EATS! Ribs. Va-va-va-Voom.

Um hmm,  and that's a "before" shot...

I just got chills.

These ribs are fast becoming Boone's speci-ayh-lity.  They're perfect. No weird flavors, no fancy cooking technique.  These are hickory smoked ribs on a charcoal grill.  And they are so INCREDIBLE.  People make moaning sounds and breathe through their noses so they can stuff their mouths with these ribs.  

And when I say, "people", I swear I do not refer solely to myself.  I swear.

Point of fact: I have never gotten any "after" shots of these ribs.  All summer. 

Number one, the shots at night never seem to come out quite right, they're shot inside and the artificial lighting gives a grainy, yellow cast that even Photoshop (in my novice hands) can't fix.

Number two, no one else (I've asked), is willing to break out the camera. And I'm all, outta my way, making a beeline to these puppies. Hence the action shots below.  I think these were actually a second round on Boone's part.  And me, I'd HAD to have a plate before I was willing to take these. Sorry, folks.  One day I will.  Another promise, these shots DO not do these ribs justice.  Next time, in daylight (the only way the camera grain wouldn't overpower the shots), I'll fork them open, then take a shot.  

The texture is outta this world.

To be quite honest, the ribs always cook differently.  Different rack of ribs, different weather, different fire all add up to different cooking times.  And just between you and me - the grill ain't the only thing that's lit, if ya' know what I mean.  I don't blame the guy - what sane soul grills sober? But when someone's having to remind the cook to put down his microphone and go check the ribs and the fire temperature, well, you get my drift on different cooking times. 

This recipe is a spinoff of Steve Raichlen's (our hero), but we found the salt overpowering in the original, and wanted more hickory flavor.  Raichlen also uses an optional mop sauce that we found to be too much.  We're simple folk.  But, the mop sauce may make it for you, as well as the legend of the liquid of some sort in the drip pan for more moist cooking (didn't do much for ours, but you may think it makes all the difference) - I've heard of bourbon and apple juice, beer, dropping some liquid smoke (hickory flavoring) in just water, etc.  Whatever floats yer boat and makes yer skirt fly up.

So while this recipe is a GREAT jumping off point, with a lot of things we wish we'd known when starting out, (note the peeling off of the skin on the underside of the ribs - HUGE difference) you just have to get out there and give it a try and get in your own rhythm, with your own grill, your own rack of ribs, your own rub, and your optimum level of revelry-while-grilling (from what I understand this is required).  Another requirement that we don't consider optional (we did taste-tests) - you must marinate these in the rub OVERNIGHT. So be sure and plan ahead. 

h a p p y   e a t s !

before...

after!!!

Here's the rub.  ha. 

• Boo's Hickory Ribs. Yum.
  
• 
  
• For the rub
  
• 4 tablespoons paprika
  
• 2 tablespoon black pepper
  
• 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  
• 1-½ teaspoons salt
  
• 3 teaspoons celery salt
  
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 2 teaspoon dry mustard
  
• 2 teaspoon cumin
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 
  
• 4 cups hickory chips or chunks, soaked in cold water for at least an hour
  
•       and... last but not least:
  
• 2 racks baby back ribs (4 to 5 pounds)
  
• • 
    

Don't ask me what those weird blobs are above, or how to remove them, hope you can still see the amounts!

1. Wash the ribs and blot dry. Remove the thin papery skin on the back of each rack of ribs. (Pull it off in a sheet with your fingers, using a corner of a dish towel to gain a secure grip.)

2. Combine the ingredients for the rub (the paprika, black pepper, sugar, salt, celery salt, cayenne, garlic powder, mustard, and cumin) in mixing bowl and stir with your fingers to mix. Rub 2/3 of this mixture on the ribs on both sides. Transfer the ribs to a roasting pan and let marinate overnight.

3. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium (about 325 degrees). Place a drip pan in the center. If using a gas grill, place all the chips in the smoker box or smoker pouch and preheat the grill to high. When smoke appears, lower the heat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, toss half the wood chips on the coals.

