HOISIN SAUCE BABY BACK RIBS

Sale on baby back ribs at the commissary - so we tried these out -- YUMMY! Gotta make more soon!

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TB ginger, grated (I used the jarred stuff - works for me)
2 teas horseradish sauce (didn't have, so left it out - turned out fine)
1-1/4 teas cayenne pepper
3 TB brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup red current jelly (or any red jelly, I used red raspberry)
30 small prok ribs, trimmed of fat

Mix together the marinade. Pour over ribs in either a bag or a bowl. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place ribs on rack set on a foil-lined baking dish (I used my Le Crueset paella pan). Bake, turning often and basting until ribs are dark brown approximately 30-35 minutes (we ended up cooking ours for an hour). Serve hot or warm.

Lots of sauce -- we'll probably double the meat next time ...
recipe from: Pupus: An Island Tradition by Sauchi Fukuda

SO MANY HOLLYWOOD ICONS GONE ....

This week alone we have lost six Hollywood icons ... over the last six months so very many more - more than I am listing here .... their talents were woven into the fabric of my childhood and adult life .... farewell to all, we will miss you

James Whitmore - film legend ... I loved his librarian character in "Shawshank", "Tora, Tora, Tora", "Give 'Em Hell, Harry" and "Them" (giant ants) -He could play it all ...
David Carradine ... Caine or Kill Bill? He played all sides of the spectrum ....
Ricardo Montalban ... In my mind I can still hear him say "fine Corithan leather" (for Chrysler Cordoba cars) - he was elegant ...
Bea Arthur (center back) ... a true "Golden Girl" ... who else could have put Archie Bunker in his place with just a look the way she did?
... Billy Mays...the pitchman for everything! If you were to judge solely by the amount of time a person appeared on TV - Billy would have been on top! Never bought the products -- but I sure did like watching his pitches! ....

...second banana? Not hardly! Ed McMahon ... didn't know until after he died that he had been a Marine fighter pilot in Korea ...
... Farrah Fawcett ... suspect there were few young males who did not have her red suit poster on a wall ...




... and Michael Jackson - he broke a lot of ground, musically, dance, music videos ... you may not have liked his style ... but you had to admit he was one of a kind ...

ROADS

Yes .... this is a two-way road that we travel everyday going to and from work ...

DON'S BIRTHDAY

Don's birthday was the 25th ... gave him a golf themed gift ... practice balls, divot tool, stroke counter and game coupons for il Piccolo Golf Course up in Linguaglossa.

WEIRD WEATHER

Took this picture going to work on June 25th ... it snowed yesterday on on Mt. Etna. ??? A snowstorm when it's almost July??? What's with that???

LOVE THE WRITING IN THIS BLOG!

An E-friend sent me the link to this blog and while wandering around it, I found this posting .... DH (and the cat) just stared at me while I laughed until I cried as I read her post about a Peeps garland .... I can see the "mooning" Peeps now!

Enjoy! Another blog to add to my list ....

http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com/2007/03/peep-project.html

FUNNY SIGNS IN LONDON

Don and I popped over to London for a couple of days the end of May ... here are some of the smiles we shared ... enjoy! Will post more later.

MALETTO DAY TRIP

Went to Maletto for the strawberry festival --
wasn't much there ... overlooking Maletto (the hill on the left of town has the ruins of a Aragonese fortress on top)
... looking back over Maletto from Aragonese ruins (wall remains in the foreground) ...
...looking south-east toward Etna ...

... did get to see a newly wed couple ... we enjoyed the ride there and back again ....

GRANITA IN STA VENERINA

"Lost In Sicilia" blog suggested going for granita (think of non-milk based sherbert) at Bar Russo in Santa Venerina near Catania ... so last Sunday Don and I went exploring to find it ..... WONDEFUL!!

I had gelsi (mulberry) and Don had mandorla (almond). They make everything in house - and have a pasty shop in the next room. Will have to go back again!

SICILY IN THE SUMMER

It's getting warmer by the day ... the fields and roadsides that had been so green and covered with wildflowers just a month ago are now yellow and brown ... the geep have been shaved (now they really look funny) and almost all the snow has melted off Etna ...

LA TROTA RESTAURANT, NEAR SYRACUSA

On an ITT trip down to Noto to see the flower murals (unfortunately my camera died right after lunch) -- Don can remember his parents going there when he was in Sicily as a kid; Chris and I took an ITT trip to Noto the last year we were here (while Don was in Maryland) and now Don and I are finally getting to go .... Don sleeping in the back of the bus -- rough work week .......the entrance to La Trota Restaurant (the Trout Restaurant)...
... our guide, Alfina (both now and when Don and I were first stationed here )...
...a fish ponds the trout swim in outside the restaurant before they are used ...
...Don checking out the trout...
...the back of the restaurant ... the top level is even with the parking lot ...
..."Hi geese!" ....
... Don wandering around before lunch ...
.... funky looking eyes .....
.... one of the geese pulled at Don's pants ... guess he was too close ....
.... inside the restaurant ... it's actually a cavern ...
... Don's fish themed antipasta ....
... my meat themed antipasta .....
... my pork chop, sausage and potatoes ....
..... Don's fresh trout with garlic ......
.... ice cream with coffee sauce for dessert .....

... another view of the interior ... on one side of the room is a huge set of wine racks going from floor to ceiling and opposite the front door there is a huge fish tank with more trout swimming around .... the front wall is floor to ceiling windows over looking the fish ponds, geese pens, a small lake and all the grass ....
... good lunch, now it's off to Noto to check out the flower murals .....drats ... wish my camera hadn't died .... oh well, such is life...

UMMMM .... ROAST CHICKEN!

This is the marquee for a local take-away food store serving typical Sicilian items --- can be anywhere from three or four dishes to 15 or 20 ... you tell the clerk which items you want and how much (usually sold by weight).

We usually get Giarrosto which is the local name for rotissary chicken. Lots of places sell it - quite reasonable - generally it comes stuffed with potatoes (either wedges or fries), olives and for some reason, the last few we have gotten have included an Italian hot dog (no idea why that is stuffed in there).

Good stuff!

JALAPENO CORNBREAD

This was a bit too moist for me - but the flavour was fantastic! I like fluffy cornbread. Noted what changes I will make next time -- haven't tried them yet, so not sure if these will get the results I want ....

JALAPENO CORNBREAD

1-1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1 cup self-rising flour
2 TB. sugar
2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. baking soda
1 can creamed corn (used a 16-oz can; but the bread turned out overly moist for me)
2 to 4 jalepeno peppers, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup oil (may cut this down to 3/4 cup next time)
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Combine cornmeal thru baking soda. Add the rest and mix well. Pour half the batter into greased 13x9-inch pan, top with half the cheese. Pour in the rest of the batter and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake at 400-degress for 45-minutes.