Taking Up Where I Left Off

I was having trouble getting pictures to upload the other day so I'll give this another try!

So here I am in Brussels once again, which happens to be my second favorite city now and I think you can guess which is my first. ;-) After touching down I hopped in the rent-a-car and headed off to the hotel as part of my now ritual of checking in, dropping my bags, showering and changing, then heading down to Leroy's on the Grand Platz for a Kriek. When I first arrived at the hotel it was starting to sprinkle and I feard for the worst, but by the time I was ready to leave the room the sun was out once again and off I went.

Mission completed, with the help of my good friend Joia, so off we went on a foot tour of the entire city. We managed to make it to one of the higest points in the city where I snapped this shot where you can see both the tower of records (the spire to the right), and the Atomium (the hugh "jack" looking sculpture to the left). The Atomium has always been a bit special to me because it was erected for the 1958 worlds fair (I'm going to let you do the math and figure out why that might be important to me)!

This shot is of one of the famous Basilique's in the distance

This just simply caught my eye, I'll call him Mr. Fritte











Well, it's getting late so I think that's about it for tonight, I'll try to share some more of my journey when I can!

Fall Colors (delayed) and Eurotrip 2009

Sorry for the delay in posting some of the fall colors promised last weekend, but I was preparing for my current trip to Europe.

First with the fall colors!

Last Saturday Lightnin and I set out on the bike on a rather cold morning, but we were all leathered up to help fight off the elements. We took a trip down through Rabbit Hash, Kentucky by heading west/south on Hwy-50 - Hwy-56 through Lawerenceburg, Aurora, and Rising Sun, Indiana. The return trip was via Ky-20 completing the loop. Lightnin kept the camera on hand to snap some action shots on the way back home.

Markland locks & dam from the restaurant where we stopped to eat lunch, They have deep fried green bean on the menu and they're really good!

Fellow bikers enjoying a ride

Tobacco curing in a tobacco barn

Heading across the Ohio River from Kentucky to Indianna











We were about a week too early to catch the leaves changing color in the hills, but we got a couple of shots of color after we got home.

A tree behind the infamous Dew Drop Inn

One of our mum's in bloom

Sorry, but I'll have to try to continue my post in another edition because I'm having trouble uploading the rest of my photos!

Rain, Rain, Go Away.......

Sorry no pictures, just letting you know that I am still around and intend to post again soon!
Work has just gotten the better of me lately as my new assignment is proving to test my capacity, which is actually a good thing because There's nothing I like more than a good challenge!

Anyway, if the rain stops today and the roads dry out enough we'll be back on the bike tomorrow and heading to such exotic destinations as Aurora, Indiana and Rabbit Hash, Kentucky (I know, we've posted from there before!). Who knows maybe we'll even end up at the infamous Dew Drop Inn in sunny Blue Jay, Ohio.

Hopefully we'll have some colorful foliage to photograph along the way as the leaves are starting to turn here.

Ming tian jian!

Thunder Hits the Stage in Atlanta

This past weekend we headed down to Hotlanta to help celebrate our Brother-in-Law Dave's 50th birthday. It was a great time seeing their family again and meeting a lot of their friends too.

We travel down there a lot because it's just fun to hang out with them! Ok, that and it's about the 1/2 way point to our place in Florida! ;-) A typical weekend with them is to arrive, go to the grocery store and buy veggies and stuff, then Dave and I concoct some sort of exotic dish while the girls sit and visit. Of course we usually sample different varieties of either beer or wine while cooking which also keeps us entertained.

This time though we attended a big party that was arranged to celebrate Dave's turning a 1/2 a century. It was set up so that he could have to opportunity to play guitar all night while all the other band members swapped in and out on various songs. It was a fun night and the music was spectacular! I was honored to be able to get up on stage with such talented musicians!


Here's the star of the show jammin out



A shot of myself with a better view of the band












I'm looking forward to the next trip down!

Musikkapelle Ruderatschofen

Saturday evening I had the pleasure of meeting the Musikapelle Ruderatchofen, the main band playing at the downtown Cincinnati Oktoberfest! My good friend Ollie invited me to tag along with him to enjoy some good home cooked German food and some good German beer, while listening to some good German music!

We got to meet some of the band members and mingle with some of the members of various German American groups from around the city, we're members of the Donauschwaben Verein. These groups are trying to preserve some of the heritage and culture through song, dance, food, language, and of course beer!

Here is my friend Ollie to the left and our host for the evening, Mike, to the right

The Musikkapelle Ruderatschofen performing for us











The hosts had some of these awesome flowers planted around the place and I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos hoping to be able to identify them. Anyone know what these are?

Let Us Never Forget!

Thank you to the brave who have stepped up to answer the call of duty protecting freedom, and curse those that would try to steal that freedom through the taking of innocent lives!

Labor Day Weekend Grillapalooza!

