The turkey at my doorstep.

I have a sick wild turkey that hangs out in my yard.
She has lost her left eye, and has what appear to be tumors on one leg, making it difficult to walk.
She also has restrictions in her throat, making it difficult to swallow.
She’s been hanging out at my garage lately.
This scraggly turkey, is all alone in a threatening world.
Likely she was blinded during her expulsion from the flock.
She is especially vulnerable to prey, the other turkeys have shunned her because she will attract predators.

She pecks at the corn kernels I have thrown out for her, then flops down, to sun in my driveway.
She drinks rainwater out of a upturned garbage can lid (pictured).
Why am I writing about this pitiful turkey?
Because I know what her future holds.
The world is a cruel place for an ailing animal.
It is the nature of things in the wild, the weak and ill, get eaten up.
My sick hobbled turkey will not survive this winter.
This makes me sad to see into her future plight.
I only hope her death comes relatively quickly, by some adept predator.
It feels odd to think of this as merciful.

We all have something in common with this turkey.
We are all vulnerable in our lives.
We all need safety and security.
We need the ability to feed ourselves, and take care of our bodies to keep from getting sick.

I have empathy for this turkey’s life situation.
People can feel the pain of others pain.
Here’s something I don’t understand….
There are 45,000 people dying every year in America because they didn’t have affordable health care.
Many of these deaths could have been prevented by readily available treatments and proper health screening.
One would think we humans could do a lot better than just a “survival of the fittest” ethic.
Where is our own sense mercy?
Where is the humanity in human?
If we want to, we can all see our future plight.
Death is at the end of the road for all of us, but it is always more tragic when it is unnecessary and preventable.
Sadly…
There are people fighting against making health care affordable and available in America right now.

The health care industry is spending nearly $700,000 a day fighting health care reform.
Misguided ideologues who would rather spend tax dollars on wars, than health care for their neighbor or themselves, are fighting against their own basic self interest.
It is unfortunate that we have the medical skills, the means, and obvious needs, but not the will or the compassion to get basic health care to every American.
Is this the way we want things to be?
Who out there should be shunned because they are sick?
Who out there should die because they cannot afford health care?
Who should decide that fate?

Please contact your state Representative by clicking here.
Tell them you want them to have the guts to stand up for REAL health care reform.
My turkey has no choice in her fate.
We do have choice in ours…
Let’s not be turkeys.

Leftover BBQ spare rib soup

Truthfully I don’t eat that much BBQ.
It’s one of those “familiarity breeding contempt” things.
After many hours of slow cooking BBQ meat, I’m not usually hungry for it.
Seeing the people line up for it and pack bbq away with their sides etc.
The hours cooking is worth it.

I am crazy for a left over BBQ soup that I brewed up!
It has all the taste and smell of BBQ without the gut bomb torpor.
If you have some left over BBQ from your next cook out, give my recipe a try.
I usually use bbq pork spare rib leftovers.
It comes off as a BBQ mulligatawny, spicy, tangy, hearty, and good.

1 pound (de-boned) bbq’d spare ribs/ baby backs/pulled pork/or beef. de-boned and mini bite sized.
1) large yellow onion large dice
1) 36 oz. can white hominy
3/4 of a diced red pepper large dice
1/2 a savoy cabbage 1 1/2″ dice
1) 10 3/4oz. can diced tomatos
1) 10 3/4 oz. can condensed creamy tomato soup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons spicy bbq sauce your choice or to taste (I use Mr. Stubbs spicy, or Loose Lips Larry’s)
1/4 teaspoon McCormick Smoky sweet pepper blend (more or less to taste)
64 oz. free range organic chicken stock
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1) teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

In a heavy pot, add olive oil diced onions.
Cook over med high heat until transparent and starting to golden, add bell peppers, hominy, and diced tomato.
Cook together for 4 more minutes stirring several times.
Add chicken stock, bbq meat, tomato soup, and cabbage.
Let simmer (covered) for 30 minutes at low heat.
Add vinegar, bbq sauce, smoky sweet pepper, salt pepper, and thyme.
Keep simmering until the cabbage is cooked throughout. (appx. 30-45 more minutes)

This makes a lot of soup so you’ll be “eatin on it” for days, or invite the whole gang over…

If you use left over beef bbq as your soup meat, wait until the final 20 minutes of cooking to put it into the soup. Beef will get dried out tasting because of it’s lower fat content.

