AUGUST 2020
Sunday 2020.8.30
More Cooking With the Sun
I mentioned in Wednesday's blog that I wanted to do some solar cooking that day, but the sky was overcast. However, around 10:00 that morning the sky cleared and there was abundant sunshine. So I set up my Sun Oven to cook the pinto beans I soaked overnight.
I didn't do a video because this was sort of an experiment. I knew my oven would cook the beans. The experiment was the liquid. After draining and rinsing the beans I placed them in the pot with water, dried onion flakes, garlic powder, a little tomato sauce, some herbs, and two one-cup blocks of the frozen stock I made earlier in the week. The experiment was to watch the ice. How long would it take to melt? When would the oven's window fog up (an indication the liquid inside was simmering)?
The food went into the oven at 10:30. I positioned my oven within view of my door cam (mentioned in an earlier blog) so that I could keep an eye on it. Every 30 minutes or so I went outside to realign the oven with the sun.
The morning sky didn't cooperate as much as I would have liked. Shortly after the food went into the oven the marine layer drifted in again, giving me hazy sunshine at best. However, the forecast was for clear skies in the afternoon, promising plenty of sunshine. Even with hazy sunshine cooking is possible. The rule is: "If the sun casts a shadow, you can cook with your sun oven."
The temperature maxed at about 230°F (110°C) in the morning, but by afternoon when we had full sun the temperature rose to 270°F (132°C) and the pot in the oven was lightly simmering. "Lightly simmering" I like because too much boiling action breaks up the beans.
I set a timer for 1 hour and tasted the beans. Not tender enough yet, so I cooked them another hour.
Then, to test the oven for cooking pasta, I set up another pan (the two that come with the oven are stackable) with hot tap water and some of the ditali pasta I showed you in Wednesday's blog. By mid-afternoon the temperature inside the oven was at 300° (150°), but it still took a while to cook the macaroni.
And I learned another thing: Water doesn't need to come to a boil to cook pasta. Hot enough will do.
When I was satisfied the macaroni was cooked al dente (after about 30 minutes), I combined the pasta with some of the bean soup and ate a late lunch. It was delicious. The remainder of the soup was portioned and frozen for enjoying later.
I didn't do a video because I used pinto beans, which are not traditional. Maybe after I use up the beans I have I'll order some cannellini beans and do a proper video.
Getting Ready to Go Shopping
It's not as easy as it might seem. I've mentioned before, I use my car so little it often doesn't start unless I charge the battery. I have to remember to drive it occasionally to keep the battery charged.
Such was the case on Thursday morning. After using a charger to give the car a starter boost, I was able to drive it. I didn't go far. There is a loop of a few miles I follow, sort of a "battery maintennce" loop.
There are also the lists I've been compiling. I have several taped to the inside of my front door, one for each of the stores where I like to shop. Before I leave the house I'll re-write those lists, grouping items according to locations inside each store (it's a guy thing) so that I don't have to walk back and forth. And then another loop to follow to the local stores.
Although when doesn't matter, I'm aiming for September 1.
Phew! I'm Glad That's Over.
I didn't watch much of the Republican National Convention (RNC). I tried. I think it's the lies that get in my way. Instead, I watched some movies. I was in the mood for more animation, having seen ParaNorman last week.
I watched The Lorax, which I'd had in my library for a long time but never watched. The animation is brilliant. I also watched Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. And I was also in the mood for something silly; so I watched Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies. I have a few movies in that genre. Not all was frivolous. I watched the documentary The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai. You might know the David Lean movie. Call that one Hollywood reality, which has about as much to do with the truth as any of Donald Trump's campaign speeches.
And speaking of which, I heard an interesting comment. I didn't write down the name, but she was commenting on the lack of masks at the RNC. She likened the followers of Trump to a cult and compared them to a religion. "In a religion the savior dies for the people. In a cult the people are asked to die for their savior." Which leads to…
Forbes Magazine reported: First RNC-Related Covid-19 Cases Reported In Charlotte
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, officials reported Thursday that four Covid-19 cases have been confirmed so far in connection with the Republican National Convention meeting in Charlotte this week, marking the first signs of Covid-19 at the RNC amid concerns over the event’s lack of social distancing in both Charlotte and Washington, D.C.
Which leads to…
Tour de France
I started watching the Tour de France cycling race this weekend. It was delayed a month because of Covid-19. There are new rules.
Teams are limited to 30 personnel — eight athletes and 22 support crew.
