September 2016
Wednesday 2016.9.28
Uh-Oh
If you tried to connecto to my web site during the past few days and found it gone, it was a problem at the hosting service. Their explanation: "The web server hard drives are currently rebuilding after a storage failure. The process will take some time to complete." All is well now.
September's Last Hurrah
Summer ain't over yet. The calendar might say it's autumn but September had one final heat wave for us. Although the weather forecast predicted a daily high temperature in the low 90s for the past three days, we saw the heat peak in the low 100s and humidity in single digits. The peak one day was 105.6°F. This is not unusual for late September, and it would not surprise me to see one more heat wave in early October. It's happened before.
I didn't complain. The air conditioner in the office kept me comfortable enough all day and with humidity in the single digits my laundry dried quickly. At 105° outside, the room can't be kept to a cool 72°, but even 79° is better than it would have been with a window fan only.
This is definitely not weather in which I feel like cooking, or even heating a Minute Meal. I've been living on cold sandwiches. My favorite is something we called a "grinder" in New England. Other names by which it is known is hoagie, sub, submarine sandwich, and hero. I prefer Genoa salami, provolone cheese, thinly sliced tomato, and thinly shredded lettuce, with salt, pepper, and plenty of olive oil. My mom used to try making them, but she didn't like olive oil. She used vegetable oil. We ate them, but it wasn't until I bought my first bottle of olive oil that I recognized the flavor that made grinders taste so good.
Today the temperature is supposed to start returning to seasonably normal.
Politics
Initially, I wasn't planning to watch Monday evening's debate between Trump and Clinton. I assumed we wouldn't learn anything new (which turned out to be true). However, I was lured into watching it by the hype and advertising on TV, and I'm glad I watched it. The debate was more entertaining than informative. I enjoyed it.
I won't attempt to give any relevant analysis of the debate. There were plenty of opinions afterward and the following day. The news people are still talking about it. One point on which I agree with the analysts: Trump didn't gain any new voters and he didn't lose any. Trump's base of supporters doesn't care about his temperament to be president. One commentator said his voters are protest voters — they want something different, no matter how qualified the opposition might be — and Trump tells them what they want to hear. They don't care about his demeanor. One commentator concluded by saying Trump still doesn't have enough votes to win, and won't have them on November 8th.
In one memorable interview on the day after, Boris Epshteyn, Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign, was asked if Donald Trump paid any taxes. He repeatedly evaded the question by saying, "Trump has followed all applicable rules and regulations" regarding his taxes. What was he really saying? Trump and his tax lawyers take advantage of every tax loophole they can find to avoid paying any taxes. In the debate Trump didn't deny paying no taxes, saying instead it was "good business."
Since the conventions the prediction web sites have consistently projected that Clinton has more than the needed 270 Electoral College votes to win. It's difficult to give much credence to those predictions because this is a very unconventional presidential contest. Never have two candidates been so disliked by the voters. Therefore, I think the outcome is too difficult to predict. I will definitely be watching the returns on November 8th.
Sunday 2016.9.25
Nature's Little Joys
I've mentioned my potted herbs in previous blog posts. I have six pots along the side of my home and four on my back porch. I was standing at the kitchen sink, rinsing a coffee cup, when I noticed a hummingbird visiting my Thai basil plant, which has just started blooming little pink and white flowers. They're tiny flowers; so I don't know how much nectar they might have to interest a hummingbird. Maybe it was just checking them out.
Most of the flowers are still in the bud. I expect to see the hummingbird more often when more flowers bloom. Maybe I'll get lucky and capture a photo of the bird.
So, besides having some fresh herbs to use in my cooking, I have a few flowers around too.
Another Benefit
I got my annual flu shot this past week. I always get it at Costco. It's convenient and the cost is, currently, about $15. However, something new happened this year. Actually, two things.
1. They said they had a better vaccine. The same three strains that are believed to be the best protection this season, but with a different base material that is more easily absorbed by older people. It's more expensive, but I never learned the price because…
2. My Medicare covered it. I turned 65 this year and I am now on Medicare. I have extra coverage, provided by the same medical insurance I had when I was employed. It's their own version of a Medicare Advantage Plan, but I didn't need it. My Medicare card alone was all I needed for a free flu vaccine.
I sometimes think the reason they make you wait so long at Costco — "It will be ready in 30 minutes" — is to provide patrons with extra time to walk around the store and impulse shop. I went into Costco with something in mind, bandages, and saw the Flu Vaccine sign. So I figured, why not? I'm there.
I did wander around the store for 20 minutes, and I did look at the newest Nikon cameras, then I sat at the pharmacy and waited. I bought the box of bandages I went in for and avoided any impulse purchases. It was not difficult. They didn't have anything I really wanted, and I was on foot. I walked to the store. So although a new 60-inch ultra high definition TV might be fun to have, it wasn't on my shopping list.
