I smoke.
Posted on November 19, 2009
Sorry for the last rant, some days are better than others. I believe pretty strongly about parenting- especially investing in your own offspring. So my latest endeavor… where did it begin… oh yes at the Lueck’s house. Since we don’t have TV (something we pride ourselves on) we were over on a Saturday night which means automatic football on the tele. I might’ve sounded crazy (actually I’m sure I did) because a “Messin with Sasquatch” commercial came on and I was laughing out loud (the whip cream in the hand episode- so funny. Well that commercial was for Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. I might have beef jerky every 2 or 3 years and man it sounded good. Then I researched some review sites and decided not only was it all too expensive ($1.50- $3.50 PER OUNCE!!), but also I think I could do that myself. Where to next? YOUTUBE! First i came across this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1IiUAtoNBk and thought that’d be an interesting way to die. They also had http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8_x39QO3w which is exactly what I wanted. I’ve always thought one needed to have a food dehydrator (of course from RONCO) and was pleasantly surprised to see the BBQ Pit Boys method of normal grills/smokers.
A year or maybe even two I took the plunge to purchase my Big Green Egg. I love it- so fantastic. The key to the jerky is low and slow (around 140-150) for several hours. This is where the Egg excels- since it is a ceramic smoker/grill I can choke it and it’ll stay at the temp I choose for almost as long as I want. Ok my recipe:
Bottom Round roast was on sale at publics for 3.99/lb this week- got 2lbs
3/4 cup Worcestershire
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp red pepper
I marinated that on accident for 2 days because my electric grill starter that I “fixed” wasn’t working. Then I took it back apart and a wire connection came loose. It is important to dab off the excess marinade with paper towels, started up the lump charcoal and choked the mess out of it to get it from 300 to 150ish. Then low and slow for just over 5 hours. To be honest I forgot about it until after I put Abby down and realized it was still going.
Results: Amazing! Exactly what I hoped for- I’ll post some pictures soon! Even better is the price- even with the cost of the marinade (no idea- stuff we had) it was probably a pound and a half for under $10 or $.44/oz. Faaaantastic!
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Pre-Chi-Town
Posted on October 30, 2009
Since we’re expecting our second, my wife and decided to get away for a bit. We narrowed down places we’d like to go and were a bit limited in the time we could go and of course budget. It came down to Boston and Chicago. Both cities I love and you can’t lose with either. We’ve tried (and failed miserably) to get away with Katie and Jimmy (some friends from our old sunday school class- now reside in Chattanooga) years ago and scheduling never seemed to work out. This time we planned better and actually got the ball rolling.
*Side note (actually this turns into a rant)- Jimmy and I are notoriously selective spenders. Ok we’re pretty cheap. BUT we have no problem spending money if it is worth it. We went on a snowboarding trip to Snowshoe almost two years ago and had a blast- only spending about $450 out the door for a long weekend. Half the fun is getting a super value- and sure we don’t mind spending a tad more if it’ll make an actual difference. I guess that is the other part- we both make pretty good money but don’t want to burn it. Also, we’re pretty well aligned when it comes to our faith and values. There are a lot of bonding points between all of us a couples. First our faith, second our family values, third we enjoy the outdoors (in moderation), and we like nice things/experiences. Now this may seem pretty mundane but it truly isn’t. I find it more difficult to find people who want to invest in their family more than their comfort. Read more
Switch7 on My Macbook
Posted on May 15, 2009
Most of you probably wouldn’t get the reference here, maybe a better title would’ve been Bootcamping Windows 7 on my Macbook. Still no? OK, I put the beta Windows version 7 (rumored to be out this holiday season) on my macbook that also runs OSX Leopard. If you’re still unclear- that is ok, just /cheer for me and we’ll move on.
The bootcamping went pretty well- I had some real issues with the 64 bit version so I bailed to the normal 32 bit. I certainly didn’t think the difference on a little black macbook would’ve been worth the headache. I already burned two of the 64 bit isos on to dvd. The first time, was a fail. I got the dreaded “Select CD-Rom type” message. UGH. Followed Sergio’s guide and got a super annoying “Your processor does not support 64 bit instructions.” Whatever- I’d spent a couple hours by this time and then threw in my origional 32bit dvd. Worked like a charm.
I’m only a day into using Windows 7, but so far I REALLY like it. It isn’t nearly the resource hog Vista was and with the XP mode I’ll be making the switch when it comes out this Holiday season- on my main machine. SO excited.
I’m typically not one to post about tech related things on my blog but the next few posts will be. Why have I kept things separate? Well for one, I don’t want to be a reviewer or blogger with a narrow audience. Most of my friends have no idea what I’m talking about most of the time. Yes it gets lonely /cry. Not really, because I don’t like to hang out with geeks/dorks/techies/trekkies/hobbits/etc. Don’t get me wrong- I don’t have an innate feeling of superiority or distaste for what they enjoy. My issue is the same regardless of the obsession. Example: I like watching club racing with my father in law- I like seeing cars zip around a track and the time and energy they put into their passion. What I HATE is their obsession- you get together with them in a more social settings and they’re still only talking about their cars. They’re just things- same with tech items. Sure they’re cool, but they don’t define me. What does define me? My faith, for one, but a close second is my growing family.
I wouldn’t have ever guessed that it would turn out this way. Sure, in theory, of course it should. The reality is much like getting married. You’re single you have no idea what that involves- how could you? Then you find that person that truly is your compliment. Julia is that for me- no question no hesitation. She excells where I fail. Need to know what I was doing on any day in the past 7 years? Ask her- she’ll tell you what I wore. We running joke is how her mind is full of useless information that is quite literally trapped and cannot escape. Man, I appreciate that. Mostly because I have no use for it 90% of the time- but that 10%, she’s better than a Blackberry (voice regognition, referenced information, and she looks good too:)).
I officially turned this post around from getting pretty geeky to warm fuzzies. Julia, you *hand signals* complete me!:):)