More Americans fire up the grill on Labor Day weekend than on any other, with the possible excepting being the 4th of July. So in honor of that tradition we decided to hold the first ever Grillapalooza, or as Lightnin refers to it Meat Mania! We lit the fires on the Brinkman smoker to cook ribs, the big Weber for rib eye steaks and lamb chops, and the medium Weber for ham steaks and chicken breasts!

I've been grilling for a long time, a little over 30 years now, and continually work on honing those skills and I think I'm getting close to perfection with this rib recipe, but not so fast let's talk about the other meats first and we'll get back to the ribs.


The Rib eyes we dusted with a commercial grilling spice that included coriander, garlic, powder, salt, pepper, and a few other goodies, and then gave them a spritzing with some good Tennessee bourbon. After letting them sit with this mixture for several hours they went on the grill.
The Lamb chops we treated with some Xin Jian spice that somehow made it's way into my luggage when I left Beijing, again letting them sit for a couple hours and then onto the grill.



The Chicken breasts we merely salted and peppered and then on the grill because they will be used to make some other yet undetermined meals this next week.
The Ham we dusted with dry ground mustard seed and then dusted with the rib dry rub (we'll get to it in a minute) and then a spritzing of the bourbon, then onto the grill!




So then let's see what's left, oh oh that's right, the ribs! ;-)
The ribs we dusted with our home made curry powder, let them sit over night in the fridge, and then dry rubbed them with this mixture: 2cups brown sugar, 3 TBS cracked black pepper, 2 TBS cayenne pepper, 1 TBS smokey paprika. Then into the smoker they went!

The choice of wood for the event was a mixture of Maple, apple, and oak chips which give a little more mild smoke flavor than either hickory or mesquite.







So what would you prepare to go with all this meat? We decided to do some prosciutto wrapped asparagus, and cheesy potatoes and broccoli.













Well, there you have it Grillapalooza! I think we'll make this an annual event, and who knows maybe next year we'll expand the menu and put something on the little Weber too!

Happy Labor Day everyone!

What a view!

Last evening Lightnin and I decided to hop on the bike for a little while and buzz around our neck of the woods. We forgot to grab the camera, of course, but Lightnin did get these shots of the sun set as we were heading home:





















By the way didn't anyone pay attention to the background in the photos of the wine festival? ;-)

Swiss Wine Festival and the Germania Oktoberfest

This past weekend was action packed with Lightnin and I taking a trip to Vevay, Indiana with our friends Steve and Donna to attend the Swiss Wine Festival on Saturday, and then by ourselves to the Germania Oktoberfest on Sunday!

The wine festival was in Switzerland County, hence the name of the event.

However I think this photo sums it up more accurately!

There were some really good and interesting wines to be sampled, and here we see our friend Steve doing just that!

Here's Steve sampling another of the available wines!

Lucky for us they had two different varieties of dry red wines so Steve could sample the second one!

And what Swiss Wine Festival would be complete without a mechanical bull ride?

And what sort of food would you expect at such an event? Why fried green tomatoes and frog legs sounds reasonable to me!









On to Germania!

So what comes to mind when you think Oktoberfest? Beer, Brats, Limburger cheese? Why no silly, of course it would be the Corn Head!

And just check out this view from a place that used to be called "Top of The Hill". We stopped off there on our way back home and couldn't resist taking the photo.









It was a great weekend with temperatures in the 70's and lots of sunshine!
This coming Labor Day weekend is supposed to be just as beautiful and we plan to spend it grilling out a variety of meats, so check back and see what's cookin'!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's 81st birthday so I thought I'd share a couple of pictures in honor of that!

Three generations pictured here on a trip to Germany, and I don't think the country was prepared for that!

This was a photo after we had cleared weeds and treated the fence on the future Florida homestead.









Here are the top ten things that my father has given me:
10)My orneriness
9)My hair line; which is thought to come from your Mother, but if you've seen my Dad and I together then you be the judge!
8)My fascination with open wheeled racing, old cars, and motorcycles
7)Grilling abilities
6)Cooking talents in general
5)Camp fires and fire places in winter
4)My work ethic
3)Sailing
2)My head is for locating sharp objects such as car hoods, cabinet corners, shelves, etc.
and the #1 thing my father has given me - The ability to drive a car from coast to coast stopping only for gas! ;-)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Peanuts, You want Peanuts?

In answer to the Culinary Throwdown Challenge Lightnin and I came up with not 3, but 4 dishes containing peanuts and/or peanut butter! An appetizer (Beijing style Cucumbers and Peanuts), a salad (Thai style rice noodle and shrimp salad with Peanut Butter vinaigrette), an entree (Kong Pao Chicken), and a dessert (Chocolate Peanut Butter Shooters)!

The starting ingredients and the cucumber peanut appetizer already prepared and marinating.









