Sweet Setup Gents…

Picked up the chairs and table yesterday. Guy who sold them to me up in Connecticut was a pretty good guy too; he even threw in an extra chair. Big Lou and The Weave helped bring it all up to the hut. A definite sweet addition for the comfort of the hutsters. The setup seems perfect; right size, right heights, and good comfort… Unlike the old shortened table and slinky crappy chairs. Plus with the Grizz’s garage sale folding poker tabletop will make the next poker outing really great…

Cheers For The Chairs!…

Yeah Baby!... No more uncomfortable evenings in Soccer Mom chairs up at the Hut! Last night I was the winning Ebay bidder (and only bidder) for the six maple chairs and table you see pictured. Only $50 Bucks!
Cheers!...

Hut Chores Was A Fun Day…

Saturday was a big day for making a few home improvements at the Manhut. The guys got the insulation up and most of the plastic in place. Grizz added some weather stripping and a drip edge thingy to the windows. Should be a major improvement to the warmth factor for those late night poker games. I’m having some additional thoughts on how to stop the heat exiting through the ceiling while still keeping it open looking… I’m thinking some rigid foam fit between the rafters, at least through the winter months. Saturday was a long day with a couple of grilling sessions (dogs & burgers), PW’s dogs with her awesome toasted potato bread was a big hit. Fun day for all.
Later….

Labor Day Excursion…

It’s been a while since the Quadsters all made it to the top of the mountain but this past Labor Day we decided to take ourselves a ride. We figured it was the perfect time for an outing since any “Camper” activity would be over and we could have the woods all to ourselves. The accompanying photo is a shot of Max’s Pond, last time we saw this it was solid ice… Everything up top looked different with all the leaves and greenery.

This coming weekend the Boyz are planning to do some chores up at the Manhut to get ready for winter. Finally going to get around to insulating the floor and calking the walls. If time allows perhaps we’ll get to a few other activities. Stay tuned….

FLASHBACK: Redneck Lawn Care…

Finally getting around to posting the only known photos of the infamous “Redneck Lawn Care” afternoon. Here’s the story; for months I was complaining about the laborious task of raking out and replanting my shady moss covered lawn. For those same months I resisted Big Lou’s insane urging for us (the Quad Squad), to rip it up 1-2-3 with our ATV’s.
So one bright Saturday afternoon I stroll out to the lawn with my shiny new tools and I see Lou who calls me over like he needs a hand with something. Instead he tells met that he and The Weave are hanging poolside and downing some brewskies. My face dropped, I knew I was in trouble. As I reluctantly catch up with them beer for beer the thought of all that work plus the urging of my pals plus the brews took hold. I would not do the work, I would not rake my lawn, I would do something insane. I finally agree.
Like a bullet my two buds shoot up from their chairs and within minutes the three quads are ripping through the turf. The sound was deafening like a NASCAR race. Neighbors began to gather. The quads moved like an insane mechanical ballet hitting each patch of ground and at times almost hitting each other.

In the end Big Lou was right, the yard was churned up better than a whole day of raking and the lawn is now coming in fine. What you see here in the video are the only images from this interesting day (courtesy Grizz and his honey who enjoyed the event from the comfort of their lawn chairs from their driveway).
Enjoy…

How To Spit Roast a Suckling Pig…

Everyone loved how our suckling pig came out on the spit, so, I figured I would post here how we prepared and cooked it.
1. Get a suckling pig: 20-30lbs, gutted and cleaned.
2. Brine the pig: Get a big plastic container w/lid to hold your 20-30 pound pig. Into it add 3 gal water plus 1 gal water heated to blend 4 cups sea salt & 2 cups brown sugar. Put liquid in bin. Add to liquid; 2 qt vegetable stock, 3 heads garlic (halved), 1 head celery (rough chopped), 5 sprigs each of parsley, sage and rosemary. Add 1-2 bags of ice. Place pig in bin with liquid. Place an unopened bag of ice on top of pig to hold it down and keep liquid chilled. Add additional full bags of ice as needed to keep temperature around 40 degrees farenheight. I added bags every 4-6 hours. We brined ours for only 12 hrs, I think 24 would have been even better.
3. Prep the pig: Remove from brine and rinse. Make sure any remaining guts are removed. Rub the outside and inside with good olive oil. Rub on a small jar of minced garlic. Rub on one 3 oz of McCormick’s Grill Mates Pork Rub (this rub is made up of Chili pepper and herbs including red pepper, brown sugar, garlic salt, onion, apple cider vinegar). In belly, insert 3 heads of garlic (halved), 5 sprigs each of parsley, sage and rosemary before stitching it up. With a knife add cuts to skin to prevent it from popping when cooking.
4. Attach to spit: This is the best site to see how to truss and attach your pig:
http://www.spitjack.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=SJ&Screen=TRUSS
5. Cooking and Basting: Cooking will take 3 to 5 hours depending on strength of heat source and distance of pig from the source. So you’ll want to baste often to keep moist. Here’s my basting solution; in a pot on low heat and blend together 4 sticks butter, 2 cups olive oil, 2 cups vegetable oil, 2 tbl spns garlic powder, 1 oz of the McCormick’s pork rub, 1 oz Essence of Emeril, 1 tbl spn each of salt and pepper. Use a brush and dab onto pig 10-15 minutes. Remove pig from heat when inside temp reaches around 165 degrees farenheight. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Hope we do this again soon,
Cheers!...

