A Week in Minnesota - Part 2

   The next morning, I helped grill 60 lbs of juicy, thick, marinated pork chops. Yep, you read that right: 60 lbs! Again hot work. We had to spray ourselves with water! 
 And then in the afternoon it was pasta making but the scale of everything was almost too much to take in. They had a huge electric pasta machine that completely dwarfs my humble one back home. It sure did the job and I soon got into the rhythm of things. Absolutely great fun.

The  big lump was cut into smaller lumps...

...rolled flat once and then rolled
again just thinner.

Once a week, they make a whole load of wholewheat bread rolls so I got to help roll those out too. It takes a bit of practice but I did manage to use both hands which I've never been able to do.

 And then there was the salsa. Just incredible! My job was to semi-blanche bushels and bushels of freshly picked tomatoes so I had to wear so I had to wear these very cool, heavy-duty gloves that came up to my elbows. Now, I'm not actually fussed by salsa usually but this stuff was just so good. Fresh green bell peppers, garlic, onions, chillies and tomatoes all poured into a huge vat where I stirred it all together with a paddle. Seriously good stuff but unfortunatley I was up to my elbows in it so I didn't get to take in pictures for you guys so my apologies.
 I'll leave this one here I think but worry not, part three is under construction...

Grilling out on a huge BBQ!

The awesome pasta machine

The rolled pasta was hung on the
racks behind me

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator 

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly

A Week in Minnesota - Part 1

My delicious and much needed toasted sandwich

  Again, before we flew out, it was planned that we would be staying with friends of friends back in the UK who live in Minnesota. The drive from Chicago was supposed to be just over seven hours which for me isn't usually a problem at all but we hit some really bad traffic as soon as we joined the interstate as a truck/lorry had keeled over into the central reservation. It didn't look good. Anyhow, this added another hour or so to the journey and in the rather unseasonal weather with temperatures soaring above the nineties, it was a pretty tough drive.

 We got there in the end, though this is where the surprise comes in. The friends whom we were invited to stay lived on a huge farm. It was so great to be ushered into their church dining room, geared to seat (if I'm correct) over a hundred and sixty people, and be fed toasted sandwiches (they make the bread themselves) and tomatoes and peppers grown in their own garden. By this time I was getting pretty excited and that's when I saw the kitchen... It looked awesome!

 Now, for me as a wanna-be chef, the idea growing and making your own produce is just fantastic. You personally are in charge of quality control every day and menus you can plan according to the seasons which is much healthier and the produce is so much more flavoursome. Fantastic!

Dicing pineapple for a sweet 'n' sour sauce

 The day after next, I was introduced to the art of mini-barns which are great fun to work on. To make one you need, for want of a better word, a recipe so I caught on. After I helped make dinner in the kitchen and made a sweet 'n' sour sauce from scratch while frying kilograms of wild rices. That's hot work!

Stay tuned, there's a whole lot more to come...

Jacob

The tools for the job...

...with a twist!

Yep, that's a nail gun.

Installing windows for a mini-barn

Working in the awesome kitchen!

In case you're wondering...I'm having a blast!

Re-fried beans. I might get a recipe sometime soon.

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator 

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly

A BBQ in the Park

...as you can see!

My plate with a BBQ pulled
pork burger

 The sun was blazing from a blue sky flecked with a few clouds, anybody would know that it was going to be a scorcher of a day. You could almost smell the meat grilling! The plans for this particular day had been settled before flying out even so I had really been looking forward to driving (nearly three hours so only a short trek) to meet up with some old friends at a park for a "Grill-Out" as folks over here say.

 It didn't take long to get down to business and eating...

 So, what was on the menu? Ground-beef burgers, hot-dogs, macaroni cheese, cool and fresh sweetcorn and the most amazing BBQ pulled pork that had been slow cooked in a crock-pot/slow cooker for hours. There were also homemade cakes and nearly a hundred cookies too! Which reminds me...

A slow cooker

 Wanna-be Chef's Tip - Apparently, one of the best ways to keep your cookies moist and bendy anywhere is to store them in an airtight container with a few slices of cheap bread.

Ice-cream cake!

 Back home I like to play football (or soccer as it is known as over here) but I played a bit of basketball which was great fun before eating more cookies and ice-cream cake. Attention: if ever you are in the States, you must try an ice-cream cake! Man, is it good stuff! Vanilla and chocolate ice-cream with a layer of caramel and a crumbly cookie base. Oh, boy... 

 So, after a fantastic day, it was time to head back to the motel. However, the next adventure was about to begin; something I never expected but will never forget!

Seasoned with Good Times,

Jacob

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator 

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly

Continental Breakfasts

Behold, the waffle maker!

 Firstly I'd like you readers to know that I'm well and up to the brim with things to share! With regards to blogging, this trip has proved a little difficult hence the lack of posts. I've either not been able to stay in one place long enough to be able to blog or there's been just no access to the internet whatsoever but, anyhow, I'm now online so I shall tell of you my discoveries.

 Continental breakfasts. It's just one of those things I suppose. If your travelling and spending a lot of time on the road then a Motel with a pool, (wi-fi!) and a continental breakfast does the job. Fluffy waffles dripping with melting butter and maple syrup, fresh fruit, hot coffee, doughnuts, cinammon rolls and croissants; that's good to wake up to, believe me! Did I mention that most are free?
 Now, anybody for waffles? Let's make some!

First spray the top and bottom of the griddle. Now, can you see the waffle mixture machine to the right?

Go ahead and fill a cup of that...

...and pour the whole thing over the bottom of the griddle.

Close the griddle and flip it. This starts a timer for nearly three minutes.

After three minutes, flip the griddle back over and plate up your hot, golden waffle. Bring on the maple syrup!

 I know, "It's just a waffle machine," you might say but I actually think they're really good fun. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I've got a whole load of exciting stuff to share with you all so be sure to stay posted and hopefully you'll hear from me very soon!

Seasoned with Amusement,

Jacob

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator 

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly