ATTENTION ALL!!! A Legend is born ...

There comes a time in every man's life when they must sit back, stare in wonder and amazement, shed a few tears, and then post on his blog. This is one of those times ...

After 4 weeks, 3 days, 13 hours and a very difficult time figuring out how to post videos, I have the following submission ... for your pleasure:



Let's just say: CLEDUS, my Ugly Drum Smoker, is my hero.

I AM AMAZED BY YOUR AWESOME-NESS

Make no little plans ...

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big."

- Daniel H. Burnham


This is my motto in life. The bold language hands on my wall in my office and above my computer at home. I read this quote and remember why I push my self so hard. What is the purpose of life, if your blood is not stirred?!? I know I don't want to live a life where I don't feel challenged. This is why I strive every day to lift myself a step higher - whether that be in my personl or family spirituality, at work or in any other facet of my life.

Yes, I am going somewhere with this ... I promise!

I have decided that 2009 will be my "breakout" year - as far as summer physical activities are concerned. I plan on doing the following events (internet links were available):

• Logan Century (100 mile bike ride starting and ending in Logan, Utah);
• Spudman Triathlon (in Burley, ID) (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride and 6 mile run)
• Twin Falls Triathlon (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride and 6 mile run)
• Sawtooth Century (100 mile bike ride, starting in Ketchum, Idaho, traveling over Galena Summit to Alturas Lake, then back over Galena Summit to Ketchum, Idaho)
• Lotoja (207 mile bike race from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming)
• Y-Not Tri (1/4 mile swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run)

PHEW!! I can't wait for this. The Logan Century may not happen as it appears I may have a family reunion that weekend, but I have my sights set on the others.

The Y-Not Tri is a triathlon in Boise that I will be doing with my family. I have a sister in law, brother in law and other family members who will be doing it. We did this a few years back and had a blast. It's quite disgusting to swim in the Park Center pond, but your are close enough to drowning that you forget about the bird poop pretty quickly.

I plan using this blog as my training journal over this winter. Keep posted!

I'm excited and my blood is stirred!!

Baptism, Biking, Baseball, & BBQ

PHEW!!! That's alliteration at its best. Let me just say that I am a slacker. Given the time since my last post, I guess I could have also put the word pitiful procrastinator ... but that wouldn't have worked with the theme.

In the nearly 3 months since I last wrote, a TON has happened. I've done TON's of barbecuing and A LOT (but not a ton) of cycling. In fact, I'm quite frustrated with the cycling this summer. Well, everything in its due course. I've had a busy and eventful summer. The above items take up the bulk of the summer.

BAPTISM

My oldest, Kiara, was baptized on August 2, 2008. I can't believe that she is already 8!! I remember when she was born, thinking how long it was going to be until she was 8. Well, I was wrong. It was more like a blink of an eye! Of course, my mom and dad have been warning me about that for years. Here are a few pictures:

Kiara in her baptism dress with me right after the baptism service:

Here's my two favorite gals. Aren't they beautiful!
Here's the happy family. This was an awesome experience that really emphasized how lucky we are to have the Gospel in our lives. The spirit was very strong at the service - a testament to the truthfulness of the Gospel. Thanks to all who attended and showed their support.
A side note - and EXTREMELY exciting turn of events: Kiara, who is 8, is now eligible to attend the dedication of the Twin Falls Temple (which will take place on August 24, 2008). Michelle and I are beyond excited about this opportunity to take her to this spiritual event. We are truly blessed!!

BIKING

My last blog bragged about how excited I was for the 37 or so mile ride I went on. I am disappointed to say that that is about all I got in this summer. I have been extremely busy lately with church callings, family and work. As a result, all of my Saturdays are full and I have been forced to get up at 5:30 and going for a good 18-25 miles before work. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! However, the longest ride I got in this summer (so far) was only 46 miles. GRRRR!!!! I'll just have to live with what I can get.

I did find another bike that I love. Check it out here.

BASEBALL

Kegan played baseball this summer. Since he hasn't started kindergarten yet, he had to do "pre-school baseball" which also required that I be with him the entire time. It was quite fun. He sure learned a lot. I'll never forget watching the kids try and play a game. Someone would hit the ball and everyone on the field (including the kid who hit the ball) would run after the ball and try and get it. Kegan played first base.

Kegan has found the sport he loves! We are doing soccer this fall and he is frustrated with that he has to because "soccer is boring." He just wants to play baseball all the time. But, he's OK with soccer until baseball starts again. Here are some pictures:

Kegan and a friend, Trevor Walter

Hitting a home run!!

