Lyon Family Farms | Family Time

We had a great day at Lyon Family Farms.

 https://www.lyonfamilyfarms.com

SERVE - Proud of Tytus learning to serve in community!

Two Saturdays out of the month we work with local "serve" opportunities to help out in our community. Last year I decided Tytus was mature enough to start helping out. It's a great time for both of us and we enjoy spending time together cooking. Sure, we do other things, but since this is our passion that's where we are the most utilized. We usually prepare and/or cook for both the people serving and the community we are in.

Come and put your skills and talents to work...we'll see you there!

https://servehuntsville.org

http://www.friendsof400.com/

Easy Home Pickle No Recipe

Use leftover pickling liquid in your favorite pickled products to make your own pickled vegetables without needing more containers or ingredients for pickling liquid. Just bring your vegetables!

Quick Calzones!

 The Boyz and I make some Calzones using premade store bought dough.

Serve - Love Your Neighbor!

Every 1st and 3rd Saturday Tytus and I volunteer our cooking skills to serve our community. With 2 different groups. 

We have grilled hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken...On gas grills, charcoal, and smokers. 

Sometimes we setup assembly lines and make packed lunches with some of the best sub sandwiches available anywhere! 

On cold days we like to make chili or one of my favorites, white chicken chili. We make this with chicken quarters smoked and pulled. And then made in a big pot on a propane burner. 

I have included two links below if you'd like to check out areas to serve in the Huntsville / Madison area. The groups do car mechanics, bicycle mechanics, landscaping/yardwork, painting, all kinds of construction, art and any kind of fun projects with the kids. And this is not an exhaustive list! - Come serve! (Not just cooking)

ServeHuntsville.org

Friendsof400.com

Stephanie's New Job

After a grueling 3 years working in the ER (and through a pandemic) Stephanie has landed a new job! School Nurse! This will definitely help with our family dynamics and childcare issues. Which will also save us some money. And who doesn't need to save some money? (especially lately!!!)

Because of this, I have also created a few new t-shirts for her to be able to wear to work. Now the last one I made for her when she first started in the ER (the leopard print one) and it has been a best seller along with Tie Dye being trendy again. The retro vintage Nurse one is also HOT right now! To check out all the designs follow this link to my TeePublic store... https://bit.ly/NurseDesign

On TeePublic they have a few different things available like stickers, more cell phone cases, buttons, magnets, laptop cases, journals...

Ezra Karate!

Earlier this year Ezra decided he wanted to take karate. We were quite surprised! But he loves to go and has been sticking with it for a few months now. He has even made a few stripes and one belt. 

We are pretty sure he is taking it for the wrong reasons (to beat up his older brother). But we love it for all the right reasons: discipline, routine, practice, taking responsibility... Improving his motor skills. 

Grandma and grandpa got a great punching/kicking stand for him to practice on. Observe the master at work!

Family Kitchen

Tytus and I have started planning a few new meals and ideas for filming. We are at the stage of "family" now that keeps us busy almost every day of the week.

Tytus and Ezra both have several things each week for us to keep up with Karate, Boy Scouts, Youth Group...To name a few.

Nowadays we all occupy the kitchen during mealtimes. Even now Ezra has learned a few things he can cook by himself. Although he prefers not to. We've noticed that along with gas prices groceries have also gone up.

We are not going to compromise the quality of meals we enjoy. Rather, move to be more "kitchen ninja" than before.

Tytus has quite a few "camps" to enjoy this summer but then he says he is ready to get back at it (making videos).

If you do stop by from time to time, leave a comment on something you may want to see. We are hoping to add more "tips, tricks, and kitchen hacks" as we see people enjoy those types of posts.

Hope you had a GREAT 4th of July and summer so far!

Why I Quit Social Media (and kept LinkedIn)

"I'm going to QUIT [personal] social media." Everyone talks about it at one point or another. But few seem to carry through with it. Friends told me, "You can block 'this' and restrict 'that'. You can remove the app from your phone..." before quitting altogether. - That's more of a hassle. Quit already and stop trying to appease addiction.

What we want is for everything to be convenient for us. Or we have gotten used to "humble bragging" and haven't noticed it yet. How many "selfies" do you post? In USA culture that tells me how much we think of ourselves. Not because we post a Selfie, but how many times and why?