If any two of the 30 persons test positive for Covid-19 during a seven-day period, the team is disqualified and must go home. Testing is done daily. A mobile lab unit travels with the Tour to monitor testing.
Everyone is required to wear a mask, even the athletes. The only time the cyclists can remove their mask is when they are on the road racing.
Spectators are requested to stay away from the race. Any who are in public must wear a mask. No spectators are allowed at the finish line — only dignitaries and support personnel.
The two commentators, Phil Liggett and Bob Roll, are covering the race outside of France, Liggett in London and Roll in the USA. Other commentators work in an NBCSN studio in Connecticut.
Steve Porino, who comments from inside the race riding on the back of a motorbike, is an American and wasn't allowed into France due to travel restrictions.
France is experiencing another surge of infections and thus added tighter precautions.
Wednesday 2020.8.26
Preparing For Winter
Hot days above 90 degrees might not be the best time for making soup, but I chose to boil down all my chicken trim this week to make stock for winter. I also wanted to get all that trim out of my freezer because I'm planning another big trip to the grocery stores soon to restock my freezer.
I don't know what to expect for autumn. The pandemic seems to be subsiding here currently. A recent headline reads, "Santa Barbara County COVID-19 cases cut in half since late July." Quoting from the article: "We can finally say the declining numbers we were hoping to see are real and substantial," district supervisor Gregg Hart said.
It seems good; however, students are returning to the university in small numbers and some appear to be bringing the virus with them. The number of infections in the student community shot up earlier this month and then started to go back down again, maybe because infected students went back home. According to the county's latest status report there are 16 persons designated as "still infectious" in the local community. That's double what it was about a month ago.
I'm not in panic mode, but I am trying to be reasonably cautious. We've been told by our state's governor to stay safe at home and that's what I'm trying to do. So the best plan I can think of is to make one big trip to the stores and stock up on lots of frozen vegetables along with some meats and fish. I've been ordering dry and canned goods from Amazon.
And thus the reason for pulling all of my chicken trim out of the freezer and making stock. I did things a little differently this time. Using half my trim, after bringing the stock pot to a boil I reduced the heat and simmered the liquid for an hour*. Then I removed all the solids and added the remaining half of trim to the same stock and let it simmer another hour. Thus I made concentrated stock. It will take up less room in my freezer.
I was hoping to do some of this work in the Sun Oven, leaving it to simmer most of the day. But with some cloudiness and some smoke haze from the fires burning near Los Angeles, there hasn't been as much sun as I'd like. And the oven certainly won't accommodate a stock pot that is 14 inches tall with lid.
And this is our little secret. I made sort of a mixed stock. I found one ziplock bag labeled "duck trim" and another marked "roasted beef bones for stock." What the heck. Throw everything into the pot.
*How much cooking time? A Gordon Ramsay video on YouTube says to simmer the stock for 20 to 40 minutes, max. A Basics With Babish video says up to 10 hours. I chose one hour and the stock tastes fine.
If you want to see how I prepare and store Chicken Stock, click the link to the recipe page, which also has a link to my YouTube video.
After pouring the stock into one-cup containers, they were left out to cool a little (the stock was still hot). Later I moved them to the freezer. When they were frozen, I popped them out of their plastic containers and placed them in ziplock bags.
And Another Piece Falls In Place
I was surprised to see a package delivered to my porch on Monday. That morning I received a notice from Amazon stating delivery would be delayed. However, it arrived on time. This is the detali macaroni I ordered for making Pasta Fagioli this fall. Now I have everything — stock, sauce, beans (pinto beans someone gave me) and the macaroni.
I soaked some beans in water overnight, planning to cook, portion, and freeze them. However, one more piece of the puzzle is needed if I want to cook these beans in my Sun Oven — sunshine. Today was supposed to be sunny all day. This morning the sky is cloudy and the weather report says gradual clearing in the afternoon.
Celebration
I mentioned in Sunday's blog the date being a special one. It was the one-year anniversary of my terrible neighbor moving away. I did indeed celebrate with No-Oven Skillet Pizza. It's so easy to make and there is no need to heat up a pizza stone to 500°F (260°) on a hot day.
Meanwhile
I tried watching the Republican National Convention. I really did. And I saw some of it, a little, actually very little, but enough. "Donald Trump will continue to do wonderful things for the country he loves (Russia?), just as he did for the past four years. But if you elect Biden, all the world will go to hell and there will be nothing you can do to stop it." Stuff like that.
