Tropical Night Thursday and other cookery

Oh my gosh, I wish we could show you pictures of our glorious achievement in Teriyaki Pineapple Smith House Burgers and homemade coconut pineapple (Piña Colada) ice cream. But there was no pictures because we ate it too fast! The succulent flavor, the juicy tenderness and explosion of sweet with smokey. And the sugary confection that should be the 8th Sin of the World...the refreshing breeze of our ice cream to cap off a wonderful night with our neighbors and friends Curt and Chery. Read: Partners in Crime.

In other Smith House Kitchen developments we've had so many tomatoes ripen that we can't eat them all at once so I've been simmering them down into a pasta sauce and freezing for later. The secret? Brown sugar. And Fresno chilis. That's it. Can't tell you any more. If I do we'll have to kill you.

Our Big Ass Tube television in the living room finally went kablooey. After torturing us with strobe light epilepsy tests, we couldn't thunk it, hit or punch it hard enough to get it to come back on. Vin tried some trouble shooting but it was dead on arrival. So guess what we get to do? Shop for a new television.

Jam has been our biggest accomplishment this year. Strawberry, plum, peach, and cherry. Then the variations with chilis to make: Plum Viscious, Hot Fuzz, and Chillin' Cherry.

Summer has been hot, work has been hard, but play has been fun. As the days get shorter, there's a certain briskness to the air in the mornings as one can taste the withering of the robust summer days in its death throes. We've been thinking of cooler weather, hot food and cozy evenings. We're ready for harvest season!