I haven’t fully experimented with this but… you might be able to do a crock pot fake slow cook bbq by adding sauce and some liquid smoke to crock pot ribs or butt etc.
Eat that as a main dish one night then try to soup with the leftovers.
You can also obviously get some meat from your local bbq and do this recipe, if you have the will power to save some meat for leftovers.

BBQ made easy… (easier)

Boneless chuck roast and pork spare ribs basking in the smoke

I just finished 2 weekends of slow BBQ cooking.
Probably 50 pounds of boneless chuck and pork spare ribs in total.
(In this picture, about 20 pounds.)
After the first weekend I was gonna retire.
Too much fretting over a wood burning cooker, hoping the temperature would remain within a acceptable BBQ range.
( I guess that’s what they invented Jack Daniels for… mellowing the cook)
To keep the firebox heading towards some future temperature you need just right amount of wood fuel and air combination, at the right time.
I’m stressing just thinking about it.

I use a Oklahoma Joe’s (indirect firebox) wood burning vertical bbq/smoker.

My bbq cooker was built for Oklahoma Joe’s the famous Kansas City BBQ restaurant.
The cooker model was discontinued, then taken up by New Braunfels smokers in New Braunfels Texas home of the famous New Braunfels Smokehouse.
Char-Broil then bought out the New Braunfels line… so if you have to have one… that’s where you find yours.

In my opinion, there are 4 elements of slow BBQ cooking.
The cooker, the fuel/smoke, the meat, and the method of cooking.

I covered the cooker above a bit … good seals, heavy enough steel to last and retain heat, good transfer of smoke to the meat, and efficient fire box for fuel burning.
Portability is also a plus, I can get this in the back of my pick-up solo.
(Don’t get any ideas though…. have cooker, will not travel!)
This cooker is large enough to cook for 50 people. Any more than that, you’ll either need to cook in two shifts, or rent a larger cooker.

Your fuel
If using wood, should be some combination of readily available wood for heat, consistency, and economy… oak, maple etc.
Then some flavor wood like fruit/nut wood .. Apple, cheery, hickory, pear etc. You don’t need a truck full, just enough to add that sweet smokey flavor.
You want to tailor your smoke flavor to you particular meat.
Delicate meat, delicate flavor perhaps a shortened time exposed to the smoke with no fruit wood flavor at all.
You judge from your taste.
You can over do the smokey flavor…. experimentation will get you in the right zone for the particular meat you are cooking.

The meat.
Slow cooking meat is usually relatively cheap, after all you are using tough cuts that take hours to soften up.
Get the meat as fresh as possible.
I usually dry rub the meat the day prior to cooking.
There are many rubs available online you can make yourself.
I use boneless chuck roast as a slow cooking mainstay.
I know it’s blasphemous, but I’m not a huge fan of pork shoulder/butt… The double digit cooking hours seem not to be worth the taste to me.
I also use pork spare ribs as opposed to baby back ribs… twice the meat and half the price.
Yes the cooking times are twice too, but I can handle 5 hours at a sitting…
You’ll have to learn to trim a spare ribs St Louis style.
Here’s how the BBQ Pit Boy’s trim their ribs on Youtube.

On to cooking…
As I stated earlier I dry rub the meat at least 24 hours in advance.
Start your cooker fire in the box… take the meat out of your fridge.
The meat should be room temperature when it goes in the cooker.
Cold meat combats the heat of the fire and will prolong cooking times.
The wood fire takes appx. one hour to get to a good temp (220 degrees or so) in my cooker.

I subject my beef and pork to oak and apple wood smoke for 2-2 1/2 hours.
Then I wrap them in heavy foil and “bake them” in the cooker for the remaining 2 hours or more.
Wrapping in foil is a controversial method.
Here’s a link to why they call using foil… “The Texas Crutch”.

I like foil because of smoke flavor control and keeping the meat moist.
Cooks faster too? What’s not to like?
One warning… if you foil too soon… your meat may have not let go of enough of it’s moisture content. Your meat can boil in it’s juices and turn out tasting like boiled not bbq’ed meat. Take it from experience….

