Key to a happy family – adding a hot tub … and more cooking!

What does every backyard need after adding a new barbecue? A hot tub!

At least that’s what my wife and daughter told me. “You got your barbecue…!”

I was powerless to resist when an opportunity to purchase a used hot tub off a co-worker’s parents came up. The tub is in great shape and the price was excellent, so to refuse this purchase would be to potentially alienate my family.

I had mental images of them eating the food I barbecue and looking at the vacant spot on the patio where the tub was to go. Oh, sure, they’d keep eating, but I’d have to deal with the longing looks for the hot tub behind their smiles after their tastebuds were teased and their stomachs were full.

So I did the only thing I could do, purchase the tub and prepare the backyard. One problem – my (expletive deleted) arthritic hip. It seems some days I can get a great deal accomplished despite the hip that must eventually be replaced, and others, not so much. Recently, the latter led the way.

I got the tools out one night last week, cleared space and started work, only to be limping badly all too soon.

Time to call in the cavalry. The former owner of the hot tub offered his assistance. John is a whirling dervish of activity, so how could I refuse? He popped by on the weekend, grandson in tow, to help me level my spot and put down several heavy patio stones.

But before they showed up, I had an epiphany. Maybe the aching hip was a good thing, as I had time to ponder the matter. The most level spot I could think of in our backyard was inside our gazebo. I pitched the idea of putting the hot tub in there to my wife, and received an enthusiastic thumbs up. There it went.

We actually rolled it onto my truck, hauled it over here, rolled it off the truck, into the backyard and onto the patio stones in the gazebo. Surprisingly simple.

I think my hip will be enjoying some spa time in the near future.

 Beach trumps ribs

We missed Ribfest this year, opting instead to head with friends to Lake Erie to spend the night and cook over a campfire.

As much as I love the ribs at Ribfest, we made the right choice. Bacon-wrapped hotdogs and hamburgers, cool beverages, a beautiful night sky, the waves softly lapping at the shoreline – talk about relaxing.

As the ladies headed into the tent for the night, Chad and I each pulled a gravity chair up to the campfire, chatted for a while and literally slept under the stars. I woke up in time to catch the sunrise over the water, before grabbing a little more shuteye.

Awesome.

Light days on the BBQ

On the barbecue front, my poor egg was a bit lonely this week. Two soccer games for my daughter left me nights where barbecuing wasn’t an option.

But I did grill merrily away on Canada Day, trying the ABTs (atomic buffalo turds) a second time. These grilled, stuffed jalapenos were just too hot last time around. I like hot food, but these were fusion reactor hot!

So I looked on the web for ideas, and a veteran barbecuing buddy, Harvey, offered some advice, which I happily took. He suggested soaking the peppers to take out some of the heat. He uses milk, but I tried hot water with a little salt in it.

I soaked them for about 90 minutes before taking out the seeds and other innards. Back into the water they went for another short time.

In went the pulled pork/cream cheese mix. I then wrapped them up tightly in bacon, and locked that in place with a toothpick.

I fired up the BBQ, got it set to 250 F, and put the ABTs on for 90 minutes.

I pulled them off a bit early, say about 75 minutes, because the natives (my ladies) were getting restless … and hungry. They were cooked and were nowhere near as spicy hot as the first batch!

I’ll definitely make these again for a backyard party. Just not for us at home any time soon.

We’ve had our fill of the tasty treats, but I think we are peppered out for the moment. I took some to work and at least Tricia had the guts to try one. Everyone else shied away.

These are the same people who chastised me for not bringing in any samples before this. Hmmm.

And then there’s the “you gotta be kidding me” moment Sunday. Well, it wasn’t from us, but from folks on Facebook after I’d posted pictures of yummy chocolate chip cookies baked on the barbecue.

They were indeed delicious. I just put in the indirect heating plate, got the temperature to match the recipe and set my timer.

 Redneck ignition

Here’s a pyromaniac tip on how to start a charcoal barbecue – with a weed torch. I tried it Thursday after a veteran barbecue buddy said it really does the job.

It certainly works, but there is some concern over the sparks that pop back at you from the sudden and extreme heating of the charcoal.

Hold the torch tip back a bit and be patient. Light it in a few spots and let the fire spread.

I was amazed at how quickly my barbecue was up to high heat. In fact, I looked at it when it was at about 250 F and thought I’d come back in a couple of minutes to shut the dampers and top vent, only to find it rocking out at in excess of 500 F!

I wasn’t searing steak on the night, so I calmed my egg down to 400 and we enjoyed some more very juicy roasted garlic and red pepper chicken that night.