So, instead, I watched the 2000 version of the movie Bedazzled with Brendan Fraser. It was fun. I also like the 1967 version with Dudley Moore. I can't say for sure which one I like better. I like them both.
And I found another gem. I've been searching a long time for an old 1954 movie The Belles of St. Trinian's. Alastair Sim (Scrooge in the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol) plays both the headmistress (in drag) and her twin brother. I watched it yesterday evening. It was great fun.
Earlier this week I also watched ParaNorman. That is an excellent movie and it might be my top choice to watch every October 31.
And I watched The Andromeda Strain because of the pandemic.
My Kitchen Vlog
And despite all the cooking and movies, I finally managed to video another politically-themed Kitchen Vlog.
I talk about a theory of mine. Trump knows there are investigations under way. Tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, you name it. He needs another four years in the White House to outlast the statute of limitations because they won't indict a sitting president. He'll probably lose the election, but he is already setting the ground work to challenge the election results in the courts. He'll lose, but he'll appeal and challenge again and appeal again, dragging his challenges through the courts for years until he outlasts the statute of limitations.
Sunday 2020.8.23
Enough Already!
On Wednesday the heat finally got to me. I was doing well enough spending most of my time in the officer where one of the air conditioners is located. As I mentioned in Wednesday's blog, that day and Thursday were expected to be the hottest days of the week. At noon on Wednesday the outdoor temperature was above 90°F (32°). Indoor conditions weren't much better. That was enough for me.
I hooked up and started the living room air conditioner. I hadn't used it since last fall. Between that one and the office AC I managed to keep my home reasonably cool. They can't get the temperature down to a crisp 72°F (22°C), but 10 to 15 degrees lower than outside is good enough. At one point on Wednesday when my thermometer said it was 91° outside, my best digital thermometer said it was 78° inside. I can live with that.
More Enough Already
I quit the news discussion group for a while. It happens. One of the guys starts out okay, but after a while he lets his ego run amuck. It's not the first time people have abandoned his discussion groups.
Lately he's been on pain meds, which he blames for his offensive behavior. He cusses. He barks orders — "Dennis, look this up on the internet for us" or "Dennis, go find this article on the New York Times." One of the guys in the group asked me on Friday, "Why do you put up with it?" Well, I won't anymore. So, enough about that.
Sun Soup
One of my scheduled projects was to make Split Pea Soup again. I had nearly everything and the few missing items could be easily substituted. However, my home was so hot I didn't even want to use the Instant Pot, which my recipe for the soup recommends. And besides, it was the next item on my projects list to use my Sun Oven.
The video is a little more detailed because one fan of my Mobile Home Gourmet channel wanted me to show how to set up a Sun Oven and put food into it. It's easy.
The soup came out fantastic. I put seven 1-cup portions in the freezer. The soup always gets really thick after it sits for a while, but I don't dilute it. I wait until I thaw and heat it. I add an equal volume of water or milk, heat it in a large mug in the microwave, and then drink it slowly from the mug. It's a great soup to enjoy when the weather outside is cool. So I'll be saving this soup to enjoy later this year.
Dual Use Door Cam
I wrote about my door cam in past blogs. Briefly: I have a web cam inside my office window and a mirror attached to the outside of the window. When I hear a noise toward the front of my home, I look at my web cam image (always open on my computer) to see if there is someone knocking on my front door or if maybe the noise is from a crow on the roof.
If I position my sun oven in the right place in my driveway the web cam shows it on my monitor. Particularly, I want to see if the glass door on the oven fogs up. That's an indicator liquid inside the oven is coming to a simmer. If you want to see the video, click this link: Sun Oven Pea Soup. The video is currently unlisted, but you can watch it now by clicking the link.
However…
Perhaps you heard or read about the fires in California. There are none close to where I live, yet, but there is a constant haze in the sky from the fires burning near Los Angeles. Sunrises and sunsets are more orange. Friday morning there was a distinct haze in the air. Now there are two reasons to wear an N-95 mask outdoors.
I don't have any way of measuring the actual sunlight, but I suspect there isn't enough to do any serious solar cooking. Sometimes the sun barely casts a shadow. On the positive side, the outdoor temperature is about ten degrees cooler due to the smoke haze.
Meanwhile…
With both air conditioners running on Wednesday, I sat in relative comfort sipping a tall mug of iced coffee, the first time I made it this year.
