Beauty

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where others see nothing. ~Camille Pissarro

Our state is gorgeous. Get outside, enjoy summer, and take advantage of everything Maine has to offer.

These pictures were taken by my talented other half on Scopan Lake.

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

I need to start off by thanking whoever the Warden or Warden wife was who planted the rhubarb at this house. I have no idea who did it or when but I can't help but wonder how many families/residents of the house have put it to use. It's a beautiful little patch that we have gotten SO much use out of the last month. Jackson randomly comes inside with a stalk or two and asks me to make muffins. Pancakes, crepes, salads, cakes, and sauces have been flavored with the tasty perennial.

This morning it was 82 degrees before 8:30, and for that reason we have been cooking outside as much as possible. I've never made homemade BBQ sauce before so when I stumbled on this recipe for RHUBARB BBQ sauce I couldn't pass it up.

I love any food that is cooked in one pan and then pureed. It doesn't get any easier than that. Note on the recipe I omitted the strawberry jam because I wanted to use as much rhubarb as possible.

 

Nothing better than fall of the bone BBQ ribs with that little bit of crispy char. Put extra napkins on the table...things get messy real quick!

 

Recipe credit to JellyBones http://jellybones.yummly.com/2014/06/rhubarb-barbecue-sauce.html

Ingredients:
3 cups rhubarb, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp strawberry jam
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard

Make:
Throw everything in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is very soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend until smooth.

I prepared the ribs exactly like the recipe from http://www.handmadeintheheartland.com/2014/05/fall-off-bone-bbq-ribs-with-kc.html#more and added the rhubarb barbecue instead of the KC Masterpiece.

North Woods Garden Pests

Between the cat crapping in it, the chickens taking dust baths and snack breaks in it, and the soil being less than ideal, I thought for sure my first garden was doomed. I begged my husband to put some kind of fence around it to keep the animals out. After he did, it seemed to have solved the problem. Then a few days after I left the woods, this picture was sent to my phone.

Apparently the 2 foot tall wire fence didn't deter the moose from pissing in my garden. I don't think it hurt anything because there's lots of green popping up. My only problem? When I planted the garden I stuck popsicle sticks at the end of each row, marking what was planted where. The chickens, children, dogs, or cat threw the sticks every which way. I know where the beets and basil and lettuce are for sure...everything else? I guess we'll have to figure it out as we go along.

To my green thumb friends...other than building a much larger fence and a scarecrow, are there any secrets to keeping the moose out? Does the soap trick work?

Wish me luck. I think I need it!