I woke up at 6:30 AM, on Sunday. I heated up the last cup of coffee and sat on the couch, watching a gentle rain. It was very pleasant, until I remembered the grille was still sitting outside! So, I went to fetch it (in my robe). Sure enough, it got soaked. Hopefully it will dry out before it rusts!
I washed my hands and changed the bandage on my thumb. I slipped a rubber glove on that hand and started to assemble the baked beans.
So, I drained the water they had been soaking in overnight. Then I rinsed them (they say that cuts down on the "gas" effect, but I've never noticed that to be true). Of course, as you probably all know, you can eliminate the overnight soak by boiling them hard for one minute and then letting them sit for an hour before draining. But, I was going old school.
So, to the drained beans, I added 2/3 cup of chopped red onion, three tablespoons of dark molasses, 1/4 cup ketchup, two tablespoons of yellow, prepared mustard, a good pinch of salt and a splash of Frank's Red Hot sauce (well, maybe more than just a splash - I do like my heat!)
I took five pieces of thick-sliced maple-smoked bacon and cut them lardons-style (maybe 1/4 inch thick) and added them in. Finally I poured in three cups of Labatt's beer (or two cans). I stirred it all, covered it and stuck it in the pre-heated 300 degrees F. oven. In the recipe, you bake it five hours, and then check it. If it's still too wet, you bake it another hour uncovered. But, it's already 7:30 AM, so I think the last hour will be done over at Jake and Carla's.
It's still raining (well, maybe sprinkling is a better description) so my outdoor plans are all on hold. So, I mixed up the pasta salad with the fresh mozzarella, tossed it and filled up my one last remaining Tupperware bowl. I still have about an equal amount in my big stainless steel bowl, BTW. I covered the Tupperware bowl with its lid and the metal bowl with cling wrap. After a taste-test (yummo!) they both went back into the fridge.
I took a shower and got dressed. At 11:30 AM, I put the pasta salad on the front seat of the car and put a thick bath towel on the floor. I took the Dutch oven out of the oven and set it on the bath towel. Then I hit the road.
I was about 15 minutes late, but that was okay as they had been trying to call me to tell me dinner would be later.
Jake had been up until after midnight, smoking a pork shoulder (for the pulled pork sandwiches) and then got up early today to get the spare ribs on. But the spare ribs needed more time, he said. I put my beans in their oven to reheat and cook a little longer.
So, we played Jeopardy on the DVD. I don't remember who won (I just know it wasn't me!) Then we sat outside for a while and visited (nice day, BTW). Every now and then Jake would go mop his ribs and declare they needed more time.
We watched a couple hilarious episodes of Family Guy. Finally, at 5:30 PM, Carla started getting her sides ready. She made a great potato salad (with bacon in it) and really excellent coleslaw (the kind I like where its not soaking in a ton of dressing). Jake cut up some Ciabatta rolls for the pulled pork sandwiches and finally brought in the ribs. We all dug in like we hadn't eaten for weeks!
The pulled pork sandwich was nice and smoky and the vinegar-based sauce was refreshingly different. About halfway through my sandwich, I noticed Jake had added coleslaw inside his (I had forgotten that little touch, but quickly remedied the situation). I put a little Bullseye barbecue sauce on my ribs and the meat just slid off the bones (although Jake still insisted they really needed more time!) In no time at all, we were all stuffed!!
Then Carla started to clean up and put things away. While she was doing that, she was making some leftovers for me to take home. So, I got some of everything and I gave them some beans and the rest of the pasta salad (as I still had more at home). I made my goodbyes and left around 6:45 PM.
When I pulled onto San Jose, the first thing I noticed was all the cars. There were cars up and down the side of the road and four or five parked in the vacant lot next to me. When I pulled in the driveway, I saw in my rear view mirror there were tables set up under the trees in the townhouses and a bunch of people, all dressed "to the nines!" It was probably a graduation party, I decided.
But, that kinda stopped the idea of working on the raised bed trellis (I don't think my table saw would have been a welcome addition to their music). And starting to plant the front yard in my torn workout shorts and T-shirt while they were all in suits and ties seemed just as embarrassing. So, I took my treasures in from the car, treated the cats and put everything away.
I cut a thick piece of vinyl and duct-taped it to the broken window until I can get it replaced. Oh, BTW, I now understand what broke the window. I had a metal caulk gun with a full tube of caulk hanging from the top horizontal bar. Experimenting, I slowly moved it towards the wind and "bingo" it swung right in the middle of the hole! I must have knocked against it when putting the extension cord next to it. The bungie cord falling off at the same time was just a coincidence.
Back inside, I started to fill the Blog in. I got most of it done to date when I noticed it was already 8:10 PM, which meant my Sunday shows were on. Somehow, it's hard to remember it's Sunday when you still have another day off! So, I packed it in and headed for the TV set.
I wasn't really hungry, but I did have a small snack of potato salad at 10:00 PM, LOL!
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