After a week of job interviews for me, more job applications, the little one’s birthday party, and some more lost friends at work, we decided to take it easy yesterday and grill out in the backyard. Not everything can be exciting all of the time; I mean, I pretend to be 21 years old still, but I know better…and if I think I can outfool my brain and body, my knees and back are there to remind me...
So after a Sunday walk around a nearby prairie, I decided to chill out and grill up some lamb bratwursts we brought back with us from the North Shore. Also, I decided to have a Sunday beer, too…hey don’t judge, it’s a Sconnie thing!
We first decided to pull some green beans from our garden as a side dish. Our garden is absolutely overflowing with zucchinis and tomatoes at this point, but it’s food from the garden and we’re happy to have it to enjoy. So into the pot, the green beans went…
It was Hattie’s four-year birthday this past weekend too, and a gift she received from her cousins was a plastic bugs/green sand kit. As I got the grill going, I set her up with that; Ms. Mabel kept her company.
Then my favorite part of grilling; getting the charcoal going with the good old chimney. I’ve really grown to appreciate lump charcoal over the past year. I might be romanticizing my grilling of late, but I think it tastes much better with meat than Kingsford. Just my opinion, however…so Kingsford fans, don’t hate me! Plus it gives me a little more time to enjoy another cold beverage...
I then threw some potatoes in aluminum foil on the grill to let that go for a solid +40 minutes.
About 25 minutes in, I prepped the brats and a hot dog for the birthday girl…
Then I threw them on the cold side of the grill. With the lump charcoal, I’ve grown to truly appreciate the art of the reverse sear. We do that now with all proteins on the grill; steaks, pork, duck, and now lamb. Yum!!!
After 12 minutes, I seared them on the hot side for roughly a minute a side:
I then threw them back over to the cold side to finish up. The smell was incredible.
And look at those potatoes…very good.
During all of this, we somehow made some four robots with the green sand and had a wonderful family dinner.
Whew!
What a week and weekend. With more fear out there regarding COVID and the variant, it was times like this that I realize how lucky I am to have a backyard to relax in. I know, I’m a broken record, but to not have to worry about whatever is going on every time we go somewhere...it's definitely a place of solitude.
How quickly I forgot how this felt; last year, while working from home, my most memorable moments was always that of getting the family outside, enjoying the fresh air, playing with Mabel, watching the birds overhead, looking for bugs on fences...maybe having a beer or two (again...Sconnie here...)...I do miss those days. I do hate the virus, whatever that might be, and its impact on the world;
at least I still have my grill, my brats, and my family. And Ms. Mabel too -
Thanks for stopping by and checking this one out. I know it wasn't as exciting as summiting a prehistoric rock, but I'm sure I'll have more exciting adventures soon. I think next weekend might even include a ghost hunt...I think.
Hoping everyone out there in the #engagetheweekend community had a wonderful weekend too and having a great start to the new week. And if you are a bratwurst fan, drop a line below and let me know what else to try out!
