just didn't work after I got a wild hair and bought a new settee. Actually, they'd never worked. I had them made before we moved in, and, well, they were a little skimpy. And the monogram just seemed a little strange. I'd done it as a joke on Dr. Gollum, but it is never wise to play jokes when draperies are involved.

That said, I loved the new settee but decided the draperies needed a new home.

Down they came, leaving the windows bare for a long, long time.
But they didn't go far. I had them re-worked (I was a home ec major in high school, but I sew about as fast as a skunk waddles across a farm, so I stick to buttons and little things). Panels were added, along with trim, and Mr. Tom hung them in the breakfast room.

This is a "before" picture:

And after:
Time went by. I found some beautiful plaid draperies at Shades of Light, but by the time I got around to measuring, they were no longer available. What to do.

One night I was looking at the online sale items at Neiman Marcus, and I spotted striped draperies. I ordered a "test" pair and waited. Normally, I shy away from stripes/stripes. The settee has muted stripes. Surely I didn't need to add more. I bought two rods at K Mart with glass finials, and called Mr. Tom. The draperies arrived--but they had very bright purple stripes. After a bit of tucking and hiding, I banished the purple, but not all of it, I rather liked it; Mr. Tom and I thought they looked great. "Order the other panel!" he said.

I went online to order the other pair--only two were left, and they were (gulp) 96 inches, not the 108 that I needed. I found the fabric online. Sadly, it had been discontinued.
Solution: I ordered two panels and tucked one into the tieback.
The rods aren't crooked, but I am. Mr. Tom measured and remeasured.
So, the library now has draperies!

Now I'm waiting for the next project--and for Mr. Tom to return from his church trip so he can hang the rods (Dr. Gollum says ladders scare him, and I am too short, and also scared).

To return to Susan's blog for more Met Monday projects, visit

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Foodie Friday: Bandwith's BBQ Pork Roast

Bandwith made barbecue for July 4th, and I do believe it was the best-tasting "Q" of all time. The flavor was complex, with layers of texture. If Bandwith cooked this once a week, I'd be in hog heaven.
Cooking "Q" is an all-day affair. Actually, it takes a night and a day. First, you place a Boston butt into a non-reactive pan and cover it with apple cider vinegar. Add 1 chopped onion. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day,

remove the roast and glaze with olive oil. Season the meat with salt, pepper, and Hungarian paprika on all sides. Cover with foil. Next, poke bunches of holes into the foil. Place on a pan and put into a COLD oven.

That's right, cold. You are just letting the meat come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, start the grill.

According to Bandy, you can use a charcoal grill, propane, or a smoker. The important thing is to NOT place the foil-wrapped meat over a burner or coals. If your grill has multiple burners, just light the ones around it (but not underneath).
cook for 6-8 hours, maintaining a temp between 275 and 300 degrees. The holes in the foil allow for juices to drip on the coals. In turn, the drips flavor the meat.
Check every hour--more frequently if your grill is prone to little flash fires. The longer the roast cooks, the better, Bandy says. "Cooking pork over long periods, over low heat,tenderizes the meat by melting the connective tissues." The meat literally falls off the bone, creating a fork-tender "Q" that is out of this world good.

When the meat has finished cooking, glaze it with a sauce. Bandy uses Williamson Brothers Steak Sauce, made in Marietta, Georgia. We found it at Publix (the phone number is 770-971-3201). It is a vinegar-based sauce, with 3 g carbs and 10 calories per 1 Tablespoon. You don't want to use an overly sugary sauce, or you will end up with a carbonized Q.

We fought over the leftovers. This is great served alone, on a bun, or a cornbread "pancake." You can dress it with sauce and slaw.
Bandy also grilled corn.
If you have any questions, I will relay them to Bandwith.

If you are participating in FF, you know the routine--blog name and your permalink.

A Very Outdoor Wednesday

Until we moved to the farm, I was a die-hard city slicker.
Well, as much as a small town southern gal can be citified. I wasn't into Manolos or martinis, but I kinda liked houses with tidy lots, no scary critters, and, above all, I had to be within spitting distance of a bakery.
Before we moved to the farm, we bought three donkeys, and, since we were (as far as country life is concerned) in a pre-Green Acres mode, without a horse trailer or way to transport the donkeys, Mr. Gordon delivered them.
Three years later, we have five donkeys. I may have mentioned them before, but in addition to Zeus, there's Hera, Juno, Apollo, and Homer. They look out for the pygmy goats and sheep, doing their best to keep the bad critters away.

They have come to associate humans with vanilla wafers.

Bandwith was grilling a pork roast, and the donkeys came up to investigate. Zeus, the chief donkey, can be quite moody--a clown one minute...

angelic the next.
The other four came up to see if we had any vanilla wafers, and of course we did.
Zeus head-slammed them away.
Apollo says, No can do. Want cookie!
It's funny. You can think you are citified, always on the edge of the heebie-jeebies, but then you discover you are braver than you thought. Here is the thing about farm life: the enormity of the natural world puts itty problems into perspective. The ever-changing sky is a grace note.

We keep our boots lined up on the porch, ready for the next adventure.


To return to Outdoor Wednesday and view the great outdoors, courtesy of our gracious hostess, Susan, please click http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

To Paint or Not to Paint?

In our house, furniture "lands" in a spot because A), it's a temporary filler, or B)Dr. Gollum and Bandwith got fed up with my wishywashyness, set the piece down, and vanished into the Man Cave.

This little French display (above) case is an example of A and B.
Here is a side view.

While the finish "matches" another chest,

the scale was a little off.

I waited and waited for a bigger, handsomer piece to come along. That's the thing about decorating.

Waiting.

A view of the other major pieces, dark but not matchy in period. I am very inconsistent about matchy, as yall know.

My favorite antique dealer called and said she wanted me to see an armoire--not an antique, just a pretty piece. She's moving, and couldn't use the piece anymore. The price was just too temping, in the $500 range, so Dr. G and I went over to look at it. (He doesn't trust me to make decisions about Big Pieces, because I lean toward Shabby Chic, and he's into Chic.)
But he liked the chest a lot. It even has a display light, with a roomy drawer. I can take all of those dishes that are hiding behind the puddled drapes and put them into an actual cabinet. The armoire is wider and taller than the little French number (which will fit beautifully in the upstairs hall).
I love how the curved glass doors echo the curves in our front door.

However, I just don't know about the finish. Its nearby neighbor, the low, fussy French chest, doesn't need any competition. It's in a "keeper" position. The armoire would be lovely against the terra cotta wall, but the right paint color could make it a knockout.

Carol Edwards sent me a picture of a painted armoire, saying, "Something tells me that this chest didn't arrive in the showroom looking like this."

Is this gorgeous or what?!

So, I ask you, my darling bloggers. To paint or not to paint?
I won't be making any rash decisions, seeing as I'm not s'posed to be decorating until after the Deadline, but a girl can think and dream.