I dream in BBQ

Me stirring up a winner at the chili cook off!

I was hanging out with some of my nearest and dearest old friends at Benji's 30th birthday party on this Saturday past.  Everything was lovely, the conversation, the salad, the lighting. Just good friends having a grand time.  One of my dears, Jason, said the most extraordinary compliment to me. He said something like, "being different is just your thang, because you are Jenny Lane." Well, I've never been good at quoting what was said verbatim but I tell you, it made my glow. Thank you, Jason for making this little farm lady feel special.

As I write this now, I'm dreaming of big things like entering into a BBQ competition on my birthday, no less, with a vegan gluten-free BBQ recipe.  You may be asking yourself, How the heck does she think she's going to pull this one off?! And the answer to the question would be, well, I will bring the best recipe I can make with my spices and such and see if the judges like it as much as I do.

For lunch today I had vegan, gluten-free BBQ that I made using TVP, chopped apples, onions, parsley, homemade Carolina sauce with BANG!, grape jelly and a dab of peanut butter.  It was out of this world good.  I had to have seconds! Then thirds! I'm quite stuffed now and I don't feel like lifting a finger, well, only figuritively speaking that is, since I am typing away at my usual 110 words per minute. 

When home computers first came out, one of my favorite games was a typing game which would load words in the middle of the screen and you would have to type them as fast as your little fingers could click, clack and it kept me completely occupied for hours on end.  The second game I loved to play was BRICKS! I found out I have that game on my new phone.  The new version is way more challenging and not as mind numbing as I remembered.  I actually had furrowed brows and pursed lips as I played on my blackberry.  IT's JUST A GAME JENNY LANE! hahah!

Back to lunch, I'm not quite sure which recipe that I have created will be the one that I submit for final judging but I'm cooking up another one involving deep-fried pieces of gluten-free seitan and dipped in my smokey, grape jam sauce. I think that one will be the golden ticket. But we will see. The recipe for my famous chili was like this too.  Thinking and dreaming of what would highten the flavor experience so that the food is so delictable and hits every high and low note that it leaves you saying, "that is DANG! good. Hit me again!" And I would say, "with pleasure! KRAPOW!" and serve another heapin' helpin onto your plate.

I am literally dreaming in BBQ now.  I've had a couple of dreams where I was foraging for the best ingredients, sampling steaming wooden spoons, chopping and stirring. My dreams are staring into a deep silver pot looking at bubbling burgundy.  I dream in BBQ! WAHOO!