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No reason the unusually cold and gloomy winter weather here should come between good 'cue and us. Hopefully the start of something tasty. Stay tuned for "news at 5"

Jeff I live in Montogimery County! I agree about eating real food. I do understand that I like real food because I enjoy cooking and most people think of it as a chore. I am dismayed by all the ingredients in all the "food" that is available in the grocery store. Why does whipping cream have carregenan in it? Why do we add flour to everything? I am not gluten intolerance but why add flour or wheat to salad dressing? Once you start paying attention to ingredients,you will notice the hidden sugar, wheat and salt that adds no value to the final product beyond making it shelf stable. I worry about young kids who never get to taste real food and learn to love fresh veggies. As a kid, I got to eat a lot of things that I would not have selected myself because they were not chicken nuggets or rice a roni. My parents made sure we had a diverse diet and were constantly trying new things so I have an appreciation for different foods except Brussels Sprouts

Last steps. Make some tortillas: Char the pork (broiler...next time will be on KK when not freezing rain outside). Then assemble with diced white onion, charred salsa verde (homemade), cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Outstanding! I've braised carnitas in the past, and never achieved the depth of flavor that I did with sous vide.

You must here in VA somewhere. Absolutely agree on the Polyface chickens. Top notch. I'm also within 10 lbs of my wedding day weight (25 years ago). People always ask me how I can cook and eat the way I do and don't weigh 300 lbs. Pretty simple -- I eat real food and avoid the processed junk.

I experience this topic almost everyday. I have converted a few people. I shop mainly at the Farmers market and an organic grocery store. For the things I buy, I find the organic grocery store cheaper than the local Giant and Safeway. There is a feta cheese that I buy, at Gaint, Wegman's and Harris Teeter, it was $9 while at the local Organic market it is $4.50. I think the larger stores do this to create a halo around organic food and make people think they are saving money. I also order my Chickens from Joe Salatin because I love the American Bresse. The stock from the chickens is phenomenal. Apart from the farmers market, I also grow a few food items, mainly herbs tomatoes and peppers. I am adding greens like Kale, Collards and Spinach this year. After gardening for my food, I respect what farmers do more and more. It is a hard life and no one gets rich doing it. Talking to the farmers gives you and appreciation for the labor of love that the organic and exotic farmer practice. The price we see for most produce in the grocery store is so artificially low that it distorts the real price of food. I als find that people waste a lot of produce. Buying at the market allows me to get the smallest amount possible, I can easily get one onion, one apple, a handful of arugula, etc so that I am less wasteful with the food. Because I make everything from scratch, my grocery bill is quite reasonable. We also eat a lot less than I see most people eating. The meals I make a more complex because of the interesting vegetables at the farmers market so they tend to me more filling. Right now apples and Asian pears are plentiful and they get used in savory meals and desserts alike. Eating seasonally has also changed my cooking style. I have maintained the same weight over ten years following this approach. I do exercise daily but I know that the way I eat also has an effect on my general well being. Every dinner party I have, people always comment on how wonderful the food tastes. I know I am a great cook:-) but really it is the quality of the ingredients. I am in the hunt this week for a local goat farmer so I can get a whole goat. My previous goat supplier sold his goat herd! Do what is important for your health and your family. Everyone else will have to figure it out for themselves.

There's a perception that farmer's market produce is more expensive than the grocery store stuff imported from Chile. We've found the opposite to be true. And if you sniff around, there are some outright bargains, like a full box of sweet taters for $15. I buy one of those every fall and it lasts me the winter. True there's a lot of ignorance out there. I remember a few years back when my daughter had a friend over after school. I started preparing dinner and her friend was mesmerized. Her Mom showed up and I made small talk telling her how interested her daughter was in my slicing of potatoes. Mom laughingly said that was because she'd never seen a potato. To them, potatoes come from a box. I have similar but lesser struggles at home too. Wife would rather drive halfway across the county to buy produce at Wegman's (which is higher quality than most, and her cart is always mostly produce) than to make time for the farmer's market just down the road on Saturday mornings. I've come to realize that my overall attitude and approach to food is pretty far outside the norm.

Your worker friend is just the type of customer the industrial food giants love! We eat high quality meat when we eat meat which is irregular/infrequent (prefer wild game). Quality produce, especially this time of year, is more expensive per serving and calorie than small farm meat. When ALL the factors are considered I would argue its less expensive to eat well than to eat cheap. When I started out in sales along time ago a peer of mine told me: "you can train for just about any sales scenario; however there just isn't a technique to overcome ignorance". Right he was. Unfortunately there are more folks that will step over a dollar to pick up a dime ... all things groceries and health included. People don't consider the ramifications of their food choices, for their own well being and those of the farmers and ranchers that produce our food... most never consider the plight of of the field (and slaughterhouse) workers exposed to toxic pesticides, herbicides, etc. Stay the course Garvinque as it will pay dividends in taste, your short and long term health and animal & farmer welfare.

The sad reality is that high quality ingredients and fresh food is way more expensive than processed and/or mass produced food. Much cheaper to feed kids Little Debbie snacks than to give them fresh fruits for snacks. I have slowly ben turning towards the higher better cuts of meat. Chicken, pork, beef etc..... Definitely costs more but tastes better. Haven't found a really great farmers market but if you shop carefully in the better grocery stores you can find the good stuff but you can't shop by price.

