APRIL 2019
Sunday 2019.4.28
Slowing Down
As springtime progresses, things are slowing down on Mobile Home Gourmet. During the fall, especially as the holidays approach, activity is brisk, including many comments to read and respond to — sometimes good, sometimes bad. May, June and July are typically my slowest months of the year.
I'm not complaining. A slower paced schedule is welcome after the activities during November through January. Sometimes I feel as though I need a good long rest. I'll be enjoying the next few months.
Another thing is slowing down my activity — my refrigerator. It is becoming too full of foods. Some I can freeze, others I can only keep cold. The problem is that I've been cooking to keep providing this web site and my YouTube channel with new recipes and videos, but I can't keep up with the eating, especially on a keto diet.
There was a time when I could give my video foods to my neighbors. Things have changed. The neighbors across the street won't speak to me since they became Jehovah's Witnesses. The woman with the lemon tree has been in and out of the hospital lately and looking frail. I'm not sure what her dietary needs and restrictions might be. Another neighbor has been refusing my food since he want into the hospital for a few days to have several tests done. He is probably on some sort of restriction. Another neighbor is vegan. And there is one more person, one street over, who'll accept food, but he's almost never home. So, the foods pile up in the refrigerator until they need to be discarded.
Tailoring
Where am I on my tailoring projects? Yesterday I put the buttons on the sixth shirt. One more to go. These last two are more difficult because I chose a very light fabric. How light? The completed shirt weighs about 6 ounces (170 grams), about half the weight of my regular shirts. I was thinking of summer use.
The light weight cloth doesn't have much body and it is therefore more challenging to control. As a result, I made a few very small mistakes. They won't show in a video; so I left them. I'll do shirt seven this week and that will be the end of my tailoring projects for a while. With 37 "show shirts" in the closet, I have plenty to last me for a long time.
Wednesday 2019.4.24
A Major Video Project Done
Yesterday I uploaded the third of a three-part series on how I tailor my own shirts. It was fun, but more work than usual. A little more work is okay. It makes projects satisfying, and I feel good to see all three videos now on YouTube. People are watching them. None of my videos ever go viral, but I felt like I had something to contribute. I know a lot of guys here and none of them can tailor a shirt.
I feel like I need to explain a few things. The shirts I use for daily wear are different from the shirts I tailor. My tailored shirts are my "show shirts," meaning I only wear them when shooting videos. I currently have 35 on hangers in a separate closet, separate from my daily wear. One shirt is in progress and there is one more to start. These last two are more challenging because I chose a very light fabric. I was thinking these light-weight shirts would be better for warmer days. The challenge is in the lack of stiffness in the fabric. It's more difficult to control. However, I'm making progress.
Another issue is "why." Why would I go through the work of tailoring my own shirts when I can buy them off the rack at the same or lower prices at places like Ross Dress for Less? It's all about color. I have some fairly amazing colors among my show shirts.
And, finally, another issue is custom tailoring. Yes, making a shirt costs a little more than buying one at the store; however, what would I pay for a custom made shirt in my choice of color? And I have to admit there is a little bit of pride — just a little bit — when I'm wearing one of these shirts, knowing that mine is the only one in the entire world.
Back to Cooking
Now that I have a major video project out of the way, and I'm nearly done with tailoring for a while, it's time to start thinking about cooking again.
First up will be a recipe for Chicken Parmigiana. By using "zoodles" made from zucchini, it will be keto friendly. I'd also like to revisit my Seafood Fettuccine recipe again, this time using zoodles in place of the pasta. The recipe uses rice flour, which isn't keto friendly, but only two teaspoons would add about 5 grams of carbohydrates, and that's for a recipe that feeds four to six. One extra gram of carbs won't knock me out of ketosis will it?
I did make a lot of marinara this week, about six cups (now portioned and frozen), to be used in future recipes. One will be the Chicken Parmigiana mentioned above. Another will be Eggplant Parmesan, made more keto friendly. I think I might have mentioned it in an earlier blog. The original recipe uses flour. What if I were to grind up some almonds and/or pecans? I have them.
And tomorrow I'll make either Cream of Broccoli Soup or Cheddar Broccoli Soup again. I have the stems and other ingredients. I think of soup as a winter food, but having soup portioned into cups in my refrigerator is convenient for something light and satisfying when I'm feeling a little hungry.
