Let's Eat!

  I've finally got some time to do a blog post,and I was struggling about what to write. Part of me would like to speak out on the state of our country, how much trouble we're in at the moment and how tragically it could turn out if God doesn't intervene in this next election. However, I'm quite certain that most of the readers are sick to death of hearing about all the political rhetoric and the non stop speak of bad news, so I thought I would write about something that most of us like to do- eat.
As I was writing this, I just finished a delicious  bowl of apple cobbler that my wife Jan brought to me. It had a dollop of Cool Whip on top.... mmmm... heavenly.  Some time back my daughter Autumn came for a visit. She frequently tells us of her culinary skills. She's the baker at a Greek restaurant up north, and I have to admit, she is a good cook. However, not wanting to be outdone, I decided that I would show off some of my own culinary skills and barbeque some shish kebabs. I think that they are one of the most colorful meals that a person can put together. I use beef or venison stew meat that is marinated all day in a marinade of olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, sliced white onion and a squeeze of lemon juice. Frankly, it's delightful.  I like to get red, green, yellow and perhaps orange bell peppers and at times some pepperoncini's, as well as cubes of white onion, pineapple chunks and of course the meat. Slide all those tasty treats on a skewer and lay them on the grill and you have a meal fit for a king.  I wonder if Julia Child ever made shish kebabs. I think she would have enjoyed them immensely, even though no butter is required. I do enjoy a baked potato with the kebabs which is of course always great with a generous slab of butter and salt.  I did a little research and discovered that shish kebabs originated in Turkey, when soldiers or hunters used to roast chunks of meat on their swords. Shish kebab is the English rendering of the Turkish word sis- sword or skewer and kebab meaning roasted meat dish.  Makes sense. One of the other more common meat dishes on a stick is the ever popular fair food, corn dogs. Apparently they didn't show up until the 1940's and were sometimes known as pronto pups. I never knew that, and I kind of wish I still didn't know, but it's too late. Anyway, as summer starts to wind down, I hope you'll consider treating your family to a wonderful culinary delight; just exercise caution with the grill. As Julia would say, Bon' Appetite.