As of a few days ago, there were two artichokes growing in the garden after all. I didn’t spot the second, smaller pod because it was hiding under one of the large leaves the plant grows. The two pods are currently softball and tennis ball sizes. I was hoping that we would get a second one since we decided to let the first one become an artichoke thistle flower.

Yesterday, I discovered a third ‘choke growing on the second artichoke plant. We haven’t decided on it’s fate yet, but there is a better than 50% chance that it will also become a flower. Today, I found a forth ‘choke in the third plant. The jury is out on the fate of that one.

This means we can have our ‘choke and eat it too! Click on the image to enlarge.

Damsel and I prepared our Superbowl Sunday meal today - we decided on pulled pork sandwiches served with blue cheese broccoli slaw and a dill pickle, a traditional Memphis pit BBQ meal.

I started the picnic roast (pork shoulder) in the crockpot early this morning, throwing in some pepper, fruit juices, chopped onion and garlic cloves. We let it cook all day. When I pulled the pork it was literally falling off of the bone. I used a couple of forks to shred the meat and separate the lean stuff away from the fat.

Damsel came up with a wonderful home made barbecue sauce with that tart southern cooked taste. She placed a scoop of the shredded pork on a bun and topped it with the sauce. It was the best.

We chowed down during the pregame show and took our after dinner walk at halftime. It was a great meal, a good football game and an all around great day - really a Super Sunday.

What you are looking at is Barbecued Pizza - really. I put the pizza stone out on the gas BBQ, close the lid and adjust the flame for 500° or so. Then, after it’s hot, I bring out the pizza that Damsel has loaded up with goodies, slide it onto the stone and close the lid on it for ten or fifteen minutes.

The ingredients are mostly heart-healthy, like the marinated artichoke hearts, olives and sliced tomatoes, but what would a pizza be without mozzarella cheese (low fat, of course) and some meat like the thin Italian pancetta slices we spread over the top. We served ourselves a slice and a half each with a green salad on the side.

Damn good, if I do say so, myself. Click on the image to enlarge. Remember not to drool on the keyboard.

The centerpiece for today’s Sunday dinner will be these Asian lilies: Sumatra (dark red), Broadway (blush) and white Stargazers. Appropriate for our Chinese-style steamed breast of chicken and steamed veggies with saffron rice.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Today, Damsel and I prepared this sumptuous Italian mozzarella-stuffed meatballs served over angel hair pasta and topped off with Damsel’s killer Marinara sauce.

I prepared the ground meat from lean pork loin and beef round tip. I carefully trimmed the meats and blended the two together through the grinder.

Damsel added the herbs, spices and homemade Italian-style breadcrumbs. She stuffed each of the meatballs with ciliegine - a cherry tomato-sized ball of mozzarella cheese.

Oh yeah, this was excellent. Click image to enlarge. Do not drool on your keyboards.

On the weekends, we give our dog, Bear, an ice cream treat for dogs (Frosty Paws). Last weekend, when I opened up the treat for her, I saw an alien looking out at me . . .

Since it was a dark and rainy day today, Damsel prepared one of our favorite “comfort food” dishes - chicken and dumplings. Day-yam - I swear it is the best batch she ever made. Now, I’m too full to blog so click on the picture above and see if you can refrain from drooling on your keyboard.

We have had pretty good success with pork tenderloin when we grill it with a honey-mustard glaze. Today, Damsel made some apple compoté and baked broccoli/cauliflower au gratin to serve with this delectable entree. Click on the image below to enlarge.

Damsel and I decided to stay home from the range today. We wanted to watch football (we have the DirecTV NFL SuperFan package in HD). We also wanted to relax and prepare our Sunday dinner without the shooting and cleaning sessions. We’re going to move the shooting to another weekday, now that I’m retired.

For dinner, we grilled up a prime rib cut an inch-and-a-half thick. We also had a couple of twice-baked stuffed potatoes and steamed broccoli on the side. What a great meal - we had to walk it off afterward like we do most Sunday dinners.

Not to brag, but I nailed the grilling of the rib on the barbecue. We prepared the roast by rubbing it with olive oil and coarse black pepper. I then took it to a very hot grill and seared it on both sides. After browning over the high temperature, I backed the fire off and roasted the meat for about a half hour, turning it halfway through. I took it off of the grill when the internal temperature got up to 130°F. It was nice and pink when we cut into it. Damsel and I split this one cut and still had leftovers for a steak salad later this week.

Please stop drooling on your keyboard. For a closer drool, click on the image above.

Found on Kini’s Hawaiian Website:

We got a good laugh at this when we saw it. I guess the idea is to get all the cheddar, provolone, jack cheese, etc., in alignment in order to eat it. Right?

If, for some reason, you have no idea what a Rubik’s Cube is, visit Wikipedia, where the following description may be found:

The Rubik’s Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernõ Rubik. Originally called the “Magic Cube”, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toys in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that year. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes have sold worldwide making it the world’s top-selling puzzle game. It is widely considered to be the world’s best-selling toy.

In a classic Rubik’s Cube, each of the six faces is covered by 9 stickers, among six solid colours (traditionally white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow). A pivot mechanism enables each face to turn independently, thus mixing up the colours. For the puzzle to be solved, each face must be a solid colour. Similar puzzles have now been produced with various numbers of stickers, not all of them by Rubik. The original 3×3×3 version celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2005.