Idle Rambling -- March 10, 2020

Wow, I'm in a great mood. 

Etta James on Alexa.

Weather: it's going to hit 80° later this afternoon. It already feels that warm.

Grilling: a long story. To protect the innocent, I can't divulge the details. But yesterday while shopping at one of the more upscale grocers in the area, I was given a 1.5-pound roast for free. No gimmicks; no coupons; simply a gift paid forward. So today I'm going to grill a roast. This is the first time I've grilled a roast. We'll see how it goes.

Stimulus: looks like the president and the GOP are talking about a $300 billion "safety net" package of some sort focused on blue collar workers as they might be affected by coronavirus. It was somewhat hilarious when I listened to the US Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer. He was clearly against helping the blue collar workers. He was talking like a Republican. He says American CEOs want the coronavirus contained; not a "safety net" for their workers. Pretty amazing.

Never let a crisis go to waste: one almost has to laugh. First they said Trump did not act fast enough or spend enough. It was the US Congress that delayed getting him an "emergency" spending bill for him to sign, and then when they did, way more than he asked for. So, now, he's asking for $300 billion in tax relief to deal with the "fallout" from coronavirus, and the Dems are saying he's spending too much. Well-played.

Babies: in the space of one 7-day week, three new babies in the family. First, our younger daughter and son-in-law are the proud parents of two twins, Judah and Levi, born as scheduled, Tuesday last, at 11:30 a.m. Yesterday, one of my sisters sent the photo of her first grandchild -- a granddaughter born earlier yesterday in Tucson, Arizona. Pretty amazing.

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Grilling

Because we live in an apartment complex which does not allow grilling on the patios, I have a heavy-duty shopping bag filled with all the grilling "stuff" I need and keep it in the trunk of my car, along with charcoal.

My grilling bag with everything in it that I need:

Prepare and marinate about three hours before grilling:

• four parts (I didn't measure, maybe 1/4 cup) vegetable oil
• one part balsamic vinegar (do not overdo the balsamic vinegar; err on side of less is best, but don't omit)
• one part soy sauce
• one-half part Worcestershire sauce
• [I would have added a tsp of smoke, but I couldn't find any in the refrigerator]
• some garlic powder (if no cloves)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt (I used to not use salt but salt is important for reasons than just flavor)
• [another recipe suggested brown sugar so after an hour of marinading, I added  a quarter-cut of brown sugar; be careful with the brown sugar; less is probably best; o/w too sweet]

The roast with a wonderful marinade before grilling:

Grilling on indirect heat (of course, the Weber is covered while cooking; cover removed only for the photo). Note that the aluminum foil is left open just a bit at the top:

Post script: wow, it turned out well. I know I'm in the minority on this, but I agree with those who say all one needs is a Weber grill. It is amazing. I've never used a meat thermometer before but this afternoon, grilling a thick roast it was definitely needed. Wow, it turned out moist. It was incredible. I can't believe how effortless it is to grill. Every time I learn something new. Maybe more later. I have to check the NDIC daily report.