Spring is well under way in Missouri, the weather is fickle, the sky alternates between delightful and threatening. Planning holiday meals in the spring around here is practicing the art of the flexible.

This weekend we planned the most flexible meal of all, smoked pork. The nice thing about smoking pork is that the grill does not have to be open, or tended very frequently. The window for calling the food done is very wide, allowing for changes in meal plans right up to plating the food and eating. Our side dishes were just as flexible, with slaw, sauteed vegetables and cottage cheese, there is no ‘done time’ for dinner. If guest show up a couple of hours late, dinner isn’t ruined by it. If a rain shower would have popped up it wouldn’t have killed the fire and the mood. (Thankfully it didn’t).

If you don’t know Steve Raichlen and you love smoked foods, you need to get familiar with him. I got the book ‘Ribs, Ribs, Ribs‘ and his rubs are just the best you can put together. I love Alton Brown and believe his recipes and methods to be beyond compare, but in the area of barbecue, Raichlen is the man.

That is one big picture, huh?

If you managed to get through the holiday without eating a ton of bread, sugar, or starches, good for you. We did it, entertained and enjoyed mealtimes without resorting to the old habits of selecting foods. The idea that your food choices are just habits that you have fallen into is a powerful one. Breaking habits is something that I am working very hard at teaching myself how to get good at. Creating good replacement habits is something that I am training myself to do, as well. Writing in this journal is one example. I now habitually write at the same time of the day, only skipping perhaps one day in a weekend. I even wrote when I was out of town on vacation.

I think tomorrow I will write about habits again, because that topic is so central to changing your life in any way imaginable, it starts with breaking the habit. Until then…