Lotus Thai Cafe, Rocksprings, TX

 

      This is the cutest little cafe you'd never expect to find in Texas.  Located in Rocksprings (pop 830), about 58 miles northwest of Leakey.  The drive thru the Hill Country is always spectacular.  This small cafe offers a pretty diverse assortment of Thai food.

 Online Menu of Lotus Thai Cafe Restaurant, Rocksprings, Texas, 78880 - Zmenu  

      There are only four eateries in town. The chef at the Lotus Thai Café moved to Rocksprings from Thailand.  The owner, Aisika Davidson, people call her ‘A", is from Thailand. She used to work as a sous chef in Vegas, but her dream was to own a Thai restaurant.”

 

      On this day I was solo and drove over for the 11-2 lunch.  I have always enjoyed Oriental cuisine, but Thai might be my favorite.  I make Pad Thai at home a couple of times each year.  The driver over through the Hill Country is usually quite beautiful, but today it was drizzly with the ridge tops pretty much shrouded.  

    The dining room only holds about 33 folks, but that is plenty in a town this size.  Today's lunch special @ $8.99 was Thai Broccoli, Chicken, and Rice.  I, however, went with the Thai Orange Chicken.  The only rice they offered was white.  I prefer brown, but that's ok.  

      I loved my meal.  They give you plenty of food.  So much that I couldn't finish all mine.  The service was excellent.  The place was about half full for the lunch crowd, but the waitress was constantly moving, satisfying every customer, including me.    Total price for the meal was $14.95.  A long drive, but a meal well worth the effort.  

   

"Thai food is like a hug in a bowl" 

Will Ferrell

A Home for Winnie

         We got "Winnie", our new Polaris Ranger last winter.  It has proven to be a very handy ranch utility vehicle, even though we can only use it for off road use.  When we're not here during the summer months we need to store it.  Last spring we covered it with a custom fitted cover and ran a battery tender to keep it trickle charged while weren't here.  This works, but we were looking for something more permanent. 

 

      We decided on a small metal garage out near our other shed so we could run power from there as well.  I could also use it for a small work and storage area for tools.  I went with Derkson's Buildings, the same company that built our RV patio cover.  This garage will comfortably house the UTV with a little room for other storage.

      We ordered the building in late December and as such had to wait for them to put together the materials package, then schedule for building it on site.  Due to our idea of placement I had to trim a few limbs off a live oak and have gravel delivered to cover an area 12' by 20' about 6 inches deep.... about 5 cubic yards if gravel. 

Live oak is a workout even for a fat guy with a chain saw

12'x20' gravel bottom for 10'x18' garage

      The materials arrived and we finally got our 'build date' of January 21st.  Amazingly, when the truck arrived it contained a fully assembled garage.  Apparently, they don't build them on site anymore.  It was a tight fit back thru the trees where I wanted to put it, but he had a motorized hand truck (almost like a pallet jack) that he used to drag the building on skids and put it right in place.  A few limbs did still need to be trimmed.

  

      The garage was moved, settled, and leveled within 90 minutes.  We did have to contact the 'gravel guy' for a bit more due to the skids and increased height of the entry ramp.  We save a bit of money by having it delivered, and we raked and leveled it ourselves (Boy Howdy, this really tried kicking our butts).

      We had an electrician run electric from the other shed to this garage with an outlet for lighting as well as the battery tender.  

      The last of our projects this year.  Winnie now has a summer home complete with dry storage, recharging for the battery tender, and lockable. 

  

"Building your dream home is about desire and fantasy, but it’s achievable; anyone can do it" 

Kevin McCloud

Black Bear Link Cheddar Sausage

 

      The newest meat processing/smoking project for this winter is once again thanks to Barb's recent successful bear hunt.  So far, we have enjoyed bear burger, backstrap, and steaks.  Bear meat has quite a bit of internal, natural fat so it should lend itself well to smoking.  For this recipe I decided to concentrate on the processing of the ground meat into sausage with seasonings and packaging.  That leaves the cooking to whatever method desired according to your recipe.  

3 pounds bear burger

1-2 pounds bacon, diced small

2 Tbsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp sweet paprika

2 Tbsp fennel seeds, toasted

1 Tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed

2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup binder, such as dry powdered milk

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup red wine 

cheddar cheese 

3-4 feet hog casings, I used collagen casings for this, no soaking required

      Place burger into large bowl.   Add the seasonings/binder to the meat mixing well, being sure to coat all pieces.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

      When ready, grind all of the meat mixture through the grinder.  Add the bacon bits, cheese, cold water, and wine to the sausage grind and mix well, grind again.  Set the bowl of ground meat into the refrigerator for 1 hour.  I did mine overnight.  

      Setup your hog casings on the stuffer tube and start stuffing the ground sausage into the casings.  When done, measure the size of the links that you want and pinch/twist every other link in the opposite direction to ensure consistency.  Using a small pin, prick the sausage to help release air.  

