Spring Blooms

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. 27 Mar 2021.

Posting has fallen since the middle of the month, partly I've been distracted by our virtual meeting, which was supposed to be in Cancun, Mexico but once again moved online due to COVID-19. We've been watching a lot of basketball and enjoying some nice spring weather until the arrival of today's rain. The kids are on Spring Break, which will be spent at home this year. Some of the house has been vaccinated, others of us are still anxiously waiting our turn.

Early Spring on the Home Court

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. 11 Mar 2021.

Historic Arenas in Indiana

 

ESPN, Joe Robbins/Getty Images. Lucas Oil Stadium.

Rather than continue my series of posts on Indiana venues for the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, I'll point readers to a much more comprehensive article on ESPN titled Indiana's Hallowed Hardwoods. The article also features my own High School basketball arena.

Last night we watched the Butler Bulldogs overtime victory in the Big East Tournament, followed by this afternoon's exciting Georgetown win over Villanova. Tonight we'll be watching the scores closely, as Butler starts play at 6pm, with both the Indiana Men's and Women's teams in action at 6:30pm.

Cooking at Home - Pineapple Pulled Pork

Photo by Patrick Jones. Pulled Pork, 10 Mar 2021.

We've been blessed with incredible early Spring weather for the past few days. Yesterday I tried a variation on my pulled pork recipe for my first pulled pork of 2021. We had King's Hawaiian Rolls instead of home-pressed blue corn tortillas for yesterday's version, along with a fresh-cut pineapple from our weekly farm box delivery.

I started with a 4.6 pound pork shoulder that I picked up from our local butcher on Tuesday. I used Traeger's pork and poultry rub along with brown sugar and put the rub on Tuesday afternoon. I started the grill at 8am yesterday and set it to 250. The pork cooked for five hours, and then I put it into a foil pan. In place of apple cider, I used 1/3 cup fresh squeezed pineapple juice from the pineapple and about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. I covered the pork with foil and let it cook for an additional 3.5 hours. The meat was ready to come off the grill by 6pm.

As sides we had a red cabbage and date slaw, pickles and grilled pineapple. Our vegetarian had roasted tofu squares that had been cooked with 33rd & Galena seasoning and roasted in the oven for 45 minutes at 425 (flipped half way through cooking). We also had the last of some homemade Carolina Gold BBQ sauce and some of our local Pork Barrel BBQ sauce.

This recipe was a hit and we'll be making it again during the Spring and Summer.

The Fieldhouse

 

Indiana Historical Society. Formerly Conseco Fieldhouse, 1999.

Tonight the games begin for the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (formerly known as Conseco Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. The arena opened in 1999 as the home of the Indiana Pacers, replacing Market Square Arena. I went to many games and concerts at the venue when we were living in Indy, and it remains on the best basketball arenas in the country.

The Fieldhouse will also host early round games for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament next week.