The BBQ
This Saturday I invited a few friends over to my place for a BBQ and general camaraderie. Unfortunately, the weather just didn't want to cooperate. A week ago they predicted that Saturday would be a lovely day, but as the day drew nearer, it was obvious that it was going to be rainy and windy. The rain subsided around 3pm, and it started to warm up to a balmy 55. I decided to fire up the portable fire pit that I bought for this occasion for this eventuality (basically a giant copper bowl and mesh top). That would have made things reasonable for a Minnesotan for dining alfresco, but then the wind kicked up. And when it gets windy here in the Midwest, it gets windy. We're talking 20-30mph winds, far beyond the limit of keeping paper plates on a table without extraordinary effort, so we ate inside.
The wind and the weather meant that we didn't get a chance to play any disc golf or Boche Ball, though we did break out the discs and balls and the two-year olds were suitably entertained for a brief period of time.
The food, however, was very good, and the preparation was excellent, thanks to Dave. One of the diners had requested organic, free-range, meat, and the task was suitably interesting that I decided to try to buy as much organic food as I could. Partly this was a challenge to see how much organic food I could buy, and partly there was curiosity to see if it was any better than "normal" food. There was no question it was more expensive.
I have to say that the fruit (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) was no better, and possibly a little worse (harder and less tasty) though I didn't have a side by side taste test. The tomatoes looked far worse than their non-organic counterparts (smaller, oddly shaped, not fully ripe), but hey, I wasn't eating them. The meat was great, no complaints there, but it was also Black Angus, so it had better be great. I didn't get a chance to try to ostrich, and picky eater me is only slightly sorry for that loss. But, hey, I know where to get more, and I still have the buffalo burgers to try.
The most shocking thing to me, however, was the one who requested the organic food was later found to be eating Frito's. Frito's! I'm pretty sure those are as close to non-organic as you can get.
All in all, it was a great afternoon/evening with some really nice people. I hope we can get a chance to do it again some time soon. The problem is you never know when it's going to be nice enough to have a BBQ. Planning in advance seems iffy, and getting a number of people with kids or who work occasional weekend shifts free on random Saturday or Sunday afternoon for an impromptu get together seems even more iffy. Hopefully the weather will become more stable in July/August/September and the next BBQ will work out better.
The wind and the weather meant that we didn't get a chance to play any disc golf or Boche Ball, though we did break out the discs and balls and the two-year olds were suitably entertained for a brief period of time.
The food, however, was very good, and the preparation was excellent, thanks to Dave. One of the diners had requested organic, free-range, meat, and the task was suitably interesting that I decided to try to buy as much organic food as I could. Partly this was a challenge to see how much organic food I could buy, and partly there was curiosity to see if it was any better than "normal" food. There was no question it was more expensive.
I have to say that the fruit (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) was no better, and possibly a little worse (harder and less tasty) though I didn't have a side by side taste test. The tomatoes looked far worse than their non-organic counterparts (smaller, oddly shaped, not fully ripe), but hey, I wasn't eating them. The meat was great, no complaints there, but it was also Black Angus, so it had better be great. I didn't get a chance to try to ostrich, and picky eater me is only slightly sorry for that loss. But, hey, I know where to get more, and I still have the buffalo burgers to try.
The most shocking thing to me, however, was the one who requested the organic food was later found to be eating Frito's. Frito's! I'm pretty sure those are as close to non-organic as you can get.
All in all, it was a great afternoon/evening with some really nice people. I hope we can get a chance to do it again some time soon. The problem is you never know when it's going to be nice enough to have a BBQ. Planning in advance seems iffy, and getting a number of people with kids or who work occasional weekend shifts free on random Saturday or Sunday afternoon for an impromptu get together seems even more iffy. Hopefully the weather will become more stable in July/August/September and the next BBQ will work out better.
posted by Mark at 7:17 AM
1 Comments:
Yes it will level out. And the bugs will be a thousandfold. And the humidity horrid. But that's what alcohol is for. So you don't mind being sucked dry by the Minnesota State Bird. And not with San Jose but I have done a side by side comparision between spots in CA and MN during almost every month. MN is *way* better because you actually feel alive everyday. Sticky, uncomfortable, too cold, too hot, too windy, too something...but definatly alive. Oh, and my weekends off of work are kidless (and therefore easier to travel/party) for Honeyweiss boy from Sundays. FYI. Cheers.
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