      I did pre-smoke these on the wood pit at 150F till browned but not cooked to 165F. I used pecan chips over lump charcoal.  This firms up the skins, starts the cooking process, adds some smoke, but does not fully cook.  They stay together in the freezer when done this way.  Refrigerate or freeze when done.  This allows for cooking for your desired meal at a later date.  You can broil, bake, smoke, grill, or even fry these.  

      

      We did have a few issues with the process.  Creating and stuffing works smoothly, but our creation of links needs work.  I usually stuff the entire length and then crimp by twisting.  I used collagen casings this time.  Several links broke when twisting them (hence the irregular sizes) so I'm going to research further to see if I want to use hog rings and pliers next time.  Maybe I'm overstuffing them.  Final tally:  5 packs of bear sausage links, 

"There are two things nobody should ever have to watch being made, sausage and laws''

Mark Twain

Cabrito: Impulse power Captain....the Mad Chef crosses the Neutral Zone

 

      

      The Mad Chef is at it again.  Several years ago, when visiting San Antonio we dined at Mia Tierra, a very good Mexican Restaurant/Bakery in the downtown World Market.  I tried the Cabrito and found it very tasty.  On the sweeter side of lamb, but flavorful.  This meat is very popular in Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain.  Ever since I have wanted to try making it myself.  It is a very healthy meat.  You can roast or smoke this with proper preparation.  For this recipe I used smoke. 

      It took me a bit to find a half of goat meat for purchase.  There are several sources in this part of Texas that deal in it but had none on hand at this time.  I put out 'feelers' here in Leakey and was turned on to a local rancher that butchers a few times a year.  I discovered he would butcher in January and sold halves or whole goats.  He raises these mostly for the agricultural tax exemption and butchers young goats 18-24 months old.  I ordered a half and had it cut into front shoulder, backstraps, and rear quarter.  There isn't very much meat on the ribs.  This cost me $125.  I froze the front quarter and other cuts but saved the hind quarter for smoking.  Unfortunately, when I unwrapped the hind quarter I discovered the front shoulder was there as well.  I cooked them both.  

1 Whole goat leg about 8 pounds

1 cup Kosmos SPG seasoning

4 tbsp each dried basil rosemary, oregano and coriander

1 bottle chardonnay wine

1 white or yellow onion, quartered

3 cups beef broth

Tony Chachere's Butter Injection/Marinade

Equal amounts of rosemary, oregano, and coriander

 

      The night before cooking, unwrap the goat leg and put it in large plastic bag with wine, onion, and beef broth.  Place in fridge overnight.  Turn several times.  We were lucky, it was pretty cool at night, so we left on the deck cutting board. 

 

      The next morning preheat your pit to 225F.  Inject with Tony Chachere’s Butter Marinade.  Rub out with SPG, rosemary, oregano, and coriander.  Place the meat in the grill and close the lid.

      Allow the goat to smoke at 225F until the internal temperature reaches about 165F.  Remove and wrap tightly in foil.

      Return the pan to the grill and raise cooking to 275F until it reaches an internal temperature of 203F.  This could take about 3 more hours.  When the meat reaches 203F remove and let rest 1 hour.

       Using gloved hands, shred the meat off the bone.  Amazingly, our meat did not shred or become stringy, It was moist, tender, and easily cut.  Stack and serve as you wish.  Our finished product yielded 4 lbs of Cabrito for freezing and 1 bunch for tacos that evening.

 

      Now for the final test.  We liked the meat with tender, but sweeter, much like lamb.      

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." 

Harriet Van Horne

A Hierarchy of Hot Sauces

      I have always enjoyed hot sauce, HOTTER mostly in my much younger days.  My stomach no longer plays well with others.  I do still incorporate it in many dishes and do enjoy the occasional drop on my breakfast dishes.  I used to even make my own hot salsas, pico, and hot sauce, but now I leave it to the pros.  I do still occasionally make Hatch Pepper Peach Salsa and Pico de Gallo.  These days my emphasis is on flavor, then a bit of heat. 

      Spicy peppers are hot because they contain capsaicin. The white ribs inside the pepper are the main source of capsaicin, not the seeds, contrary to popular belief.  Capsaicin is the chemical compound found in peppers that causes a burning sensation when it makes contact with skin, eyes, or mucous membranes. This spicy oil can even stick to your hands when you handle hot peppers without gloves.

      The Scoville scale is a method of measuring the hotness or spiciness of peppers and pepper products like hot sauce.  Scoville Heat Units, called SHU, represent the level of heat you can expect from eating a hot pepper.  Peppers that fall low on the scale are less spicy, and peppers that rank high on the scale produce a stronger burning sensation on the mouth and skin.

