December 2017

Sunday 2017.12.31

Happy New Year!

Tomorrow is the beginning of another year, 2018, and I am already looking forward to the prospects.

Year in Review

At the end of each year I like to look back on a few accomplishments, and failures, personal and in connection with my web site. It's an opportunity to reflect. What have I learned, if anything? What should I have learned? I also like to look forward to the coming year. What might I try that is new? What might I add or modify on this web site to make it better?

Friendships are always an issue. Friends come and go. Some we keep for a lifetime, others are fleeting. Thinking back, I don't remember losing or gaining any friends this year. Last year I went through a painful feeling of loss when a friend since 1975 snubbed me in Costco. I never learned why. We haven't spoken since. So not losing any friends this year is a good thing, even if I haven't gained any new friends either. I can live with the status quo.

There were two odd friendship issues this year. The former manager unexpectedly showed up at my home to say hello a few days before Christmas. It was our first communication since his retirement several months ago. I felt a little bad because I had just finished making a lot of yogurt and I also made some Chex Mix, both for videos, and both were on the kitchen counter in full view. In fact, I was still wearing my head microphone because I had a couple clips yet to shoot. It seemed like he wanted me to share some of the food with him. I'd given him food many times in the past. But he left the park so precipitously, never saying good-bye, and he said he has lunch or dinner with a resident of the park nearly every week. He never called me for lunch. So, I didn't offer him anything. I think I felt bad because he would have been a friend I would have enjoyed. I always had a lot of respect for him, and he was very helpful to me when he was the manager here. Maybe he's one of those people who want someone else to do the asking.

Another odd friendship issue was someone who has lived in this town for several years. He was the one who taught me cinematography. He helped me select the best video camera. The one problem is that he likes to have someone listen to him talk. He loves to talk. If I don't stop him, he'll talk for two hours. He went through more than a little drama this past fall — alcohol, police, DUI, mandated programs, etc. He has been living with his grandmother and I think she told him it's time to find another place to live. He is moving out of California after he recovers his driver's license during the spring.

Every year since my retirement, usually toward the end of the year, I make a big purchase. At first they were to fix a problem with my home. I tore down my garden shed and paid a contractor to build me a really nice one — no more worries about the wind blowing it down. I tore out all my lawn and replaced it with stone and Dymondia ground cover — no more lawn to mow. I had my home's galvanized pipes replaced with copper pipes — no more water leaks. I built new computers — no more waiting ten minutes for Windows XP to boot. And I replaced my TV and all associated components and speakers with new ones when the cable company went all digital.

This year I bought a Pedego e-bike, a bicycle equipped with an electric motor and batteries. It's a lot more enjoyable to ride than that beautiful Cervélo racing bike I bought from a neighbor (and never used). I was hoping that would be the only large expenditure this year. However, when I brought my car in for an oil change and smog check, I learned that it needed $3,000 in repairs — mostly belts, seals, gaskets, etc. It's an old 1993 Nissan Pathfinder. Although I don't drive it much — it has only 66,000 miles on it — I can't stop it from getting old. Some parts wear out even if the car is never used.

What purchases are planned for 2018? Hopefully none. I'd like to get through one year without spending thousands of dollars on anything. Of course, unforseen expenditures, like repairs to the car, are unavoidable. If I were to make a New Year's resolution, it might be to make no expensive purchases during the coming year.

As for the web site and YouTube channel, I have no major changes planned. I like the organization of this site. It's large (730 HTML pages), but it's easily manageable. With photographs and PDFs it's around 220MB. That's not a lot.

If I had to select any one accomplishment for which I am most proud in 2017 it would be that I successfully cauterized my own nose. Here's the story:

I have had problems with nose bleeds since I was a child. A specialist told me there is a amall blood vessel right under the skin in my nose. If the air is dry, the skin dries out and if it cracks, it breaks the blood vessel too, which results in bleeding. I've been to doctors about it, but I don't like the silver nitrate swab they use. It's big, almost the size of the cotton ball at the end of a Q-tip swab. That suggests the chemical is diluted; it has a low level of causticity. The swab I used has a small bead of chemical on the end. Maybe it has more burning power. I didn't feel much burning sensation when the doctors swabbed my nostril. When I used one of the swabs I bought, I felt it right away. It wasn't a debilitating pain, but it was noticable. I did the one treatment and my nose hasn't bled once since then. I can sneeze, blow my nose, wash my face in the shower, sniff — no bleeding. It has been wonderful.

Looking Forward

I want to do recipes with my Instant Pot countertop cooker. If you're not familiar (and I think by now nearly everyone has one — it was really popular as a Christmas gift item this year), it's a small electric applicance that can be used as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice pot, yogurt maker, steamer, etc. It is multi-functional.

I have two cookbooks I am using. One I purchased at Costco — Instant Pot Miracle. The other, Slow Cooker 101 by Perrin Davis I found online. Not everyone is comfortable using a pressure cooker. The old ones can explode. Grandma might tell you stories of beef stew on her kitchen walls and ceiling. Modern ones are equipped with multiple safety features. And, to be honest, with the popularity of the Instant Pot some companies, mostly in China, are rushing copycat models onto the market without making certain they are safe to use. One woman was badly scalded by a Tristar Products "Power Pressure Cooker XL". So, given the reticence about pressure cooking, I'll probably focus more on slow cooking. People have asked me to do recipes for their Crock Pots.

I continue to experiment with the pot. One of my pet peeves is the stainless steel liner. It had a mirror finish when the pot was new. However, it clouded up quickly and despite my best efforts with polish I cannot restore it to its original appearance. When I'm cooking for myself, I don't care if the pot looks used. But for a video I want my cookware to shine like it's new. So I've been experimenting with liners. They are made of a nylon film that is safe at high temperatures. They're fine when slow cooking and I've had success using them when pressure cooking. I bought a package of 50 on Amazon and they came with plastic zip ties. Tie the top of the bag together, making sure all the plastic is inside the pot, and secure the lid. It's easy and it works. Other than wiping out the inner pot with a paper towel, there is no cleanup.

In Wednesday's blog I showed a Christmas gift, three bannetons for making bread. As for bannetons, I am learning what I can about them. I never used them before, although I've known they existed. Supposedly the wood cane absorbs moisture, making for a crisper crust on the baked bread. My food encyclopedia says they are French and typically used with a cloth lining. That might be the French way, but many people dust their bannetons liberally with flour rather than use a fabric lining.

That sent me to my Larousse Gastronomique encyclopedia, the ultimate authority on all things French cooking. I found no mention of bannetons. And so that sent me to my Professional Baking textbook where I learned something that seemed to sort out the cloth lining thing. It explained that a wicker basket is used with a cloth lining, whereas a cane banneton is dusted with flour before using.

And that sent me to Wikipedia to learn something more. Bannetons are typically used with wet, soft doughs that would spread out and flatten if left to rise on a baking sheet. The basket helps the dough to hold a shape and the cane or cloth lining wick away some of the moisture along the outside of the dough, helping the loaf to keep its shape when turning it out onto a baking sheet or pizza stone for baking. And that's why I do research.

So now that I am armed with a head full of knowledge, I plan to make a few bread videos in 2018.

Other things I am looking forward to this year are the 2018 mid-term elections in November. With nearly two years of Donald Trump as president, how will people vote this coming fall? And if Donald Trump loses a Republican majority in one or both chambers of Congress, what will he do (or tweet)? Will he blame the Russians?

Weather or Not

There is some possible good news on the horizon. Weather.org is predicting rain for later this week. History has taught me to wait until I see water falling from the sky. Past predictions failed to materialize. Yesterday the forecasts of "Slight chance of rain" changed to "Partly sunny" and "Chance of rain" changed to "Slight chance of rain." Last night the predictions of rain were back on again. Like I said, I'll believe it when I see it.

Meanwhile, I've been trimming my Dymondia because it will recover well if we get the rain predicted.

I think that covers everything I wanted to say at the end 2017. Happy New Year to you all. May we all enjoy the coming year in good cheer and good health.

Wednesday 2017.12.27

A short blog today. Sunday's will be a long one.

Happy Christmas

I opened a Christmas present on Christmas morning and found three bannetons and a bread book. I've never proofed bread in bannetons before, but I've seen the loaves that come out of them. They look beautiful. As for the book, she has her own ways about such books. She wants them to lie open on the kitchen counter when she's cooking; so she takes them to a stationery shop to have the spine cut off and replaced with a spiral binding.

Look to see more bread videos from me in the future, following recipes from that book and using the bannetons for proofing. Meanwhile…

Resolution

I placed a prominent (and somewhat vulgar) sign on my freezer door. "Eat me!" It's to serve as a reminder that I am to buy no food, except milk for coffee and maybe a bag or two of frozen vegetables as needed for my Minute Meals. All my meals must be from the freezer (heated, of course) until I eat down the inventory in there. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I recently made 44 cups of chicken stock. There was barely room to store it frozen.

And, in keeping with the season, I made a New Year's Resolution to keep to this endeavor until most, if not all, of the frozen foods stored in the freezer are eaten. I'll still cook for videos — I'll need to do that to keep up my schedule — but I'll try to prepare foods, such as bread, that don't require freezing. A small pot of stew will hold in the refrigerator for the few days it takes for me to eat it all.

Thomas Fire

The fire continues to burn in the back country northeast of here. The weather has been cool and the winds mild. This has led to excellent progress fighting the fire. It is more than 90% contained with full containment expected next week. No homes are threatened and all evacuation orders have been lifted. There was never any danger where I live. The only concern was the electricity, which went off several times, sometimes for several hours. The air quality is good and no ash has fallen from the skies lately. So, the worst of it is over.

Rain, or Lack Thereof

If only we could get some rain. According to statistics, we should have received about three inches of rain by now this season. So far, most stations have recorded less than a tenth of an inch. Another high pressure ridge developed off the coast of Southern California. That is moving all inclement weather northward into the Pacific Northwest. A friend wrote to say her family enjoyed a white Christmas. It was still snowing.

Sunday 2017.12.24

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow being the holiday in many countries (today, west of the International Date Line), I am hoping many of you get an Instant Pot for Christmas, or other presents your heart most desires. If you celebrate or observe other holidays at this time of year, then may you enjoy all the best of this holiday season.

Mad Chemistry

And speaking of the Instant Pot, I continue to do research. However, I decided it might be fun to follow a mad impulse rather than a recipe. I looked around in the cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer. What might I throw into the pot to make a humble stew? Chicken stock, lamb, bulgur, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, shallot, Roma tomato, beans, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

The result was something resembling a stew. The flavor was good enough to enjoy on a cold evening (they were predicting possible frost again for the night). The beans were not as tender as I like, but the stew was certainly good enough for me to start thinking about possible vegetables to look for on my next shopping trip. Next time, I might cook the beans in advance. And, once again, I used a liner. The pot only needed a quick wipe with a paper towel and it was clean enough to put away.

I also learned that devotees of the Instant Pot are called pot heads. There is a large culture out there, one that I never knew about. These cookers, and similar makes and models, have been around for several years. I only bought one on impulse because I read they were the hottest selling item for Black Friday and stores were selling out. When I saw an excellent price on Amazon (about 40% off), I grabbed it, thinking I might be able to use it in videos.

The Grand Tour

I was a big fan of Top Gear (UK) and now I'm a fan of The Grand Tour, which is on Amazon Prime. If you're not familiar with the program, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May talk about cars and play with them as if they were toys. During the course of the many seasons they've driven the worst of the worst all the way up to the most expensive luxury cars in the world, such as the £2.1 million Bugati Chiron.

Naturally, they don't take risks with the expensive vehicles, but they show no mercy for the junkers, often leaving them no more than charred wrecks to be swept off the road. They crash them, they blow them up, they set them on fire. But all along the cars are toys for them to play with. And they often burn all the tread off several sets of tires before they finish with a car.

The speed tests, the comfort tests, the noise and the shine are not the attraction of the shows. They're accessories. The real joy of the show is how these three men interact. They genuinely like each other and enjoy working together. When the BBC decided not to renew Clarkson's Top Gear contract after a tiff with an employee, they offered to renew the contracts of Hammon and May. They said no. "We're going with Clarkson." They all went to Amazon to create the new program, The Grand Tour.

Top Gear continues to be made by the BBC, with different hosts. It's not an awful show now, but it lacks the chemistry the former hosts brought to the show.

I don't subscribe to Amazon Prime. I don't order from Amazon often enough to justify spending $99 per year for faster shipping. I can wait, and if my order totals $25 or more, I get free shipping anyway. I keep a list of small items on my Wish List to add to an order if I need to bring to total to the free shipping minimum.

However, there are ways to get copies of the shows without subscribing to Prime. Clarkson himself claimed the first episode of The Grand Tour was the most bootlegged video in the history of the Internet. I believe him. Last year I was able to see all the episodes in ultra high definition 4K format. This year I've seen them in either 720p or 1080p HD, so far. I await the 4K formats, if anyone will put them out there. Watching them in 4K is impressive, but I'll take the shows in any format. They're fun to watch.

As of this writing, only the third episode of the second season has been broadcast by Amazon. Clarkson promised 12 shows this season. And the season got off to a late start this year because Clarkson went into the hospital with a serious case of pneumonia and Hammond broke his knee in a car crash while taping the show.

Location Shooting

A new neighbor moved into the trailer park. She does not live in one of the permanent mobile homes. She rents one of the temporary spaces they can occupy for a maximum of three months before pulling their rig out for a few days and then coming back for another three months. It's something to do with county ordinances, I think.

Her coach is very different. It's not one of those camper trailers or motor homes you often see people using on vacations. She lives in an actual mini-house. It's a little gabled house, 300 square feet, built on a trailer bed. The living space consists of a small parlor, dining area, and kithcen. The kitchen has a three-burner stove, oven, sink, refrigerator and freezer. A bathroom with toilet and shower is at one end. There is a loft at either end, providing two sleeping areas. Each is more than large enough for a king-sized bed.

Her home was delivered on Friday and she is beginning to move in. She doesn't have full utilities yet, only electricity. Installation takes a few days.

She wants me to do a cooking show inside. She gave me a tour yesterday evening and the lighting is excellent. The one problem might be the huge windows facing south. The sunlight would be intense. There is no shade tree outside. We would need to wait for a rainy day, the darker the better. Her inside lighting is more than adequate for a video.

I'm thinking of a simple one-pot dinner, in keeping with the style of the home — easy living — and, of course, I think my Instant Pot would be ideal. We could make a stew with chicken, beef, or lamb. Or a fish stew would be good. She is gluten-intolerant, so bulgur or pasta wouldn't be appropriate. Beans and/or brown rice would be okay, maybe with some wild rice added for extra eye appeal.

And, therefore, it was time to prepare stock again. I had chicken trim in the freezer. I made one pot of stock Friday and two more batches yesterday for a total yield of 44 cups. From what I could inventory, I have at least 8 cups in the freezer. With more than 50 cups of homemade chicken stock for soups and stews, it's going to be a pleasant winter.

Christmas Vlog

I had time to video a Christmas vlog from my kitchen, in time for holiday.

As For the Fire…

It continues at 65% contained.

Wednesday 2017.12.20

Happy Winter Solstice

Tomorrow is the first day of winter. While, yes, the days will get colder, they'll also get longer. Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year. Although the change in total daylight from day to day won't amount to much initially, we can find some comfort in knowing we'll be gaining more sunlight, especially as we approach the first day of spring.

Yogurt

The electricity here has been constant since the power outages last week. As of yesterday evening the fire was 50% contained. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the winds were predicted to be mild. The outlook for successfully fighting this fire looks very good, although they're predicting stronger winds today. So, with reliable electricity, I felt confident enough to attempt yogurt, which has to incubate in the Instant Pot for eight hours.

I followed the instructions. Temperatures were correct. Times were correct. What I ended up with was something with the consistency of milk. It didn't have the custard texture I saw in the videos I watched on YouTube.

What did I do wrong? Here is one hypothesis: I used a liner in my Instant Pot (for easy cleanup), which shouldn't have had any affect on the process. However, I was careful not to poke a hole in the liner when I introduced the starter yogurt. I whisked the liquid, but not all the way down to the bottom. I think the yogurt I added simply sunk to the bottom and stayed there. When I poured the contents into large measuring cups, there was thick stuff at the bottom of the liner.

In some of the videos I watched, people whisked the starter into a small bowl of their prepared milk and then stirred that into the pot. That would work better, I'm sure. So I poured my failed milk mixture into a large pot, heated it to 185°F (85°C) again, and then let it cool.

And here's a new bonus. The pot I used to heat the milk was the bottom of my old Fagor pressure cooker. I've blogged about it before — cheap made in China POS. The plastic pressure regulator wasn't heat resistant. I replaced the cooker with a beautiful Kuhn Rikon. Getting back to my bonus … after finishing the heating process, I covered the pot with the glass lid I bought for my Instant Pot. It's a perfect fit. Now I have a nice lid for that old pressure cooker.

I cooled the milk by placing the pot in a cold water bath, etc., and then started the yogurt again. I was very interested to see what I would end up with, if anything. While heating the milk the second time, it thickened. It wasn't as thick as a custard, but it was sort of like a soft custard I might make for mascarpone cheese or ice cream. So, would it become yogurt?

After eight hours in the Instant Pot, the result looked and tasted like yogurt. It still needed to be drained of whey, which is what I started this morning. It takes about eight hours. Hopefully I'll have Greek-style yogurt later this afternoon.

I almost erased the video I had done. However, I figured I could shoot a pickup to cover my error. If you eventually watch the yogurt video, look for the clip in which I whisk some yogurt into a small bowl of milk. That mixture was just done to cover the error. It didn't go into the pot; it was poured down the sink drain.

Not All Multi-function Pots Are the Same

I saw a video by a woman who left instructions for someone (husband? son?) to set up her Instant Pot to make dinner. He called later to say it wasn't cooking correctly. She thought about it and then realized, "Oh no!" She rushed home. The person did set up the pot with buffalo wings and sauce, but the ingredients were not placed in the inner pot. They were dumped into the appliance. No liner. She showed the wiring in the bottom of the pot, covered with sauce. She hoped she should clean up the mess and save her Instant Pot. I didn't see an epilogue.

There was also a report about a woman who was seriously scalded when she opened her electric pressure cooker after the pot had supposedly fully depressurized. All indications were that the pot was safe to open. It wasn't. She suffered second-degree burns to her hands, arms, and chest.

News reports said the make and model of that pot — Tristar Products "Power Pressure Cooker XL" — is a cheap and faulty product. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous companies that will rush a knock off to market without assuring safety. Some people say it's because the product is made in China. There are some questionable Chinese products, but there are some good ones too. It all comes down to quality control during the manufacturing process.

Making My Own Chex Mix

I feel compelled to state that Chex Mix isn't as good today as it was when I was a child, even if you make it yourself. I remember reading the ingredients on the label of a bottle of Lee & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. To use a cliché, it was as long as your arm. The sauce was even a little thick compared to the sauce in the bottle today. Among the ingredients I remember was the zest from lemons and oranges. Today the ingredient list is short.

However, it is good enough to make a batch of Chex Mix that is still far superior to the snack sold in plastic bags at the grocery store. So, for the holidays, if a bit late, I did a video of my own recipe for Chex Mix. I like to add little crackers, like Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and Sunshine Cheez-Its. Honey roasted peanuts are good too because they add a little surprise of sweetness to the Mix.

Your Donations at Work

Thank you. On Monday I paid for my web site's hosting for another two years. $166.80. The money came out of this web site's PayPal account. There is still plenty of funds available; so there is no need for donations. But, really, thank you. I appreciate your support. If you've visited this site enough, you've noticed no advertising. This is not a commercial site. I keep it going — more than seven years now — because I enjoy sharing my cooking ideas with others.

Sunday 2017.12.17

Fire Danger

Early yesterday morning was really windy. When I went to bed Friday night it was calm outside. I woke up early in the morning, about 3:00AM, and I could hear the wind howling. It was a surprise to us and to the fire fighters. They were expecting an increase in the winds, but not like this. Gusts were predicted in the 40mph range; what they recorded overnight was gusts of 65 mph. And, it was blowing the fire toward me. Yesterday the winds tapered off during the day and evening.

They expanded the evacuation zones, but I am not in one, currently. The possibility of being evacuated is very low because I do not live near a wilderness area. Lest those be spoken as famous last words, the area where I live is surrounded by large residential areas. Homes are being destroyed, but those are in housing complexes built close to the mountains and foothills where the fire spreads rapidly when the winds blow down the canyons.

Yesterday I watched TV news all day. Smoke was billowing above the mountains near Santa Barbara. When I looked out the window, it looked like Armageddon was brewing to the east. The sky above me was blue and clear. It's hazy again today.

To be safe, just in case, I started making a list of the items I would pack in the event of an evacuation order. They give us a voluntary warning first, usually many hours in advance of a possible mandatory one. That allows us time to prepare. I have a place to go — some friends up in Santa Cruz. I vlogged about my plans, in case I need to evacuate.

Yesterday we were able to see flames at the top of the mountains to the east. The fire isn't close, but it's visible and that was a little unnerving.

As I said in the vlog, the fire is spreading westward, toward where I live, but because the wilderness terrain is more northward, we expect the fire to move northward as well as westward, skirting our area. The progress of the fire overnight was along the mountain ridge northeast of the city of Santa Barbara. The evacuation areas have not be expanded since yesterday.

The constant concern has been the electricity. The news says the fire is burning in the area of the transmission lines and we should expect power outages. So far, the electricity has remained on. Nonetheless, yesterday evening I kept a small flashlight in my shirt pocket in case I needed to find my way to my oil lamps.

Experimenting

I am certainly not averse to experimenting in the kitchen, although I'm not one to take too many risks.

On Thursday I experimented again with my Instant Pot, making the Split Pea Soup again (the feature recipe this week, coincidentally). It is made in a pressure cooker, one of the functions of the Instant Pot. I wanted to try using the pot liners I bought. This poses a problem:

The Instant Pot has to be sealed to build pressure. Obviously, I couldn't let the top of the liner hang out over the top of the pot. Steam would leak out. I needed a positive seal. So what about putting the entire liner inside the pot, folding the excess down? What would hold it up? Magnets? The inner pot is stainless steel. There is not 100% consensus about this, but here goes:

You can supposedly test stainless steel with a magnet. Good stainless shouldn't have much, if any, ability to attract a magnet. If a magnet sticks, it is "austinitic" stainless, made with nickel, and supposedly not safe. Again, I can't find reliable agreement on this. But I tested my stainless anyway.

I have one ladle that was very expensive. Paying $28 for a ladle seems outrageous, but I did, and I mostly use it in videos. For my own cooking I use my plastic stuff (and sometimes in videos too). I tested the ladle with a magnet and there was no attraction whatsoever.

I also have some cheap utensils, made in China (no surprise), that were very attractive to the magnet. I rarely use them, but they are handy when I need them.

I also tested the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Almost no attraction to a magnet. That's good. But what if I want to hold up that liner with a magnet? My "super magnets" (neodymium) are thin. I put some on the outside, some on the inside, with the folded liner held between. It appeared to hold well; so I set up my pot to make Split Pea Soup using the pressure cooker function, hoping for the best. The result?

It worked fine. The Instant Pot held its pressure. The soup ingredients cooked. As I did for the video, I used my immersion blender to purée the soup. Season with some salt, and enjoy. It is delicious. I gave some to my neighbors last time. This time, this soup is for me. I love this soup. As for the pot, there must have been a tiny pin hole in the liner. A little leaked, less than a teaspoon, and browned on the bottom. It was easily wiped up with a paper towel. No discoloration to the pot. Happy, happy.

I want to us my pot's yogurt function, but the electricity isn't reliable enough yet. The yogurt requires heat overnight to let the live cultures work the milk.

Postal Issues Revisited

I mentioned in an earlier blog that a postal person lost my expensive imported (made in Poland) butter dish by delivering it to the wrong box. Whoever got it kept it. I tried to get Luis, our usual postman, to track it down, but sometimes I think he tells people what they want to hear, hoping they'll go away and not come back. Okay. Let it go.

Now I tell people to either send something UPS (or other carrier that delivers to the door) or send it through the mail as "certified — signature required." I can't control what Amazon does, naturally; so I need to be more vigilant. Thursday I was expecting a package. The tracking number said it was "Out for delivery." I printed the notice so that I could go to the postal boxes armed. I also opened all my drapes. I have good ears, thankfully. I can hear the difference between the UPS truck and the postal truck. I watched and listened.

The truck must have gone the other way around. I went to the mail boxes later and found two parcels. One was the "signature required" box. It was left without a signature although it was clearly labelled for signature. The other was a small package delivered to the wrong street address. I wrote a nasty note in red ink on the parcel and put it in the "Outgoing" slot.

Wednesday 2017.12.13

Smoke and Ashes

Each morning, and if I wake up at night, I look at my digital clock in my bedroom. If it isn't blinking the wrong time, the electricity stayed on all night. That, at least, is some good news for which to be grateful. Then I open the drapes and look at the sky. Hazy and yellow? Clear and blue? Finally, I look at the car and street. Are they covered with ash?

What we really need is rain, sort of. A good steady rain for a day or two would wash all the roads (which look like it snowed at night) and houses. It would carry the ash away. However, the mountains and hillsides here at stripped of vegetation at the beginning of the rainy season. Debris flows will be the area's major damage issue in the months to come. The high pressure ridge continues over Central California, pushing inclement weather to the north, but meteorologists are saying it is starting to weaken.

I do what I can to prevent the discomfort caused by breathing the unhealthy air. All during the night the HEPA filter air purifier runs in the bedroom. During the day I move it to the office, where I spend most of my time each day. (I have a small TV on my desk and it is usually tuned to news all day.) And although it might arrive too late to use, I ordered an N-100 face mask from Amazon. They handed out N-95s here for free. I figured, if I am going to buy one, I'll purchase a good one.

The N-95 is the minimum recommended. It filters out 95% of the particulate matter in the air. The N-100 is supposed to filter out 99.97%. In the meantime, I have an N-95 that I wear when I go outside, especially when I blow the ash off the car.

It amuses me to hear the local news commentators urge people not to use air blowers to clear the ash from their car. They blow particulate matter into the air. Watch out the windows. Thousands of cars are driving along roads dusted with ash, stirring it up into the air. The one minute it takes for me to blow the ash off my car with my Datavac Electric Duster doesn't contribute to the danger all around us.

Trial Run

I saw a commercial on TV. I think it was from the Red Lobster restaurant chain. One of the food photos showed a scallop nestled in the curve of a shrimp. I thought, "I can do that." I've been wanting to do a video of seafood kebabs. But, of course, I wanted to ramp it up a little. So I thought about wrapping the scallop in a narrow strip of prosciutto before pairing it with a large shrimp. I went to Costco and came home with Kirkland brand frozen scallops and really large shrimp.

There are two possible ways to do them. Arrange some on a skewer or assemble them individually, held with a toothpick. It seemed like a trial was in order. I made one and seasoned it with a little garlic, then I cooked it in butter.

The flavor was good. As planned, yesterday I did Shrimp Scallop Kebabs and some individual ones for the video so that people could decide for themselves how they wanted to cook and seve them.

And by the way, I removed the tail shell too. I don't like shrimp with the tail shell still on. It's not ready for serving. When shrimp is prepared like this, I want it ready to eat. I don't want to use my hands to do what chef in the kitchen should have done — completely peel the shrimp. One exception is when you're going use your fingers to do something like dip the shrimp in some seafood sauce before eating. The tail shell is a good handle for holding the shrimp.

So, having made the kebabs yesterday, during the evening, while watching the vote returns from Alabama (more on that later), I wrote the recipe and then uploaded everything to my web site and to YouTube. Go to the recipe page and then click the green "View the Video" button to watch.

The video is currently unlisted on YouTube, but you can view it now. It will go public in coming weeks.

Far From Neutral

Okay, I'm biased. So sue me. I watched the vote returns from Alabama yesterday evening and, I admit, I started the evening feeling discouraged. I really believed Roy Moore would win the senate seat. I wanted Doug Jones. I wasn't hoping for another embarrassing loss for Trump. I wasn't looking for the Democrats to gain another seat in the Senate. What I really wanted was for the people of Alabama not to become famous, or infamous, for electing a credibly accused* child molester as their Senator. I was happy and relieved when Jones was declared the winner.

*One of the beauties of our American judicial system is the policy "presumed innocent until proven guilty." Although I was never put on trial for anything, I think that policy is one for which we can be proud as a nation. There is another judicial term, "preponderance of evidence," that is important in the Roy Moore case. The accusations against Moore were numerous and credible. Although he wasn't proved guilty (yet), to ignore those accusations would have been an insult to the women and girls who were victimized by him and Trump.

Some saw the outcome as an "utter repudiation" of the Steve Bannon agenda and of Donald Trump. I see it in a more positive way. I believe the vote proved a majority of the people in Alabama took seriously the rights of women.

Sunday 2017.12.10

California Wildfires Update

Thursday was not a pleasant day. The smoke and ash arrived. The winds had been blowing most of it off the coast during the early part of the week. Watching the graphic of the wind patterns on the Weather Channel was interesting. Again, the winds were blowing mostly toward the WSW, off the coast. But there was one little curve of wind blowing WNW, pushing smoke into our area.

At noon it looks like sunset outside. I went outside yesterday at 12:30 and the sun was barely visible. Some people get depressed with too much cloudy weather. I don't, but the smoke affects me. I want it to go away.

I thought about driving around to get better pictures, like up near the mountains, but there was so much smoke and ash in the air, I decided to follow the recommendation to stay in my home with the windows closed. I run a HEPA filter air purifier in the office throughout the day.

My car was dusted with ash this morning. Thankfully, the air has been very dry. There is no dew to stick the ash to the paint. I pulled out my Datavac Electric Duster. It puts out a good blast of air; so it took less than a minute to blow all the ash off my car. It needs to be done a few times each day.

Most of the time we are under a pall of smoke. There hasn't been much wind, which helps the fire fighters combat the flames, but it doesn't clear the skies of smoke. It just lingers up there, dropping ash. Some days are better than others. And looking out the windows, I see an orange sky and orange light from the sun. I am trying to be patient. The latest numbers on the nearest fire, the Thomas fire in Ventura, are 155,000 acres burned and 15% contained.

The electricity has been unpredictable. It was off during most of last night and this morning the power went off twice while I was updating this blog. I need to save my work after every sentence. I'm listening to KNX New Radio in Los Angeles on my crank radio as I write this.

Meanwhile, More Slow Cooking

As planned, I made the Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff in my Instant Pot. The recipe came from the book Slow Cooker 101 by Perrin Davis. I didn't agree with all the measurements; so I made a few modifications, which I often do.

And I learned a neat little trick too. As mentioned in last Sunday's blog, when I ordered my Instant Pot I also purchased the optional glass lid. I wanted to see the food cooking inside. There is a little steam vent in the cover and it is the perfect size to allow me to check the internal temperature with my ThermaPen probe digital thermometer.

The inside of the pot was maintaining 155°F (68°C). For fresh beef, not ground beef, the USDA recommends a temperature of at least 145°F (63°C). I was satisfied my pot was keeping the temperature above the safe cooking level for the eight hours this dish cooked.

And something else I learned: If I am going to do slow cooking, I had better do all the food prep — chopping, slicing, measuring, etc. — the evening before. Dinner wasn't ready until 7:00 in the evening.

Next up? I'm planning to use my Instant Pot's yogurt function to make my own Greek style yogurt.

Finally, Stroganoff or Stroganov?

Doing food research can sometimes be fun. Look up "beef stroganoff" on Wikipedia.org. You will find some informative history on the dish.

Wednesday 2017.12.6

California Wild Fires

There were warnings. The Weather.org web site said Monday night/Tuesday morning would be dry with strong Santa Ana winds blowing in Southern California. The danger for fire was high — and therefore there were fires. They are still investigating the cause, but often the fires are started by arsonists. They're a fact of life, like child molesters running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Santa Ana winds are more common in October. It's odd to see them in December. Something else we can blame on global warming? They blow into Southern California from off the high desert, bringing dry air. Typically they're very warm, but this time it was the opposite. Last night the temperature was predicted to be as low as 32°F (0°C).

The location of the fires caused another problem. They burned beneath the high voltage transmission lines that bring us our electricity. When the fires affected the power, the grid automatically shut down some parts and that put us in the dark, even though we are many miles away from the fire.

Thankfully, I'm not without a few resources. I have flashlights because I kind of have a "thing" about flashlights. I have several, at least one in every room. I also have a wind-up flashlight. The spring runs a little generator inside to charge the batteries.

The pleasurable source of light was from my oil lamps. I don't require them often, but when I need them I enjoy using them. They emit a soothing glow.

And I have a wind-up radio too. That was how I learned about the fires on Monday evening when the power first went out. I listened to KNX News Radio in Los Angeles. The radio also has a solar panel on it. I can place it in the sun and the light will charge the batteries. I like feeling resourceful.

As for the outage, it was worst Monday night. Without electricity, my furnace would not come on. Ergo, no heat. My home didn't get too cold, 61°F (16°C). Off and on during the night the electricity came back on enough to occasionally heat my home and keep the refrigerator cold. I worried about losing the food in my freezer.

Yesterday the electricity was intermittent during the morning. By afternoon it seemed reliable again and it never went off during the night. If it had, my bedroom clock would be blinking the wrong time this morning, needing to be reset. The winds were mild last night.

The Santa Anas are expected to be strong again tonight. They can gust up to 70 mph. With power lines and poles already compromised because of the fires, the wind makes things worse. I'm ready with flashlights and oil lamps, should the power outages return.

I tried to write most of this blog yesterday morning. I saved my work at the end of every sentence because I didn't know when the electricity would go off.

Cooking Slow

I have a foodie web site and a cooking channel on YouTube, but there is so much I don't know about cooking. People with crock pots and slow cookers are well advanced over me. I'm a newbie in that realm.

The Split Pea Soup I made was excellent. My attempt at Beef Stew was a dismal failure. Although I managed to get an edible stew, I didn't like it. The vegetables were good — I like vegetables — but the beef was way too bland. I erased the video files from my camera and I bagged up the stew and put it in the trash. What did I learn?

First: I wrote to a cooking friend (she has a crock pot) and told her about my effort and failure. One point was the beef. The store had nice thick steaks on sale for about the same price as stew beef. Why not use a better cut of beef? Her explanation was that steak is steak and should be cooked as steak, grilled or broiled. It ain't stew meat. Use chuck. Fortunately, the store up the street has "boneless beef chuck steaks or roasts (limit 4)" on sale this week for $2.87 per pound rather than $4.99. That's almost half price.

Second: Don't move the Instant Pot after it is set up and cooking. The cord fits too loosely into the back of the pot. I moved the pot to do some photography and that loosened the plug. Because the front panel was facing away from me, I didn't see that the pot had turned off. It might have been off for about an hour before I discovered the problem and started it cooking again.

Third: Trust the pot. If the recipe says to cook on high for 8 hours, don't assume I know more than the pot does. Leave the lid on and let it cook for the full length of time.

I did find a cookbook of crock pot recipes. The first one in the book is a kind of beef stroganoff made in the pot. I love good stroganoff. I have a Beef Stroganoff recipe on this web site. My plan is to use the best from both recipes. For example, the book recipe doesn't say to serve the stroganoff over cooked noodles. I've always had it with noodles; so that's part of the plan. I need to wait though.

I had lunch with two friends on Monday. The girlfriend of one of them has an Instant Pot because he bought it for her a couple years ago. She found some plastic bag liners that fit in the pot. You cook in the liners, serve the food, and the pull out the liner to toss in the trash. No cleanup.

I really like that idea because the Instant Pot's stainless steel pot is a real pain to clean. It's polished steel rather than brushed. Every little discoloration stands out. I've tried soaking it with vinegar, rubbing with metal polish, even Bar Keeper's Friend cleaner. Nothing restored it to its like-new luster. I ordered liners. They're available on Amazon. A package of 50 cost me about $23.

For my own cooking I don't mind if the pan doesn't look like I just brought it home from the store. I have some cookware that I use solely for videos. In videos I want my cookware to look clean, like I take care of it. Most people probably don't mind that the Instant Pot looks discolored after several uses. It doesn't affect the efficiency nor the flavor of the food. But I'm not happy about it when I do videos.

And lest people think plastic is filled with all kinds of carcinogenic chemicals that will shorten my life span by at least 30 years, the information about the liners says: "FDA certified, NSF approved, KOFK certified and produced in an ISO 9001 environment." Of course, the conspiracy theorists will still say I'm playing with death in a crock pot, but I'm not worried.

I don't have Amazon Prime; so I wait longer for things to be delivered. According the their web site, the expected delivery will be after the sale on the beef chuck ends. So, buy the meat and freeze it. I'll be okay.

Sunday 2017.12.3

The Postal Person's Pledge

"Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night stays these couriers
from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

The pledge says nothing about being too lazy to put the mail in the truck. Case in point:

My Instant Pot from Amazon was "out for delivery" on Wednesday, or so said the tracking number. I was waiting at the mail boxes because the truck drove past my home without stopping. He usually leaves larger packages at my door. I told the driver it was supposed to be delivered today, "out for delivery," etc., and he said there were boxes he didn't load into his truck that morning. He'd do it tomorrow. No. Not good enough.

I told him I already started my prep work for a video that morning because the cooker would be delivered that day. I planned to use it the following morning so that I would be done making the food (split pea soup) early enough for the final photography. This is the time of year when the sun sets early. I shoot my photographs using natural lighting. The mail is delivered in the afternoon and that wouldn't give me enough time.

To be honest, I really like our postal delivery guy. He's pleasant and he does try to give good service (unless he can get away with something). He is young and he complains sometimes about his job. It's too much work. I don't mean to generalize about all young workers, but he does remind me of a problem we have here in the USA. Some young people — not all — aren't taught a work ethic the way we old-timers were.

It reminds me of a scene in one of the Absolutely Fabulous episodes. Edina is addressing her office assistant: "Bubble, what is it you do?" Bubble, with her usual vacuous expression on her face, says: "I don't know. Get paid, I guess."

Luis, that's his name, promised he would deliver my parcel later that day. During the afternoon a mail truck arrived with the package. Luis wasn't driving, but evidently he made arrangements for my box to be delivered. Thank you.

Split Pea Soup

The prep work I had started on Wednesday was a big pot of Homemade Chicken Stock. You can, of course, buy stock or broth at the grocery store. There are some decent brands, although I find the Swanson product to be a little too watered down. I almost always have homemade stock in my freezer. I freeze it in one-cup containers and then store the ice blocks in ziplock bags.

I eat a lot of soup in winter and homemade stock is an excellent ingredient in many dishes. When I see a recipe or a video that says "Add two cups of water" I often wonder what would be a good substitute for the water. If it's a savory dish, stock often works better.

My supply of frozen stock was nearly depleted. There were only two cups remaining. I needed at least six cups for the split pea soup recipe. Thankfully I had plenty of chicken trim in the freezer. That, along with the usual mirepoix of diced carrots, onions, celery, and herbs made plenty of delicious stock. That batch yielded 17 cups of stock, and I have more trim to use.

And then I used the stock to make Split Pea Soup. The soup was delicious. When I make it again, I'll use half chicken stock and half water. The soup tasted a little too much like chicken broth. I wanted the flavor of the peas to predominate.

Slow Cooking

Yesterday I tried using my Instant Pot as a slow cooker. It was my first attempt with that method of cooking and I tried to make make beef stew. My mom made beef stew, but I didn't have her recipe. So I combined a few recipes I found on the Internet.

After several hours the potatoes still weren't tender. I finally switched to the Sauté mode to heat the pot to boiling. After 10 minutes they were tender enough. I assume meats, especially chicken, cook well in a slow process, as do sauces. There is a "Meat/Stew" button on the cooker. It starts a timed pressure cooking cycle. Lesson learned.

I'll make it again, but I'll use the "Meat/Stew" function of the cooker. I now believe my mother made her beef stew in her pressure cooker. And I'll make it with lamb. Those of you who have read my blog long enough will already know I am not much of a beef eater. The flavor doesn't appeal to me. I prefer lamb.

As for slow cooking, I am still looking at recipes. Fans are beginning to share some recipes. That's good. They are giving me some excellent ideas.

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