Different Lives, Different Friends . . .

It is my birthday.  If you are keeping score, number 54.  Doesn't feel like 54, doesn't even feel like 34 - but, that's another blog entry for later :-).

What it does make me realize is that my friends on Facebook cover at least three lifetimes for me.  There is the high school/church music director lifetime that went until December, 1987 -- there is the retail management lifetime that went until 1997ish . . . and then, there is the current social services lifetime.  My friends transcend them all.  There are people from each incarnation. 

Now, there HAVE been others.  People who remembered, and "friended" me.  And, immediately "unfriended" me.  You see - I didn't fit any more. 

Friendship - I mean TRUE friendship - is the acknowledgement that we like each other - whether or not we agree on everything or not. 

I know why some people ditched my friendship.  My life hits too close to the parts of theirs that they don't like.  Either they ARE me, to some degree - or they married me (to some degree).  I get it :-)

I appreciate the others - the ones who stay even though I don't fit the rest of  their profile of friends :-) . . . these are the people I'd trust with my very life! 

I am a lucky person.  I have lived life in a very full way, in very many directions!  I have landed in a different place than many of my friends.  I have always said - I'd prefer a good, intelligent conversation with someone who disagrees with me on an issue than to have one with someone who agrees with me.  I like being challenged and I like challenging.  I always learn something at the end of the day.

So, to my friends who remain - thank you.  I know why we became friends in the first place!  To the others - I just hope it is only your "friends" that challenge your values - I hope it is never your kids.  That would be a tragedy.

So, another birthday!  A chance to remember friends in Alexander City, Alabama - DeFuniak Springs, Florida, New Orleans, Louisiana - Louisville, Kentucky - San Francisco, California - Lisbon, Portugal - Santiago, Chile - Montreal, Quebec Canada - Huntsville (Harvest) Alabama - Valley, Alabama - Philadelphia, PA . . . I am fortunate because I know you.

J

Oven-Baked Ribs

I tried this for the 4th of July this year - based on some previous dry rub recipies and my own additions . . . the ribs were really delicious and tender - the key is to cook them slowly, at a low temperature . . .

DRY RUB FOR RIBS:

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1 T. Turbinado Sugar (raw sugar)

2 T. garlic powder

1 T. jalapeno powder

2 t. Cayenne pepper

2 t. freshly ground mixed peppercorns

2 t. smoked rock salt

FOR BAKING:

1 fresh, large Jalapeno pepper, sliced

2 or 3 shallots, thinly sliced and separated

Fresh slices of garlic

SAUCE:

You may use a basic store-bought sauce as your base, I prefer a Memphis-style sauce.

1 bottle BBQ sauce

Add:

1 T. brown sugar

1 T. dry rub

1 T. Hoisin sauce

1 t to 1 T of Vietnamese garlic chili sauce (you choose the level of hotness :-))

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Take a baking pan with a flat rack insert and cover the bottom with aluminum foil (you’ll be happy you did this when it comes time to clean the pan).  Place the rack into the pan, place enough foil on the top of the rack to cover the ribs.  Coat the ribs, all sides, with generous amount of dry rub (reserve 1 T for the sauce).  Place in pan, uncovered and allow the ribs to come to room temperature – allow to marinate with the rub for 1 hour.  Place slices of fresh jalapeno, fresh shallots and fresh garlic on top of ribs.  Cover the ribs with the foil, place in oven.

Cook for 1 hour.

Remove ribs from oven and uncover the ribs.  You may want to drain excess juices.  Cook uncovered for another hour.

Remove ribs from oven and coat with the BBQ sauce.  Return to oven and cook for another 1 ½ hours.  Remove from oven and place (closely watched) under broiler to finish caramelizing the sauce and adding a little delicious crustiness to the outside of the ribs.  WATCH THEM CLOSELY – easy to burn at this stage!

To make the ribs even MORE tender -  you can wrap them again in foil (once removed from oven – BEFORE placing under broiler), and place in a paper bag for one more hour.  Then remove them and place under broiler as explained above.

Never parboil the ribs before cooking – they lose some of their flavor and you’ll still get a very tender rib without the parboiling step.