4. Place the ribs on the grill over the drip pan and cover the grill. Cook the ribs until cooked, 1 hour. If using mop sauce of some kind, start basting with mop sauce after 30 minutes, basting every 20 minutes. If using a charcoal grill, replenish the coals after 1 hour, LOWERING THE TEMPERATURE TO 275 and adding a handful of chips as well. The ribs are done when the meat is very tender and it has shrunk back from the ends of the bones, ours take usually another 2-3 hours depending on the fire.

5. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board or platter. Mop one final time with mop sauce and sprinkle with the remaining rub. Let rest for 5 minutes and serve with your favorite barbecue sauce on the side.

NOTE: We have successfully held these ribs for serving wrapped tightly in foil in a 200 degree oven with a small pan of water to keep the environment moist.  

 

 

And.

Coming soon...

The BESTEST EASIEST BAKED BEANS. 

Yum.

A Bear. Where? Over There.

Growing up in Arkansas, I remember working in my Grandma's garden late one afternoon, bent over a long row, sweating.  Suddenly, a couple rows over, in an amazed, hushed voice, Grandma tells us kids to keep still and be quiet, and to look down at the tree line.  A mere 30 yards away, down a small slope from the garden, lumbered a mama sow bear and her baby cubs.  She walked right along the trees, then as we watched she stood, sniffed, looked our direction, dropped back down and moved her babies along. 

I'm guessing I was 12 or 13 at the time, this was the first bear I'd seen in the Ozarks, alive and in the wild.  It was special.  I don't know why I didn't feel fear.  We have black bears.  After camping a week in the Smokies in my early twenties and attending the Ranger's slideshow on "Bear Aware", I know what they can do to a car, and a human. 

This bear was photographed by a friend near his food plot last month in Texas county, Missouri, I think; he's set up a camera to shoot what deer are in the area for this season. We live in southern Missouri now, and this is a big sign that they're getting more and more common again. 

 But I'll just take this sign that the wild will hopefully never fully leave my cozy Ozarks.

Waterwoyks. Niagara Falls. A good cry.

So, I'm watching The Last of the Mohicans last night and found myself sobbing, literally, at the part where they're hiding beneath the waterfall and Daniel Day-Lewis' character tells his love that she can't survive the jump over the falls, that when the Indians capture her she's to stay alive, she's strong, she just needs to stay alive, and no matter what, "I will find you." Ugghh.  That slays me.  

The end of that movie finds me gasping and sobbing and blubbering and the music, dangit, does NOT help.  I cry during Quigley Down Under because of the music. And fuhget about Out of Africa.  Just because of the music.

But maybe I'm a sick-o or something, but I always feel BETTER after a good movie-cry. Maybe its because that movie has nothing to do with my life, and the tears are cleansing, and then I can just turn off the DVD player. Suddenly, your problems seem so trivial and normal and fix-able. That's great.  So, if you find yourself with a few hours to kill this rainy (around here) Labor Day weekend, and a great tearjerker is what ya' need, here are some of my doozies.

Of course.

I can't even watch this scene.  Her expression, searching for him, then the shock of the execution.  I close my eyes during this part of the movie, and cry just remembering it.

This movie is so underrated I think. The cast is great, the script is funny and sad, and for obvious I'm-in-love-with-a-pilot reasons this one really gets me.

I just noticed a lot of these musical scores are by John Williams.  Huh.

None of these are in any particular order, its just how they just popped in my head.

Titanic & Beaches can share a spot. For obvious reasons.

I just noticed a lot of these movies star Tom Hanks.  Huh.

And speaking of Brad Pitt, I've heard vicious rumors that Benjamin Button is evil, just evil, and must be destroyed.  I haven't had the fortitude as yet.  But the next time I need a time and heart killer, I'll rent it.  

Promise, Kilei.

OhMuhGosh. A source of angst.

We were pumped.  Boone pressure washed, we waited days until the wood was thoroughly dry (very trying in 90% humidity), and prepped for stain, we got our brushes and rollers and pans and drop cloths and taped everything off and... and... well, I didn't even have the heart to photograph the horror before we stripped and power washed the atrocity from sight.  I was too ashamed.

