HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIK!!!
What a gift Erik received this morning. For the very first time, a congo (gentle howler monkey) came right down to our patio and ate the leaves from our papaya trees! We have never seen a monkey up so close and personal. We captured a few terrific photos, but for some reason, the blog won't let me upload them.....so for now, I'll tell you all a bit more about Erik's birthday plans. Photos will come as soon as I can get them to work!
Our lives are a bit hectic now, as many of you know, so I was a bit overwhelmed in planning for Erik's birthday this year. Mirian and I have prepared tamales for lunch- but I wanted to do more. We don't have a Target where I can run out an buy him something little.....lucky for me, good fortune was smiling down. We recently picked up a Weber grill from a friend who was leaving town, and have since been grilling just about every meal. We have yet to cook a steak on the grill, so I thought, "let's grill up some delicious meat!" I went to the local butcher, then to the 'big' grocery store, and was dismayed that neither location had any red meat. I thought my plan was doomed for failure- until I asked Mirian where I could buy some steak for Erik's birthday.
As luck would have it, her friends were butchering an 850 lb. cow that morning (Tuesday). We hopped in the car, and were off to choose our meat! (For those vegetarians out there, please do not scroll down).
I have never seen behind the meat window at Publix, let alone visited a butcher. It was quite an experience. The whole family was part of the action: the day began for them at 1AM, by the time we arrived at 9AM, they were nearly complete with their work. The father and eldest son were busy cutting the bulk of the meat off of the bone, and working the machinery to ground the meat and slice the bones. (Our pups are HAPPY today! They have never had such fresh delicacy!) The mother was busy attending to clients- filling orders and slicing steaks. Even grandma was involved, keeping the area tidy, and preparing the 'fugon' (outdoor wood grill) for the next meal. The family couldn't have been more gracious.
All of the 'lomito', or tenderloin, was already sold by the time we got there, but I did score ten pounds of delicious 'posta de res' (a soft cut of meat from the leg), as well as some premium grade ground meat, and beef spare ribs. We have cut out the middle man! For the next few months, the family will be butchering a cow every two weeks or so. We'll have all the fresh meat we can eat! For my next trip, I just need to read up on the different cuts of meat, and how to translate them into Spanish.
With this delicious meat, we will be hosting a big barbeque tonight- Young Joo, my Korean friend, has helped me marinate some thinly sliced meat in an authentic Korean style....the rest of the meat is marinating in a worcheshire-like sauce. I hope Erik enjoys his present!!
And for the family out there, here are (soon to come) some pictures of Kemper taken on Monday, getting practice in being a big sister with her friends Lilia (two months Kemper's elder), and her brother Will, three months. My girlfriend tells me that the problems they have run into are that Lilia loves her brother TOO much at times, and won't let him be!! I pray that we share these same dilemmas!
What a gift Erik received this morning. For the very first time, a congo (gentle howler monkey) came right down to our patio and ate the leaves from our papaya trees! We have never seen a monkey up so close and personal. We captured a few terrific photos, but for some reason, the blog won't let me upload them.....so for now, I'll tell you all a bit more about Erik's birthday plans. Photos will come as soon as I can get them to work!
Our lives are a bit hectic now, as many of you know, so I was a bit overwhelmed in planning for Erik's birthday this year. Mirian and I have prepared tamales for lunch- but I wanted to do more. We don't have a Target where I can run out an buy him something little.....lucky for me, good fortune was smiling down. We recently picked up a Weber grill from a friend who was leaving town, and have since been grilling just about every meal. We have yet to cook a steak on the grill, so I thought, "let's grill up some delicious meat!" I went to the local butcher, then to the 'big' grocery store, and was dismayed that neither location had any red meat. I thought my plan was doomed for failure- until I asked Mirian where I could buy some steak for Erik's birthday.
As luck would have it, her friends were butchering an 850 lb. cow that morning (Tuesday). We hopped in the car, and were off to choose our meat! (For those vegetarians out there, please do not scroll down).
I have never seen behind the meat window at Publix, let alone visited a butcher. It was quite an experience. The whole family was part of the action: the day began for them at 1AM, by the time we arrived at 9AM, they were nearly complete with their work. The father and eldest son were busy cutting the bulk of the meat off of the bone, and working the machinery to ground the meat and slice the bones. (Our pups are HAPPY today! They have never had such fresh delicacy!) The mother was busy attending to clients- filling orders and slicing steaks. Even grandma was involved, keeping the area tidy, and preparing the 'fugon' (outdoor wood grill) for the next meal. The family couldn't have been more gracious.
All of the 'lomito', or tenderloin, was already sold by the time we got there, but I did score ten pounds of delicious 'posta de res' (a soft cut of meat from the leg), as well as some premium grade ground meat, and beef spare ribs. We have cut out the middle man! For the next few months, the family will be butchering a cow every two weeks or so. We'll have all the fresh meat we can eat! For my next trip, I just need to read up on the different cuts of meat, and how to translate them into Spanish.
With this delicious meat, we will be hosting a big barbeque tonight- Young Joo, my Korean friend, has helped me marinate some thinly sliced meat in an authentic Korean style....the rest of the meat is marinating in a worcheshire-like sauce. I hope Erik enjoys his present!!
And for the family out there, here are (soon to come) some pictures of Kemper taken on Monday, getting practice in being a big sister with her friends Lilia (two months Kemper's elder), and her brother Will, three months. My girlfriend tells me that the problems they have run into are that Lilia loves her brother TOO much at times, and won't let him be!! I pray that we share these same dilemmas!
Labels: happy birthday Erik
