Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer with Backwoods BBQ Ribs...

Ribs - a favorite of Grill Warriors. Ribs conjure up images of cook-offs and eat-to-the-death contests at festivals and fairs. Here’s a sweet and spicy rib recipe that will make your neighbors jealous, and your friends and family get down on their knees to beg you to make every time they visit. The secret is in the sauce, and most people can’t get enough of it! It takes fifteen minutes to prep, with a cook time of two hours and is ready in three hours, fifteen minutes. In the end, you’ll have enough ribs to serve eight, but will most likely kick yourself (or be kicked) for not preparing extra!

Backwoods Barbecue Ribs
4 pounds pork spareribs (we use back ribs)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup Heinz® Ketchup
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup rum (we use amber or dark)
½ cup Heinz® Chili Sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 dash ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).

Cut spareribs into serving size portions, wrap in double thickness of foil, and bake for 1½ hours. Unwrap, and drain drippings. Place ribs in a large roasting pan.

In a bowl mix together brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rum, chili sauce, garlic, mustard, and pepper. Coat ribs with sauce and marinate at room temperature for one hour, OR refrigerate overnight.

Preheat grill for medium temperature. Position grate four inches above heat source.

Brush grill grate with oil. Place ribs on grill, and cook for thirty minutes, basting with marinade.

WARNING—if eating outside, anything with wings (fairies included) will end up sticking to your hands, fingers, or face, so make sure you have plenty of napkins or wipes on hand. Enjoy!

Dog Days of Summer...

Ahhh, summer. Hot. Sultry. Steamy. Sticky. Humid. I’m sweating just writing those words. Did you know that we’re smack dab in the middle of the Dog Days of Summer? Yup. The Dog Days’ dates run anywhere from July 24^th through August 24^th. The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional period of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3^rd and ending August 11^th. Mmm. Better tell my dog that. He started summer way back in May.

Here are some interesting facts about the Dog Days of Summer:

·         The name ‘Dog Days’ comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, a.k.a. the Dog Star, is in close proximity  to the sun and was responsible for the hot weather.

·         The Romans considered Sirius to be the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog).

·         The Romans sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot weather.

·         For the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding, so they used the star as a ‘watchdog’ for that  event.

·         Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time where “the Sea boiled, the wine turned sour. Dogs grew mad and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies.”

Being a writer, I looked up ‘phrensies’ and found it was another word for frenzy. I believe it. At times this heat has made me a little frenzied. Frazzled even. Some days it was hard to move, the air was so thick and heavy. My fingers stuck to my computer mouse pad and refused to move. I should have taken a cue from my pets, and given into the Dog Days of Summer by just chill-laxing. Stay cool for the rest of the summer everyone!

Oh, and speaking of cool, the winner of the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop is…drum roll… T. Frances! Congrats, T. Francis, I’ll be contacting you to send you an ecopy of The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis in the format of your choice. Cheers!