I marinade and mop after foiling the meats.
Several tablespoons of Mr. Stubbs beef marinade or mopping sauce.
I marinade right after foiling but for thicker sauces especially sweeter sauces… you might wait to sauce in the final hour of cooking so as not to have any burning.
I also use Mr. Stubb’s spicy BBQ sauce, and Johnny Harris’s BBQ sauce as a dipping finishing sauce. Loose Lips Larry’s is a excellent brand of sauces.
But all that is up to personal taste.
Here is a great resource if you want to make you own sauces from scratch.
I’ve tried several of the recipes and they are very good.
Knock yourselves out… Pepperfool BBQ sauce recipes

I try to move the meat higher and lower in the cooker to subject all meats to the differing heat zones in the cooker… and keep things from burning.
The key here is… keep the door closed as much as possible.
Figure a way to remove and move meat quickly… You can lose 70 degrees of cooker temperature in a minute with the door open.
Think like a pit crew of NASCAR race… get focused, and gitter done quick!
Good (cheap) pit hot mits of some sort are a must! (you will destroy them!)
A roll of paper towels too because it all messy with smoky grease. (yum)
A tube of Handy wipes is not a bad idea to have around.

After all is said and done.. Your meat is falling off the bone

I said earlier that I almost retired from my BBQ cooking because of the roller coaster ride of cooker temperature changes.
My delicate psyche just could handle not being in total control!
( My wife Marie can tell you more about that)
I am pleased to say… I’ve gotten back on the BBQ pony… or pig as it might be.
I ordered a log burner/gas assist element from Tejas Smokers and am now officially “cheating” while BBQing. (Check out the smokers Tejas Smokers make… drool drool!)
The propane element buried in the bottom of my cooker firebox, not only fires up the initial wood fuel faster, it is a “assist” in maintaining temperatures through all phases of cooking.

I am very happy with the maiden voyage of my new hot rodded cooker!
I bbq smoked with wood and propane for the first 2 1/2 hours, foiled the meat, then let the wood burn out and ran on propane the final 2 or so hours.
Everything turned out super! And I couldn’t tell any difference in taste.

This is so much easier… the only easier solution is buying it already cooked from some BBQ shack!

You don’t really have to go to all the trouble for smoky BBQ that I do.
You too can have smoky flavored cooking on your propane grill or charcoal.
Here’s a link to a good website that will show you how… The Firepit and Grilling Guru… smoking box.
Good luck! Good eatin!

I just wrote the President this message about healthcare reform

I am deeply concerned for the fate of this Democratic leadership and I am a supporter.
I feel we, the people who voted for you, supported your campaign, believed in your message of change, are bracing for a possible political train wreck.
I feel that the public option in health care legislation needs your 150% leadership… without this “change”… as the conservatives put it… a failed health care reform bid can become your “Waterloo”.
What the situation needs is your show of strength… arm twisting if need be of Senate and Congress.
Look, if George W Bush could steam roll us into the Iraq war without as much as a whimper from legislators, we have to have the cajones to push through (unilaterally if necessary) MEANINGFUL health care reform.
This is really a SALES JOB… to the Senate and Congress… the PEOPLE are with you!
FIGHT FOR US!
The elephant in the room in the Senate and House of Congress is the Heath Care Industry.
We who supported you, feel that this is YOUR TEST.
Break with the status quo, kick out the special interests, do the right thing, the political rewards are there.
There will be a storm of negative backlash from your detractors…. but you’ve weathered that already in the primaries! It is bark not bite.
Anything less than a public option is disaster for you and the Democrats in 2010…
The support is there for you and the right legislation, perhaps not in the quagmire of political self interest in the House and Senate, but with the people, yes!
Tell them to get it done RIGHT or heads will roll…. as far as political futures go…that is not far from the truth.