Before long the summer will be here in full and the days will be too warm to cook. I'll probably do a more relaxed schedule of uploading cooking videos to YouTube, maybe every other week, like I've done in the past. Or I might look for recipes that don't require cooking, like salads and snacks. The summer months are my slowest period on YouTube anyway. Typically August and September are when the interest starts to climb, peaking around Thanksgiving and Christmas as people search for holiday recipes. My Scalloped Potatoes recipe was popular for Easter.
Analytics Revisited
This morning I spent some time viewing my analytics pages on YouTube. My most popular recipe is still Salmon Jerky. I wouldn't describe its performance as "viral," but there was one day, November 12, 2017, when the views skyrocketed to 4,689 for that day. Currently it's getting only about 150 views per day and the audience retention is slipping — on average, people only watch the first 25% of the video, maybe only to get the ingredients for the marinade.
I bring this up because I am wondering if I should do a video about making beef jerky. I doubt it would do as well because beef jerky is so common. Salmon jerky is unique and although there are other recipes and videos on the Internet, mine is one of the few.
Sunday 2019.4.21
Happy Easter
I somewhat observed the Easter season this year. I bought one of those large Easter hams they sell at Costco for about $27. It was nearly ten pounds and spiral sliced, which made it easy to portion into small packets. I stored 15 packets in the freezer, giving me ham for months to come.
I'm not a big ham eater, but one of my favorite dishes (since my college days) is a ham and cheese omelet. I avoided eating those for many years because I thought they were fattening. Omelets are allowed on my keto diet. It doesn't take much ham to add the flavor I like.
Perfection is not Overrated
I delved into one of my keto cookbooks this week and found a recipe for Shrimp Caprese. Rather than using pasta noodles, the recipe uses "zoodles," noodles made by either spiraling or thinly slicing zucchini. I sliced, using a vegetable peeler for very thin slices. Although I have a spiralizer, some don't; so I thought I should demonstrate another way to create the zoodles.
The recipe isn't perfect. The proportion of sauce to zoodles wasn't quite right, but I adapted. I adjust most recipes anyway. What was perfect was the final flavor. It was fantastic, and I don't use the F-word lightly.
I enjoyed a good portion. There is more in the refrigerator for enjoying later. It's so delicious, it will be gone in a few days. And the recipe, my version of it, earned a permanent place in my keto cookbook, a recipe binder I keep in a kitchen cupboard.
And this brought another idea to mind. One of my favorite dishes is Seafood Fettuccine. There's a story that goes with this recipe.
Many years ago, back in the 1980s, I was dining out with friends at one of my favorite seafood restaurants. I ordered the shrimp and scallop fettuccine. It was delicious. I asked the waitress if the chef would be willing to share his recipe. He came to our table. I told him the dish was so good, the last bite was just as delicious as the first one, when I was hungry. I asked for the recipe. His said his recipe feeds 40. "That's okay," I said, "just give me the ingredients and I'll figure out the proportions." Shrimp, bay scallops, garlic, butter, heavy whipping cream, dry sherry, ground oregano, white pepper, salt and Parmesan cheese. I thicken my sauce with a little rice flour.
However, it is made with pasta noodles. I can't eat those. They're high in carbohydrates and therefore not keto friendly. What if I were to make the recipe with zoodles?
Meanwhile, I worked really hard to get the caprese video and recipe ready for today so that I could list it at the bottom of the home page as an advance-viewing video for those who visit my web site. (Speaking of which, not many do, but that's okay. I don't want my hosting service to increase my payment to commercial rates. I listed my Cheddar Broccoli Soup last Sunday and during the week it was watched 12 times, even though it was unlisted on YouTube.) I also wanted to talk about the caprese in my Vlog.
On the negative (sort of) side, moments after I uploaded the video to YouTube it was de-monetized as unsuitable for most advertisers. I've been through this before. Although I don't know the exact reason why, I do know that YouTube doesn't like non-English words in an all-English channel. "Caprese" (pronounced kah•PREE•zee or kah•PREE•see) is Italian and it usually refers to a simple salad made with sliced tomatoes, sliced mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil, dressed with olive oil. Those ingredients are incorporated in the shrimp dish described and pictured above.
De-monetization is not the catastrophe it was once perceived to be. The video is "unlisted" and therefore qualifies for a review. I submitted a request and it was approved less than 24 hours later. The video is now monetized as suitable for all advertisers. It's a cooking video. What could be offensive about that?
I Make a Shirt
The "I Make a Shirt" video, actually videos, are done. It took a lot of editing, but I finally put all the clips together. I divided the video into three parts because as one long piece it was more than 40 minutes in length. I uploaded the first part today. Parts 2 and 3 and need to be encoded and will therefore probably be uploaded tomorrow and Tuesday.