      Hot sauce is made by combining chili peppers with other ingredients to create a condiment that's spicy and flavorful.  The main ingredient is chili peppers, which provide the heat from capsaicin.  Other common ingredients include vinegar, which acts as a preservative and can also alter the flavor, citrus fruits, like lemons or limes, seasonings, like garlic, and salt.  

      There are several sites to shop for sauces:  

Hot Sauce — Pepper Palace

HOTSAUCE.COM - The Original Hot Sauce Emporium Since 1995

Hot Sauce Scoville Scale | From Mild To Insanity - Pepper Geek

Ratings of sauces I have enjoyed and their heat scale (1-10):  

Scorned Woman 5 

Cholula  4

Chrystal's  4

Melindas Chipotle 3

Tabasco Original 3

Tapatio  3

Melindas Green Sauce  2

Melindas Wing Sauce  2

Tabasco Garlic  2

Tabasco Chipotle  2

Trappey's  2

Tiger Sauce  2

Franks Red Hot  2 

      Scorned Woman should only be used posthumously.  I use quite a bit of Tabasco, Chrystals, Cholula, and Tapatio in my recipes.  Franks Red Hot is my go-to for wings, and Tiger Sauce is the perfect match for BBQ.  Anything on the scale from 6-10 should only be used to deter a bear attack or as a paint solvent.  

"For some women, a man is their whole meal. For me, life is a full meal, and a man is just the hot sauce. If a man wants to be my whole meal, I say, 'That's nice, baby, but right now, I'm already full."

Lisa Nicole Carson

A Gringo's Guide to Mexican Cheeses

 

      Of course we have all used Mexican cheese at one time or another, but most times it is the bagged variety of Kraft (or whoever) Mexican Blend.  At small Mexican markets and some of the better volume groceries (Meijers, HEB, Walmart) you can find the small wheels of authentic types, some even shredded.  Since buying our Texas property we have learned much about this variety of cheeses, how they compare to American versions, and their best uses according to our preferences.  

      Most of the most popular varieties are fresh cheeses, such as queso fresco, panela, and asadero. The two most popular aged cheeses are Cotija and Chihuahua.  Four cheeses produced in Mexico are entirely Mexican inventions: Oaxaca, Cotija, Chihuahua and Manchego.

Oaxaca

Known as quesillo in Oaxaca and referred to as queso Oaxaqueño or queso Oaxaca in the rest of Mexico, this white, semi-hard cheese from Oaxaca is similar in flavor to unaged Monterey Jack.  It is notable for its texture; it's sold as rolled up balls of flat ropes that pull apart like string cheese, much like Mozzarella.  We use it often as it melts well and has a smooth texture.  This is one of our favorites.   

Manchego

This delicious cheese was introduced to Mexico from Spain. In Mexico, it's made with a mixture of cow and goat milk rather than sheep milk. We've used it on Toast with Prosciutto and Manchego.

Queso Fresco

This soft white cheese is a fresh cheese made with cow's milk, goat milk, or a combination of the two. It is sold in small rectangular pieces similar in size to adobo bricks, which is why it is also known as adobera. Queso fresco comes from Jalisco, in the western part of Mexico. It has a mild, slightly tangy flavor and crumbles and shreds easily, making it makes a fantastic topping for Enchiladas or Grilled Corn.

Queso Anejo

Queso añejo is the aged version of queso fresco. It does not melt when heated, Well-aged batches can become quite firm and salty (similar to ricotta salata or even Parmesan). It is an excellent garnish when crumbled on top of tacos, salads or other dishes.

Cotija

Cotija is a hard cow's milk cheese from the town of Cotija in the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico. It has a crumbly texture and salty flavor likened to Feta, but it is also known as Mexico's Parmesan cheese. Try this popular cheese atop dishes such as Chilaquiles, salads, pasta, or Spicy black Bean Dip. 

Asadero

Also known as queso quesadilla, Asadero cheese is great for melting. Try it with Hatch Chiles Rellenos and in this delectably melty grilled sandwich. 

Chihuahua

Queso Chihuahua has nothing to do with the dog – rather it originated in the state of Chihuahua. It’s sometimes referred to as “Queso Menonita” as the Mennonite communities in the area were the first to produce it. It’s aged, firm, and yellow and is often compared to cheddar. It’s a Mexican melting cheese and is used most in cheese dips. We love it in Hatch Green Chile Cheese Dip.

Queso Crema

This cheese is technically a cream. Queso Crema or Queso Doble Crema (Mexican Crema) which translates as “cream cheese.”. It’s used as a dressing for spreading or drizzle and is very smooth, rich, and creamy.  Very much like watered down sour cream. 

      We have in one form or another used all of the cheeses, some we like, some not so much.  It all comes with time.  Oaxaca, Cotija, Queso Fresco, and Chihuahua are our favorites.  Of course, when get back to NW Michigan it's usually the 'Mexican Mix" blend for us.  We never freeze these.  We enjoy them fresh all of the time.  

"Age is of no importance unless you're a cheese"

Billy Burke