I mentioned early this morning that I woke up ...well..early this morning. At 4 AM to be exact. It was a rather brisk 7 degrees outside at that time and fell to 4 degrees by 8:30 AM before the sun made its way over the hill top and started to warm things up.
It got so warm that I opted to grill a nice big sirloin steak on the deck at noon when it was 16 degrees. It took a while to get the grill up to temps, but the wind was down so that helped. And the beef tasted great! with the baked potato and asparagus spears. And we had plenty of left overs for a cheese steak sandwich for our evening meal and even more for tomorrow's main meal. (Did I mention this was BIG sirloin steak?)
The meat is from the quarter of a steer we bought up near Amsterdam, NY last fall when it was becoming obvious that the deer were avoiding me. It had been previously butchered for a different customer who must have specified packages for a very large family. Very. Large.
Except for the ground beef (in one and a half pound packages) everything we've opened so far has been enough for four to six people. (Well, I guess if you're going to make 1/4 pound burgers, the chop meat would fit that description too.) But we're not complaining. To steal a little from Norm Abrams, wood worker, "Cook once, eat twice...or three times."
And this grass fed beef is tasty! It also is not marbled with fat the way beef out of a feed lot may be. There's just enough fat in the beef for flavor and enough on the outer edge so that the meat positively sizzles when it hits the pan or grill.
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We've been waiting and waiting for a propane delivery. Called the gas company two weeks ago and was told, "The ticket has been printed, they should be there on Monday." Monday came and went with no tanker appearing. Then, a week later, we called again. "They'll be in your neck of the woods on Wednesday (yesterday)", they said. Wednesday passed without a delivery.
So this morning I checked the tank. I've got about 15% according to the gauge. Good thing I've got a fireplace and wood to burn or that 15% would have disappeared days ago. Then I called the gas company again. "The ticket is right here. The driver was up there yesterday and says on a note that he couldn't find the house."
Hell, we've been here since 2006, they have delivered fuel here since then, the house is quite large, AND there's a 911 mandated reflective sign on the road clearly showing above the snow bank in bright blue. I'm guessing they have a new driver since anyone with a CDL and one that's specially tagged for hazardous materials, can get any number of jobs right now with the gas drilling folks for more money--and bennies--than the family owned business has been paying.
Any who, I was told they will be here on Friday. I need the propane but hate to think of what the bill is going to be like to fill my 1K gallon tank.
If I hadn't leased my mineral rights, do ya thing I could drill for my own gas?
Temperature is dropping again. After a bright, clear day, we have a very clear night ahead of us. That means all the heat(?) the sun provided during the day--it got up to 20 degrees-- will escape into space. We might see that zero degree mark.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go put another log on the fire.
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