Wednesday 2019.4.17
Microphones
I don't have a good relationship with microphones. I spend a lot of money on them and they don't last, no matter how careful I am with them.
To be honest, I can't complain about the money. My Mobile Home Gourmet channel on YouTube is doing well enough now to cover the cost of replacement mics. However, it makes me unnecessarily nervous when I can't trust a microphone I'm using.
An example: I'm trying to edit a video and I am painstakingly working around segments of static or buzz because the wire near the connector is failing. At least, that's where I think the problem is located. I tried wearing headphones connected to the camera and listening as I manipulated the wire, trying to locate the problem. The mic worked flawlessly. Now what?
If I could find the bad area, I might be able to repair it. I'm not useless with a soldering pencil. And I have a spare connector.
I do have one spare mic, brand new, still in its original box. Knowing microphones don't last long, I try to keep an extra one on hand in case of a failure. I can't set food aside for a week while I wait for a replacement mic to arrive in the mail.
Projects
One of my video projects, the one that is giving me the most trouble because of the microphone, is a vlog for My Kitchen Video. Someone asked me to do a video on how a shirt is constructed. I can do that. I've tailored more than a hundred shirts in my time.
I'm not a professional tailor. Without the right machines, I couldn't earn a living. Sewing buttons on by hand, for example, occupies me for the better part of an afternoon. A commercial button attacher machine would do the job in minutes, but they cost around $2,000. And where would I put it in a mobile home? I'd need a shop, which means renting a space, and that costs even more money. No thank you. I am happily retired and content to remain so. I like to say, "I am gainfully unemployed."
Initially, I thought the subject of tailoring might be a good idea for another vlog channel; however, I quickly changed my mind. The cost of making a shirt is about $30, even when the fabric is on sale. Add the cost of gasoline to drive my old SUV 90 miles (round trip) to the nearest fabric store, and the cost is almost too high. However, I need the colors for my videos. Considering that the vlog channel wouldn't qualify for monetization, it would be too expensive. And what would I do with all the shirts? My food costs for most videos is about two or three dollars, and I can give the food to my neighbors if my keto diet doesn't allow me enjoy more than a taste in the last clip of the video.
Another potential problem area and I am anticipating, maybe, involves the trolls. I imagine a video in which a man sews a shirt will invite more than the usual volume of snide and offensive remarks. I'm accustomed to dealing with them on my Mobile Home Gourmet channel. In fact, I have more than 230 people banned (actually hidden) from that channel. I've mentioned it before. It's a feature YouTube provides. We can hide a person's comments. It takes affect across the entire channel. The trolls can still write comments and they will see them, but one else, including me, ever will.
There is a similar feature I use for the same effect. I can designate one video's comments to be "by approval only." I do this when a video becomes popular. One of my spareribs videos is trending now; so I changed the comments. And under the influence of Donald Trump when juvenile insults and name calling have become popular and acceptable (in the eyes of some), I see the potential for some offenses here.
As for the shirts, I have two more to tailor and that will keep me well in "show shirts" for a long while. I call them show shirts because I only wear them when doing videos. I never put one on for eating out with friends or to attend the regular meetings of our news discussion group. I have commercially made shirts to wear on those occasions.
Sunday 2019.4.14
Sort of Cheating This Week
I didn't have a new video quite ready. I shot one, a modification of the Cream of Broccoli Soup I featured last Sunday. I made it again with cheddar cheese — Cheddar Broccoli Soup. As usual, there is a story.
When I was doing research for the Cream of Broccoli Soup I saw several recipes that used cheddar cheese. They weren't the recipes I was aiming for, but those soups looked delicious. They played upon my mind. Finally, Thursday evening I drove to the store and bought a block of medium cheddar cheese. I actually prefer mild, but I thought a slightly sharper cheddar would taste good in the soup. It does.
Friday afternoon, after fulfilling a few necessary responsibilities, I made the soup, doing a video of the process. Everything went well. But then there is the editing and photography. If I had pushed myself, I might have gotten everything done in time for today. But lately I'm not into pushing myself. Life is too short, and I have way too many projects keeping me busy. And Saturday afternoon was out because that was the meeting of our news discussion group.
So how did I cheat?
I looked at my SmoothieTube videos on YouTube. My Strawberry Carrot Smoothie has the highest number of views, nearly 200. If the video can gather that many views on such a small channel (currently only 75 subscribers), it must be a good one. So I did a quick re-edit of the video for my Mobile Home Gourmet channel and featured it here.
