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Summer time is here and that means pool, grilling, and playing outside- and popsicles for breakfast, according to Charlotte. We have had a great weekend here, complete with swimming at the pool and playing in the creek by our house. After comparing the two, I'm definitely more comfortable with her playing in the creek. In the pool, there was a thin layer of pollen covering the whole thing as well as band aids and dead insects. You know what I saw in the creek? Rocks, plants, and the occasional fish. A friend showed me a great little area along the water where we can set up chairs and let the kids play in the shallow water and rocks. If you don't let your kids play in creeks and rivers, well you should.
Growing up, we rarely ever went into "nature". We played outside at home all the time, but my parents had little to no interest in going camping or hiking. We went camping in the mountains once in our tent trailer, but we only stayed until about 9 pm that same day because someone thought they heard a bear when it was time to go to bed. I think that tent trailer got most of it's use at the Lagoon campground, which was also amazing and I really can't complain. And to be fair, the thought of wrangling four very independent kids and trying to keep them safe in an unknown area doesn't sound like a super relaxing weekend. My mom also says the people in my family live so long because of our heightened fear centers and all around paranoia. But now that I'm the mom, being outside is pretty much all I want to do, which helps because it's pretty much all Charlotte wants to do as well.
You want to know what else let's you be outside even longer? Grilling! One of our favorite things about summer is barbecue. We use the grill pretty much all year, but it just makes sense in the summer. Ben got a pellet smoker grill a few months back and it's been MY favorite hobby EVER (of his). Adding smoke to food is one of the best ideas that human kind ever came up with. Ben is so much more researched on this topic than I am, but I'm learning a lot as he teaches me. Today he made smoked ribs! Seriously so good and the rub was the best I've ever had. Amazing!
This is the link to the recipe Ben started with. He did make a few adjustments, which have been added to the recipe below.
Smoked Rubbed Ribs
Ingredients for rub:
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 Tbs black pepper
2 Tbs ground ginger
2 Tbs onion powder
2 tsp rosemary
2Tbs Chili powder
Directions
-Mix the rub ingredients together
-Rinse ribs with water and pat dry
-Then rub mustard, just enough to make a thin coat (it will help the rub stick)
-Rub the powdered ingredients on the ribs and let rest in the fridge overnight
-Heat grill to 225 and cook low and slow til tender, about 5 hours.
-Spray ribs with Apple Juice every 45 minutes or so of cooking
-Baste with your favorite BBQ sauce last hour of cooking
*We did not wrap ours, but if you'd like more tender ribs you can wrap in tinfoil for the last 2 hours of cooking to seal in extra moisture.
Enjoy and please let me know if you make this! Thanks for reading