A Nice Compliment
I received an encouraging compliment this week. She called me "noble" because everything on my web site is free. I don't ask people to register with their email address. I don't spam their email and I don't sell addresses for spamming purposes. There are no advertisements on my web site. Everything, even my cookbook, is free.
I sometimes forget the nature of my activities. Writing recipes and blogging is what I do. Shooting cooking videos is a pastime. And I enjoy cooking. Nothing here is a business. It's simply what I do each week and I don't think about how much I am not being paid. I will certainly never recover my initial investment of audio/video equipment. I don't even think of it as an investment. It was stuff I needed to pursue my retirement pastime.
The donations help with the costs. I received two more this week. "Thank you" to both of you. You are very generous. The web site wouldn't collapse without donations. I receive a pension and Social Security in my retirement. It pleases me however, and motivates me, when others show their appreciation by helping with the expenses. I can't thank you enough.
Fire Weather is Laundry Weather
We are under another "Red Flag Fire Warning" this week. Rising temperatures and low humidity make fires more likely in the mountains and foothills in Santa Barbara county. By 10:00 Friday morning the humidity was already down to 20% and the winds were blowing at 10 to 15 mph, with stronger gusts expected later in the day and during the night. This is ideal laundry weather.
Many might think it odd, but I do all my laundry by hand — for a couple reasons. I don't have a washer and dryer. I used to use the park's laundry facility, but one time I washed brand new bed sheets, just unwrapped, and when I took them from the dryer there were big white blotches on them. Someone had spilled bleach somewhere. On another occasion I was washing clothes and my trousers came out of the dryer dirtier than when they went it. That was the final straw.
I have a five-gallon plastic bucket specifically for laundry. I fill it with soapy water and let my clothes soak all day or all night. The soaking releases any oils or grease that got into the fabric. Then they get agitated for a while before finally going through several clear water rinses. They hang to dry over the bathtub. I've been doing this for many years. It's even easier now that I am retired and home everyday.
I don't save a lot of money. A single trip to the laundry room to do three loads is less than $10. I do it because the shirts I use in my videos are all custom tailored (by me, yes, I tailor my own shirts; I learned how in college). I won't take any chances with those shirts. And now my clothes have never been so clean.
On Friday the temperature reached 92°F (33°C) and 12% humidity, with more warm and dry days to follow. I will get all my laundry done before the days return to seasonally normal.
Wednesday 2016.9.21
Last Day of Summer
Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox, the first day of fall. I like the summer, but I do enjoy the transition into cooler weather. It rarely gets cold here. We might see frost on the ground once or twice during the winter, if at all. Sometimes the weather service issues freeze warnings for the farmers. Otherwise, it's just cool rather than warm.
If anything, the cooler part of the year, especially beginning in November, is typically the time for rain. Lately, however, Southern California continues to endure drought conditions. With our local reservoir's capacity now dropping toward 7% we can expect further water restrictions, and higher costs. I'm not sure what else I can do, other than flush the toilet only once a day. I already removed all my lawn and replaced it with stone and drought-tolerant ground cover. I put a bypass valve in my reverse osmosis water filter to capture the wasted water, pouring it on the potted trees and herbs outside.
Next weekend is the Lemon Festival in the park down the street. The local water board usually has a booth where they give away water saver valves for showers, etc. I use those already. I'll ask what they are planning, should this winter prove to be as dry as the last one. Although very expensive, I really believe desalination is the only way to assure water for the long term. With climate change, we can't rely upon the rains anymore.
YouTube Cards
I try to learn ways to use YouTube features to drive more traffic to my web site or other videos on my channel. I put Cards to the test this week. On Sunday morning I uploaded my new video for Chicken and Spinach Pie. I added a card to, hopefully, direct traffic to my Lamb and Sausage Pie video, a savory pie that is made in a similar way, but with a different filling. So far, the card added seven views to the lamb video — certainly not enough to pop the cork on a bottle of champagne, but I'll take them. Cooking is such an over-saturated subject area on YouTube, even a little improvement in my channel is welcome.
Bailey's Irish Cream
I've been watching the cut on my finger closely, changing the bandage daily. Again, it isn't a serious cut. But it's enough to keep a bandage on it, which I don't want to show in a video. Even the so-called "invisible" bandages are glaringly obvious in a high definition video.
Here's the thing: My windows were still covered with blackout fabric since my last video. (I cover the windows because the natural light outside changes throughout the day, altering the color in my videos. Interior studio lighting remains constant.) I have all the ingredients. I had my cue card set up on my camera tripod. I was ready. I wanted to get this video done so that I could put my home back to normal again, but the bandage is the issue.
