OPEN FIRE COOKING ON PAPER TOWEL!!

How many of you have heard of cooking a beef roast over a wood campfire using wet paper towel and a bed of rock salt to cook on?

Our friends Bob and Sue Underwood from Ohio/Florida have been up visiting us for a few days. We have both been fixing roasts this way for several years now and decided last night would be a good time to fix one for our supper.

A couple of hours prior to cooking you need to get a good hard wood campfire going and let it burn down to a good hot bed of coals with just a few flickering flames of fire showing.

I am including a few photos of Bob preparing the roast and doing the cooking. You take 8 or 10 layers of soaking wet paper towel ... place them on the cold grill. On top of the towel pat on a solid covering of rock salt about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle the roast with granulated garlic and a little black pepper. You then lay the roast on the bed of rock salt. Place another bed of the salt on top of the roast and 8 to 10 layers of soaking wet paper towel on it. Tuck the paper in around the sides so none of the meat is showing.

I might note the roast we did was a chuck roast, cut 3 inches thick and weighed a little over 3-1/3 pounds. Anyway, you swing the roast out over the bed of coals. This size of roast, we cook on the first side for about one hour. Then, swing it off the fire and flip it over... cooking another 15 to 20 minutes. This will produce some of the finest eating roast beef you have ever tasted!

I should note, it will not be salty like you think it would. The salt makes a solid crust and does not stick to the meat. The cooking times we used, produced well done meat on the outside and pink medium rare on the inside. Once you have done one or two roast you will get a feel for the cooking time in relation to the size of the roast. It is also important to note a cheap cut of meat, such as the chuck will produce better results than the more expensive cuts.

Good Luck and enjoy!!!

SUCH A SAD FATHER'S DAY FOR ME...

This day (Father's Day) the day that is a happy day for most men, is a very sad and trying day for me. I am sure by now you are wondering why I would make a statement such as this.

The day started off just wonderful... emails, cards, chats and phone calls from my two wonderful daughters. Ginnie gave me a card with two candy bars.. told me how much she loved me and asked which of my favorite dishes she could fix for me. Sounds like a perfect day doesn't it... It was, until Ginnie got the camera out and took my picture.. with my trusty dog Sparky in one hand and my remote control in the other. Then, as I was looking at the picture I suddenly realized this would be my last Father's Day in my trusty old chair after decades of being together.

Both Ginnie and the kids have been trying to talk me into a new chair and getting rid of the old one for several weeks now. I started having back problems and when I when to my Chiropractor Doctor Cherie I had a suspicion there was a conspiracy going on between her and Ginnie. Out of no where, she asked... are you setting in and old chair that is broken down and worn out??? How would she have known about my chair, had Ginnie not blabbed to her???

Well anyway, against my better judgment I got dragged two different days to three different furniture stores to pick out a new chair. When I signed the order for the new chair I felt like I just sentenced and old friend to certain death! You see, in about three or for weeks that new chair will be delivered and the old one has to go.

Yes... I am sad... that old chair... my Throne and I will never spend another Father's Day together......

ONE PROUD DAY FOR GRANDMA AND ME!!

MICHAEL, EMILY AND ELLIE
Today is a very proud day for Ginnie and I. After all these years of study and hard work.. today our granddaughter is, Doctor Emily Ann D.O.

We are very proud of her.. to say the very least!!

LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

Friendships come in many variations... some take years to develop... some are instantaneous... some are over with almost as fast as they are formed and some last a life time.

Today I am writing about a friendship Ginnie and I have with a wonderful couple from Bracebridge, Canada.... Jack and Audrey McFadden. This is a friendship that was formed over 10 years ago. It was both instantaneous and will most likely last a life time.

Ginnie, Mandy (our little Yorkie) and I were staying at the State Park and Campground in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the winter. At the time we had not gotten into 5th Wheeler RV's, but had a Jayco travel trailer. Ginnie and Mandy met a lady (Audrey) walking her dog. They started a conversation about the dogs... it lead to what each had for an RV. We found Jack and Audrey had a Jayco too, but it was a 5th Wheeler.

Audrey brought Jack to our RV to meet me and it all kind of started out from there. I asked if they were into computers and if so, could we have their email address. When we both got home we started occasionally sending each other an email.

While we did email, we had not seen each other for almost 8 years. One day Audrey emailed us saying a trip they were taking in their RV would bring them to Michigan. We asked them to stop and visit and told them we had a place for them to park their RV. We had electric, water etc. for them to hook up to, just like in a campground. They came by in July of 2007 and stayed a few days. I should mention, we had not seen each other for so long, we email pictures, so we would recognize each other!

We kept busy while they were here, making the most of their stay. Sweet Corn was in season, so one afternoon we did a BBQ with grilled, in the husk corn being one of the main courses. As you can see.. it went over pretty darn good!!

Well, this is June 2009 and we have not seen each other since their visit in July 2007... almost 2 years ago. We stay in touch with email letters and pictures almost weekly and now with Facebook, sometimes daily. Yes... this is a friendship that will last our lifetimes. We were so Blessed back in 1998 to have made their acquaintance.