And One More Thing
I see on my calendar that today is a bit of a celebration. It was on this date one year ago that my evil neighbor with the vicious barking dogs moved away. A year of blessed peace and quiet. I am thankful. I think I should celebrate with a Skillet Pizza.
And Maybe One More Thing
A fan of My Kitchen Vlog channel reminded me it is time to do a politically themed video again. He's right. There has been a lot of politics in the news. I'm writing the script.
Wednesday 2020.8.19
Warm Weather
We've entered our warmest time of year. Lately the temperature outside has climbed to above 90°F (32°) each day. There haven't been any triple-digit temperatures yet, but there is still plenty of time before the fall season settles in. Even after the Autumn Equinox warm weather is a possibility. When I bought my Pedego e-bike — October 26, 2017 — the temperature that day was above 100°F.
Today and tomorrow are expected to be the warmest days this week.
Getting a Little Political
I heard from someone who reads these blogs. He questioned my wisdom of saying anything political and running the risk of driving readers away. I don't take myself too seriously. I told him I like to joke about this blog. "Even if I were to lose half my fans, I'd still have one." Besides, I don't make any money from this web site. It's not commercial. Look around. There are no ads. All my recipes are free. No need to register. Just grab and go. I'm fine with that.
I watched the first two days of the Democratic National Convention this week. One favorite line from Monday evening went something like, "Donald Trump might hate the Post Office, but he'll be filing a change of address notice in January." Some of the commentary afterward was amusing. One contributor commented on Mrs. Obama throwing some shade at Trump. "It is what it is." That comment went viral afterward. And Brian Williams on MSNBC complimented Senator Bernie Sanders for the organization if his stacked Vermont firewood.
And something I keep hearing about confuses me. Trump claims the election will be rigged if voters are allowed to use mail-in ballots to vote fraudulently. Can't Republican voters also fraudulently vote by using mail-in ballots? Of is it only the Democrats who cannot be trusted because everybody already knows that no Republican politician or partisan has ever attempted to rig an election. (Read the books. Democrats are not innocent either.)
A few of us communicated via email yesterday. One comment I made was that I would like to see the Post Office temporarily delay delivery of envelopes and parcels addressed to any property bearing the Trump name — buildings, homes, businesses, golf courses — only as a vital cost-saving measure of course. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if many post offices in New York, D.C., and Florida hadn't already begun the practice.
Will that cost my blog some readership? Maybe. But I'm not worried. YouTube is where I benefit from my efforts. Speaking of which…
Becoming Active in the Kitchen Again (or out in the driveway)
The sun oven has re-kindled my interest in cooking. It's a crazy device. I'd heard of stoves that use the sun's energy. I remember pictures of parabolic cookers and, if I recall correctly, there was something about them on TV many years ago. I never saw or even heard of an All American Sun Oven until recently. I'm glad I bought one, especially this week when it has been way to hot to cook in the house. This is cold sandwich weather.
On Monday I uploaded my video of Sun Oven Ribs. The goal was Sunday, but I've been operating a bit slowly lately. I didn't write a recipe for the ribs because all you do is season them with some rub and cook them. However, I did write the recipe for my Pork Spareribs Rub. It's in the Basics section of the Recipe Archive. The recipe makes a lot; so either cook a lot of ribs or share some of the rub with you grill mates.
Yesterday I edited and uploaded my video for Pizza Sauce cooked in a sun oven. It is currently unlisted on YouTube and will go public on Sunday, but you can watch the video now by clicking the green "View the Video" button on the recipe page.
The sauce simmered slowly outside most of the day and it's delicious.
You might be wondering why I would be making pizza sauce when the temperatures outside are approaching the century mark. I have no plans to bake pizza in my home and the sun oven doesn't get hot enough to make pizza with a crisp crust. I'll freeze some of the sauce and I'll use some for making my No-Oven Skillet Pizza.
Next up: Split Pea Soup cooked all day in the sun oven.
Meanwhile, Tempting Fate
Yesterday was a different kind of experiment. I avoided turning on the office air conditioner until late in the day when the temperature finally reached 90 degrees. I wanted to see if the computers would stay cool. They did. That thermal paste I wrote about in Sunday's blog really did the trick. The red warning light never came on.
Finally, Something I Learned from Eugene Robinson
After yesterday evening's Democratic Convention show he said something on MSNBC, "When you write a column you always end with a call to action." He writes for the Washington Post.
So, I'll end with: "Go watch the Pizza Sauce video on YouTube."
