tabletop cooking

finally got my metal patio table set up a few weeks ago and was enjoying the last cool weather before summer. metal table = non flammable surface.
i have a lot of things that i can put small fires in. fire is good for making things hot. yay fire! so i did.

first off is fuel. this post is about the burning thing on the right in this picture. i haven't had a lot off success using the mini hibachi yet. so the thing i made my dinner with was actually the ... chicken feeder. that's right, chicken feeder. when i saw it in a thrift store i had no idea what it was. just looked like it would hold fire. it does. REALLY well



so here's a box of twigs from my yardsee? burns nicely


also good for teakettles. i love having a little metal teapot.
here is some thinly sliced beef on my little cast iron griddle. frozen beef plus [of all things] my tomato knife results in super thin shaved beef. i discovered the powers of the tomato knife many years ago when i accidentally cut through a ham bone with it. it made food poisoning from the ham nearly worth it

as the fire spreads out under the pan, it gets evenly hot most of the way around. the edges actually stayed cooler though which was about right for just reheating the wild rice


shaved beef with wild rice. ok, i'm not that cool, it's precooked wild rice from trader joe's. [as you probably know from the previous post, i'm almost out and need to buy more]

mmm, was very tasty. and the best part? i can do it sitting down at the table while reading a book
original photos with notes are here