I decided to risk it. After taking a shower and glueing down my hair, I removed the bandage and looked closely at the cut. It isn't red; therefore, no infection. It isn't healed yet. Snagging my finger on something might cause it to start bleeding again. But it didn't look nasty. I believed I could get away with it if I was careful.
So on Monday I made the Bailey's Irish Cream video. I edited the video in the afternoon and I am very satisfied with the results. It is an improvement on the old one I did five years ago. And Monday I took down the black-out fabrics and put everything away. My home is back to normal again.
Saying Good-bye
Not to you. Not to my YouTube subscribers. Not to my web site. But "good-bye" to a Sony UTX lavalier microphone.
I've blogged about it before, several times. The lapel microphone on my expensive ($500) Sony UTX lavalier microphone system is — was — a piece of junk. Well, to be more accurate, the microphone worked great. The wire was garbage. The outer jacket on it started to deteriorate after a couple years. I kept it going with tape until it finally became too bad to tape.
I tried soldering a newer cable onto it, several times. You've no doubt seen those stereo cables that come with computers and speakers. You plug one end into the back of your computer and the other end into your speaker. They have the right wires in them for my microphone.
So I'd cut the plug off one end, bare the wires, solder them, and cover all the connections with heat shrink insulation. The microphone worked well — for a while. I'd get maybe four to five uses before it went dead again. The problem was always the cable.
If I can apply some quasi-scientific thinking to the problem, my hypothesis is that those computer speaker cables are not meant for regular handling. They're too brittle. You hook up your speakers and leave the cables alone for five or ten years, or however long you keep your computer. You never handle the cables and they work fine for many years.
I thought about the problem and wondered about headphone cables. I have headphones on each of my computers. I move them around a lot and they've worked flawlessly for many years. One of my headsets might be 15 or more years old and other than needing to replace the plug on the end, it has been working perfectly.
So I ordered a "premium" headphone extension cable from Amazon. It looked like it might be durable (if you can trust the pictures). The product page on Amazon claims "Kevlar reinforcement gives remarkable tensile strength." There are more than 3,700 reviews, mostly positive, and the overall rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars. I don't know that it matters, but the brand name is Anker and it is Amazon's "#1 Best Seller" among extension cables.
Meanwhile, I went to the local electronics store to buy a few items because I had an epiphany. I've said it before, I ain't stupid, but I'm slow. What if I were to solder a connector socket to the microphone's existing cable? Then, I wouldn't need to cut the plug off the extension cable and solder the wires, which are tiny, and which is a tedious task. With a connector, I could simply plug a replacement cable into the microphone each time it needs to be replaced. No cutting. No soldering.
I tried it and tested my microphone, yet again, and the audio worked, but it wasn't as good as it used to be. I've been noticing a gradual decrease in the volume each time I fixed it. The heat of the soldering probably degraded the very thin wiring. This last time it had about half the quality sound that I was getting from a newer (spare) microphone. It was time to say good-bye to that microphone.
And if you're wondering, "Why not just purchase a new microphone?" The Sony replacement is $140. An equivalent Sennheiser is $150. I do have a spare, a Senal, for which I paid $120 a few years ago. And my new microphone head set (which you hear but don't see in my newest cooking videos) was $145. Professional grade microphones are expensive. The cheap ones have tinny sound — they're okay for talking on a cell phone, but not for making videos. Although I received two modest donations to this web site recently, I still don't have enough in my PayPal account to pay for another new microphone. Hopefully my spare will last for a while.
Sunday's Upload
Sunday's Feature Recipe will be my homemade Tuscan Sausages. The recipe fascinated me because one of the ingredients is chopped sun-dried tomatoes. I'd like to make them again at some point in the future and use them on pizza.
They were delicious. And somehow they seem appropriate for the autumn and winter months. I am currently considering recipes for my next effort at making sausages. I haven't settled on anything yet, but Bratwurst seems likely. And the Chorizo Sausages video is still in the queue for future upload.
Sunday 2016.9.18
To Vlog or Not to Vlog
Unbeknownst to me, until this week, I've had three YouTube channels. This is important because I've been thinking of starting a "vlog," or video blog. Not everyone reads this blog. I know of two people who do.
People do like to watch videos. I have more than 250 videos on YouTube now. I've come a long way since I made my first video in August 2010. My channel is currently averaging more than 1,000 views per day. That will pick up considerably as we approach the holidays and people look for recipes, then sharply taper off to around 500 per day in January.
The channel is the thing. I don't want to vlog on my Mobile Home Gourmet channel because, like this blog, I probably won't stick to food. So a separate channel is necessary. There is one caveat. For my current channel I had to give Google my phone number to send me a code that I could use to validate my identity. Within 90 minutes of giving them my number I started receiving spam text messages. At the time, I was limited to 50 messages per month, or pay a penalty for overages. It cost me $15 to change my cell phone number. The spam stopped.
