I can't believe I have not only not eating leather breeches, but had to look them up to even know what they were. My Mama always just canned green beans from the garden when we had our fill of fresh. However the preferred meat to season with was a smoked hock. That's a cut I seldom see in markets anymore. I often have to buy them at farmer's market from the local abattoires and freeze them. Ditto smoked pork chops. I haven't served them in at least fifteen years. NOw, I'm hungry for them. Real old fashioned bacon is also good for seasoning beans. Slab cut and smokey.

Two stage process for killer steaks: Use thick steaks about one and a half inches thick. I love Ribeyes. Warm steaks by placing in a freezer bag in hot water for about 15. Dry and season both sides with Kosher salt well. Smoke on low for 4 hours or so...removing the steaks when they are about 20 to 30 degrees away from reaching desired edible temp. Place in freezer for quick reduction of temp (20 to 30 minutes or so) and then place on a rack in fridge to rest and dry for at least 4 plus hours. This sets the smoke and dries the steak which will aid in creating a wonderful "finish" To finish~ one of two options but #1 is my all time fav.... #1. Rub cold (smoked, dried) steaks with a little butter. Blast a cast iron skillet over high heat with about a tablespoon high heat oil such as peanut or grapeseed until nearly smoking. Place steak in pan. Cook until beautiful brown crust forms. Turn steak and cook other side until desired doneness. (please not past medium rare) Rest for at least 15 before inhaling.... nothing beats a great smoked pan fried steak! Method #2 for finishing: Rub cold smoked steaks with butter and finish off either on piping hot gas or charcoal grill. The above method is great for entertaining. You can smoke other meats using the same method (not smoking until completely finished) with a cold rest and then finishing either in the oven, stovetop, or on the grill. Quickly chilling them down in freezer after removing from smoker is key to prevent spoilage issues. Chickens done this way will end up with crispy skin if finished off at a higher temp. You get the best of both worlds,...smoke AND crispy skin! Pork tenderloins marinated, smoked, chilled, and finished off to get grill marks are fabulous. Trick is to make sure and take the meat off the smoker before it is 20 degrees or less being done so that you will have time to finish over high heat without over cooking the meat, ...and time to establish grill marks and a pleasant surface finish. For this the meat must be very cold for final step. I sometimes will chill down further in freezer AGAIN right before finishing...especially for small cuts such as pork tenderloins or chops. (they need to be thick too) I know this may seem like a hassle but actually comes in very handy for the cook because you can do your smoking early in the day and finish off right before dinner. The cold sets the smoke and yields fantastic flavor. I actually created this method because I have always heard that smoked meats taste better the day after smoking. It works. Give it a try you might like it! :)

The recipe books "Make a Mix" and "More Make a Mix" are really good and have many different dry mixes you can make yourself to have on hand. Here are a few I found on the WWW. Bacon-flavoured dip mix (DRY MIX RECIPE) Bacon flavoured dip mix 2 tb instant bacon bits 1 ts instant beef bouillon 1 tb instant minced onion 1/8 ts minced garlic Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; blend well. Spoon mixture onto a 6-inch square of aluminum foil and foil to make airtight (or zip-lock). Label as bacon-flavoured dip mix. Store in a cool, dry place and use within 6 months. Makes one package (about 3 T) of mix. Bacon flavoured dip: Combine 1 cup of sour cream and 1 package of mix. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. Makes about 1 cup of dip. VARIATIONS: substitute 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup cottage cheese, or 1 (8 oz)package of softened cream cheese for sour cream. You can do a beautiful label with all instructions. It'S a good gift! marika Onion soup MIX 3/4 cup instant (dry) minced onions 1/3 cup beef-flavor instant bouillon 4 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds, crushed 1/4 teaspoon sugar Combine all ingredients and keep in an airtight container. The same flavour than the onion soup from the grocery, but really cheap! marika sesame-cheese Dip mix -Dry mix RECIPE- 1 T grated parmesan cheese 1/2 t salt 1 dash pepper 2 t toasted sesame seeds 1/2 t celery seed 1/8 t garlic powder Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, blend well. Spoon mixture onto a little bag. Label, store in a cool, dry place, and use within 4 months. Makes 1 package (about 2 T) of mix. Combine 1 cup of sour cream and 1 package of mix. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. (the taste is better if you do it 24 h before you serve it, and this is the same for all dips mixes) marika Super salad Seasoning mix -DRY MIX RECIPE- Super salad seasoning mix 2 c. grated parmesan cheese 1/2 c. sesame seed 1 T. Instant minced onions 1/2 t. dried dill seed 3 T. celery seeds 1/2 t. freshly ground pepper 2 t. salt 1/2 t. garlic salt 2 T. Parsley flakes 2 T. poppy seeds 2 t. paprika Combine all ingredients. Put in a quart airtight container and label. Store and use within 3 to 4 months. Makes about 3 cups of mix. Use Super salad seasoning mix on the following: sprinkled topping over tossed green salads, baked potatoes and buttered French bread or rolls before toasting, as a garnish for potatoe salads, macaroni or egg salads and as sour cream dip made with 2 T. of mix to 1 cup of sour cream.

Here in central Massachusetts it is raining lightly between bouts of thunderstorms..but I am not complaining because the weather was absolutely perfect for the last three days. Jan and I took advantage of the good weather and went out on our photo walkabouts, one day to the botanical gardens, one day at the Merry-Go-Museum and on to a local lake then yesterday we spent the entire day sitting on the bank of a small pond in a marsh shooting scenics and pics of wild birds, turtles, frogs and such. Jan is now contentedly sitting in the living room watching the Red Sox while I sit here and do the post processing on the 1600+ photos that we shot in the last three days. After the ballgame is over its off to Jo-Ann fabrics where I want to buy a couple yards of rip-stop nylon to make a waterproof cover to fit over my Radio-Flyer wagon. Some people laugh at me for dragging that little red wagon around, but I have COPD and have to carry an 8lb oxygen tank to be used when I get short of breath, plus my photo backpack weighs 35lbs and another 6lbs for the tripod. That was all beginning to be a bit much for me to carry, so I got the wagon and now I can take all of that plus two nylon folding chairs, a gallon cooler of ice water, two thermoses of coffee, rain ponchos and a bag with trail snacks or a sack lunch. I can put all that mess in the wagon and it still rolls easy so let them laugh. I love smoked pork chops, but then since I built my electric smoker last year, I do perhaps half of our summer cooking in the smoker. There is nothing in the world like a 12 or 14lb turkey that has slow smoked for 8hrs. Well, I better get out of here and get back to my photos because Jan & I are off to a four day food fest with an antique car show one day, contemporar car show the next, half a dozen bands and a huge flea market and craft show starting tomarrow and who knows how many hundreds of photos we will shoot there.