Sunday 2020.8.16
Cooking With the Sun
On Friday my much-anticipated Sun Oven arrived. First impression: Just a little disappointed. Most of the videos I saw of the oven with the accessories had two pans with two lids — one glass lid and one domed metal lid. I liked the idea of the domed lid because it might give me more room for a whole chicken. Alas, the current accessory set has only the glass lid. Bugger.
The first step was to pre-treat the oven with a mixture of water, vinegar and a little dish washing liquid. The directions didn't say why. Some videos said it was to sterilize the oven, others said it was to eliminate any factory odor. I started at about 1:30 in the afternoon, leaving the solution in the oven for the recommended 90 minutes to two hours (I did two hours). During that time the liquid eventually boiled in the pan and the oven temperature peaked at 320°F (160°C).
Afterward, I scrubbed the interior well with the vinegar solution, as per the instructions, then left it open in the shade to cool.
Meanwhile, the day was hot. The forecast said 83°, but my thermometer reported a peak of 95° outside. Saturday was supposed to be the same, but I didn't count on it. At 9:00 in the morning I put the office air conditioner on.
Meanwhile, I prepped ribs to cook in the sun, using a rub I made myself from a recipe I found on line. I also cheated a little. I placed the seasoned ribs in a plastic cooking bag. I know there are rabid environmentalists who spell plastic p-o-i-s-o-n. Unfair? I'm cooking with the sun, not fossil fuel. I deserve a little plastic. I banned one person from my Mobile Home Gourmet channel on Saturday morning for excessive negativity. Too much sun can cause skin cancer, right? So is sunlight a dangerous carcinogen?
As for those ribs, they were good, but I doubt I'll buy any in the future. I didn't feel well after my dinner. Too much meat. I do better with a small portion of protein and two big helpings of vegetables. However, I'm glad I did the ribs in the sun oven. They were perfectly tender, slipping off the bone. I also made a barbecue sauce.
Enough Already!
Maybe I've read enough books about Donald J(ackass) Trump. Is 20 enough? That's how many I read this year, so far. I decided I should stop. Now. I know enough.
Oh, but wait. I just saw on TV someone reading excerpts from the Foreword of Michael Cohen's new book, Disloyal, due to be released on September 8. Okay, so maybe one more. I found the Foreword; it's out there. Google it. Other than a few grammatical errors (you don't write blogs for ten years without picking up a few good habits) the story is a good one.
Who Knew?
I didn't.
You've read it a dozen times in these blogs. Please tolerate me one more time. "That's why I build computers in pairs."
I know my computers fairly well. They're kind of like your crazy uncle Louie who passes gas in church (and then says to you, "Just look at me; they'll think I did it."). Maybe my computers aren't as eccentric as Uncle Louie, but they have their peculiar issues.
Friday morning I tried to power up Computer-1 (you also know how I name them). There is a light on the CPU (the brain chip) cooler. It's a "Corsair" logo. It glows white when all is well. When the CPU starts to overheat the light glows red. I usually remove the side panel (which I've been leaving off all the time lately) and, if the room is warm, I turn on the air conditioner. Within a few seconds the logo turned red. I waited. The computer booted, but within a minute the computer "blue screened" (the kiss of death) with an error code: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR. Then it shut down.
I tried a few things. One occasional problem is the video card vibrating a little loose in its socket. Re-seating the card didn't help. Finally, I decided to swap the coolers between computers thinking maybe the pump failed — they're liquid-cool units. Swapping entails also taking out the radiator as well. It's a bit tedious, but it can be done.
After replacing the "faulty" cooler with a working one, the light stayed white and the computer booted easily. But here's the thing: The bad cooler works just as well in the other computer.
So here was my question: Does the thermal paste between the cooler and the CPU degrade after a while, losing its heat conductivity? When swapping coolers I cleaned up the contact surfaces and applied a new layer of thermal compound. So, yes, the compound does degrade. Supposedly it doesn't happen in off-the-shelf computers sold in stores because companies like Dell use a factory process to prepare their coolers. Home DIY guys like me don't have access to such an application. The best we have is that paste.
The temperature warning beeper still sounds if I leave the side panel on. That warning notifies me the video card is overheating. That's something I must live with because the card is running two 27-inch UHD monitors. Those really tax the card, even though it is also liquid cooled. Ideally, I should have two video cards, one for each monitor.
So here we are on Sunday and both computers are working normally. No issues.