I looked into ways to add a YouTube channel without giving them my phone number. Supposedly you can do it with a Gmail account, which I have, but never use (the password doesn't work). I decided to give it a try and when I listed my channel(s) I discovered I have three. Three? Where did the others come from? Mobile Home Gourmet is my main channel. That's where all my cooking videos are located. There is one for White Trash Cooking and another in my personal name, the only name you see at the end of my videos, Dennis Viau. Both channels are empty.
Okay, that eliminates the telephone problem. The next problem is content. It's easy for me to blog. I've written five books and published three. Writing is something I can do. It's easy for me to cook. I've been cooking for myself since I was 19 years old and I learned a lot along the way. Vlogging? That's something new. I need to learn how, just as I needed to learn how to cook in front of the video camera. If you saw some of the earliest cooking videos, the ones that were never uploaded to YouTube, you'd see how little I knew. Those were "test of concept" videos anyway, not meant for public distribution.
So I shot my first vlog this week. If all goes well, it will be uploaded to one of my other YouTube channels this week. I'm waiting for one friend to see it first. He has one of those slab phones that is for more than making phone calls. I don't know of anyone who spends as much time viewing YouTube videos as he does. So, maybe he can look at my first vlog with a constructively critical eye and give me some useful ideas. Personally, I think it's boring; so I need another viewpoint.
When I finally do upload it I'll add a link here in my blog.
Now There's Something You Don't See Everyday
I happened to catch the second half of an America's Test Kitchen TV show. They were making scones in the British fashion. Two eggs were used and the closeup revealed that one of the eggs was bloody. Even as she was stirring them in the mixture you could see a clump of blood. Who was paying attention in that show? I thought it worth mentioning because America's Test Kitchen is almost famous for their attention to detail. Their recipes, although sometimes far different from classic preparations, are nearly always perfect.
Scalloped Potatoes
I assigned myself a personal goal of adding three potato side dish recipes to my web site and YouTube channel in preparation of the coming holidays, which would be Thanksgiving here in the USA and Chistmas here and everywhere else. I did Potatoes au Gratin and Gratin Dauphinois. I wanted to add Scalloped Potatoes as well.
As always, I did my research, or tried to. Almost none of my cookbooks have a recipe. Neither did my Larousse Gastronomic Culinary Encyclopedia nor my textbook The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. Julia Child put one in her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and I found a recipe in one of my America's Test Kitchen cookbooks. This lack of recipes surprised me because I regard scalloped potatoes as ubiquitous as pizza or hot dogs.
I had to do my research on the Internet, where I learned something valuable. If I might use an expression from an Australian fan of my YouTube channel, there are as many "authentic" recipes for scalloped potatoes as a cat has hairs. Digging deeper, I found that the term scalloped refers to the arrangment of potato slices — arranged in an overlapping scallop pattern.
This would explain the lack of recipes in most cookbooks. There is no recipe. Instead, there are hundreds of recipes, possibly thousands, all purporting to be authentic or classic. Every kitchen cook has his or her own scalloped potatoes recipe and will likely swear that it is the best original one, unquestionably authentic, especially if it was handed down by some grandmother or earlier ancestor.
So where does that leave me?
It leaves me in a good place. I can do whatever I want. As long as the potato slices are arranged in a scallop pattern on top, I can call it Scalloped Potatoes, even if the dish is made with marshmallows and peanut butter.
Who Knows What Lurks in the Back of the Refrigerator?
Shock and awe! One of my planned updates of old YouTube videos has been my recipe for Bailey's Irish Cream. If you're unfamiliar, it's a creamy drink made with whiskey and contains the flavors of coffee, chocolate, and almond. It's quite good.
I was in Costco last week and a bottle of whiskey was on my shopping list. However, I ran out of room in my box. Rather than going into Costco with one of their huge shopping carts — plenty of room to hold things to purchase — I carry a box. I buy only enough to fill the box. I live so close to Costco, within walking distance, I don't mind making additional trips later. I enjoy the walk. I also don't spend as much money. With no room in the box, the whiskey had to wait.
Lo! I was digging in my refrigerator on Friday and saw a bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label blended Scotch whiskey lurking against the back wall. And the bottle was nearly full. Red Label isn't a high quality whiskey like you might buy for sipping whiskey and water, but it's good enough to blend into a sweetened drink. How long had that bottle been there? I hadn't made Bailey's Irish Cream for several holiday seasons. Had there been a "Best if used by…" label on it, I might be surprised. Suffice to say it had been back there for so long that I completely forgot about it.
So, with only a little shopping to do — instant coffee and chocolate syrup, which I purchased Friday evening — I had what I needed to make a large bottle (double batch) of Bailey's, and record a new video.
