Saturday, July 2, 2016

Time to shop for July Fourth Barbeque's!

Shopping for the July Fourth weekend is always a lot of fun. It is warm. The ballgame is on the radio. You can sit in the sun. No pressure for a day. More or less.

Of course it is a lot more complicated when you go gluten free and Dairy Free and non-GMO and no corn. In fact it is a pain in the balls. But still doable.

So I have been marinating some skirt steaks in chimichurri sauce. Made fresh gluten free potato salad. Fresh asparagus in garlic and oil with pecorino romano. A big green salad with red onion, black olives, feta cheese and pistachio.  Gluten free hot dogs are pretty easy to find. Applegate products are wonderful. Gluten and pesticide free. Fresh Organic chop meat for burgers. I put in some chopped onion, pecorino and Worcestershire sauce. A gluten free pasta salad with olive oil, cherry tomato and fresh goat cheese.

Lots of fresh made lemonade. Some really good herbal teas. I baked up some cool gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

Oh and a lot of ice.

What are you dudes doing for the 4th. (Please don't tell me about wine, beer, whiskey or cigars because I will punch you in the face. Thank you)

12 comments:

ricpic said...

Took the lazy man's way out -- BBQ Chicken from supermarket. Which goes great with rice and sautéed veggies.

edutcher said...

Gluten and dairy Free and non-GMO and no corn?

Gag.

Might as well eat the box.

Trooper York said...

Not really ed. I make some delicious things that are gluten free. Now many of the products that are gluten free suck balls. But there are a few companies that make some really good stuff with a brown rice base.

Going dairy free was a little tougher. The thing is you have to go cow free. Goat and sheep cheese works great. I found a great goat cheese feta and a tremendous sheep cheese sharp cheddar that is really tasty.

Corn grown with GMO's have some really nasty after effects. Or at least that is the research. Most gluten free products are corn based. Interestingly those are the ones that usually taste bad.

Hey nobody hates eating healthy more than me. But I am going to make the most of it.

edutcher said...

Sounds like you've gone hippie on us. Next thing, you'll be supporting Bernie.

Or do you have something going with oopsy?

IIRC she was a hippie in her yoot.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Tomorrow: We are doing a Tri Tip roast Santa Maria style. Macaroni salad (I put roasted red bell pepper and green peas in it, along with the hard boiled eggs). Corn on the cob. (So fresh right now) lots of butter and salt. Fresh fruit salad (dressing is vanilla yogurt with coconut and chopped walnuts). That should be enough since it is just the two of us.

No cooking today. Tonight is a platter of salami, brie, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, fruit, olives (several kinds), crackers, poached and cooled shrimp, cold asparagus and anything else that looks interesting in the fridge. We just put it on the table and pick.

No fireworks here. To hot. Too dry.

Our Flags for the 4th US and State of Jefferson

edutcher said...

Secession is your right.

rcocean said...

We just had BBQ chicken and fresh corn on the cob with butter. Homemade apple pie for desert with Ice cream.

We had fried rice too - which I skipped.

rcocean said...

This weekend it'll be mostly American and then back to Chinese/Thai normality.

rcocean said...

Why do you need to skip Diary? Non-fat milk/sour cream etc. isn't that unhealthy.

Trooper York said...

The wife is allergic so it is easier to eliminate it. I don't miss it.

chickelit said...

Fourth of July is grill 'n' swill time.

Brats on the grill with mustard and sour kraut. Corn on the cob. I used to grow my own but it's not cost effective (agriculture gets all the cheap water in SoCal). Stone Brewing has a new beer out called Wussie Pilsner, which, for Stone, is pretty good. Most of their malt beverages are too hoppy for my taste. No fireworks this year.

Chip Ahoy said...

I'm thinking of something that is a bit insane. The thing is my higher angel keeps piking me in the neck with his pitchfork. No wait. He keeps strumming in my ear with his harp. See? I can't even understand which impulse it is. Evil or good?

I know a fellow who is quite old. I swear, he scares me, he's the type who styles his life to live forever but so afraid he'll miss something he lives hard. He's the type to have good health and all his teeth and still have hair and then suddenly die just like that. That's what I fear.

So the guy likes to drink beer.

And I asked a few beer drinking friends why don't they try it and they all say too much crap, too much bother, fear of failure, cost, smell, room, etc.

There is a new place downstairs directly below CoBrew, that has all the equipment right there for brewing and they offer lessons right there, all on site so no equipment to buy. They make ale types, you choose your own style and they usher you through the process. The end result is 4 cases of beer to take home and your own label. No muss, no fuss, no bus, no cuss, no duss nor guss, no huss or juss or kuss or nuss pust qust russ or tuss. None of that. No problem at all. JUST DO IT!

That was his motto. His actual motto handwritten on a piece of paper and torn off and stuck in the corner his mirror. Honestly. No dramatic descriptions this time, his actual motto. From Nike I think.

It's sort of douchey when you think about it. Because it implies disregard other people.

So I'm thinking of buying this guy one of these lesson deals. A beer making class. It's expensive. With high potential for falling flat. High potential for not being appreciated. For the gift being a pain in the ass and not a good thing.

But it can be split. It can be transferred. Any deal is possible. It's wide open. It can be expanded to include more people and more volume of beer. You can make your own labels, not use their templates. You can vary all of the elements. You can copy an ale that you like, say, Newcastle. He can re-gift it with no hard feelings. In fact, that's a double win if he does. Triple win because I get untouchable points for not being a dick about it.

And it's rather expensive. But not really when you consider it education. It is real education. And my academic education cost me a fortune and didn't result in anything so useful as making beer. About $200.00, maybe $180.00 not so terribly bad. Now you divide that by 4 cases and go Jesus Christ those are expensive cases of beer, but not so. It is much more than that.

So there you go.

The fake out is not wait for date of the birthday, spring it early, any day now, claim the whole month. Beer making is a process after all, best to start early.

Then I'll be satisfied he made beer at least once and did it successfully to pass around or else hoard at least once before the guy dies. I'm fatalistic that way.