Herb and Citrus Chicken I wanted to cook tonight for my family and I wanted something different.. I had Chicken. I want flavor.. So I found this recipe and it sounded so good. Had to try it. I got my grill temp up to 375* Ingredients for Chicken Mix all ingredients in dish. Place Citrus slices under and around. Cook for a hour. Chicken goes on the grill Citrus Chicken is done Ingredients for Skillet Apples and Biscuits *I used can biscuits , but you can use homemade. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Mix vanilla in Apples.set aside. Melt a stick of butter. Dip biscuits in butter and sprinkle cinnamon mix onto biscuits and place in greased skillet. Pour the rest of the butter over biscuits and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon mix over the top. Cook at 375* for 1 hour. Dinner is ready Thanks for looking

Just discovered a "Memories" feature in the iOS Photos app which makes a video out of selected photos. This is what it produced with minimal interaction on my part. I've been giving my KK a workout.

Now that's a big clue.

Another in house bake today. Made a loaf using a recipe from HalfSmoke's, Field Blend bread for a neighbour. Decided to try out an old pan for a loaf of sourdough to see how it would work. The taste test.

Not coming between me, it's about 70* outside at the moment. Going to fire up the Yakatori grill within the hour. (sorry couldn't stop myself - LOL)

dstr, is teasing us big time.

Cs I was thinking Osiris as well. Fitting for journey this KK has gone thru.

Scar (both for the gouges in the concrete and the tile cut on your finger) Phoenix Anubis - Egyptian god of the afterlife Orisis - Egyptian god of resurrection and regeneration

I have a small container garden that I started three years ago, and am getting better with the produce I get now. I also compost most everything that can be compost, all junk mail is put in the compost bin the ink we use nowadays is veggie oil with food coloring so not harmful, egg shells ,coffee, tea bags, etc. My actual trash is so small it goes to the curb every two weeks instead of every week. Our city has an great recycling program and they sell for cheap compost soil to help promote healthy lawns that don't require a lot of rain to survive the summer. My goal this year is to grow 60% of my produce and get about 7 backyard chickens for eggs and to add their waste to my compost bid. Goal make my foot print smaller!!!!!!! Garvin

Hammered sounds good lol

Such a great video! Please watch the whole video and Memphis SMH! Garvin

Great effort my Nan got her letter from the Queen then passed shortly after I think she had enough I Remember here saying to me near the end empathy is all you need Outback Kamado Bar and Grill

That's a really nice looking meal like the solid how the meat taste?

I always buy fresh from the butchers can't go wrong you pay a bit more but you get great quality it is sad though like ckreef pointed out its cheaper to feed your kids crap than healthy stuff .boggles my mind Outback Kamado Bar and Grill

You should give her one of Joel Salatin's books or Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma". We pay for cheap food every paycheck in the taxes deducted, every month when we pay the premium for our health insurance. If you think your employer "gives" you your health insurance you're kidding yourself.

I started some pizza dough yesterday and thought I might fire up Little Pebbles but is is just sooooo cold out there and dark, I put in the oven instead. Dressed and ready to cook. I have read many years ago to put the cheese on first so the dough doesn't get soggy and read it again just recently. I don't think I like this idea and the next pizza will have the cheese on top and I'll see what I think then. Baked for 8 mins. at 450F.

In principle, yes. I wouldn't, but yes. Two reasons I wouldn't: 1) While the KK isn't nearly as degraded by ash buildup as other Kamados (see the ckreef experiment where he didn't empty the ash for something like 25 cooks), it will produce much more ash than lump just the same. 2) Lump is reusable across multiple cooks. Briquettes break down. Given how little charcoal my KK consumes, I definitely want to reuse the leftover charcoal. Would be very expensive not to.

Looks wonderful, sk. Lots of great colour and flavour.

+1 Garvin

Looking delicious Mrs.C

Good to see Gillie got a spot in the video. Sam Kekovich was a bit quiet this year mate??!!

Based on how Dennis constructed this and with how the grates can be manipulated you can cook very small, small, medium, large, extra large etc. You could have just this one KK and cook for yourself or multiple people. Congrats! Garvin P.S. Based on my above comment you don't need your 23 KK anymore so box it up and I will pay for shipping to my house

Aussie, I had to straighten my Smoke probe a little to get in the hole.

Aussie - Parents are used to it by now. I love to have my projects ans my dad enjoys helping when he can as well. I am the baby of 3 and still in my 20's so momma is fine with it. Tucker - You are close. I live in Bartram Park right next to Julington Creek. I already stained the tables with a dark red mahogany. Personally I like the look of darker wood more. Just waiting on tiles, black fabric layer, and grout from Dennis now. He is getting me quote based on how many tiles I need which is around 400-500 on safe side. I counted and the bottom alone is 174.

And we're off! These pics feel so lame after seeing that 42.

Crescent dough is similar to croissant dough, but not as layered. It's a bit more dense. I think 'Crescent' is one of those brand names that became synonymous with a product. Like, we call all facial tissues "Kleenex" or all bandages "Band Aids"

I'm not much of a cook but it seems to me if you buy a cake and put some cheese on it you'll have a cheesecake. In fact better yet get a cake that is unfrosted in the buy some of that cheese thats in the spray can,

If I am lucky I will live as long as my grandparents both are 103 and in the past year are just starting to slow down. Both have good memories

Yeah, I will be turning 49 with a new toy that feeds me!

I think I was married to that lady once........................

Here you go: Biscuit recipe

If that was a "wife" that did it, I wouldn't mess with her. If she bent that latch, I'd say "OK, you can buy those shoes. Jesus!"

I didn't know where to post this soo.. My neighbour called guess they were making a recipe and needed a can of beans and since we live outside town it's much easier to borrow from your neighbours. I gave them the beans and received some locally made truffle chocolates, guess who won on that trade.... Some were filled with maple cream, which I love and this one was filled with maple cream and maybe cranberry, I could not really tell but it tasted delicious and looked beautiful.

@halfsmoke that looks delicious. The steak is done perfectly and I love grilled onions. That looks like a nifty tray you have on your grate for grilling the onions. Do you have some details on it so that I might find one for myself?