However, I was cleaning my mandoline slicer after making the Scalloped Potatoes video and snagged a finger on one of its blades. I don't like that mandoline. It has too many blades. And it isn't very efficient for most slicing. Instead, I prefer to use my electric rotary slicer.
You'd think with a spinning blade a finger was bound to be lost somewhere eventually, but I've never cut myself on it. I've even disassembled it, washing the blade in the sink. I've suffered several cuts from the mandoline. I only used it for a quick demonstration in the video and then, with the camera off, I changed to my rotary slicer.
The mandoline was packed up and put away out in the storage shed again. It didn't give me a nasty cut, certainly not one that would require stitches, but it put a bandage on my finger, which I didn't want to show in a video. So the Bailey's Irish Cream will now need to wait until my finger is fully healed.
Wednesday 2016.9.14
Potatoes au Gratin
Several months ago, maybe longer, someone suggested I do a video of pommes boulangère, otherwise knows as gratin potatoes. I'm also thinking: With the holidays coming in the next few months, visitors to my web site or YouTube might be looking for recipes for side dishes to serve with their Thanksgiving turkey and/or Christmas ham. Potatoes go well.
I have a history with potatoes au gratin, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Mom made potatoes au gratin. She used a boxed mix.
I liked it. And it suited my mother well because you add margarine, which is what my mother always bought. (The box has since been changed. The directions now use butter.) We rarely saw butter in our household. If you are unfamiliar with margarine, it is made with hydrogenated vegetable oil, otherwise known as trans fat. Yep. It's the bad stuff. And it's a wonder we survived my mother's cooking. But my parents came through the war (WW2) and oleomargarine was what they knew.
The box also had the words "cheese sauce." For decades I assumed gratin had something to do with cheese. I studied French in college and I know fromage is the French word for cheese. But mom's potatoes au gratin convinced me that au gratin was some sort of reference to a cheese sauce.
And so the quest began. I looked up many recipes for pommes boulangère and gratin potatoes on the Internet. Every one left me stumped. "Where's the cheese?" I did learn that the name pommes boulangère literally means "Potatoes in the style of the baker's wife." A little digression:
Maybe you've read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Almost certainly you've seen the movies. Mrs. Cratchit prepares the Christmas goose and sends it to the baker for cooking. Most people back then didn't have ovens in their home. They might have a small grate or fireplace for heating, but for baking they sent their food out. Thus "potatoes in the style of the baker's wife" referred to the local baker.
But still, where's the cheese? A little more research was necessary. I turned to my Larousse Gastronomique, one of my food encyclopedias. It doesn't contain every cooking term, but if the word is French it will almost certainly be in there. It's definition for gratin: "The golden crust that forms on the surface of a dish when it is browned in the oven or put under the grill (broiler)." It also includes many recipes and gratin dauphinois interested me. It's similar and can be made with Gruyère cheese. Now that's what I'm talking about! I bookmarked that for a future video project.
So here I am, 65 years old, and it has taken most of a lifetime to learn that au gratin doesn't mean "of cheese." It merely means "browned on top." I have to admit to feeling a little let down, deflated. I thought it was something fancy, something gourmet. Even common homemade macaroni and cheese can be macaroni gratin. It is usually topped with extra cheese or bread crumbs and browned on top when baked in the oven. And, indeed, the Larousse Gastronomique has a recipe. Another future video project? It's an interesting recipe, very different from anything I've seen here in the USA, and certainly far removed from the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese that comes in the blue box.
On Monday I was supposed to have lunch with a friend, but he cancelled. So I rushed to set up for a video and made the pommes boulangère during the day. I don't like to rush, but I had the ingredients and the dish is easy to make.
The flavor was quite good. It definitely isn't a main course. It's a side dish. It tastes like potatoes. The potatoes cooked perfectly, tender without being mushy. I could pierce one with a fork and it didn't break or fall apart. The onions were tender. I am really pleased with these roasted sliced potatoes browned on top.
And, inspired, yesterday I did the gratin dauphinois in a video. For those I bought Klondike Goldust, a proprietary name for potatoes similar to Yukon gold. The recipe shares a little similarity, but differs quite a lot. It is made without onions and stock. Eggs and milk, or cream, are used. The only spice is a little optional nutmeg, along with salt and pepper, and, as mentioned above, it can be made with Gruyère cheese.
There was another reason I wanted to do this second potato recipe. I remembered Julia Child did it in an old black and white episode of the French Chef cooking series she did for many years. I have that episode, named The Potato Show, on DVD. I watched it before doing the video, adding one addition ingredient that Julia used — garlic.
This one turned out even better. I don't know if it was the potatoes or the cheese on top, but the slices didn't curl up and brown. The top of the dish browned much more evenly.
The flavor was fantastic. A slight hint of the nutmeg with the salty Gruyère on top. This is the kind of cheesy potatoes au gratin I set out to make in the first place.