BBQ

Summer wouldn't be summer without BBQ. I've had some great opportunities and will post just one ore two events. My brother and his wife had their first baby and had the blessing on July 6, 2008. On July 5, they hosted a BBQ for her family and our family. I volunteered to do the BBQ. We did 4 pork butts and a whole packer brisket. Let's just say that Charlotte had met her match. here are some pictures:

My BBQ Queen smiling behind mountains of pork and beef:

Charlotte: Level 1, no more can fit in here!!

Charlotte: Level 2 - I had to sit that butt on its side.

BBQ Queen smiling as the smoke raises behind her.

These butts look done!!!

YUM!!!!! I'm hungry again!

A plate of port, chopped to perfection!

Here's the brisket, also chopped for better sandwich-ification (I'm sure that's a word).

Finally, the first weekend of August is our family barbecue contest - the Brouhaha. This year, Brad and Kilie (my sister and her husband) won the contest. I got third place (of 4) and took home the "Most Flavorful" ribbon. Oh well, you can't win them all. Congrats to Brad and Kilie.

Also, Kegan entered in the youth division and took home the trophy. Here's the pround victor.

That's about all for now. I'm sure more will follow ... someday.

37.4

FINALLY!!! I was able to get out ont he road and get some miles on my bike. On Memorial day I went out with my good riding friends (Bob & Tami) and we rode for 37.4 miles. Below is a Google earth image with the ride noted in red. REAT RIDE!!! I sure miss riding. Life is so crazy with family, work and church callings that I rarely have time to go riding. On another note, I have found the bike that I want. Well, there are actually two bikes that I LOVE!! The Orbea Onix and the Pinarello Prince. See below for my one true love(s):

First, the Orbea Onix. A bike made in Spain that will cost as much as $6800:

And the Pinarello Prince. An Intalian bike that can cost as much as $7-12k. But it's a good investment, don't ya think???

Happy riding ...

Mastication at its best ...

Not much else needs to be said. We masticate good ...

No Pride and my Mini Brisket ...

Michelle said that I should think of another Title for this post. I refused because I know that anyone who reads this will not read into this comment anything other than the following message ...

Anyways, cycling season is in full swing. As you can see from the below picture, I have absolutely no pride. I can't. I'm a fat guy in spandex, riding a small bike through the mall parking lot for all to gaze upon. If I were to think about that, I'd freak out ...
On this particular day, I rode my bike down to Centennial Park - a park here in town located at the bottom of a canyon. We then rode out - up the canyon. It's about a 450 foot climb in 0.9 miles. Quite steep and very difficult. My lungs were exploding by the time we got to the top. Also, it was quite cold, so I had to wear a jacket, hat and gloves. CCOOLLDD!!!

That same day, I decided to BBQ a mini-brisket (3 pounds). Let me just say that it turned out AMAZING!! I am not a huge fan of brisket. I have never been able to do one that was any good. This one, however, turned out GREAT!! In fact, I'm going to do another mini-brisket this weekend. Enjoy the pics:

And another ...
Have a great weekend.

The Tour to my Que

Well, summer is nigh and that means it's time to pull out the old spandex and clean out the water bottles. Stock up on Gu and PowerBars and get ready for the open road. I WANT TO BE OUT RIDING!! To celebrate the fact that it's warming up, I pulled out the Bike for a good washing. Here you go ... my other love.

The Twins ... and yummy food!!

I am living a fantasy. Doesn't every man's fantasy involve twins or something. Well, I have my twins. A few weeks ago, my wife let me go out ... and ... buy a new gas grill. WA HOO!!! She's a beaut. A twin sister for Charlotte (my smoker). Now my gas grill, Harriet, stands as a testament that if you live right, your fantasies will come true. She's got a gas burner, a grill and even a valve to turn the gas on. Let's just say, I'm in heaven. Here are some pictures as well as a video by the BBQ queen:

Here is Harriet. Notice her sleek exterior, her double doors, her 5-knobs and a timer, her extra large shelf ... it's like something you see in those special "guy" magazines ... I know ... dirty ...


Here's the BBQ Queen ... kissing Harriet. Even a 7-year old is not immune from Harriet's super-human powers.

