Cold Smoked Mixed Nuts

This method uses a smoke generator and no other heat source with the intent to create a lightly smoked flavor to the mixed nuts without the need of salt. I then store them when finished in a vacuum canister where they stay fresh and ready for snacking. The mat is supplied by Amazing Smoker Products as is the smoke generator. http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12

Simple and foolproof products to use. The mat is fiberglass with a Teflon coating so there is a no stick benefit and easy clean up. The smoke generator will work with pellets or saw dust (food grade) for almost 12 hours and you choose the flavor you want..

mixednuts2

want.

Ribs on the smoker my way!

My first ribs on the Traeger pellet smoker/grill. I used the 3 – 2 – 1 – method of three hours of smoke, two hours while wrapped in foil with new sauce applied and then one hour unwrapped with new sauce applied to set the sauce and finish the cooking.

Here are the pork ribs after an overnight soak with our home rub ready to start the three hour smoke.

ribsready

 

The ribs after the first hour of smoking.

onehourin

 

The ribs after the three hours of smoke ready for more sauce and a two hour cook in foil.

threehoursin

 

The ribs wrapped and ready to be opened up and cooked for one more hour without the foil and with a new coating of sauce applied (this cook sets the sauce).

wraped2hours

And after the last hour of cooking, the ribs are ready to be brought in and served for dinner. They were fall off the bone tender and very tasty!

ribsdone6hours

Chili Verde with Pork on the Traeger

So we went all out with this first time meal (we have had burritos from the chili Verde also now) all cooked on the pellet grill/smoker. The pork had a nice smoke ring and flavor that imparted to the Chili Verde and the peppers were easy to peel after their time on the grill. I used our old turkey roaster pan to simmer all of the ingredients for a few hours and it was worth it. Great with rice and beans, in a burrito and soon we will make enchiladas with the meat and sauce. Enjoy!

The pieces of pork smoking and cooking.porkfor-chiliverde

 

The Tomatillos ready to cook for easy skin removal.

tomatillos

 

An assortment of green chilies for flavor and heat ready to be cooked to remove skins.

greenchilies

All ingredients in the pot to simmer for three hours!

Chili Verde in the pot

 

And the finished product ready for the plate or some burritos or chili Verde enchiladas.

Finished Pork Chili Verde

For those Alaskan King Crab Lovers

So we decided to do some King Crab legs on the new smoker/grill to compare them with previous batches using the propane grill. I found many ideas on the web on how to heat them up so se dove in and cooked up a bunch I had bought from Costco. Below are the crab legs on the smoker and next is the bowl of empty shells (about half of what we cooked) which gave us leftovers. Our preference is to use the pellet grill now for our King Crab Legs!! enjoy!

 

The beginning of a great meal!

king crab cooking

 

The empty shells from a great meal!

king crab shells

Old Log School House

So I was up in the Ohop Valley and stumbled across this old school house with other old buildings surrounding it (including a real outhouse). When I got home and I reviewed the pictures I took using my new Nikon camera for the first time and I was not impressed with the image quality so I made a decision to hand paint the logs and actually the entire image. I find this one interesting as it might be the way the building may have looked when new? Many thanks to Paint Shop and the various tools available in the program that made this possible. Here you see the result of my effort to salvage another image!

Old School House

Frozen Water Fall

So many using White pass never see this waterfall even if they use the rest stop and facilities right above the waterfall. This is one you have to stop and get out and walk to the edge to see and photograph it as it is almost half a mile away from where I shot this image. I shot this with Russ on one of our trips to the Natches elk feeding station. Yes the water is solid ice but there is a small amount from the lake above still escaping over the edge.

Frozen Water Fall

Frozen Water Fall

Abstract Image Of Oregon Grape

This is an abstract image created from plants flowers and our retaining wall taken some time ago. The Oregon Grape plant grows against the retaining wall and I aged it to give it a adobe look. The four Cactus flowers used in each corner are only slightly larger than my thumbnail.

This image was made using many different types of layers but I like the outcome.

 

Flower, Oregon Grape against retainer wall