Rex and Ty's Food Blog

     I like to try new foods or new ways to prepare foods. This last week while visiting my Bristol Tennessee family I decided to try Farro. I didn't know what farro was but had a recipe calling for it. A little research on Wikipedia and I found out it is " a food composed of the grains of certain wheat species, sold dried, and prepared by cooking in water until soft. People eat it plain, or often use it as an ingredient in salads, soups and other dishes."      My recipe was from Southern Living Magazine January 2018 edition. Farro Bowl with Curry-Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. Using curry to flavor roasted vegetables was not new to me. Samantha first introduced this to me a couple of years ago. I used light and dark sweet potatoes and onions with the brussels sprouts. I have always used an oil on the vegetables to roast but this recipe called for melted butter. It also called for a lemon yogurt sauce along side for dipping and toasted pe...

    Ever since I was a youngster I have been overweight. I have blamed it on a little bit of everything. I have blamed it on my mother, she fed me all those meals full of starches. Potatoes, bread and pasta. It didn't help that she had a limited budget and those were the cheapest choices. I blamed it on big bones! After all I heard people, politely, call me big boned. AKA fat. I would like to say it was a lack of exercise caused from too much television . But we didn't have television in the house for much of my youth. Maybe, all of the above? All I know is, it isn't my fault! ha ha      I have over the course of my lifetime lost maybe a half  ton or more. The trouble is, I have gained it back and more. It's not that I don't know how to lose weight, in fact I may be an expert on the subject. I have Counted Calories, followed the Zone, went Vegetarian, won Challenges and on and on. Now all of these plans work if you are consistent. and disciplined enough to...

      If you look in a modern dictionary you may find that the word SPAM is a noun describing irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the internet to a large number of recipients or as a verb; the act of sending the same message indiscriminately to large numbers of recipients on the Internet. I believe all of us have had spam in our inboxes! I do not enjoy that spam. But if your dictionary was printed before the computer age you may see a different description!      I was introduced  to that older description by my father. The SPAM he referred to was a canned meat product introduced by the Hormel Company in 1937 and popularized during World War II. My dad was a navy man and claimed that most of the C-rations or emergency food packs on the ship were missing the canned meat that was supposed to be in them. He claimed it was popular to remove and eat it, even if there was no emergency at the time. It later became a staple in our house while I was...

     I remember the first meal I ever made and the instructor that was teaching me. I was eleven years old and camping with Boy Scout Troop 184 in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. My Scoutmaster showed me how to make soup beans in a Dutch Oven on a campfire. The Scoutmaster was Scoutmaster Herriott, Mr. Herriott, or John when no other adults were around. Or to me, Uncle John. He always insisted that we scouts address him formally in the presence of other adults. I realize now that this was not for him, but so that these other adults would see that we were respectful. The Allegheny Forest was dear to him. He owned a cabin abutting the forest that he used for vacations and hunting etc. But this trip we were not at his camp, we were in the park at a campsite provided by the forest service.      The park service had arranged for our Troop to visit a fire tower in the park. We were able to climb to the top and see the view that the Rangers had o...

     In August of last year I had one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. It is pictured here. That sandwich was served to me at the HARVEST TABLE restaurant in Meadowview, Virginia. The restaurant's menu is always changing to take advantage of local products. The owner insist on serving local products and even has a list of around 90 businesses and farms where she gets her food. The list also tells how far the businesses are from the restaurant. Some as close as 1 mile to the farthest about 200 miles. The sandwich featured here is their chicken salad (not like a chicken salad I was used to). Poached or roasted chicken between two slices of cheddar cheese, one yellow the other white, with a fried egg on top. But the bread was what sold me. It was a Dill Bread that had been toasted.     I decided that day that I would try to recreate the sandwich at home. First I had to find a dill bread recipe. I went to the source but as I thought, the chef at the HAR...

     I actually buy into the "buy local" movement but living in Central Ohio it is impossible, with our climate, to get local grown produce year round. Local for our produce may mean Florida, California, Mexico or even Panama. But when the last week of May or first week of June comes, I start looking local. At least for strawberries. My usual source for strawberries is an Amish family not too far from where I live. I make quite a few trips to their farm for produce each summer. Once when Lily was three I took her with me and she proceeded to run to where some of the Amish children were playing with a wagon. I yelled at her to stop but the lady selling the produce said, let her play with the children, it is okay. So that day I did some extra shopping and loitered a while so Lily could play with her new friends.      Last week I asked Donna if she would like to take a ride to their farm to see if the strawberries were ready. As we approached the gravel roa...

      I guess I have watched too many movies or television. I thought when someone yelled Booyah, it meant something good happened or was going to happen. Especially when it was a military show or a sporting event. Imagine my surprise when I saw a recipe on the internet for Slow Cooker Belgian Chicken Booyah.         With a little research I have discovered the word Booyah can mean an exclamation of joy, excitement or triumph. Or a thick soup of European origin usually made to feed vast amounts of people. The Booyah kettles for this stew are often 55 gallons in which they will make 50 or more gallons at a time over wood fires. According to the recipe from the Allrecipes   website, it is common in the upper Midwest, particularly Wisconsin and Minnesota. Where some people will say we are going to the Booyah and charity organizations will often make Booyah as a fund raiser.       Donna and I traveled through Wisconsin and Minnesota i...