It is going to be sunny day here in Tramp's Camp. I can already feel the warmth from Old Sol, even though it is only 6 degrees now at 10:00 AM. It will be a good day to get out and do a little last minute shopping. There are a few special people that we have saved until last - like the nice lady that delivers our newspaper and a special friend that Tramp 1 has known all his life. This guy has fallen on hard times the past few years due to the company he worked at for some 25+ years shutting down. But he always sends us a gift - and it is a gift from the heart. He knows that we are into elk and have been since long before the "lodge" look became cool. So during the year, he hits the garage and estate sales to look for things with elk on them. He always sends us a package with the most unique things and it is our favorite gift each year.
We are doing something a little different ourselves in the giving department this year. With the bitter cold weather and snow we are having, it is hard to walk the dog and he needs his walk. I thought about the nice couple that run the kennel where we leave old Angus if we can't take him with us sometimes. They will certainly have a very full kennel over the holiday and the two of them will be caring for upwards of 80 dogs. That has to be exhausting even when the weather is good but with the cold spell and snow it would really be tough. I decided rather than take them sweets - something they will probably get plenty of - I am making them some easy to reheat meals so that they don't have to cook at the end of a long cold day. So this morning I was up early and put a rack of ribs on to bake. I hoped to BBQ them outside but it was so cold.... Anyway, I rubbed them up with our homemade rub and baked them for about two hours at 225 degrees and 15 minutes at the end on pure convection bake. Then I put them on two layers of heavy duty foil, sauced them and wrapped them up tight and put them back in the oven for an hour at 180 degrees. I only need to put them in the garage to cool them down - don't need a refrigerator with this weather! I am going to make a couple of sides to go with the ribs. And I just stirred up a big batch of 6 week bran muffins with bananas and mincemeat. If time allows, I am going to pull together some clam chowder and coleslaw, too. I will send it all off with Tramp 1 tomorrow when he heads to town to work to be delivered and he can be the Christmas elf!
Yesterday when I headed to town, I passed through the farm fields where the cattle are wintering. They were all coated white with snow in the blowing wind. I felt so bad for them - they were just hunkered down in bunches looking forlorn. I am so thankful that they will be able to enjoy the warmth of the sun on their backs, if only for a day. More snow is coming again tomorrow....
1 comment:
Great idea to take food! I've been using the front porch the past couple days as my 2nd fridge--I cooled my chex mix there before bagging it, and last night I cooled off some soup before putting it in the fridge. I miss being able to do that all winter like we did in the North--here it only works sometimes. We're warming up today--40 degrees already at 6 am!
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