It's important in another way. My SmoothieTube channel is not monetized. It doesn't qualify, and it might take years for that channel to grow enough to satisfy the qualifications, if it ever does. So by putting one of those videos occasionally on my Mobile Home Gourmet channel, it will earn a little revenue. And it buys me a little time away from cooking.
One example is the Banana, Avocado and Kale Green Smoothie. It was viewed, so far, nearly 570 times on Mobile Home Gourmet (only 27 times on SmoothieTube) and it generated $2.29 in revenue, so far. That isn't much, but with more than 360 videos, together they cover the food costs of making those videos.
And so that is how a smoothie became this week's featured recipe.
Meanwhile, I'll probably have the Cheddar Broccoli Soup video ready by Monday, so check the bottom of this web site's home page to see if the soup video is listed there for advance viewing.
What's Next?
I don't have any cooking videos planned, although I am planning to look through my keto cookbooks again. I've had two requests for my Kitchen Vlog channel. One person asked me to do a video of how I put foil on my stove. I can't imagine that will be very popular. I can't even imagine how I might make it entertaining, or even interesting. Maybe.
Another request was for how to tailor a shirt. That's challenging. Showing cooking is easy because nearly everyone knows how to use a measuring cup or a kitchen scale. Rather than a "how to" instructional video, I'll probably do it as "How a shirt is made" — sort of like a documentary.
On the bright side, I can shoot both videos and if I don't like them in editing, I can delete them. No harm done.
Wednesday 2019.4.10
Unusual Weather We're Having
Sunday evening was strange. I went to bed around 10:00. It was about 71°F (22°C) outside. I have one of those bedrooms clocks that projects the time onto the ceiling. There is a weather sensor outside under the porch awning. So the clock projects the indoor and outdoor temperatures we well. By 11:00 the temperature outside rose three degrees to 74 (23). It went up rather than down. By midnight it finally started to drop again.
I haven't opened my windows at night since last fall. I have a skylight I leave open all summer too. I opened them again.
Monday was warm too, climbing to 95°F (35°C) by the afternoon. I'm not complaining (much). I moved to Southern California to enjoy weather like this. But my computers were not happy. The red light came on inside, warning me the computer was overheating. Although it was too early in the season, I set up the office air conditioner to help keep the computers cool. As for me, I drank plenty of water. I emptied a one-liter bottle during the course of the day, besides two cups of coffee and the glasses of water I drank at a restaurant during lunch.
I Ain't Got Wings
I love chicken wings. I eat them a few times each week. I arrange the raw wings on a lined small baking sheet and place them in the freezer for 1 hour. Then I transfer them to a freezer bag. That way, they're easy to remove from the bag a few at a time as I need them.
They're expensive — $2.59/pound at Costco — but I like them anyway. I tried the other grocery stores. One store had them at $5.99/pound. I don't mind paying a little extra, but that was way too much. So I decided to try something else.
What if I were to buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs and cut them into segments about the size of chicken wing pieces, freeze them, and store them like I do wings? I tried it. They're more convenient. No bones. And they were a lot less expensive. I'll have a few pieces with my dinner this evening.
Otherwise…
Other that the weather and the wings, it has been a quiet week. On Saturday the news discussion group will meet again. Congress is planning some tax changes.
1) They will vote whether or not to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from providing a free fax filing service, thus bowing to the lobbyists of the tax preparers like H&R Block. (Several congress persons receive substantial donations from those services.)
2) The form employees use to report their tax filing status to their employer, current called a W-4, is undergoing a massive overhaul, making it much more difficult to complete. Maybe companies like H&R Block will be needed to complete the new W-4, or whatever it will be called. The goal, according to the news, is to make withholding more accurate; people will pay less or receive a smaller refund at the end of the tax year.
And I can't help wondering how these new tax changes might affect the voters next year. I can't imagine they will be happy with the government.
And For Those Who Might Be Keeping Track of the Tailoring…
Number three of seven was delayed. One reason was the heat mentioned above. With the air conditioner running, the industrial sewing machine can't be turned on — the two will pop the circuit breaker (they're on the same circuit). But it will be finished today.
Sunday 2019.4.7
Taxes Are Done
I don't procrastinate when filing my taxes until the deadline is almost here. But if I am going to send money to the Internal Revenue Service, I might as well send them the money as late as possible.
