Lucky Citrus-Chili Beef Ribs

 

Friday the 13^th –  is a date that has really never felt significant, a date that movies are made about and superstitions based upon, but trivial in our lives. Until this past Friday! The 13^th of July started out well, with a day of visiting with our young guests, swimming, golfing,  fishing etc. There was not the slightest hint of a breeze, so the kids were in the boat, getting ready to go out for a tour-but, no luck.

 They discovered that the battery was dead, so back to shore they came! A quick call was made to the mechanic, who suggested that we try banging the terminal to ensure that the connection was tight. Reaching into the fishing tackle box, a fishing lure jumped into my hand and firmly lodged its barbs into my middle finger. It was not coming back out. All of the young people immediately jumped into action (imagine the 3 Stooges) –one  cut the hooks off of the lure, one ran to grab some ice, one found a new exacto knife and before I knew it, my nephew and another young friend had deftly performed surgery and cut  the lure out of my finger. Ouch!!  After the sterilizing and disinfecting and anesthetizing (extra strength advil) and bandaging was complete, the surest way to distract all attention from the pain was to head to the kitchen to bake a cake and and then out to the barbecue to baste the beef ribs that we had put on earlier in the day.  Alas, the string of bad luck continued, as I knocked the cake pan over, after just having filled it with the batter. It was quickly scooped up and dumped back in the pan – the 3 second rule definitely applied here. Luckily, and the word is used lightly, things began to go a bit more smoothly and by dinner time, peace and calm reigned and we enjoyed a lovely sunset meal.

                                                     THE END (until the next Friday 13^th).

Beef Short Ribs with Citrus-Chili Glaze

These ribs are succulent and tender, with a sticky, tangy coating.

4 lbs Beef short ribs
1 lemon, sliced thinly

Glaze:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup apple juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 heaping tbsp citrus-grape jelly(marmalade would be a good substitute)
2 tsp dijon mustard








Place ribs in a heavy pan filled with cold water and sliced lemon, and gently braise at low heat, covered, for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, saute onion and garlic in canola oil for 3-4 minutes, until translucent. Add apple juice, Worcestershire sauce and spices and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in jelly or marmalade and dijon mustard and continue cooking slowly until thickened slightly.
Preheat barbecue on MEDIUM-HIGH and reduce to LOW-MEDIUM(300°F). Remove ribs from braising liquid and grill indirectly over the unlit burner for 30-40 minutes, mopping frequently with the glaze, until all of the glaze has been used up. Serve with a couple of big fresh salads, whatever you have on hand.

Broccoli, peppers, spinach and onions from the garden!

 Sour Cream Coffee Cake
This recipe is from Edna Staeblers cookbook, Food That Really Schmecks. It is perfect for the cottage - easy, stores well and the ingredients are always in the pantry!

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
13/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
TOPPING:
Combine the following ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine margarine and white sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Combine sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl, and add alternately with the flour and baking powder to the creamed butter/sugar mixture. Spread 1/2 of the batter into a greased bundt pan. Layer with 1/2 of topping, the other 1/2 of batter and finish with the final layer of topping mixture. (Try not to dump the pan at this point!) Bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy the rest of your day!