use real butter

I inaugurated my Summer of BBQ today with southern pulled pork. Since the winds were insanely high, I had to slow cook in a low oven rather than slow cook in a low grill. First, I mixed the spices together for the rub. Paprika, chili, cayenne, cumin, salt, brown sugar, minced garlic, onion powder, and ground pepper. Grinding 1/4 cup of ground pepper doesn’t seem like much, until you actually grind it by hand.

Jeremy was full fledged sick this morning, so he slept and I brought him hot homemade ginger tea and meds. Meanwhile, I was conscripted into helping Dad drape netting over, across, and around the fish pond. I think my parents were really attached to their fishies and feel tremendous guilt about losing so many.

My parents prepared some of their specialties tonight – old family recipes Jeremy and I love. Dad made Lion’s Head, which are giant pork meatballs with loads of vegetables. He fries them, then steams them in a broth for a few hours. My mom made my grandma’s smoked chicken recipe. Mmmm, so good!

**Jump for more butter**

I made up a recipe on the fly tonight while preparing dinner. We were having pad thai and… I had a fresh batch of asparagus on hand. My fridge is usually stocked to the hilt, so I found some tofu and then swiped half of a flank steak intended for a meal later this week – I mean, we’re trying to EMPTY the fridge, right? The flank steak is sautéed with peanut and tamarind sauce with a hint of sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I think I’ll omit the soy sauce next time. I fried the tofu and mixed it in at the last minute with the sauté. I like it! This goes in the quadrille notebook of keeper recipes.