Harriet is just like a member of the family. The BBQ Queen likes to start and Harriet's grill. Here's a video introduction of Harriet, staring the BBQ Queen:

And now to dinner last night. Let's just say it was YUMMY! We have a family in our church who just had a baby and we were taking them dinner. Well, you know I can't justify taking them something "normal" - we had to do something AMAZING! Like .... RIBS!!! Yes, RIBS!!! That sounds great. We'll do ribs and chicken. It was settled. Ribs and chicken thighs. I would cook the ribs in the old 3-2-1 method (it turned out to be 4-2.5-1 and the ribs were very nearly perfect - a little too tender). We decided to invite my dad to dinner and he made things even better. Yes, he brought more meat - 2 big T-bones. I figure, whenever you can have chicken, ribs and a great steak for the same meal, your wife must be out of town (and yes, my mom was out of town and my wife is just as eager to eat good BBQ as I am). Oh yea, we also had some home made Cole slaw and a loaf of Hearth bread made by my wife.

Here are the amazing T-bones that my dad brought. Let's just say, he earned himself a return invite!!! We simply seasoned them with salt and pepper and then grilled them on Harriet at a very high temperature.
You have to love the guest who comes to dinner and brings two HUGE T-bones ... TASTY!! They were actually quite amazing. Just perfect.


Ribs on the smoker. Look at the apple wood smoke just consume the meat. This is going to be some good stuff.

My BBQ queen helping me get the chicken on the smoker. The rub is one that Michelle invented and, if I do say so myself, it is quite amazing. She is an amazing cook as you would know if you went here.
Here's Charlotte doing her thing (yes, I have to make sure to give some face time to Charlotte, she was feeling left out).

Ready to come off of the smoker. These ribs look PHAT!!! The best that I've ever done.

The the final picture shows the chicken and ribs in all of their brilliance. YES! IT IS TRUE, WE EAT WELL IN OUR HOUSE!!! The chicken was AMAZINGLY tender. You would take a bite and the juices would spill down your chin. The ribs were very tasty but a little too tender. They totally fell apart. A perfect rib should have some "pull" to it - i.e. when you take a bite, the meat should come off the bone, but not pull all of the meat off the bone at the same time.

Well, that's if for now. Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed eating the food.

PLA

Where did the time go ...

It's been a while since I posted ... I actually forgot all about it. Work has been CRAZY!!!! and I just haven't had time ... heck, I haven't even Q'ed since the last post (over a month ... that's CRAZY!!!). I am getting very excited. The weather is picking up so I will soon replace (or add to) many of the Q pictures pictures of me in spandex (GROSS!) on a bike. I'm SUPER stoked. I am going to take my bike down tomorrow, air up the tires and get stuff ready to go. If all works out well, next weekend will by my first ride of the season.

Here are some pictures of tonight's dinner. We had a rib roast that turned out quite tasty ... even if I do say so myself. You will notice that the roast looks over done ... well, for a rib roast. Michelle likes her beef "well done." We compromised and I did this one medium-well. It's a work in progress. Next roast will be medium ... you get the idea.

Hello taters ... enjoy the BBQ.

Is it just you, or is it hot in here ....

Hey there good looking, you up for a night on the town ....

And pre-consumption. Juicy, tasty, consumed. Life is good.

Have a great one, PLA

Ribs & Butts

So today I did 3 butts ... BUT, I forgot to take pictures. They turned out pretty good ... considering. I continue to play with Charlotte and my cooking method. The first cook, I used water in the pan and it made a mess ... I hated it. Since then, I have used a brick and no water. I have been much more pleased with the brick.

I have also been playing with using the "Minion Method" of burning fuel. This allows me to start Charlotte and go for 10-14 hours without having to add coals. it's quite amazing how well the thing holds the heat when I do this. Well, last night, I tried a new twist on the Minion Method. PHEW!!! it made the smoker hot. I couldn't get it down from about 300 degrees for the first 4 hours. Then, I dropped it to 215 for a few hours. Needless to say, they were on the smoker for about 10 hours (for the last few cooks, I have left them onfor over 12 hours). The bark was a little dark, but the butts turned out GREAT!! Very moist and delicious.

I made one for a good friend in the ward. He likes the stuff and buys a butt for me to cook whenever I am going a long cook. I also had an extra one that we were able to give to a family in our ward that is in school and definatly could use the assistance. It's a great feeling to serve others.

As for the sauce, I tweaked it once again. I am almost done with it. I wanted to make a sweeter tomato-based sauce. It turned out pretty good. About 1/2 of it was used on the butt for dinner (we had some company).

