Best Jerky Ever!

The original title of this blog was "Lets Have a Jerk-Off!" but thought maybe it would be misinterpreted!

Anyway.

Food when you are camping often takes on two themes.  There are the old faves, like smokies over the fire, the night everyone has steak, and eating those darned "Spits" til your lips and tongue hurt.  Then there's always the new stuff that people want to try and share with everyone.  This year, my brother-in-law made the mother-load in beef jerky, and shared it with all of us (much to our delight!).   Not only did he make beef jerky, but he made SIX different kinds!

Six kinds of Jerky!  Original, Hickory, Mesquite, Cajun,
Pepper, and my personal favourite...INFERNO!

I asked my brother in law for some of the specifics about his food dehydrator, the spices he used, and other pertinent info.....here's what he wrote...

It is a Nesco FD80 that can be expanded up to eight trays.  The main thing about picking out a dehydrator is that the motor is on top, then it doesn’t get messy at the bottom.  And I like the square one as well, you can add a lot more onto them.

For the jerky mix, I had made my own, but it’s much easier and more tasty if you buy the packs.  I have bought from Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop and they are both good.  I tend to use the Cabela’s a little more, just because you prepare it without water, therefor it takes less time to dehydrate, but they are both good. 

Here are some of the links he sent for the spice mixes:

http://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID=71&&section=1189&section2=1305&ID=3300

http://www.basspro.com/Backwoods-Jerky-Variety-Seasoning-Pack/product/36725/116559


And for the dehydrator itself...

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Product+Detail/Homeware.htm?BreadCrumbs=Homeware;Homeware;Appliances;Food%20Savers%20and%20Dehydrators&ProductID=3256484&ProductTab=3


Thanks for sharing the jerky, bro!!!!  I know what my next appliance is gonna be!!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy Birthday Sherene!

Last week was my 43 birthday, and for those who know me, you know I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY!  I think that most July people would agree that they too love love LOVE their birthdays, especially if have been blessed with being both July AND Leo!  Thank you to my family (who live quite far from me) for all the birthday wishes that were emailed, phoned, facebooked, texted, etc...  LOVE IT!   My aunt sent me my birthday horoscope, which I also loved:  Your birthday resolutions will have more power than usual this year, so think hard about what it is you most wish to accomplish then promise yourself that you will make it happen. Do something special every single day.

To celebrate my birthday week, we went camping last week with the kids, and 2 other families as well (both from my hubby's side of the fam).  We camped at Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, which is absolutely one of the most beautiful and clean and well kept campgrounds I have ever been to.  It's just outside of Fernie, BC, and the weather could not have been more spectacular.  It really was a great birthday week!  We had great food, happy hour drinks and happy hour appies, time to relax and visit, spent time reading (for me that was the second instalment of Fifty Shades), swam, visited friends of ours who have a place on Lake Kookanusa, spent a day on their boat (thanks!!), hiked around Surveyors Lake and ate the BEST home-made beef jerky ever, thanks to my fave brother in-law :-)

A beautiful, healthy and delicious
breakfast featuring my new fave
Oikos Yogurt!  Tres Yummy!

For my actual birthday (July 24th), I had an amazing continental breakfast presented to me (thanks to my "cousin-in-law"...who was also intertwined in Fifty Shades!) and got to relax in my gravity chair drinking my coffee and eating my delicious breakie (while my daughter gave me a foot massage!).

Breakfast AND a foot massage!

Cheers sis!! (wish my eyes were open!!)

My fave sister-in-law (also furiously reading Fifty Shades) gave me a beautiful scarf from Switzerland, which I LOVE, and Swiss chocolate!  Yum!!!







My son gave me a Pandora charm (my fave animal....a giraffe) and my daughter gave me some beautiful earrings along with some home-made gifts that included some Spa-coupons (her room for a massage), a home-made jewellery box, and other treasures that she created for me.  Hubby's gift....of course....it was Neil Diamond himself, singing in concert (awesome!).

Happy Birthday To Me!  What a great day
and a terrific family pic!

6 different kinds of jerky,
all meticulously labelled
and incredibly delicious!

My brother-in-law gave me the assortment of beef jerky that he made and it was really the best beef jerky ever (worthy of its own posting once I get all his ingredients and the brand of his food deyhydrator!).  Dinner that night was of course appies:  ribs, wings, and dessert was a delicious chocolate cake (made by my husband) but it was the black-bean cake recipe, which I know does not sound that good but truly, it was DELICIOUS!  It had a full can of black beans, no flour, and was so moist and fantastic and by the way...freezes beautifully!!!    The recipe and link for that is posted below!





I will be posting some of the foodie pics, and other camping pics, but for now, really just wanted to say thank you to everyone who made my day so special and memorable, and also need to say thank you to E. L. James (author of...you guessed it the "Fifty Shades" series), who provided some great entertainment during the camping trip!

Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information per serving:  Calories:  126   Total Fat:  5.3 grams  

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-brownies/

The Big Stink!