Sunday 2016.9.11
This Date Always Affects Me
Today is, of course, the infamous 9/11, the date of our nation's worst terrorist attack. I did not do well afterward. The atrocity was too big. I couldn't comprehend any human committing such a heinous act. I ended up talking to a therapist and it helped. I still don't want to watch the observances on TV, but otherwise I'm okay.
If You Have the Right Tools…
Those who have followed my blog for a while might remember my blogging about my "door cam", something I set up to know whether or not someone might be knocking at my front door.
Just to explain: I have a computer web cam on my window sill. There is a mirror outside, stuck to the window with double-sided mounting tape. There is always a live camera image open on my computer, showing me the front porch. I set this up because I spend most of my day in my home office, which is at the back of my home. I would hear noises from out front and go check the door. No one was there. This got annoying. Now, if I hear a sound, I check the image on my computer screen. It's also useful when I am expecting a package to be delivered.
Evenings are a little more difficult, of course. I do have a porch light, which I can turn on at sundown and leave on until I go to bed. I did that last winter and sometimes I forgot to turn it off. It was on all night. So, I got the idea of using one of those motion-detecting lamps. I found one I liked, with 180° sensitivity, and bought it.
Installation went well, until I tried to finish the job by attaching the crown to the top of the light. There are two holes into which thumb screws go to fasten the crown in place. The screws wouldn't go in. After several attempts, ruining the threads on one of the screws, I took everything down and examined the holes with a magnifier. They weren't threaded. Bad quality control. Made in China; what can you expect? But I didn't want to bring it back and try again with another lamp. What if it had the same problem?
Thankfully, I have a tap and die set. They are tools for creating threads in things. The thumb screw with the ruined threads was no longer usable; so I opted for stainless steel screws. They won't be visible and they won't rust. After cutting the correct threads into the lamp housing, I attached the crown, put the lamp back on the wall, and now all is well and good. I ain't dumb, just slow.
First Harvest
I met one of my neighbors on Wednesday afternoon. I really like him, but he's amusing in an odd way. He's a man of many promises — "I have some in the freezer; I'll bring you some" — but no deliveries. Anyway, he told me about the local grocery store having lamb neck bones in stock. An old Italian friend, long ago passed, taught me a way to cook with neck bones. I drove to the store.
They only had one package left. I was hoping for more, but they had lamb shanks on sale at a reduced price. I like those too. So I spent about $20 on lamb.
I sautéed a chopped onion until lightly golden, added two cans of tomato paste, some minced garlic, a couple bay leaves, salt and pepper, along with enough water to cover everything, and I added a sprig of fresh oregano I harvested from my potted herbs. It's the first time I cooked with my home-grown herbs. I brought the pot to a boil, covered it, and cooked the contents at a simmer for several hours until the meat was literally falling off the bones.
The meat was good enough. I portioned it to for my Minute Meals. But it was the soup that made the endeavor worthwhile. It was delicious. I froze one-cup portions and I look forward to using it for making soups this winter.
And Speaking of Winter…
I continue to do my prep for winter. On Friday morning I pulled most of the chicken trim from the freezer. That's the stuff left over after cutting all the meat from the bones — skin, fat, bones, etc. — the leftovers you would throw in the trash. I freeze it and in the fall I start making Chicken Stock for soups in winter. The stock is frozen in one-cup containers, then removed and put in ziplock bags for storage in the freezer until I need it.
After concentrating the stock, I put 14 cups in the freezer. And then yesterday morning I started it all over again, making a second batch and storing another 15 cups. That uses up all the trim in the freezer … for now.
Wednesday 2016.9.7
A Little Anticipation
I am looking forward to the uploads planned for this month. Sunday's upload and feature is one of the oddest barbecue sauces I've seen, although some people have told me they knew about it — Chocolate Chili Barbecue Sauce. It's made with cocoa. It's also odd that I would upload it after Labor Day, the traditional end to the barbecue and picnic season, but I don't want to wait until next summer. Besides, I live in Southern California and summer won't really end here until, well, it never ends.
The photo on the recipe page, by the way, was one I really labored over. I took two dozen photos of different configurations of food on the plate before I came up with one I liked. It was worth the effort, but nothing is perfect. I wish I had used meat that was more easily recognizable as chicken, like maybe a whole chicken leg so that the drumstick would be present. The piece on the plate doesn't boldly declare itself as a chicken thigh.
I am still working through some of the replacements of older videos too. Two Christmas videos I need to shoot again are Mom's Italian Christmas Cookies and Homemade Bailey's Irish Cream, which will be an easy one. I make both for the holidays and give away nearly all the cookies. They not only go to my neighbors, but I also give a plate to the mail person and the guys who pick up the trash. Some years I even drive a big plate to the police station. I'm not quite as generous with the Bailey's. I keep that in the refrigerator for when guests come to visit. Oddly, they visit more often when there is Bailey's in the fridge. Maybe that's because they are more filled with Christmas spirit.
