This time of year is pretty boring in my plant collection. However, there are a few plants who are thinking about blooming.
Anthericum fruticosum (which I really know nothing about, except that it’s a very reliable bloomer, and it needs a new pot, obviously):
Gasteria bicolor v. liliputana (also a very reliable bloomer – has several inflorescences on it right now):
Haworthia picta:
Aloe albiflora hybrid:
…and that’s about it for now. Thanks for stopping by, reading, and commenting!
My food dehydrator (well, technically my MOM’S food dehydrator) has been sitting on a shelf in my garage for years. Possibly decades. I had some bottom round steaks in the freezer (you remember, from my braising experiment?), so I decided it was time to make some beef jerky. Everyone in my family loves jerky, so I figured it would be a hit. My mom used to make this same jerky for snacks for me when I was a kid. I loved it then, and I love it now.
I thawed the steaks, and sliced them into strips (with the grain, per the recipe, and about 1/3 inch thick). There was about a pound of steak. There were a few fatty strips, so I roasted those in the toaster oven for Mindy, who was VERY appreciative.
The marinade was simple: 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tsp garlic salt, and 1 tsp seasoned pepper (which I didn’t have, but I DID have a bottle of ‘Gullah Luv’ seasoning from South Carolina, so I used that).
I threw the strips into the marinade, and let them soak up all the flavorful goodness for a little more than an hour.
Once they were done marinating, I spread them out on the racks of the dehydrator, and plugged it in. The recipe said to dry for 5 to 7 hours, but my jerky took a little over 9 hours, for whatever reason. It turned out perfectly, though, and I think Rich has eaten almost all of his half already, 2 days later.
It’s nice to be back at home!