Please, please,stop trying to get a bi-partisan solution, it is political quicksand for you.
The Republicans have ZERO interest in any changes you would want to make, and much less interest in seeing you succeed at making changes.
Simple…oil and water don’t mix.
You’ve tried, they aren’t having any… let’s more forward.
Please have the guts to use your election capital to get YOUR changes done.
That is what you will be judged on 4 or 8 years from now.
Your conservative opponents will wither from your power (if you use it) because they have no solutions or power.
Every poor, under educated soul that voted for conservatives in 2008 (against their true self interest) will support whoever takes care of their family in a real way in this Bush created recession… the conservative rhetoric only feeds this voting groups anger and dis-satisfaction. Rhetoric is not sustenance or health care.
We need to win hearts and minds…. better health care for all Americans
YOU need to lead the charge for the change we seek!
We are behind you!
But you have to get in FRONT of us!

I’m sorry if I appear disrespectful. I know your job is difficult. I voted for you because I know you have the right stuff. This would be a very good time to show the American people what you’ve got.
Billy in Weaverville, NC

Verde enchilada sauce recipe

Salsa de enchilada verde:

First off, a disclaimer…
I am a shortsighted chef (perhaps “chef” is overstated)… Let’s say I love to cook.
I never think of having to explain the steps, I cook by feel.
If the dish was successful, I have to deconstruct it in reverse in order to recreate it.
So here is a green enchilada sauce recipe that I produced and tried to deconstruct for you.

These sauces are always to taste… in that, for this instance, a larger tomatillo ratio to roasted pepper ratio will create a milder sauce and the inverse has the a heating up effect.
It comes down to what your taste dictates as the proper flavor for your ingredients.
If you are making a green enchilada sauce and it’s too hot for your taste buds, or overwhelms your flavors, add more roasted tomatillo.

I think enchilada sauces should be deep and mellow. A sublime and rich undercurrent to the filling ingredients. The roasting chilis here, especially over the grill adds a wonderful… roastiness

Had I added more Anaheim peppers to the mix, or heat in the form of hotter chiles, the sauce would have actually turned into something more appropriate as a chip dipping salsa or a spooned on taco sauce. So you see, heat is always appropriate to the specific ingredients, taste subtleties, and the desired outcome.
So enough hot air…

I believe I started with about:

3 lbs. or whole raw tomatillos with paper skins removed and washed .
1 1/4 lb. fresh Anaheim peppers.

Roast your tomatillos and Anaheim peppers on grill or under a broiler until they are blistered softened and 50% or more blackened.
The Anaheims can continue to steam in a brown paper bag until cooled, then be de-stemmed, skinned and de-seeded. Be somewhat careful handling the pepper off the grill, they have hot pepper liquid in them. you can burn yourself.
Tongs are handy here.

The roasted tomatillos can be thrown in the food processor directly… they will end up with the roasted black specs in the sauce seeds and all, makes for a rustic handmade look and toasty taste.

My amounts:
3 1/2 pureed cups tomatillos after roasting
2 pureed cups peppers after roasting.
2 white onions diced sauteed under medium heat until slightly golden.
5 cloves of diced garlic, saute along with onions.
1 cup fresh chopped cilantro, more or less to taste.

Put the above ingredients in the food processor and blend it all up… it can be crude and rustic.
Place the blended sauce in a large saute pan.
Add chicken stock or vegetable stock (water, last resort) to achieve the desired consistency (think just short of runny, the sauce thickens with heating)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add cumin to taste (I used 1 1/2 tsps. ground cumin)
Simmer for about 10 minutes on low to meld flavors.

Makes 9 cups or more sauce.
Enough for 3 trays of enchiladas. (30 plus enchiladas)

I think about 1 1/2 enchiladas per person is appropriate. The bigger eaters will have 2 or more, the smaller eaters will have 1.

Here’s the way I made the enchiladas…

I use fajita size flour tortillas.
Place a tortilla in your simmered sauce until coated and softened both sides. (about 1 minute)
Too stiff to roll, the tortilla has not heated long enough, too fragile or too floppy, burn your hands… your sauce is too hot.
Pluck the tortilla out of the sauce with a slotted spoon.
Place the softened tortilla in a greased 9″x13″ cooking pan (glass or metal).
Fill the tortilla with your favorite ingredients.

I made mine with;
Roasted chicken, bite size pieces (NO bones!).
Fresh cilantro leaves.
Shredded swiss cheese.
Sliced black olives.
Diced tops of scallions ( I don’t like the whiter part)
Dollups of sour cream.

I guess the green sauce and Swiss cheese makes this a Enchilada Suiza (Inchee’lada Swee’zah).

Fill the tortilla with just enough ingredients so that you can roll it up onto itself (about 1 1/4 inch in diameter).
You can put just about anything into an enchilada.
Use you imagination….
Roasted vegetables, tofu,pork seafood, shrimp, etc. etc.
One of my favorites…
Enchiladas Suizas with grilled swordfish and baby shrimp! Yeooooooweee!

Just remember, the main protein ingredient above should be largely precooked just short of done. Sauteed, roasted etc. prior to going into the tortilla… otherwise you’ll have crunchy enchiladas. (no bueno! )

Continue the process until you have filled the tray.
You can crowd the tray.
Usually 10 enchiladas per 9x 13 inch tray.
Using a ladle, spoon some more sauce over the filled tray (about 50 % coverage) Do not smother them, they will end up swimming).
Then complete the tray with a scattering of your cheese on top.
You can now place the tray in a preheated oven (375 degrees or so) for 20 -30 minutes uncovered. The enchiladas should be golden and the cheese on top melted.

Let them rest for a few minutes, then serve with toasted garlic black beans, mexican rice, a citrus salad or the like…. And Beer!
Very super yummy!

Once you get the hang of the process, you will learn to production line it.
You can prepare all of your filling ingredients in advance.
You can even mix most of these ingredients in a larger bowl together to further streamline the production for larger crowds.
Have plenty of hand towels around as you will get dirty in the process.
The enchiladas can be prepared the day before and refrigerated (covered) then cooked for your dinner.
How about a cool Negra Modelo for the chef! Aaaaaaaah!

PS
Enchiladas are fantastic leftovers! So make more than you need for dinner and enjoy them in the days to come. They just get better!

PPS…
The sauce doesn’t necessarily have to go just on enchiladas… It is very versatile. And freezable.

How about a crock pot fall apart pork shoulder
(fat trimmed) smothered in sauteed onions and the above green sauce.
Put some quartered red potatoes in for the final hour or so. You have got a great comfort food dinner.
Or how about some bone in chicken thighs with rings of yellow onions, red bell peppers, white hominy, and fresh parsley… all smothered in the above green sauce. Bake this in a casserole dish in the oven for one hour (400 degrees). Serve with rice.
The point… once you have gone through the trouble to make a great sauce…. put it to work for you!

Junior “June Bug” Morris chasing turkeys!

Junior, our two year old tabby, “tries” to catch the turkeys when they visit our side yard.
I’m hoping he doesn’t ever catch one, because I think it might not work out well for either party.
Today , there had to be twenty five hens and one very mature Tom, snatching up black oiled sunflower seeds from our driveway.
Our older kitty Jones is no fun, so June Bug is trying perhaps overly hard to stir up some action.
I hear him saying ‘Wait! Don’t run! I just wanna play!’

Slide show of Shuford remodel

Hey Folks!

I know it’s been a long while…
I have been obsessed with finishing up all the details of our Shuford home, and we are almost there!
The house has undergone a needed face lift in the front half; kitchen, living, dining areas.
Marie and I are very happy with the outcome.
What you see in the slide show is the transition from before to after.
We removed the interior basement access staircase to open up the space.
We floored over the hole left from the stairway removal, and braced up the ceiling beam above.
We walled up the stairway between the living room and entryway creating a art niche for the entry and more intimate feel for the sunken living room.
We finished the main area floors with a beautiful Indian Autumn tumbled slate.
We finished the living room and guest bedroom with carbonized horizontal bamboo flooring.
Our friend Shane Martin made the the masterful cherry cabinets and cherry slab for the dining room table.
We added a Morso wood burning insert to keep the living room area warm and cozy. Available here locally at Biltmore Hearth and Home. The stove is beautifully built cast iron and very efficient, and that spells a comfortable space.