The Project:

The Inspiration:

The Nightmare:

So who knew that a color called, "Teak" in the can comes out "Burgundy Redwood Deck from the 80's" on the porch?  We even did TWO test patches on the back deck (less noticeable - thought we were so smart), not knowing some crazy chemistry would occur between the equation of sun exposure, weathering of the lumber, lighting during the viewing time of day, and who knows what else.  So, we've stripped - a NIGHTMARE of covering EVERY surface with plastic taped down during a VERY windy time of year (oh, yeah, try it some time. oodles of fun.) - and are preparing to clean, then sand with a large grit sandpaper, and then we'll go from there... 

I wish I'd had audio of our taping the plastic up during what we thought was a light breeze.  It was almost grounds for divorce. I think our three year-old was cursing. It was maddening and involved a tall ladder and yucky bugs and a grumpy husband.  

Choose your stain wisely, young grasshopper...

Thank bejeezus we stopped at the top landing.  Whew.

We'll be sure and post our pain, I mean our stain, as it occurs.  Please.  Enjoy.

Farewell to Summer.

So for Labor Day weekend, which always signals the farewell to summer around these parts, I think we'll be posting an ode to our symbols of summer.  If the weather participates, we'll swim in a creek, make a last batch of ice cream, boast a post of Boone's (my husband's) perfected hickory-smoked ribs, a batch of homemade lemonade, the perfect BLT, the perfect GBT... intriguing ... and how to make THE best gnocchi (read: fluffy delicious little potato dumplings) and homemade basil pesto, which as we all know, can be used on ANYTHING, and is the essence of the summer herb garden.  

Hint: this has EVERYTHING to do with a GBT (mentioned above).

We grew our tomatoes in two pots on the patio this year.  Smaller fruit, smaller harvest, but very convenient and we could place them in full sun.  Next year, we'll try those upside-down jobbies.  I resisted them this year because they're FUGLY, but they DO produce. 

Topsy Turvy: Upside Down Tomato Planter

The basil, however, has ran us out of house & home. 

 I admit, by this time of year, my garden is weedy and buggy (the its-too-hot-outside bugs), and the plants that still produce hold a spot near and dear to my heart.

We're also going to be blogging (or attempting to) the huge headache refinishing our front porch has become.  But how can you tuck summer in without wrapping up all your summer to-dos?  Part and parcel with ice cream, man, part and parcel.  

So forage into your farmers market for as long as you can in your latitude (pipe down, non-seasoners), and savor the last of the labors and fruits of summer.

Something Wicked...

"Storms in the Distance, or South Dakota's Light Shows."

I've got just a few posts from South Dakota that I will thrust upon you Ozark-info-seekers here.  But hey, it IS an Ozarker's travels, so - ya' got that goin' for ya'.

This last visit to my Dad's in SD was a humdinger, filled with family, food, travels, partying, sight-seeing, and mostly a lot of laughs.  

Good family is so good to have.  

One thing this Ozarker has really noticed about South Dakota is the storms.  We think they roll in quickly in the Ozarks; but I'm beginning a theory that its the fact we can't SEE them. Unless you're keeping your eye on the radar, you are often surprised in the Ozark hills.  The trees are tall, the hills are, well, hill-y, and weather has a tendency to build over the top of us (storms don't always roll in, they often "pop" up).

In SD, however, storms are all around you that never hit you.  Makes for great little light shows in the distance on a gorgeous evening.  For example, this little humdinger we witnessed before the rest of the fam showed up on this last trip. I heard something rolling in the distance.  It had been such a clear evening and day.  So, I grabbed my poor camera and...

...took off running.  Obviously.

My "method" of photography here was to keep clicking.  I only took 14 shots if that tells you how constant the lightning was.  It was unbelievable.  The sky seems so huge in SD, and the storms in the distance are even more, somehow, ominous than the ones right over the top of you.  Please note the little raindrops on my little camera as I'm clicking...I'm clicking...