The excuse I hear the most is, "I would but then I wouldn't be able to stay in touch with friends and family all over the world". That's a valid excuse. Although, how many will seek out friends and family outside of Facebook or Instagram? We have a cellphone number, What's App account, and/or Messenger app that we could keep in contact with. But that's more personal, and direct, and it takes being intentional. Most of us are not ready for that commitment. It takes work.

For some of us, our personal Facebook and/or Instagram is also our "side hustle" or our business. And of course, that requires more self-promotion. I get that.

I have been off of my personal Facebook and Instagram for about 2 months or so now. I haven't missed it. I thought I would but the longer I stay off the less I want to go back. My wife is still connected so family and friends still see highlights of what we're doing.

Here are some of the benefits. These are a few things that came to mind immediately!

• Increased time in reading books
• Increased time paying attention to real people and real conversations. Being engaged.
• More family time.
• Making more of an effort to call and talk to people one on one. (friends and family, lunches, coffee meet-ups)
• Being interested and participating in things that make a difference in my circle of influence.

From time to time I will check back into my accounts and see how "social culture" has progressed. Like most of you, I have a lot of pictures and content out there. BUT things that are dear to me are already safe and secure before they ever reach a social media platform.

I don't include LinkedIn as 'personal social media' per se because I hope the content stays more business and professionally minded going forward. Not buying into rants, fake news, family vacations, and what "Timmy" had for lunch.

My plan going forward is to post more on my website. What happens when Facebook/Meta or Instagram changes how they do things? Or TikTok gets shut down? My stuff will still be safe. I plan on utilizing my own website https://tyronebcookin.com. Answering comments and posting stuff relevant to us. I've already been told "Good Luck!" getting people to come to you! It's alright. At least if they do I know they're my people, my niche, or at least 'haters' that take the time. SMILE

Oh, and Twitter? I deleted that ongoing dumpster fire years ago.

* If you have a PERSONAL blog or website, list it in the comments so I can come to see what you're working on.

Kitchen Tools - Weighing In & Weeding The Clutter

Wow! Some of the articles I ran into these last few weeks. People love lists! Today I cover 3 different lists that will help you find your tools in the kitchen.

This first list "15 Awesome Kitchen Tools You Didn't Know You Needed" should change to "2 or 3...".
https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/apartmentliving/tips-tricks-renters/15-kitchen-tools-you-didnt-know-you-needed/

These are my top 3 picks out of that list:

1. FreshForce Orange Juicer - Not worth $45 but I like the concept. I use tongs to squeeze the fruit and my hand to catch the seeds. Cheaper products: https://amzn.to/3s8fyWA

2. Silicone Universal Lid - I can see the usefulness of this product. But again, not worth the estimated $54 for that particular lid. Cheaper glass see-through options are available. https://amzn.to/3LNHhE2

3. Cherry and Olive Pitter/Obsessive Chef Cutting Board - This is a tie. A cherry/olive pitter can be useful but I buy them pitted. But a good quick smash with the back of a knife and you can remove the pit. The cutting board may be useful for those still working on their knife skills. The pitter is OXO: https://amzn.to/3v6fCIG The Chef Board: https://amzn.to/3JLeDkS

Most of these items on the list are drawer stuffers. One-hit wonders. But if you're into having the newest gadgets, feel free to disagree.

The next list "9 Kitchen Tools For Clumsy People" I can get behind and endorse. Depends on your level of clumsy. Check it out: https://thepracticalkitchen.com/kitchen-tools-for-clumsy-people/

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am a bit of a minimalist in the home kitchen. This article "The Only Pieces of Kitchen Equipment You Actually Need" is a good start. https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-06-04/the-only-pieces-of-kitchen-equipment-you-actually-need

I wouldn't go so far to say it's the ONLY pieces you need. But it's a great understanding of getting started.

Is that a frywall on his head?