You can click on the “view all images” link of the slide show to better peruse the photos if you wish.
I included some pictures involving the production of the breakfast booth.
That was a bit of a head scratcher for me, having never made one before, realizing people actually might want to comfortably sit in it.
It turned out to be a challenging project, but well worth the effort.
There are pictures of the skeleton, the skinned seat backs, and the finished product complete with cherry skirting panels made by Shane.
The upholstery, a bronze faux ostrich skin, was beautifully executed under the direction of Lane Stephens of Stephens Upholstering here in Woodfin, NC.
As you might be able to tell, I am proud of the booth outcome.
Oh, last but not least, Slab-Fab-Studio, provided the concrete countertops for the kitchen, island, and wet bar.
Marie, Jim Ojamaa, and I chose to polish the island slabs, expose colored glass aggregates, to subtly differentiate the surface from the perimeter kitchen slabs. We feel that the colored concrete goes richly with the natural cherry wood cabinets and the rustic floor.
There are more details that I could drag you through… but you just have to come and see for yourself.
Call first though….

PS- this remodel would have not been possible without Jim Ojamaa’s hard work, good design sense, guidance, and head scratching partnership…
Thanks Jim!

Two things, regarding housing….

As you might have known from previous blogs, Marie and I are making our big move up to Weaverville.

We spit shined the Asheville house, put it on the open market, and had it under contract in 3 days!

In the current Asheville real estate market, a 3 day turn around is unheard of.
We did price the house to sell.
It was a charming house.
We also had a great realtor, Marie Morris!

We are going to have a blow out moving party/BBQ.
I will keep you posted as to a date.

On another front…
I am participating in the “Doors of Asheville” auction that benefits Mountain Housing Opportunities efforts to provide affordable housing in the Asheville area.
There will be a live auction at the Orange Peel here in Asheville on November 6th.
Lots of creative donations by artists, with “doors” as the focus.
I have collaborated with photographer Lynne Harty to produce a steel, concrete, acrylic, and photos on transparency piece… we call “Our Translucent Solution”.

The piece is 73 1/2 inches tall , and 30 inches wide. Weights in at 180 lbs. (2 detachable 90 lb. pieces). It has 12, 8 x 10 inch transparent photos by Lynne, sandwiched between 24 pieces of non-glare acrylic .

Lynne and I are excited about the outcome of of our collaboration and hopeful that our contribution to the auction will bring Mountain Housing Opportunities some needed funds to keep their good work
going.
If you are interested in seeing all the creativity surrounding the “Doors of Asheville” Auction click this link for ticket information etc.
There will be a live auction, so I will let you know how it all went… right here.

Perhaps the two most moving songs ever…. IMHO

I know, you all will think I’m corny, hopelessly sentimental, whatever…
Call me a softy!
I think this Leonard Cohen song, done by the late Jeff Buckley, and this John Prine song, done by (a very young) Bonnie Raitt, are heart wrenching and tremendously moving… nothing new, just fantastic!
I guess I’m in a mood….

Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah” Youtube Video link

Our home… needs a good owner.

Well, the time has come.
We are going to be moving into our new (to us) home in Weaverville, NC soon.
There are many details that need to be put in place.
So we will need to sell the home we have lived in for 5 years.

We love this house, it’s 1920’s charm, it’s style… so many great memories.
We are in Asheville, NC … one mile north of downtown, on a quiet street.

Those of you that have visited, know what a great place this is.
We have tried to touch every corner of the house and yard, with our loving care.
So we offering the house to friends, before we offer it to the public.
We want to leave our baby in good hands. We have promised our good neighbors that we would!

I have many interior and exterior photos.
If anybody is interested I can answer any questions you might have.
You can email me at billy@kiloton.com

Here’s the blurb…
1850 square feet, 1 1/2 baths, 3 bedrooms plus a bonus room, .17 acre, central air (upstairs),gas fired boiler heat, sunroom, screen porch, full basement, remodeled kitchen and bath, and most importantly (to some)…. a “man shed” attached to the garage!

The house comps out at over $370,000… we are prepared to offer it to friends at $340,000.
The neighborhood is sunny and very friendly.
Our cats are very angry with the idea of having to find new suckers… I mean neighbors, to nuzzle up to. They will have 2 acres to chase bugs on at our new house!

We will even be leaving the new owners a (unsigned) piece of yard sculpture… The Amethyst Falls wisteria entwined arbor by yours truly.

Here’s a guest pass link to a bunch more interior and exterior photos of our house on Flickr.

I will not publish any comments on this particular post, as this is a hush, hush, friends only transaction as yet, and I don’t want the cats to find out before we have a chance to tell them!