Enjoying My Summer Weekends

 Just Enjoying My Summer Weekends

I cook outside all year round, but probably a little bit more in the summertime.

I haven't blogged for a while,

so I thought I would just take you through a photo journey 

of some of my favorite summertime joys.

Pizza ready for the grill.

  How's that for Pizza?

Growing my own peppers.

Family backyard campers.

And of course rigging up Gypsy Rose for a sail around the lake.

She's a pretty small boat but lots of fun to sail.

Not much wind on this day 
but so quiet and relaxing, without the sound of a motor and no exhaust fumes to breathe.

So, until next time . . .
 Here's wishing you all smooth sailing.

Stay Happy,
Steve

Welcome To My Kitchen

Everybody's got a favorite spot,
and  this one is mine.
Come on in and let me show you around.

If you watch HGTV you might think 
you can't afford to do this, 
but with a simple plan and rough lumber 
it doesn't have to cost an arm & a leg.  
We love our backyard space.

Here is our outdoor dining area.  
We went for a sort of  a Tex Mex theme for the 
dining room and kitchen. 
Note the chalk board menu.

 Here is the bar and saloon doors we built that separate the kitchen and dining area.

 The wooden box is actually an ice chest.

 Now let's check out the kitchen.

 Here are my two pellet grills.

 The cold water sink.

 Here is the Big Green Egg charcoal grill.

 Double propane burners.  
Some HOT..HOT chilli has been cooked on these as well as wok cooking etc.

 I told you it was Tex Mex.  Cool huh?

I wish you could sit down and stay a while.
I'd fire up a grill and start cookin!

Thanks for checking out my blog. 
 
I would love to hear your comments
 and if you're in the neighborhood stop by for some good food.

Steve (and Connie) 

Dollar Saving Ideas

How do you like my utensil rack.
An old garden rake makes a great place 
to hang your equipment or pot holders.  

I built these lamp holders out of scrap fencing 
and inserted those little solar garden stakes. 
 They don't give a lot of light, 
but they do light your pathway 
and provide a nice ambiance. 

Just another view of our solar lights. 

My crafty wife surprised me 
with this menu board. 
She used chalkboard paint 
and built it from scrap fencing 
and a scrap of plywood. 
We enjoy using it when we throw a dinner party. 

We have a family motto,
"Never throw out scrap lumber",
You would be surprised at all the things 
we have built with wood from our scrap bin. 

Have a wonderful day!
Keep improving your home and making it you,
and please leave a comment.

Steve

Home made Pizza Pie

 
Back in the 1950's when 
Pizza hit America by storm 
everyone called it Pizza Pie.

Simple basic ingredients, here's my recipe:


1 and 1/2  CUP WARM WATER (105 to 115 degrees)
1  TABLESPOON YEAST
3  TABLESPOONS  OLIVE OIL
1  TABLESPOON SALT
1 TABLESPOON HONEY
4 CUPS OF ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

Cover and let rise in a warm place.
If your house is on the cool side, 
turn the oven on for a few minutes, 
then turn it back off, and  set your bowl in. 
let rise for 1  1/2  hours or so.

The dough will at least double in size.

I love punching it down after it rises.
 Doesn't that look good?
It smells good too!

 

Now it's time to have fun!

Putting corn meal on the wooden peel keeps the dough from sticking.

I would love to be able to toss the dough but it would take a lot of practice and I don't make pizza often enough.

Marinara sauce.
Mozzarella and turkey pepperoni, sweet basil leaves right out of our garden. 
We will add cheddar cheese,black olives and mushrooms.

We have a pizza stone on the Grilla pellet grill.
We are at 550 degrees.

Wow does that ever look and smell good.

YUM!!!!

For the second pie we have garlicky hamburger, mozzarella, basil, black olives and mushrooms.

Such beauty!

In it goes for 10 -12 minutes.

Double YUM!!

Grab a plate and let's eat! 
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Please leave a comment.
(I hope this made you hungry)

Big Green Egg Table

Speaking of woodworking and good eats, my Big Green Egg is one of the best grill/smokers available.  Many BBQ competition winners
 have won using this incredible ceramic machine. 

Visit their website here, and really,  you should buy one of these.
They are an amazing cooking machine.


 http://www.biggreenegg.com/

 They sell tables for the Egg, but I love woodworking so I wanted to build my own.
I built the basic frame out of treated lumber and then had my sweet Connie help me lift it over the Egg before finishing construction. 

Everything is on castors so it's a piece of cake to roll it around
 wherever you want to put it.

 
Here is the table top after I used my router to cut the hole in it and then split it in half so it would fit over the Egg's hinge hardware.
The top is very simple to build.  Just 1/2 inch plywood with a border of 1X2 pine glued and nailed on.

 
Here is the other half.
If you would like to see what Connie did with the round piece that I cut out see her blog here.
http://crafty-home-cottage.blogspot.com/

 I stained it with Minwax Puritan Pine #218. 
After that I hammered it with 6 coats of tung oil.

 
I have had these horseshoes for quite awhile now and have been wondering about how to incorporate them into my Cowboy/Mexican Restaurant themed outdoor kitchen. 

I think they look absolutely great on my Big Green Egg table.

Like I have said before, our motto around here is "We aint buildin no piano".
But I think you'll have to admit that this table looks pretty dang good

 Looks to me like a good combination of 
"Woodworkin and good eats"
Don't you think?
Come by again soon to see what I cook on the Big Green Egg!
I love it when you visit and then I get to visit your blogs.