As many of you know, my Mobile Home Gourmet channel on YouTube generates a modest amount of revenue. Some people can make a career of YouTube and if they have a hot topic they can make a good living with their videos. I have a friend who collects LEGO sets and he watches LEGO videos often. Supposedly, at least one of those LEGO video producers earns his living from YouTube.
Google/YouTube doesn't do federal and state withholding. At the end of the year they report to me my earnings — and report them to the IRS. The pension system that deposits my monthly benefit into my bank account does do the withholding; so most of my taxes are paid. However, with the addition of the YouTube revenue, my total tax is typically underpaid, and thus I had to send $456 to the IRS this year.
There is a bright side. The California Franchise Tax Board doesn't tax Social Security benefits; therefore, I am typically overpaid with the state. My refund this year was $415. So my final out-of-pocket tax expense this year amounted to only $41. I can live with that.
Food Hack?
Don't try this!
Someone sent me a link to a video about tricks used for food photography. It was fascinating. I decided to look for other tricks on YouTube. Search for "food photography tricks" and you'll see them. One showed some quick and easy ways to prepare food. I tried the hard boiled eggs.
Using a push pin, the person poked a little hole in each end of four eggs. The eggs were placed in a bowl with enough hot water to cover. Microwave for 2 minutes and the eggs are cooked and easy to peel. NOT! I opened one. It was barely cooked around the outside and inside was still fully raw. I decided to try another 2 minutes. At 1 minute 30 seconds two of the eggs exploded. The one remaining egg was cooked inside, but the shell wouldn't peel off. I'll return to using my Instant Pot, which does perfect hard boiled eggs. This adds more truth to the saying, "You can't believe everything you see on the Internet."
Occasionally YouTube asks me to complete a survey about my experience on their web site. One of the questions is typically something like, "Do you trust YouTube videos?" I always answer No. The follow-up is usually, "Why did you answer No to the previous question?" I then tell them about the many videos I've seen that are either totally fake, unreliable, or simply downright wrong.
And that's why I do the actual cooking in my cooking videos. You get to see how the recipe works and if something goes wrong, I'm honest about it, and maybe even show you a simple fix.
Wednesday 2019.4.3
It's April Already
The days are getting longer and the nights are getting warmer. We experienced a very mild winter this year. There was only one frost warning that I can remember. There were several days of rain, which was good. We needed it. But no cold. One more condition we can attribute to climate change perhaps.
A Long and Odious History Ending Soon
On April 1, 1994 I moved into my mobile home. I still love it 25 years later. I've kept it in good condition, adding improvements along the way — new vinyl siding, new copper pipes, landscaping, awnings, a new water heater (twice), two new decks, etc. It's a good home.
About five years after I moved in a neighbor sold his coach to an alcoholic couple. They were obnoxious. The husband eventually died from liver failure. She was a nurse and therefore the hospital granted her the approval for a liver replacement.
I get along well with every one of my neighbors. We're friends. But there is one exception — the former alcoholic woman. She's sober now, but no less bitter. It had been a 20-year nightmare living next to her.
I tried. I've spoken nicely to her. I've given her money when she asked for it. But nothing I do does any good. To her, I'm the enemy.
And, what's worse, she has three loud barking dogs. We're allowed only one dog per space in this park. Keeping my windows closed on that side helps, but when I'm doing a video my microphone picks up the noise. More than once I've had to edit out the annoying noise of a dog barking during one of my cooking videos.
Some recent events changed the situation. The park levied an additional charge on all the residents. They added everything from capital improvements, such as paving, along with the parts and labor of changing a light bulb. Some of the charges really were excessive, but without a lawyer to fight them in court, all we can do is grit our teeth and pay our bills. The one nasty neighbor decided she was going to fight the park lawyers in court, with the help of another neighbor. No lawyer, just a resident up against the park owner's lawyer. She lost every challenge.
However, the court action resulted, we were told, in $300,000 in legal fees for the park owner, which, of course, will be passed on to the residents.
Fearing a lawsuit against her, she listed her home for sale this week. It was like a 25-year anniversary present for me. I don't know how long it will take for her to sell — three months, three years, who knows? But knowing she is moving out, and taking her dogs with her, lets me see light at the end of what has been a very dark and very long tunnel.
Another Smoothie
I added another smoothie video to YouTube this morning and posted the recipe here in this web site — Blueberry Almond Yogurt Smoothie. This is one of the better flavored smoothies I've made. The flavor of the blueberries works very well with the almond butter. I didn't add any coconut oil, but it would make the smoothie a little more keto friendly.