Although it always delivers sunny skies, emerald lawns and delicious produce, summer, and what it means to me, has changed over the years.  As a kid, it meant late nights scampering breathlessly around the neighborhood, running through the cool arc of a lawn sprinkler, spending a couple weeks up at my grandparents’ house.

When the teenaged years hit, summer shifted to mean hours spent on the phone and sunbathing, a mind boggling number of soccer games, and a series of pushed boundaries where bedtime and boys were concerned.

During college and law school, there were summer jobs, but they were typically 9-to-5 affairs, which afforded plenty of time for the beach on the weekend or an after-hours barbecue.  The jobs were typically bookended by some time off—time to explore the world (or lounge on the couch).

Through all of these years, though, summer has meant time and, for the first summer this year, it no longer does.  For the last few weeks, it seems, I’ve been flying from one thing to the next (sometimes literally!) and it’s all just been a little breathtaking (not to mention blog-silence-inducing).

Now, this is not to say it hasn’t been a great summer—spectacular, even.  Take last weekend, for instance, which I spent in Northern Minnesota (I’ve really been making the rounds up there!) with my friend Molly and a collection of her best friends.   Her wedding is on the horizon and we celebrated her—and the gorgeous boating weather, as well as that lake and those trees in this post’s fauxlaroids—all weekend long.  I wouldn’t trade that weekend for anything, even if it’s left me a little exhausted this week. 

While that weekend was all about old friends, a recent little get-together was about new friends.   I met Molly in my second grade classroom, but I met these people through the Internet.  It really is a brave new world, isn’t it?  These new friends (I’ll bet you know them: the dashing Tim, of Lottie + Doof, and the lovely Caroline, of Whipped) and I hatched a plan for a summer barbecue at my place a while back over a delicious dinner.  We made it a potluck and gave it a southern bent: Caroline plied us all with a potent Minted Vodka Lemonade and a delicious watermelon salad, while Tim had us end the meal with thick wedges of his Hummingbird Cake.  (I’m hoping that if we all ask nicely, they’ll both post the recipes soon!)  I filled in the gaps with some pickled okra (recipe below) and pulled pork sandwiches (recipe below; it was my first time smoking and I’m happy to announced that it can be done on a gas grill, folks!) and creamed corn (recipe coming soon).  It was all just as delicious as it sounds.  We had to squeeze it into an early Sunday afternoon, but I’m so glad we made the time.

North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Adapted from Steven Raichlen, via Epicurious

For the rub (optional)

1 tablespoon mild paprika
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the barbecue

1 Boston butt (bone-in pork shoulder roast; 5 to 6 pounds), covered with a thick (1/2 inch) layer of fat

For the vinegar sauce

2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons canned tomato sauce
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, or more to taste
5 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
4 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

10 to 12 brioche buns
Coleslaw (use your favorite creamy slaw recipe)

Make the Sauce (either ahead of time, or while the pork smokes):

Combine the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and white pepper with 1 1/3 cups of water in a nonreactive medium-size bowl and whisk until the sugar and salt dissolve. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or salt as necessary; the sauce should be piquant but not quite sour.

Smoke the Pork:

If using the rub, combine the mild paprika, brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, pepper, onion powder, and salt in a bowl and toss with your fingers to mix. Wearing rubber or plastic gloves if desired, rub the spice mixture onto the pork shoulder on all sides, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, preferably 8.

If not using the rub, generously season the pork all over with coarse (kosher or sea) salt and freshly ground black pepper; you can start cooking immediately.

Set up the grill for indirect grilling and place a drip pan in the center.

If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; when smoke appears, reduce the heat to medium.

If using a charcoal grill, preheat the grill to medium-low and adjust the vents to obtain a temperature of 300°F.

When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss 1 cup of the wood chips on the coals. Place the pork shoulder, fat side up, on the hot grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and smoke cook the pork shoulder until fall-off-the-bone tender and the internal temperature on an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 195°F, 4 to 6 hours (the cooking time will depend on the size of the pork roast and the heat of the grill). If using charcoal, you’ll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour and toss more wood chips on the fresh coals; add about 1/2 cup per side every time you replenish the coals. With gas, all you need to do is be sure that you start with a full tank of gas. If the pork begins to brown too much, drape a piece of aluminum foil loosely over it or lower the heat.

Transfer the pork roast to a cutting board, loosely tent it with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves if desired, pull off and discard any skin from the meat, then pull the pork into pieces, discarding any bones or fat. Using your fingertips or a fork, pull each piece of pork into shreds 1 to 2 inches long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. This requires time and patience, but a human touch is needed to achieve the perfect texture. If patience isn’t one of your virtues, you can finely chop the pork with a cleaver. Transfer the shredded pork to a nonreactive roasting pan. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the vinegar sauce, enough to keep the pork moist, then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it on the grill for up to 30 minutes to keep warm.

Assemble the Sandwiches:

To serve, mound the pulled pork on the hamburger buns and top with coleslaw. Let each person add more vinegar sauce to taste.

Spicy Pickled Okra
Cooking Light

2 1/2  cups  white vinegar
2  cups  water
3  tablespoons  sugar
2  tablespoons  kosher salt
1  teaspoon peppercorns
1  teaspoon  coriander seeds
1  teaspoon  fennel seeds
1  teaspoon  cumin seeds
4  fresh dill sprigs (optional)
2  green or red jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise
1 1/2  pounds  small okra pods
One carrot, sliced in thick matchsticks to match the length of the okra

Combine vinegar and the next 7 ingredients (through cumin seeds) in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sugar and salt dissolve, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in fresh dill sprigs, jalapeños, okra pods and carrot sticks. Cool completely; pour mixture into an airtight container. Cover and chill.

Note: Refrigerate okra in an airtight container for up to two weeks.