It looks like, why, yes.  Yes, I think something wicked this way DOES come.  Wait, huh?  Its very exciting, anyway.  This is as close as this one came.  But I would like to shout out to all the South Dakotans out there.  You guys sure can handle stiff winds and full grocery carts.  And I'm talking on a daily basis.  That's a little trick ya'll have to teach me. My 3 year old got blown across a Wal-Mart parking lot, and I think people just looked at me like, "What a terrible mother; and where are you from, anyway? Eh?" 

Truly though, they're hospitable, warm, friendly, helpful pepole.  And - you live in a beautiful, awe-inspiring state SDs.  Party on, Sturgis!!!  Thanks for letting us parade the kiddies through pre-party.  We are like, total posers, and we all, like, all of us, like totally got shirts.  And I think, like, totally we are all just letting our friends think we totally went to Sturgis.  I know I am.  Totally.   (Hey - I didn't SAY I did, I just didn't say I didn't.  Heh heh.)

Yours truly,

American Bad-Ass

Hints o' Haints

This is completely out-of-season, totally inappropriate considering my last post was, not only a month ago exactly, but the Fourth of July. Truly, folks, this is completely in keeping with my thought process.  

I am not a linear thinker.  So on that note...

I am getting SO excited about fall being around the corner I really couldn't resist the temptation of posting these photos my man took a couple weeks ago. 

Not to mention that being gone from "My Cozy Ozarks" really starts to dwindle your relevant blog fodder after awhile.  Bummer.

Somebody's gotta cue the, "Carrie", music here.  As in stop, click on the link, and then scroll down.  If you cheat, you suck.

Volume low and creepy.  Good. Good. Great.

Okay.

Ready?

Sure?

You should really open this in another window to enlarge.  (Can't ruin our creepily ambient movie music, right?  Take a good look, folks.  This is a bright and sunny day.  And this was taken three weeks ago.

eeeeks. this could BE the "Carrie" house... 

Let's pray.

Nobody else seen "Carrie" lately? No one?  Anyone?

*crickets chirping*

And, could I say, "Carrie", one more time? Cuz' its just SO much fun dealing with italics.

"Carrie"

This house is so scary.  It seems mad. This is something straight from the Foxfire books, such as, "The haint were standin' up in the top winder, an' I could see her plain as day, holdin' that baby a' hern"... 

So I haven't really read the Foxfire books, but I have flipped through the ghost, or "haint" [haunt], stories.  CHILLING.  I mean, let's chew on this for a sec.  What the heck is scarier than plain, simple ghost stories told by hard-working, simple people that live in the dark, deep woods all the time - and those hard-working simple people are recalling the ONE time they saw something that scared the tar out of them.  I mean, when they're scared, I am telling you, 

I am OUTTA THERE.  

The Foxfire books. Check them out some time.  This is kind of what our set looks like...

We were holding out on posting this, because we have so many spooky, abandoned places around here, we wanted to do a series throughout October of some of these places. "Haints, boogers, and witches..." is how the Foxfire series describes them.  

Boogers?  Really?  Did someone get something wrong in definition-land at some juncture; because I know I'm not the only one that in modern times that read that and thought..."scary boogers? yikes..."

And I think Foxfire 2 is the one I was flipping through. Though technically not an Ozark region reference, our people and those of the Appalachians run very parallel on many levels, especially back in the day.  I've heard the most horrifying supernatural stories from the most plain-spoken, hard-working people; and you know why?  They believe them with all their heart and soul.  Doesn't matter if it was Lester's Great-Granpappy that lived down the road or who, but by-gosh-by-golly, 

"...that's a true story, now."

Oh, and heads up. Severe lack of sound structure and a severe streak of yellow will probably limit the number of interior shots of these spookies; but the outside is good enough.  For me.

So consider this a teaser for now. Oh, and didn't you love the music?  Told ya' so.

The designer in me says, "fixer upper, gorgeous, just FABULOUS hints of southern combined with prairie architecture, complete with second-story screened sleeping porch, blah-blah-blah-buh-blah..."

The chicken in me just says, 

"run, stupid, run".

oooOOOOoooh.  Just cain't wait 'til...