B-Mans Birthday Bash & Pig Roast!...

It was a celebration yesterday as the Manhut buzzed with good friends, good food and good cheer as we celebrated the B-Mans (that’s me) birthday, inaugurated the new park style B-B-Q grill (bought at Sportsmansguide.com) and used the new picnic area for the first time.

Although there were many highlights throughout the day, the focus of the event centered around the roasting of our first suckling pig. This 27 pound beauty was brined, seasoned, prepped and spun on our battery operated rotisserie for most of the day. It was the first attempt any of us had ever tried to cook a whole pig, yet everyone was in agreement that the results were awesome! Nicley flavored and soft as butter…. We WILL be doing this again.

A few other highlights:
- 3 hut virgins.
- Mrs. G-Mans slaw.
- PW’s Jello shots.
- Where’s all the Tequilla?
- You people need a better knife.
- Stella!!!!...
- Really cool gifts for the B-Man (thanks friends).

As night fell and the crowd thinned out, the torches were lit, a bon-fire was set and a bright July moon streamed through the trees. Grizz pulled out the old 12-string as chorus after chorus of Neil Young echoed down the mountain…… So nice.

Cheers!...

Does A Bear Poo In The Woods?...

So we’re thinking maybe that a bear might also do it on our lawns (see photo). This morning both my garbage pail and the Louster’s was knocked over. Very odd, last time that happened to me there was a black bear eating my trash. Also, an odd pile of poo was spotted by Mrs. Weave on there lawn… So the question is; is that a pile of black bear poo? The photo of that pile was taken this morning on the Weave’s lawn… Can anyone identify it as true black bear poo? Let us know.
Thanks
Cheers!...

Summer-Ready At The Manhut…

Hi campers, it’s been a while since the last entry. So much has happened (all good) since last post. Spring has been really wet up here and when it’s not raining everyone has been scurrying to get all the yard work and outside projects finished, so very little been going on at the Man Hut. Sooner or later I’ll catch up with some of the interesting things that have happened or are about to happen, including:
- Lou’s Big Ride
- Redneck Lawn Care
- A Report from Americade
- The Block Party
- B-Mans Birthday Party Bash At The Hut
Anyhow, check out a couple of the recent improvements up at the Hut (see photo). A six-foot pressure treated picnic table and park style B-B-Q grill. Everything is green and in bloom up on the mountain and these little improvements are going to make it even better this Summer. Until next time.
Cheers!.....

A Spring Evening…

It was 69 degrees last night (71 inside), a beautiful evening for a couple of beers at the manhut. With Spring in full bloom and so much to do, we had not been up there in weeks. I tell you it was nice… Had the windows and doors full open, a fresh battery for light and plenty of beer (note garbage can).
Cheers!....

Let There Be Beef!...

Saturday was the first weekend day that really felt like spring; sunny skies with temps in the mid 70‘s. What could be better than an impromptu get together up at the manhut. Me and The Weave took the MG to the market for some fresh butcher cut sirloins and a mini-keg. When we got back Weave welded 1” square stock as legs to an old unused BBQ grate that I’ve had for a while (for a grill I have since thrown out). I got up the mountain first and started a fire in the pit with twigs. When it got going we threw in about half a bag of charcoal and the newly crafted grill. We popped the keg, threw on the meat and kicked back. Big Lou, G-Man, Grizz, The Weave and B-Man enjoyed the evening…. Only downer was that Bobo couldn’t make it, but we’ll do it again real soon that’s a promise…. This was really just practice for the official “Man Hut Beef Steak Dinner” coming soon. Stay tuned.
Cheers!...

Big Lou Hits The Big Five-O!...

This weeks ManHut entry is dedicated to our good friend, Hut Man, Quadster and neighbor BIG LOU!
The Big One made hit the big fifty this week. On Saturday there was a smashing party in his honor. Needless to say IT ROCKED!... It’s taken me most of the week just to recover! Family and friends from near and far where all there for the event. The Beer was flowing, the food was awesome (provided by Penny-Poo Catering, Inc.), and the music was ON FIRE provided live and in person by none other than the famed Good Rats (complete with legendary front man Peppi!).

Some other highlights include the Yellow Flower dance-off complete with butt stickers, Mrs. Weave amazing biker themed birthday cake and a special Pilsner, brewed and bottled in the Louster’s honor (brew provided by The Weave, Bottles by The Grizz and fancy labels by the B-Man).


PS: Mrs. Big Lou did one HELL of a job putting on this soirée…. Haza!

Cheers!...