Good Afternoon Tripsters,
I hope you all are having a great day and for those that aren't, I hope it gets better. I'm buried in work and preparations for our upcoming trip to Terre Haute, IN for the annual ISU Homecoming reunion/tailgate. I'm loading up the T100 with a big coleman cooler, camping chairs, portable fireplace, firewood, charcoal, grills, coffee pot, Dutch ovens and everything required to cook for about 20 people. The libations will be flowing and an awesome gathering is expected. My only issue now is whether I'll need to rent or buy a canopy in case the rain forecast comes to fruition. In any event, I'm really cranking through this week fast. To all the Vapefest goers, this will likely duplicate the fun of the first night in Carlos and Charlie's but no Tequila will be brought into the fray.
I may be a bit thin in my visits until this weekend is over but I will be keeping an eye via my phone. I'll report back when I get through this unscathed. Back to work and seasoning my cast iron.
This past weekend, I re-seasoned a 125 year-old cast iron frying pan among other pieces that belonged to my wife's great grandmother and it now looks like its brand new. I did a 3 hour 900°F self-cleaning cycle with this pan and a Dutch Oven in our stove to get off everything that had accumulated over the years and the last of the old seasoning. I used steel wool and brillo pads to remove all the surface rust and then rinsed everything thoroughly..."No Soap Once Seasoned" Three coats inside and out of organic, vegetable-based, seasoning oil baked at 350 degrees for an hour after each coating and these pieces now have a near perfect non-stick surface. They ought to be ready for another 125 years. However, I likely won't need any iron supplements for a couple of weeks after using this cookware. I'll probably get 2 or 3 more coats of oil on before packing them away for the Winter just to be sure the don't need this much TLC for many years to come.
We're going to do 8 qts. of Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese and 4qts. of Apple Crisp in a couple of our Dutch ovens.....Yum, Yum!! (obscure Hee Haw reference) I'll likely do breakfast for the Mrs. and myself when we trek out early to claim our spot at the stadium and then get the grills up and running for when the masses start to descend around lunch time. Thankfully others are bring the Brats, Burgers and associated groceries so I won't need to bring much more than Breakfast fare, our 2 dishes, a wee-bit of alcohol

and the HARDWARE. I am really hoping for mild weather! We've never gone in to see the game but our Corn Hole/ Baggo court will be packed and the radio will be blasting the play by play as the Indiana State Sycamores fight the Youngstown State University Penguins. If we win then there will be a final night of partying at all the bars in town. If we lose then there will be a final night of partying at all the bars in town.....We're getting to old to save it for next year!
Well I'll catch you all as time allows. Brew
Here's the Gang at last years gathering!!
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and I upgraded the little fire cone in the picture above to a proper caged fireplace!
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