Then on the following Sunday I'll upload the video for Chicken and Spinach Pie. I finished editing the video Monday morning. I'm kind of looking forward to putting that one behind me; so I'm getting to it quickly. I associate it with the salmonella poisoning that delayed shooting the video. I feel much better now, almost fully back to normal. I'm even enjoying my morning cup of coffee again, which I regard as a good sign of a good life.
Future Projects
I continue to collect possible projects for videos this fall. I always have more than I can possibly use. Between requests, recommendations, and my own discoveries as I look at recipes on the Internet and in magazines and books, I will end up with hundreds if I don't exercise some restraint.
Although the summer here wasn't particularly warm, it wasn't the best for cooking and baking. I uploaded every other week, I had so few projects. So I look forward to the cooler weather. Autumn won't really set in until after September. Even in early October it is not surprising to have late hot summer days with high temperatures.
My current projects will cover weekly uploads only through October 9. At one point I had ten videos in the vault, but I'm down to four now — or so I thought. I looked at my computer's hard disk, the one I use only for videos, and saw the Chorizo project. I totally forgot about that one. Editing it, I remembered why I left it. I needed to shoot a quick pick-up to explain an adjustment to the liquid. So, that done, now I have five.
Okay, Time for a Little Politics
I steered clear of politics for a while. It upsets some people. They don't like to be told anything they don't want to hear; and, to be honest, I get that way sometimes too. Several years ago someone who didn't want to believe Obama would win a second term in office had the gall to tell me: "Stick to what you know. Cooking." Well, Obama did win a second term, but what do I know?
Now that Labor Day has passed and the Olympics are over, more news time will be devoted to politics. The race for the White House continues to heat up as Clinton comes off her post-convention peak popularity and Trump tries to adopt a more presidential posture in his speeches.
I read something in Politico on Monday that interested me. The people in Trump's campaign camp are beginning to read the writing on the wall. Not that we weren't suspecting it all along, but it's starting to become official now. He has been narrowing the gap between him and Clinton in the popular vote, but not enough to win. She appears to still have more than the 270 Electoral College votes she needs to win.
And if you don't understand the Electoral College system: It was something set up by this country's founding fathers because they believed the selection of the president and vice president are too important to leave to the American people. Yep. You don't elect them. Your vote on November 8th will be the official and final opinion poll. The Electoral College selects the two most important leaders of this country. And that's why some years a majority of the voters might select one candidate, such as Al Gore, but the other candidate is elected president because he was chosen by the College.
The RNC continues to be devoted to a Republican victory, but not for the Presidency. The news has been saying they are directing their efforts, and dollars, toward saving Congressional seats that are at risk. They can't blame Trump for that. People are unhappy with this government. They want change. An article in the news on Labor Day said Congress was returning from seven weeks of recess and settling in to do what they do best — as little as possible. That doesn't win votes.
Although the gap between the two candidates continues to narrow, this is still a race that is unconventional compared to all past campaigns. Anything can happen, and that makes the outcome difficult to predict. If I were a betting man, I wouldn't bet on either candidate right now.
If anything dominated the news yesterday, it was an abundance of new polls that the various news anchor persons tried to explain. The polls appear to give Clinton the edge over Trump, but polls, especially in an unconventional race, can be too unreliable. Really, we won't know much for sure until late next month.
Okay, enough politics … for a while.
Lamb
I love lamb. For me, it's the "other" red meat. I'll eat beef. I rarely buy it, unless it's ground beef or a hotdog at the Costco food court. If someone barbecues tri-tip or steak or beef ribs, I'll enjoy them. I just don't have any cravings for beef. But I really like lamb.
Fall is nearly here. I've been trying to clean out my freezer to make room for winter stock. On Monday I roasted a large boneless leg of lamb to be cut up and portioned for my Minute Meals (formerly my Lazy Man Meals). I experimented. I wanted something easy. I combined a purchased pork rub with a roughly equal amount of ground rosemary and some garlic powder.
After trimming the leg, removing the rind and larger pieces of fat, I sprinkled the insides with a little of the spice mixture, tied it into a roast, and then salted the outside and seasoned it with the mixture. It wasn't packed on like a true rub, just moderately seasoned. Then I roasted the leg at 350°F (177°C) to an internal temperature of around 125°F (52°C). After coming out of the oven and letting it rest for about ten minutes, the internal temperature climbed about ten more degrees.
That's a little low for lamb. My Lamb Doneness Chart recommends roasting to at least 140°F (60°C) before allowing it to rest. I undercook it a little because later, after portioning and freezing for my Minute Meals, it will be heated in the microwave before eating and that always cooks the meat the rest of the way.
