ANNIVERSARY!

Do you know what today is? It's the official 14th anniversary of my going low carb! I decided to go low carb a few days before Labor Day in 1995, but had already invited a bunch of people for a Labor Day barbecue, so I figured I'd wait till it was over. So the day after Labor Day is my official low carbing anniversary.

Fourteen years! Since I'm fifty (almost fifty one) that means I've been low carb for 28% of my life. So much for "That diet is okay for quick weight loss, but no one can eat that way long term."

By the way, I had a few folks in for some barbecue last night, too. We had Lemon-Mustard chicken wings, Spare Ribs Adobado, some summer squash Keith next door had given me, and roasted pumpkin wedges with maple-chipotle glaze. Also some low carb chips and salsa, and sugar-free margaritas; I need to review the chips and margarita mix for Carb Smart.

The ribs, in particular, were spectacular. Here's how I did it:

I used a whole slab of ribs, which were frozen! They were too big to fit in my microwave for thawing, so by the time they were thawed enough to cook, I didn't have enough time for traditional slow smoking. Yikes!

So I cut the slab in three big chunks and put them in my big soup kettle, covered with water, and threw in a tablespoon or two of barbecue rub. I simmered 'em for about 45 minutes; this gave me a big jump on the smoking process.

In the meanwhile I mixed together:

4 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Vege-Sal (you could use salt)
1 teaspoon pepper

I set aside two tablespoons of this to reserve for my mop.

When the simmering time was almost up, I started one burner of my gas grill, and got the heat (lid closed) up to 300. (If you don't have a thermometer for your grill, for heaven's sake pick one up next time you're at the grocery store.)

When simmering time was up, I pulled out the ribs, dried them, and coated them with the seasoning mixture I hadn't reserved for the mop. I put them on the grill on the side away from the heat. I threw a handful of soaked wood chips on a piece of foil over the lit burner, and closed the lid.

Back to the kitchen! I mixed the reserved seasoning mixture with about a cup of water and a little chicken bouillon concentrate (I would have used chicken broth if I'd had some on hand) and added a good half-cup of olive oil. Put this by the grill with a basting brush.

For the next three-four hours, I'd wander out every half-hour or so, throw another handful of chips on the fire, and baste the ribs both sides with the mop. (Don't start mopping till they've been smoking for a good half-hour; you want that initial seasoning mixture to stick really well. Mop too soon and you'll mop it right off.)

That's it! They were glorious. One friend told me if we weren't both married, he'd proposed to me on the strength of those ribs alone.

Oh, and that pumpkin? Super-yummy. I took a little sugar pumpkin (the sort sold for making pies; we have a billion of 'em in our garden), whacked it in half, scooped out the seeds, and cut it in wedges. I ran a couple of chipotle peppers through the food processor with -- eh, probably about a cup of Log Cabin sugar-free pancake syrup, about a teaspoon of soy sauce, and a little salt. Used it to baste the pumpkin while it roasted over charcoal. You could do it in the oven, too. Would make a really interesting vegetable dish for Thanksgiving -- or any other time while fresh pumpkin is available.