Beef Jerky and Jungle Garden

Spicy terryaki beef jerky on my lips...

Using the dehydrator, and his own special marinade, my husband works for several days to marinate, and then dehydrate the strips of sliced beef that he has bought. The house smells strongly then of terryaki and spices. The wash cloths and counters are often dangerous with raw meat juices for a little bit, as he is an exuberant cook. But he smiles and tries to appease my salmonella paranoia by taking precautions: washing counters with hot soapy water, quarantining his cloths and towels, etc. One morning I leave a note for my teen son and his friend who slept over. "Watch out! Don't put your bagels on the counter here to butter them. Juices may have oozed out over the night from the dehydrator!"

But, wow, several days later, and a rapidly-depleting bag of beef jerky later, I have to boast that my husband makes good beef jerky! It is a favorite snack for most of us in the family, and it goes fast. We ration it out to make it last longer. I sometimes selfishly don't keep to the ration that I recommend to the kids. How bad is that? My man smiles though, glad that I like his beef jerky.

We tackled the garden jungle today. The three weeks' worth of weeds was daunting at first. Indeed we had put off going to the garden for a week or so, knowing we needed to, but afraid of what we would see. So, we had played in the Y pool for six hours one day, and hung out with friends another day. This morning, though, we knew that it was time. Two hours later, and covered in sweat and brown dirt, we were exhilarated at our progress. Popping radishes in our mouth, or a fresh rare strawberry, or some handfuls of chives and lettuce make it all worthwhile too.

What are some of your favorite things of the summer? I like the laidback pace of life, gardening, time with friends and family, and relaxing around the Y pool in the hot sunshine.