Since I forgot the butt pics, I have posted a few pictures from some ribs we did last week. They also turned out great. I am trying to get my rib cooking down. I also tried beef ribs. They were ok, not my favorite. Generally speaking, I am a pork fan.

Happy smoking ...

Super Bowl Meat

For the Super Bowl, I smoked a Chuck Roast and two Butts. Quite yummy. I overcooked the Chuck a little, it was a little dry. But, it was still quite tasty. I'll have to adjust my cooking technique next time. I think I will take it up to about 160, then foil it until it reaches about 195 or so. Then off the smoker and into the cooler for some time.

Last time I smoked (see previous post), I let the meat sit in my cooler, wrapped in foild, for about 3-4 hours. The results were stunning. I tried that again this time with the butts and Chuck and, of course, it turned out WONDERFUL again.

I also tweaked my sauce again. This time, I took out the orange juice all together. I need to add a little back in next time.

I am trying a few new rubs and sauces on the next cook. I've heard that "Wolfe Rub Original" (see http://www.wolferub.com/) is tasty. We purchased a bottle of it. First taste (on some chicken cooked in the oven) didn't go too well. I'm not sure I like it. Michelle doesn't like it at all. I also puchased a couple bottles of Rev. Marvin's BBQ Sauce (see www.revmarvin.com/). It is a mustard based sauce that it supposed to be quite tasty. We will see.

On a non-BBQ note, the winter months are starting to get to me. BBQ is easy to do during the winter months (just requires to tweaking of the temurature). However, I cannot go outside a cycle. I'm getting very anxious ... VERY ANXIOUS!!!! I need to be out on the bike. I went to the wedding of a biking buddy last week and drove up with some other biking friends. We talked about the different races and rides we are going to do this summer. I WANT TO GET OUT!!! I'm very excited to to LoToJa in September (see www.lotojaclassic.com/). I just need to get out on the road. Spinning in a gym just isn't the same.

Have a great day, I'll keep ya posted.

Charlotte's Secret Revealed

Well, I've watched "National Treasure" a number of times and have never really figured out the true meaning of the first big clue - "The Secret Lies with Charlotte." That is ... until today. As you know, I have named my WSM (that's Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker) "Charlotte." Why? Because. No other reason.

Well, today, I put Charlotte to the test. We did a brisket, a butt and some ribs. We were going to do chicken, but didn't have room on the smoker or time on the clock. That will have to wait until another day. The total cooking time was as follows:

Brisket (13 pounds): 18 1/2 hours
Butt (9 pounds): 14 1/2 hours
Ribs (5 pounds): 4 hours

All in all, the meal turned out quite good. I also make a couple of sauces. The first sauce is the vinegar sauce that I perfected over the summer. It's quite yummy. The second sauce is the second go round at the sauce I am trying to invent. I tweaked it a little from last time. It's much better, but needs some more tweaking. Oh well, I guess perfection takes time.

I also tweaked my rub a little. It was much better than before. In fact, the bark on the butt and brisket was quite amazing. However, I think that I need to tweak it a little more. The rubs and sauces are truly works in progress.

All in all, there was about 27 pounds of meat and we only invited my dad over to help eat. Let's just say we are all FULL!! Also, a guy in our ward nearly cut his finger off with a saw this week. We took some to their family. There's nothing better to do with BBQ than share it.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

First: The Butt. This has to be the best smoke ring I've ever gotten. It was nearly an inch thick in most places. This butt was AMAZINGLY tender and juicy. Far and away the best one I've ever made:
Second: The Ribs. The ribs actually turned out pretty darn good. I think I could have cooked them a little longer. They did not pull from the bone as well as I would have liked. Here is "Rib Queen" holding some of the ribs:

Here they are cut up:

And again.

Third: The Brisket. The brisket turned out OK. I think that I over-smoked it. Michelle said it was pretty good. It didn't taste too bad. Just a little too smokey.

As I said, the food was loved by all. I tried to save some for other friends and family, but the kids just ate it all up. Even Zander (7 months) couldn't keep his hands off of the meat. Here's the proof:

Still going ...

And going ...

Needless to say, the weekend was an overall success. I'm very pleased with the WSM ... for the most part. I think I want to try cooking with sand in the water tray instead of water. it just seemed that the steam and smoke made for a HUGE mess. Granted, it was all in the smoker, but I'm pretty anal about things being somewhat clean.

That's all for now ... However, I assure you there will be more ...