November 11, 2008 -- Rib Recipe

Today the temperature was 32 degrees and the wind was calm. Kathleen and I spent the day outside covering the hostas, and other plants, with mulch and leaves. This will keep them somewhat warm during the extremely cold northern Minnesota winter.

I cleaned out the garage at the cabin to create enough empty room so Tom Malay can store his 14-foot aluminum boat in there for the winter.

Earlier in the day I put a rack of baby back pork ribs in the oven so they would be ready for dinner tonight. Kathleen is a vegetarian, so she won't eat any, but the rack will last me a couple of days.

For anyone who's interested, here's my recipe for ribs:

* Start with a package of pork loin back ribs. The ones I buy come pre-wrapped in plastic and vary between 2 1/4 pounds and 3 pounds.

* Rinse the ribs clean in cold water and pat dry. Place ribs bone side up on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce. Rub the sauce so it covers the ribs. Sprinkle 1/4 of the dry rub (ingredients for dry rub below) onto the ribs and push into the ribs with your fingers.

* Flip the rack of ribs over so the meat side is up and do the same -- sprinkle with Worchestershire, and use the remaining 3/4 of the dry rub on the ribs. Be sure to work the dry rub into the meat.

* Place meat-side up in an oven on "bake," temperature of 210 degrees and cook for 6 hours.

* After 6 hours, take 1/4 cup of your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce and brush on the meat-side of the ribs; I do not put sauce on the bone side; at this point it's too hard to flip the rack because it's so tender.

* Place back in the oven, increase temp to 225 and cook for another 2 hours.

* Remove rack of ribs, cut into individual ribs or sections and serve. They are tender, sweet and literally fall off the bone.

* If you put the ribs in the oven by 10 a.m., they are ready to eat at 6 p.m. Serve with you favorite rib side dishes such as corn on the cob, baked beans, garlic bread, salads, or whatever floats your boat.

Dry Rub Recipe

* 1/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 tablespoon of dry, yellow musturd
* 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon of McCormick's "Grill Mates" Barbecue flavor (in the spice aisle of your grocery store)
* 1/4 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoning Salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* a pinch of dry red pepper flakes
* 1 crushed dry Bay leaf

-- Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl and apply directly to ribs. This makes enough dry rub for one rack of ribs. Double or triple recipe for more racks.

Kathleen, despite the cold weather, did her 6-mile run today. She runs from our house to the Otter Tail Peninsula Community Center, south on the dirt part of Sucker Bay Road, right on Otter Tail Point Road, right on 26th and then left on West Shores Road back to our house. After her run Kathleen does yoga and Pilate's. It's no wonder she is in amazing shape.

After our dinner Kathleen and I had another wonderful fire in the fireplace and enjoyed our evening at Leech Lake.

No fishing today.


Ice forming along the shoreline of the harbor.