Unstarved at Starved Rock
This will be my first hand experience with BBqing . I just purchased a camping grill and other associated equipment to realize my dream of BBqing some veggie food over the long weekend at Utica , IL , where lies the Starved Rock State Park , some 1.5 hrs from Chicago .
Its a later start than expected . Thanks to Varun , who calls in to intimate me that he isnt going to make the trip. We are joined by the Ramalingam's ( Sundar , his wife and son Karthik ) . Not to mention that fact that Bala had arrived earlier at 8:30 am . Bala has brought the ice cooler and ice to keep perishables intact . I and Bala walk to the nearby grocery store to get some veggie burgers , lime ( for garnishing the butta ) and a cucumber (which to my dismay never made it in any dish ) . We are joined by the Ramalingams , we plan the route and are ready to head towards Utica .
Arthi is the driver and does a fairly good job at driving us for most part of the distance . We reach around 11:30 , park our car and meet Sundar at the state park .
The first thing on everyone's mind is food before we can embark on any tourism . We quickly mark a spot and gather our cooking equipment beneath the shade of some trees , overlooking the Illinois river . Simple , straightforward you think . BBQing should be simple . The first hurdle is to assemble the grill , but Arthi does a good job at getting in the shape akin to a cooking gril . Next step is to get the coal in inside , spray some of the fire starter liquid and start cooking right . No , not that easy . The fire starter does combust in a rather flamboyant way but doesnt hand over any fire to the coal . Its a couple of such futile attempts . Sundar realizes our inadeptness at this and proceeds towards gaining some BBQing Gyan from the people around . Me and Bala too shamelessly follow Sundar and are further embarassed by the sizzling sounds of meat kissing heat and we think to ourselves "wow " . Its a question of BBQ IP ( Intellectual Property ) at question . Nevertheless , they offer some advice to use some dry twigs
alongside the coal to help ignite the coal . Bala grasps the idea better and tries to follow the same . Luckily this time the results are better and looks like we might have something started here .
Our anxiousness to cook, before the heat vanishes , prompts us to toast some corn cobs over the fire . The idea isnt too bad and results in a decent appetizer . Arthi is prompt to take out some MDH Chat Masala and rub it over the corn cobs . Looks like this one's a winner . We close the lid of the grill for heat to be preserved . A while later , we lay out the veggie burgers to get BBq'ed . Its not too bad this time too . Now we have now decided to throw the sink at the grill . We add Potatoes , onions and bell peppers to get grilled .
Finally its a round of good ol rice (yes saaadaam - Tomato , puli and finally thayir) Its around 2:00 pm and we have utilized most of our energies in grilling . I find it really hard to move with some much food and drink ( tamarind juice - Jarritos ) interleaved in the stomach . Our zeal to make the most of this trip , makes us not resign to the idea of a siesta beneath the tree . We engage ourselves in some frisbee .
Finally we manage to clean up the area and move our cooking equipment to the car and decide to go hiking .
We embark on a few trails which takes us through Canyons and views beside the river. Also refreshing , is the flora of the trees . The hike lasts for around 2+ hours . We treat ourselves to a cone of soft-serve icecream . The final item on our agenda is a boat trip . We are lucky to set aboard the last tour for the team. Pretty standard water tour , where we take a look at the scenery , the starved rock , the dam and the water-way lock . We alight from the boat and lay flat on the grass for a few minutes .
After a few minutes , its back on the road to Chicago . Nice 1 day trip
Arthi is the driver and does a fairly good job at driving us for most part of the distance . We reach around 11:30 , park our car and meet Sundar at the state park .
The first thing on everyone's mind is food before we can embark on any tourism . We quickly mark a spot and gather our cooking equipment beneath the shade of some trees , overlooking the Illinois river . Simple , straightforward you think . BBQing should be simple . The first hurdle is to assemble the grill , but Arthi does a good job at getting in the shape akin to a cooking gril . Next step is to get the coal in inside , spray some of the fire starter liquid and start cooking right . No , not that easy . The fire starter does combust in a rather flamboyant way but doesnt hand over any fire to the coal . Its a couple of such futile attempts . Sundar realizes our inadeptness at this and proceeds towards gaining some BBQing Gyan from the people around . Me and Bala too shamelessly follow Sundar and are further embarassed by the sizzling sounds of meat kissing heat and we think to ourselves "wow " . Its a question of BBQ IP ( Intellectual Property ) at question . Nevertheless , they offer some advice to use some dry twigs
alongside the coal to help ignite the coal . Bala grasps the idea better and tries to follow the same . Luckily this time the results are better and looks like we might have something started here . Our anxiousness to cook, before the heat vanishes , prompts us to toast some corn cobs over the fire . The idea isnt too bad and results in a decent appetizer . Arthi is prompt to take out some MDH Chat Masala and rub it over the corn cobs . Looks like this one's a winner . We close the lid of the grill for heat to be preserved . A while later , we lay out the veggie burgers to get BBq'ed . Its not too bad this time too . Now we have now decided to throw the sink at the grill . We add Potatoes , onions and bell peppers to get grilled .
Finally its a round of good ol rice (yes saaadaam - Tomato , puli and finally thayir) Its around 2:00 pm and we have utilized most of our energies in grilling . I find it really hard to move with some much food and drink ( tamarind juice - Jarritos ) interleaved in the stomach . Our zeal to make the most of this trip , makes us not resign to the idea of a siesta beneath the tree . We engage ourselves in some frisbee .
Finally we manage to clean up the area and move our cooking equipment to the car and decide to go hiking .
We embark on a few trails which takes us through Canyons and views beside the river. Also refreshing , is the flora of the trees . The hike lasts for around 2+ hours . We treat ourselves to a cone of soft-serve icecream . The final item on our agenda is a boat trip . We are lucky to set aboard the last tour for the team. Pretty standard water tour , where we take a look at the scenery , the starved rock , the dam and the water-way lock . We alight from the boat and lay flat on the grass for a few minutes .
After a few minutes , its back on the road to Chicago . Nice 1 day trip
posted by Maverick at 4:06 PM
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