Watering, Cooking and Miscellaneous Stuff

I am on my last day of vacation. It has been wonderful to be at home with my husband, our little dog and the kitties.

Yesterday I had to water the gardens. From the looks of the weather forecast, I’ll be doing more of that in the next week or two. The debate now is how much recycled water to carry in buckets and how much fresh water to use (running the meter at full blast while I do)

I learned during our last drought that I could remove the washing machine hose from the drain and use rinse water to water my gardens without any ill effects. I also would close the drain in the tub and use recycled shower water to water the plants. As long as you pour the gray water on the ground and not on the foliage it works just fine.

But I am a few years older now and the prospect of carrying those heavy buckets of water is not very appealing.

Other than worrying about watering plants I’ve had some fun in the kitchen.

My sweet husband bought me a pressure cooker. I am in my late 50’s and have never had a pressure cooker before. My mom used one all the time and I loved the food she prepared with it. I’ve just always been a little afraid of them.

Saturday I cooked my first whole chicken in my new pressure cooker and was amazed at how easy it was. (Yes, even for a fumble-fingered, easily distracted person like me).

It didn’t take but 20 minutes and the chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender.

I could start liking this, especially when I want to cook something before heading off to work. Yes, this could be a good thing!

Yesterday, I tried a new recipe for cooking ribs on the grill. There is more oven time than grill time with this recipe, but that works well for me too.

Cook ribs (I used boneless beef ribs) in a covered pan with 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup liquid smoke at 350 degrees for 3 hours. Remove and place on grill at medium heat, coat with your favorite barbecue sauce. Cook for a few minutes, turn over and coat this side with sauce. Cook a very few more minutes, remove from grill and enjoy. Don’t leave on the grill too long. They are already done, and too long will dry them out. These ribs are melt in your mouth tender.

Between the chicken and ribs, there is plenty of good food at the cottage right now.

Today is my last day of vacation. I am thinking about doing the necessary chores and then settling down with a good book or two. I have so many I have started reading and left unfinished due to work and chores It would be a good day to catch up.

Yep, that sounds like a plan.

Be Blessed!!