BLACK IRON DUDE

“Black Iron Dude”, like so many other Bloggers, have inspired entertained, lept to the sky with stardom and fizzled into the faded memories of our life. The Black Iron Dude and I have a common interest of cast iron cookware. These cooking utensils are sturdy, cheap, heat retaining, non-stick and practically indestructible. We like to call our cast iron utensils ‘Black Iron” We have two black iron skillets on standby at all times on our stove. We use them almost everyday. I have one skillet that dates back to the 20’s that gets daily use. The thing about ‘Black Iron’ is once you get one functioning piece of cooking history, you want to collect more. The nice thing about Black Iron is they can be very affordable if you are ready to do a little work.

Flea markets, E-Bay, and possibly your basement will produce a rusty old skillet. It is now your job to re-store it to its prime. This is an easy task if you have the inclination and a few common house hold items. This skillet was picked up at a local flea market. As you can see it is rusty and has years of grease and grime. We are going to use an electrolysis bath to remove the gunk from this pan. Once the pan is clean we will immediately re-season to prevent rust.

An old ice chest or any plastic tub will hold our electrically charged cleansing bath.
An old bbq grill or piece of conductive metal, plastic (non conductive) piece, Sodium Carbonate (dish soap) and a battery charger are the items you will need. I am now going to send you to Black Iron Dude for the full instructions.

Now wasn't that easy. It is pretty remarkable how well this method works. It sounds a little scary running a current through water. Be brave and do not be tempted to lick the pan while the battery charger is on. The pan was seasoned and now we have a beautiful pan that will last another life time. The Black Iron Dude dated this pan from the 30’s. The quality is superior to any pan manufactured today. The only problem now is to locate another cast iron project.

ISABEL’S PUPUSAS

It has been a very long time since I have actually enjoyed going to work. My new job only requires me to show up one Friday a month. I am outdoors and am hanging out at a farmers market. It does require me to be there throughout the day. Around noon the stomach begins to rumble. What better or healthier place to eat than a farmers market? Sure we have fresh fruits and vegetables but we also have other food options. Today we will explore ‘Isabel’s Pupusas’ stand.

What is a pupusas? A pupusas is a traditional Salvadorian dish. It is a tortilla like cake made from masa that is filled with meat or cheese and fried on a griddle. Isabel’s will make a fresh pupusas to order. She has different combinations such as; cheese, cheese & meat, cheese & beans, zuchinni and loroco. I am not familiar with loroco but translated it means edible herb. I believe it is a flower of a plant and is on the bucket list to experience.

Place your order and watch Isabel pat out your pupusas. The smell wafting from the griddle is a comforting tortilla type smell. It definitely makes my mouth water. The pupusas is served with a home made vinegar based cole slaw. A spicy red hot sauce will be served on the side. The warm fried masa with its piping hot filling is a filling and satisfying lunch. The price for this home made treat is a whopping two dollars. What a deal.

Last week we gave away 1000 olive trees thanks to McEvoy farms. It was quit the site seeing all the shoppers walking around the market with their trees. If you are in Richmond on a Friday stop on by and say hello and have a papusas.

KNOX’S GOURMET SAUCE- HONEY CHIPOTLE BBQ

 I want to like all the products I try but this BBQ sauce did not deliver as promised. My latest review on

Peppers & More

3rd ANNUAL SMOKIN' FOR GOLD

Where can you find a Beer Festival, Car Show, and Barbeque Competition all combined into one fabulous day? This event was called the ‘3rd Annual Smokin for Gold. It was held in Placerville or may I dare to say Hangtown California. In the early days of Placerville hangings were a little too common. Fast forward to our politically correct times and Placerville was the place to be for a wonderful day.

Twenty five teams lit their barbeque fires in the fairgrounds to compete in a State Championship. Five thousand dollars was up for grabs. The teams had a beautiful grass lined arena to do battle. I also heard they did battle with some yellow jackets that smelled the sweet perfume of barbeque smoke.

Ms. Goofy and I donned our judging badges but this was a special judgment day. This would be my thirtieth KCBS competition judged. I am now eligible to become a Master Judge. This prestigious title is accomplished by judging 30 competitions, cooking with a Professional team, and finally taking an exam. The examination is the only thing left to achieve this coveted rank.

The margarita machine sure looked tempting in the heat of the afternoon. The battle was over and the score cards were tabulated. The competition team of ‘Smokey Luv BBQ won the ‘Grand Champion’. Our friends Chuck & Cindy of ‘Bowling Over Pigs’ took ‘Reserve Grand Champion”. Congratulations to all the teams for the great day. Thanks to Marta for organizing one of our favorite events. I now have to study for my test.

OLIVE BRANCH AND FREE TREE'S

Please come down to the Richmond Farmers Market  at noon tomorrow. We are giving away 1,000 olive trees. No cost except to make the planet better. You may see me at my new job and in action.

"Thanks to McEvoy farms we have obtained another donation of 1,000 Tuscan olive trees. These will be given away by the City of Richmond sustainability staff at noon tomorrow at the parking lot where the farmers market is held. Thanks to the awesome city staff members, Adam Lenz and Mike Ulberti."

Richmond (CA) Certified Farmers Market

Every Friday, 8 am - 5 pm 24th Street & Barrett Avenue (in the parking lot)

PIMENTO CHEESE

I asked our friend Melanie if she had any recipes to showcase ‘Duke’s Mayonnaise’. She sent me this link for pimento cheese. I have to admit that pimento cheese was not something I was very familiar with. This recipe sounds simple, so let’s give it a try. Some beautiful pimento peppers were found at the Marin Farmers Market. They did cost a weeks salary but WOW they are pretty. We are going to use some aged cheddar cheese that we found at Rumiano Cheese Company in Crescent City. Duke’s mayonnaise will be the binder of this cheese concoction.

The first task at hand was to roast our bright red pimento peppers. These peppers are fairly sweet, so roasting will bring out the sugars even more. A hot mesquite charcoal fire was built. The peppers were blistered and blackened on all sides. The peppers were put into a bowl and covered until they cooled. All the blackened skin was removed and the peppers chopped. We measured out 7 ounces of chopped peppers.

Eight ounces of the aged cheddar was grated and put into a bowl. Green onions, salt, pepper, a pinch of cayenne, a dash of Tabasco, chopped pimento were all mixed together with Duke’s mayonnaise. This mixture was covered and put into the Chilebrown ice cave. It was that simple.

We had some pimento cheese with some grilled hamburgers. What a treat.  The aged cheddar combined with the tasty roasted peppers was spectacular. Duke’s mayonnaise made this spread rich and decadent. The onions and cayenne raised the flavor bar to the sky. This was so good I had to make a bacon and pimento cheese sandwich. I just put my sandwich in the toaster oven and drooled till it was melty and gooey. Oh my gosh! I have missed out on pimento cheese most of my life. I am now in love with pimento cheese.

SECRET WEAPON

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