Ok, so before you think I am going all "granola" on you, just know that I am not.

But, here's the scoop.  I have noticed that since I have "aged" a bit, certain deodorants do not work for me as well as I would like.  I don't stink, but if I can smell me, then I don't like it.  I have tried everything from no deodorant (ick) to combo deodorant / antiperspirant to just the antiperspirant.  I have switched brands, tried to see if lasering the hair under the pits would help....everything.   And again, I don't stink, I am not a "smelly" person, but I have noticed (on me) that with age, comes a more "ripe" odour that I don't like.   It's okay for cheese to age and ripen, but really, that's not what I want for me!!!

This is not a topic that people usually have with each other, but a girlfriend at work and I have discussed it because we both have had our own issues with this problem.   She recently sent me something she found on-line about making your own deodorant.  Again, I am not going all granola, but hey, at this point, I will try anything!   So, I tried it.  It was simple to make with pure ingredients.  This week, I was even able to put the home-made anti-stink concoction to the ultimate test as we were camping.  The result?  This stuff really WORKS and it is just amazing!

Some good quality coconut oil

Aluminium free baking soda (left)
and the arrowroot powder

Some essential oils

Here is the recipe and the ingredients I used.    All of these ingredients are available at your local organic market (Planet Organic for me!).

1/3 cup of coconut oil (solid state)
1/4 cup aluminium free baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
essential oils (optional, but a nice touch)

Mix the baking soda and arrowroot powder in a glass bowl.  Add coconut oil (solid state...do not melt) and mix with a pastry cutter or fork to thoroughly blend with the dry ingredients.  Add 5 - 10 drops of your favourite essential oil.  For my recipe, I added vanilla (thought I would just do something nice but not to overpowering).  It was also recommended to add 1 - 2 drops of tea tree oil for the anti-bacterial aspect of it.  I don't like the smell of tea tree oil, but with the vanilla, it was fine, and the tea tree oil smell has since disappeared.   Add more coconut oil or arrowroot powder / baking soda if needed until consistency is similar to a commercial solid stick style deodorant.  Note that I did not have to add any more.  Scoop mixture into a small jar or container and store at room temperature.  In summer months, you may have to store it in your fridge because coconut oil will melt at 76 degrees.

To apply, use your fingers to scoop out a small pea size amount and massage it into your armpits daily or as needed.  Allow a minute or two for the deodorant to set before getting dressed.

Remember..this is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant.  It won't stop you from sweating, but hey, you won't stink!


**another tip that I have not tried?  It was suggested to me to save your old deodorant and just scoop in your new home made one and just "roll" it on as you would usually do.  Have not tried this yet, but will do it next time for sure!

Camping 101

Our cute little A-Frame Trailer

I never thought I would like camping as much as I do.  My husbands family camps quite a bit, and years ago, before we had any gear, or anything, we decided to join them on a family camping trip.  We bought a 12 man tent with two rooms (yes, I may love camping, but I am a bit high maintenance).  We planned our meals, froze our food, bought our booze, and off we went.  What a fantastic experience!  We loved it so much, that 1 week later, we were proud owners of new (used) tent trailer!  We used the trailer for a few years, and last year recently upgraded to a Chalet-style A frame trailer, complete with bunk beds for the kids, a double bed for us, and it fits in our garage for storage.

One bunk on the bottom...

One bunk on the top!

I am by no means an expert camper, but have picked up a few things that I like to do to prepare for any camping trip.  Of course it all stems around food, booze, snacks, appies, wine, happy hour....and this weekend was no exception.  We went out for our first camping trip of the season with some friends and had a great time. 16 of us in total, counting the kids.  All things considered, our weather for the most part cooperated.  Of course on Saturday night, it POURED rain, but...thanks everyone being proactive in building us a wind and rain shelter over the fire pit, we sat around the campfire as it rained around us and it was fabulous!  Here are a few things that we did to prepare for the weekend....

• Plan all the meals and snacks, and don't forget to take some nice cheese and crackers!
• Pre-fry all the bacon and freeze it (works great, and you just reheat on the bbq in foil or on your handy Coleman stove)
• Pre-fry sausage and freeze it
• Bring some good pancake mix and make them fresh while you are camping.  Then....here's something new I learned this past weekend, since I forgot syrup....Pancakes + Nutella = Bliss......
• Pre-wash all veggies and put in ziploc bags or container
• If you  are planning to have ribs out at the camp site, pre cook them at home and then just toss them on the bbq!  easy, quick, and so very delicious
• One of our friends brought "Heluva good dip" (see link below). It was so yummy, and this dip has now been added to my permanent camping list
• Really, whatever you can do at home to lessen the work while camping....do it

Hard to see, but this is our
amazing shelter!  Awesome!

Cheers!  Definitely a great time had by all!

Even though it is a lot of work, it is so worth it in the end to get away from everything, and to just take a minute, and take a sip......and relax.  Thanks everyone for a great time!   

http://www.heluvagood.com/