A Cookout and The Fountain

 This summer I am going to try to cook outside on my Big Green Egg as much as I can.  Anything to keep the kitchen a bit cool.  Plus, Teddy loves food cooked on the BGE.

 I made some tuna steaks lightly coated in olive oil.

 One steak was seasoned for us and the other two were left plain for the pup.

 I added some wet hickory chips to smoke the tuna.  The egg was heated to 250 degrees.

 They smoked for about 40 minutes.

 Teddy waited patiently.

 Next, I smoked some clams and corn.

 The clams took longer than I expected.  Next time I will stoke the egg up to 350 for the clams.  And, there will be lots of next times.  These were the best clams I've ever tasted.  They were juicy and plump with a light smokey flavor.  We enjoyed the food so much that I forgot to take photos of it before we ate it.  Teddy ate lots of clams.

 Though this fountain is pretty when it is up and running, it can be a maintenance nightmare.  Mostly because we should touch it up each year which we don't.  This year the entire fountain had to be scrubbed down with a wire brush, cleaned and repainted.

 When the bowls rust and the paint flakes, it plugs up the spray top and that causes problems.  I will show final photos when I am done with it.


 My cement fairy houses. 

 I will show you what I am going to do with them soon.

 Teddy is looking for the fairies.

 Guess what this is?

 My mums are blooming! In June!

 We came home last night to find that our upper garden was hit with a micro burst.

 It sucked the umbrellas out of their bases and blew them around the yard.  Fortunately, we suffered only minor damage.

 Two legged Teddy.  Funny photo.


Comments

Lois said…
We have a fountain that gets plugged because the Robins drop bread in it. And worms. It's fun to watch them take a bath, but not the soggy worms.
Your fountain will be beautiful when it is up and running. Thanks for the reminder to replace my BGE. They are wondereful.
tammy said…
Teddy is so cute!
brokenteepee said…
Microbursts are nasty! We have that kind of weather expected this afternoon. I might hide in the basement
Barbara F. said…
I can just imagine how wonderful that fountain is when it is up and running. That BGE is adorable. I love clams but never had them on the grill. Will have to try it, although I have an old time kettle style charcoal grill. xo
Anonymous said…
Suddenly I wanted to have a big green egg too :-) I rarely do food outside like that, I don't know why though because I love it :-) I wonder what kind of tree chips we use over here to flavor the smoke? Juniper perhaps.

Painter as I am I started to think about a paint we used to have at work that would be perfect on that fountain, I just can't remember what it is called :-) :-) :-)

But is it painted with wet paint or powder? I think powder would stand the change in weather much better so it would hold for much longer time until it started to flake.

Have a great day!
Christer.
Guillaume said…
You make me want to do a barbecue. Here is is back to coold days. So there is no barbecue in sight.
Suzanne said…
What a wonderful idea!

Glad you only had minor damage.
Anonymous said…
beautiful photos, Teddy is such a beauty,
the big green egg BBQ's are really popular around this area, everyone has them, we no longer have ours, BBQ's are not allowed on the balconies of our building, they say the smoke is a disturbance, we BBQ at our daughters, not as often as we did but one thing we never cooked were clams and the lake in front of our house was full of clams,our neighbors ate them all the time, I saved ours for the raccoons and otters, I will have to tell our daughter to try them, have a great day, stay cool,
trump said…
Tuna steaks looked great, next time put a few on the grill for me will you. Richard
Ina in Alaska said…
Lucky Teddy, what a well fed girl! Clams too! Who can imagine a dog can eat clams!! Yummy looking meal! I bet all of that would go great with icy cold beer!

The BGE is very cute!
annie said…
I love the fountain, Teddy is an amazing dog!
Maybe the fairies ran off with Teddy's other two legs!
TARYTERRE said…
We had mussels. You had clams and tuna steaks. and smoked at that. YUM! YUM. Your BGE is WONDERFUL. I love fountains too. And Teddy could MOVE in with me anytime. that two leg pose was priceless. And who doesn't like fairy houses. Is that a pretty bird peeking through the leaves? Take care.
I am having garden envy! Your yard is amazing, your Egg is wonderful and Teddy is just adorable, even with two feet! You have encouraged me to start taking pics of my gardens, but sadly, we are behind in blooms as we are late bloomers here on the prairies!! :)

Have a beautiful gardening day!
Ashling said…
1. Forgive me, but I'm lusting after the Big Green Egg. That's one of my 'win the lottery;' fantasies!

2. LOVE your cheery opening photo...such colors on a gray day!

3. Your garden is just so creative, imaginative & beautiful.

4. How's the hand?
Anonymous said…
That green egg looks wonderful and the prepared food sounds fantastic.
Beautiful mums, great colour and so very early ; )
Have a magical day.