So lets start at the beginning!
Beijing style Cucumbers and Peanuts
Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, julienned in bite size pieces
2 Lightnin size handfuls of Peanuts (approx. 3/4 cup)
2oz soy sauce
2oz rice wine vinegar
1tsp red pepper flakes
In a medium bowl combine cucumbers and peanuts
in a separate bowl combine soy sauce and vinegar and pour over peanuts and cucumbers, stir and scatter red pepper flakes on top,
Let stand 30 minutes in the fridge before serving. (Serves 2-4 people)

Thai style rice noodle and shrimp salad with peanut butter vinaigrette
ingredients:
1/2 package of Taste of Thai rice vermicelli noodles, cooked as per direction on package, rinse several times with cool water and set aside to cool.
1-1/2cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 pound of 50 count shrimp, shelled and divined; boiled and cooled
1/2cup cilantro leaves, whole
5 basil leaves, sliced thin
10 mint leaves, sliced thin
In a medium bowl combine all ingredients reserving a few cilantro leaves for garnish, spoon or drizzle on the vinaigrette. (Serves 4-6 people)
Vinaigrette:
4Tbs Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter (Hey I own some of their stock!)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2tsp sesame chili oil
1/4tsp salt
1/2tsp red pepper flakes
3Tbs olive oil
In a large stainless bowl add peanut butter, lime juice, salt, pepper flakes, and sesame oil. Then whisk in olive oil.

Kong Poa Chicken
ingredients:
2 chicken breasts cut into thin strips
2 carrots, cut into kuai ze (chop stick) friendly sized sticks
1 green bell pepper, same as carrots
1 small onion, same as carrots and pepper
1cup peanuts
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 can or jar of sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, whole
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 inch fresh ginger root, finely diced
2 sichuan red peppers, fresh (any small spicy red chili will do)
1 sichuan red pepper, dried and crumbled (1/4tsp of red pepper flakes will work)
4 Tbs soy sauce
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp sriracha chili sauce (sometimes called Rooster sauce because of the rooster on the bottle)
1tsp brown sugar
3Tbs Peanut oil
In a small bowl combine chicken 2Tbs soy sauce, 1/2 the garlic, 1/2 the ginger, dried sichuan pepper, mix well and set in fridge while preparing everything else.
In a really small bowl combine brown sugar, the rest of the soy, and the Rooster sauce, stir and set aside
In a hot wok pan, or similar, add peanut oil and then the marinated chicken, stirring constantly. When chicken is almost cooked add, celery, carrots, sichuan peppers, bell pepper, garlic, ginger, onion, cilantro, mushrooms, and peanuts and continue cooking and stirring until the vegetables are brightly colored and cooked, but firm. Add the soy/chili sauce and brown sugar mixture, stir and remove to a serving dish. (serves 4-6 people)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Shooters
2 chocolate cordial cups, frozen (for 2 people)
Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter (It's all about the stock!)
whipped cream (the can works better)
Either Kahlua or Baileys Mint liqueur
Fill each cup 1/2 way with peanut butter,
then top off with liqueur,
add whipped cream, and then a peanut on top for garnish if desired!
Note: we actually used 4 cups so we could each try the different liqueurs to see which we liked best!






We hope you all enjoy these asian style Peanutty good dishes!

Well that was it, let's see how we stack up against the competition!

Looking Back a Year

It's hard to believe that a year ago this week I was sitting in the Olympic stadium in Beijing, China where I witnessed a world record in the women's 3,000 meter steeple chase, and an Olympic record in the men's 10K!

Some days it seems like it was a long time ago and other days it seems like it was yesterday!

Schwaben Tag 2009

Yesterday was Schwaben Tag (Donauschwaben Day) so we decided to meet up with some friends and go over to Verein der Donauschwaben to enjoy the festivities.

There was singing, dancing, music, food, and drink. We got to see some old friends and had a fun afternoon despite the rather oppressive heat (Summer finally decided to show up here this past week so we haven't had any adjustment period).

Posing with Lightnin is our good friend Nick who sponsored me/us joining the Donauschwaben



One of the more manly dances being performed by the Schuplatler's


A good group of friends (you can't see it, but the shirt I'm wearing is from Hanau, Germany so technically I am dressed for the occasion)
;-)








This was the second event in the Cincinnati German festival season. The next will be Germania Oktoberfest later this month. (I know, I know Oktoberfest in August?)

Science with High Powered Weapons

Yesterday I was lucky enough to take part in a scientific study that involved the handling and use of some high powered weaponry! No really it was for scientific purposes!

I can't disclose what the study was for just yet, but after the results come out I'll be able to clue you in!

Here I am with a Marlin 22cal semi-automatic rifle
Not really high powered, but you can accurately click off 14 shots as fast as you can pull the trigger


Firing a Winchester 3030 Rifle. With this thing you've got seven shots to drop an object at around 40 yards away.


How about a Winchester Model 140 12ga shotgun. Talk about a point and click weapon!










I have to admit it was pretty fun and it was in the name of science!

Tonight Lightnin and I will take part in the Culinary Throwdown Challenge initiated by FC of Pure Florida! We'll hopefully post our results either tonight or tomorrow morning!