What a gorgeous day of weather we had yesterday!  I can remember so many Memorial Day parades where it was cold, rainy, etc.  My Mom actually walked in the parade we used to ride our bikes in back in the day.  It starts at my old grade school, which I haven’t probably stepped foot into in 30+ years.  I invited her over for a BBQ.  Of course, we couldn’t let the day go by without doing some sort of snapchat!

IMG_3640

I ended up doing an appetizer plate – a nice balance of healthy and a bit of indulgence.  I roasted grapes again because I found black grapes, which I sometimes can’t get every week.  Just something about roasting them gives them such an amazing flavor.  Just a couple cups of grapes tossed in 1/2 teaspoon grapeseed oil, salt and pepper, and baked for 30 minutes at 350.  Let cool.  I served them with brie, goat cheese spread and crackers.  Added some cheese curds, strawberries, watermelon and blueberries, and had to round it out with bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.  The roasted grape cracker:  salty/sweet/crunchy

MemDay2016 007

IMG_3679

As I was starting to make my BBQ sauce I could hear Tony laughing at me.  You see, I pulled out the brown sugar to add to my turkey bacon for breakfast.  When it got time to pull my ingredients together for the BBQ sauce, I literally could not find it.  Mind you, my kitchen is not that big, and there are only so many places I could have put it, but after a 10 minute search, I just gave up and decided to wing it.  I am sure I’ll find it in the freezer later today.

So I have no idea what type of BBQ sauce this is, i.e. Kansas City style, or what – all I know is that it ended up being delicious.  Guess what I substituted the brown sugar with?

IMG_3683

Yep!  Pancake syrup! 

IMG_3698

It’s tangy, slightly sweet, but huge in the vinegar department, which is my favorite type of BBQ sauce.  And because of the high acidity level, this will keep in the fridge for a month or more.  I ended up making ribs, because that’s one of the meats Hannah will eat – well, only if it falls off the bone.  I baked these in the oven for three hours at 275 wrapped in foil, then finished them off on the grill with the BBQ sauce.  You know when your ribs are done, when the bones look like that.

MemDay2016 040

MemDay2016 020

Pretty sure that’s fall off the bone!  Hannah tried it, but declared that ribs are no longer in her wheelhouse, but helped herself to corn and the orzo asparagus side dish I made, but never got a picture of. 

I had to laugh because at one point Mom and I were sitting outside, and Rummy jumped into Nana’s lap and just started giving her all sorts of love!

IMG_3672

Yep, another holiday my Mom spent with her favorite child!   The dogs enjoyed being outside with us.  After running around for just a few minutes though, they get so tired.

MemDay2016 024

MemDay2016 029

I have my Weight Watcher WI this morning (it won’t be good!) and then lunch out with a friend today.   This week I’ll be working tomorrow in Evanston, Thursday in LaGrange, Saturday in Downer’s Grove and Sunday back in Frankfort.  Busy week, but I think I can handle a 4 day work week. Open-mouthed smile

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend, make it a great day!