There is a method in this article. The way I presented the lists. Check out all the articles in order. You
start to see they start overlapping each other. I want you to pick up on what will actually help you. For example, the first article lists a "frywall". A funny heat-resistant "plastic" cone that looks like they put on animals so they don't scratch. In the second article, we find a splatter guard. In the third, we find a great non-stick pan that the splatter guard will work great on. You now have no need for that "one-hit-wonder flea cone". Either that or buy a wok or flat-bottom wok! Definitely more uses than a "frywall". https://amzn.to/3sW8mMB

Check out my kitchen lists of suggested equipment! You can save yourself some time on finding affordable high rated items to complete your kitchen! http://bit.ly/KitchenBestBuys

The Mayor of Flavortown, Trader Joe's Snack Reviews, and other Curated Culinary Curiosities

In this first post of Curated Culinary Curiosities is a list of culinary things that grabbed my attention in my news feed. Or maybe you could call it "The Foodie Feed". Catchy, no? 

Guy Fieri, some people love him, and then there are the haters. I am not sure why all the hate. I know a lot of professionals (in foodservice) don't think much of Food Network. Most of Guy's stuff is still at or involved with the network. He was a restaurateur BEFORE he won The Next Food Network Star competition. I always enjoyed the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives show. It highlights local non-corporate food businesses. Sure, this video has some crazy cheesy bling factor to it. BUT if you haven't learned that much about marketing yet, those are the ads that stick in your head the most.

If you need one more reason to "hate" Micky D's, or maybe love them, here is the way they make the onions that go on their burgers. I would encourage you to watch some of the other videos on Essential McDonalds in order to really solidify your opinion on eating there. The choice is yours! Very interesting. But not surprising...

@essentialmcdonalds #mcdonalds #onions #howto ♬ That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

By now I think I have seen it all...BUT wait! Here's a new kitchen gadget that's about as useful as a lid. It's a cozy to seal in steam and help food to continue to cook. Like a lid. Yes, you too can wash your winter hat and put it over your pots and pans to harness the power of escaping heat to cook your food. Or maybe, use your lid! Basically, to make this product I think they relabeled some winter hats for people with ponytails (or man-buns). Read the full article here >>> https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/spend-it-better-the-simple-kitchen-tool-that-will-change-the-way-you-cook-1.4778730

 

New Year, New Trader Joe’s Snack Reviews - Last, but not least. Here's something useful. A Trader Joe's snack review from Bon Appetit. I found the review helpful and very entertaining. This reviewer has some comic value! I thought this would be a great addition considering our town just recently got a Trader Joe's. Read the full article here >>>  https://www.bonappetit.com/story/trader-joes-reviews-january-2022

Thanks for coming to "hear" me ramble about new things I curate from the culinary world. In future reports, I'll just call it C3 for short. 

Cool Pops- The Original Hood Popsicle

Back in the day in my neighborhood, we didn't really have people that sold lemonade. We had Cool Pops.

Drink mix (also pronounced drank mix) or Kool-Aid was made and poured in 5-ounce (?) dixie cups. Or at least a cheap version of dixie cups that made you think it was the same thing. These were then put into a freezer.

It started out a dime and rose to a quarter before I thought I was too old to buy them. Where did I buy them? I bought them from a neighbor. Once you found out who had the best at the cheapest price. The one who kept your favorite flavor in stock.

I grew up in the projects. Or government housing if you prefer. It didn't scare anybody to go to someone else's door in the neighborhood, knock, and then ask "what flavors you got?". I think grape, cherry, and lime were the favorites.

The popular way to eat it was to lick the top long enough for the sides to melt while you were holding it. After that, you popped it out and put it back in the cup upside down. Scraping your teeth across the top (of the bottom) seemed to be the tastiest, most concentrated part of the cool pop. After that, you drank the remaining melted liquid in the cup.

This was a fun treat with some great memories. I also made the design you see and put it on some merch I have on TeePublic https://bit.ly/CoolPop. I thought it would be fun for those that remember. Link below...

Other apparel I have on Amazon and TeePublic:

TeePublic - https://bit.ly/D4Fshop

No Flour, No Mess, Pizza Dough Rolling

The PIZZA hack you never knew you needed! At home, no rolling pin, no machine. This clip was pulled from my full-length video "PIZZA! Start to finish!" https://youtu.be/seLx6YSyP_c Take advantage of the equipment I have reviewed for top recommendations in the kitchen. Kitchen Best Buys http://bit.ly/KitchenBestBuys