Sunday

I woke up Sunday at 4:45 AM. I tried to fall back asleep for a good hour until it dawned on me (duh!) that it was really 5:45 when I woke up and that's later than the time I always get up thorough the week. So, I got out of bed and started the day by heating up a cup of coffee.

I stripped the bed (much to the annoyance of the two cats who were still sleeping) and started the weekend laundry. Then I washed the pots and pans from last night's dinner, after loading the dishwasher and turning it on.

I assembled my new shelf unit. It's a two-foot variation on the four-foot ones I have in the garage, the downstairs closet and the downstairs (where the outside statuary spends the winter). I bought it yesterday at Walmart for $11.00 US. Why? Because, several of the local grocery stores (Kroger's in particular) have started advertising 10 for $10 of various products, such as canned whole tomatoes or Campbell's soups. It's a good deal, but I have nowhere to put the excess. So, these will be my extra pantry shelves.

BTW, if you buy this kind of shelves, you can assemble them with your hands, but I have found it's easier and quicker to use a rubber hammer. See photos.

At 10:30, I stopped to shave and shower. I have to run out to Gordon Food Service (GFS) this morning before I start on the back yard. I had a load of clothes to fold, and the next to put in the dryer, so it wasn't until 11:30 AM when I left. I really have to remember that sunset is now at 5:25 PM tonight, as I need to grille outside.

At GFS, I picked up a bag of charcoal, a jar of pistachios and two more half-sheet pans. Back home, I unpacked, treated the cats and then went out back. I cut down the rose bushes and, one by one, I picked up and brushed off the outdoor statues (all except St. Francis. He stays out year-round to protect the birds). The statues went on the shelf in the back room.

Next came the chiminea. I'd like to brag I carried that sucker into the house all by myself, but to tell the truth, I did pick it up out of the stand, but then I rolled it on its bottom to the house, picked it up over the sill and into the house. Then I rolled it on the tile and set it back into its stand. I took a break to catch my breath and rest my back. It's not just that the thick clay is that heavy, but the six inches of pea gravel in the bottom really adds the pounds on. I put a plastic kitchen trash bag on the gravel to discourage the cats from getting inside and getting filthy (something Scruffy has done in the past).

Back to work! I took in the metal birdbath and the rain gauge. Next, I carried all the chairs, footstools and tables to Jake's patio and stacked them up. I got out the blower and the tarp I will eventually cover the chairs with. For now, though, I opened it up and blew all the patio leaves onto it. I also raked leaves out of the gardens and put them on the tarp, too. Then I grabbed all four corners and dragged it back to the compost heap. I figured it was easier than making trip after trip with the wheel barrow.

I moved the bird feed can over to where the chiminea was for easier winter filling of the feeder. I moved the fountain to Jake's patio and took the pump inside. Then I started cutting the grass in back. Wouldn't you know it, it started to sprinkle about the same time! I used my same old gauge: if the stuff coming out of the discharge chute started clumping, I would quit. It didn't, so I didn't. I didn't have the time to go over it and blow all the junk in one direction this time, but I did get all the leaves chopped up at least.

I did go back outside and take some "after" pictures for you. I can't put the tarp on the outdoor furniture yet as I still need to drain all the hoses and put the wheel barrow over there, too. But it kinda worked out today. I ran out of time and dry weather just about the same time I ran out of steam. So, my original list of 24 items is now down to the last eight!

Okay, so its time to start prepping for dinner. Now, I am sure you remember the two big, thick pork chops that have been marinating since Friday night. Well, I took those out, rinsed them off and patted them dry, then let them come up to room temperature. Meanwhile (and, we will jump around a lot here. This is why I need a complete, outdoor kitchen, including a beehive wood-fired oven like Jamie Oliver! This is hard to do, back and forth, inside and outside, by myself!), I started to fry up 12 ounces of smoky bacon, with the strips cut in half. While the first batch was rendering down, I peeled six nice-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, cut them into chunks and put them in cold, salted water.

Since I will be grilling these chops, pan gravy is out, so I opened a glass jar of Heinz pork gravy, put it in a small saucepan and turned it on low (hey, I'm a foodie, not a purist, dammit). Next, I took a container of Brussels sprouts I bought at Westborn (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut off about 1/4 of each of their stems and peeled off the outer layers. Those went into boiling salted water for about 5-7 minutes (you want them tender, but not mushy).

While they were cooking, I went and got out the grille, and fired up the charcoal chimney lighter. I ran back inside and drained the Brussels sprouts, then put them in a bowl of cold water with a handful of ice cubes to shock them and stop the cooking process.

Back outside, I dumped the now hot charcoal, moved the grates into place and went back inside. I took out the first round of bacon, put them on a plate lined with paper towels and put in the next. I turned off the gravy and turned on the potatoes.

Back outside (again), I cleaned and then oiled the grates. Next, I cooked a package of hot dogs, for next week. Back inside, I pulled the bacon and put in the next six strips. I am holding the cooked bacon in the microwave, BTW.

Back outside, I pulled off the hot dogs and re-oiled the grille. I put on the two pork chops, for four minutes. During those four minutes, I went back and changed out the bacon for the last 6 strips. Outside, I turned the chops 90 degrees (for those damn grille marks) and went back inside. I checked the potatoes and they were done. So, I drained them, and put them back in the hot pot to cook off any excess water. I ran back outside and turned the chops.

Back inside, I added two tablespoons of butter, one egg, about a teaspoon of dried parsley and some heavy cream to the potatoes and mashed them up. I went back outside and turned the chops another 90 degrees, marked the time and went back inside.

I peeled and sliced a big shallot super thin, then sliced up four cloves of garlic. I took one tablespoon of the bacon grease and put it into my Dutch oven and heated it up to medium-high heat. I went back outside and moved the chops to the cool side of the grille (no charcoal directly underneath) to finish off.

Inside, I put the Brussels sprouts on the cutting board and halved them lengthwise. I saut�ed the shallots and garlic until lightly browned (about two minutes). Then I added just over two cups of heavy cream and simmered that until it reduced by half (about 5-7 minutes). I seasoned it with salt and pepper and then gently folded in the Brussels sprout, coating them with the sauce. I poured them into a serving dish and topped them with the crumbled bacon.

I went outside and got the two chops from the grille. I shut up the garage for the night and came back inside. Then I plated my dinner.

The pork chop was perfect! To be honest, it was so big I couldn't eat it all, though. It was by far the best pork chop I ever ate. The mashed potatoes and gravy were very good and the Brussels sprouts were excellent. This is important as this is one of the side dishes I am considering making for Thanksgiving dinner at Jake and Carla's. This dish would not embarrass me at all.

I got my book and took a break, resting on the couch for a while. Then I went back in the kitchen and did the ugly part of any dinner: cleanup. I rinsed and put dishes in the dishwasher and hand-washed the bigger pots, pans and, of course, my chef's knife.

I finished up just as my Sunday night shows were starting, so I spent the rest of the night watching TV, and then went to bed at 11:00 PM.