The flavor was so good, I put this on my list of projects to do for a video.
Sunday 2016.9.4
Sick
Friday was not a pleasant day. On Thursday evening, as I was setting up to video the Chicken and Spinach Pie, I nibbled on a few pieces of dry coppa. It's similar to prosciutto and the plan was to use it with the prosciutto in the pie.
Friday morning I did the prep work for the pie, but I was feeling nauseous. After a while I quit, put everything in the refrigerator, and went to bed. By the afternoon the worst happened. I was kneeling on the bathroom floor, emptying my stomach into the toilet. I hadn't eaten any solid food in the morning; I only sipped a little coffee. So the only solids in my stomach was that coppa. During the entire day I ate nothing. During the evening I sipped a can of soda. The sugar isn't good, but the carbonation helped settle my stomach.
I was sick like this only once before. Two of us had lunch together in a local restaurant. We both had hamburgers and we were both violently ill the following day. We suspected salmonella. And that is my assessment of what happened on Friday. It was food poisoning, probably salmonella. E. coli has a longer incubation period, 3 to 5 days. With salmonella, you're sick in 6 to 24 hours. I spent nearly all day in bed and slept so much I was awake most of the night. But I felt much better yesterday. And I slept very peacefully last night.
I did make the Chicken and Spinach Pie yesterday. I needed the video. It was a bit of an ordeal because I still wasn't feeling fully well again and I hadn't eaten anything solid in almost 48 hours. I only sipped a second can of soda. I've been mostly drinking water, a little at a time, because I need it. I lost 7 pounds during my illness. So there was a lot of dehydration.
I risked a little taste of the pie for the last clip in the video, and then I threw the entire, beautiful, pie in the trash. I wasn't going to take any further risks with possible salmonella bacteria poisoning.
I Have a Good Mind…
…It's just extremely slow. How many years did I dwell on ideas for keeping dust out of my computers? You wouldn't know, but it had probably been about 10 years. My first experiment was with pieces of home air conditioning / heating filters. That didn't work. There wasn't enough air flow. It wasn't until I built my current computers that I noticed on the side of a box of Swiffer refills the words "dust magnet." Oh yeah. That's what I want. And they work.
So I have this juniper tree outside my home. It's a beautiful old tree. But it makes a mess. When the wind blows lots of little twigs, juniper berries, and dead needles fall onto my sandstone and Dymondia landscaping. When I had a lawn, the grass simply grew over it. I've tried raking, sweeping, even using a computer blower that works like a mini leaf blower. The blower worked best, but it mostly pushed the debris under the Dymondia. The other name for Dymondia is "silver carpet"; so it was like sweeping dirt under the carpet.
Finally, after more than a year since I finished the landscaping, the right thought came to me. Shop vac. I went over to Home Depot and bought a medium-sized one for about $85. It works. There was so much junk out there, I had to empty the canister three times, but it cleaned it all up. I even vacuumed my deck, using a trowel to lift up all the fallen tree stuff that was wedged in the spaces between the planks. Clean and happy. And the deck will dry better, if we get any rain this winter.
Mini Box
My Cox Cable mini box arrived. I hooked it up yesterday afternoon when I was feeling better. I'm seeing more channels in high definition and there is one pleasant surprise. The Universal Sports channel is among them. That used to be a subscription feature that required additional payment. I wanted it to watch occasional cycling races, but the cost didn't seem worth the few times I might watch it. I only discovered it as I was channel surfing and saw the "Vuelta a Espana" cycling race. Now I have the channel anyway. And, it's in Hi Def. I hope it isn't a mistake that will be caught and corrected in the future.
Earthquake, Sort Of
Thursday morning while I was sitting in my office, drinking my coffee, I felt a jolt. It wasn't much. Living in a mobile home in a trailer park, if someone slams their car door across the street you can feel it. But it sort of felt like an earthquake. The USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) web site reported it as a little 2.6 magnitude quake centered about 6 miles east of where I live. I don't mind the little ones, as long as they are not a prelude to something larger.
Almost Here
And so we enter September. According to my calendar, the 22nd of this month is the Autumn Equinox, the first day of fall. I like the summer. I moved to Southern California from Connecticut because I enjoy the summer so much. I like to tell people we have only two seasons here — summer and sort of summer. After several months of summer I'm ready for cooler weather, but not snow and ice. Cooler days, especially some rain, would be welcome. And speaking of rain, the last time I checked, the reservoir was at 7.6% capacity. It's nearly empty. We'll still have water. It will be available from somewhere, but it will be a lot more expensive unless we get significant rains this winter.
Tomorrow is Labor Day, the last day for picnics and barbecues in other parts of the country, and it's a day off from work. That doesn't mean much to me anymore. I retired more than five years ago. Have a safe holiday.