Meanwhile, There Is the Heat
It's hot here. I don't do well during the first few days of high heat. I tried doing an unboxing video of my sun oven. It was a mess. Today I'll try to salvage what I can, if I can, of that video.
It takes a while to adjust. Thus I have air conditioners. I know that temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s isn't extreme. Other parts of the world are dealing with worse. I'll be fine in a few days.
Another issue is the fires. In some places they can mess with the power lines and we might lose electricity for a while — sometimes minutes, hours, or even days. I can cook with my stove top burners in a power outage, as long as I light the gas with a match. The oven and, of course, the microwave would be out of service. It might be interesting to cook outside during an outage. I have both a grill and a solar oven.
Wednesday 2020.8.12
Call Me Crazy
I am reminded of a friend, actually sort of a friend, or maybe a former friend. He hates snakes. He really hates them. But when a program on TV shows snakes, he can't take his eyes off them.
On Sunday evening I watched, for the first time, the 1995 movie "Outbreak." It was intense at times, but very good. I couldn't help myself. What with the pandemic scaring us all, I needed a little more scariness to maybe put things into perspective.
A few months ago I watched the 2011 movie "Contagion." It was good too.
Now I need to find the movie, "The Andromeda Strain."
Then maybe I'll be ready to watch a movie like "Mary Poppins."
Reading
I finished reading How Trump Stole 2020 by Greg Palast. The amount of voter suppression reported by Palast left me feeling depressed. He is an investigator who has accomplished much to preserve voters' rights. But then I read that the California Democrats did more to suppress the Bernie Sanders votes than all the other states did, combined.
And I also read this: Blame Russia. Both parties are guilty of shenanigans. They both work to suppress votes. But they won't admit it and, of course, they definitely don't want to get caught doing it. So, to deflect attention away from their efforts they direct attention to a popular enemy, "It's those damn commies!" Besides Russia this time around, the parties are adding the Chinese, Iranians, and the Koreans. There must be more to hide.
Having finished one book, I started another — You're Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump by Paul Begala. One early point I appreciate is not to make this campaign about Trump. He is going to do that. He grabbed most of the media attention leading up to the 2016 election. Making this campaign about Trump will only add to his media attention, which is already much higher than Biden's.
Instead, make it about the people. "How are you feeling after nearly four years? Safer? Healthier? Wealthier? Do you feel safe going shopping? Can you shop without wearing a mask? Do you feel your children are safe at school? Do you feel safe when they come home from school? Do you have more than enough money for groceries, or are you scrimping to put food on the table? Can you pay your rent? Do you have enough money to pay all your bills each month? Do you have a job? Are you happier than you were five, six, seven years ago? Do you wish to return to the old normal rather than live with this new normal?" Etc.
The book is fairly easy to read, although I won't read it all in one day like I did Will He Go? by Lawrence Douglas. And although I mentioned it before, I will say again how much I really like the Text to Voice app I have on my computer. Having a voice to follow along with while I read books makes the experience more enjoyable.
It's On its Way
You know I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of my solar oven. I received a notice on Monday that it was shipped, from Illinois, via UPS. UPS disturbs me. The driver throws boxes around inside his truck. I've heard them hitting the floor when the truck is stopped outside on the street. For this delivery I'll have a pen and paper in my pocket. The driver's name is usually on the side of the truck. If anything, I'll get the license plate number, just in case the box doesn't arrive in good condition.
However, the good news is that the UPS tracking number gives an estimate delivery date of Friday, two days from now. I'll be cooking with the sun this weekend.
Basically, the Sun Oven is an insulated box with a black anodized aluminum interior, glass door with gasket, and polished aluminum reflectors that direct sunlight into the box. With the best of circumstances — a bright sunny day in summer with no clouds in the sky — the interior might reach an internal temperature above 300°F (150°C), especially during midday. Even in winter the box can reach cooking temperatures. I saw videos of sun ovens being used with snow on the ground. There is a built-in thermometer to display the internal temperature.
It wouldn't get hot enough to heat a pizza stone to bake a pizza with a crisp crust, but some experimentation might be worth trying.
You've seen earlier blogs in which I wrote about the importance of buying American. We need jobs in this country, especially now with so many people unemployed due to the pandemic. With the exception of the thermometer, which is made in China, the assembly is done in the USA with all American-made parts. I like that.
One of my first efforts, maybe the first food I will try, is slow cooking some spareribs I've been saving in the freezer. I have one three-bone portion remaining. I'll probably lightly brown the surface with a torch after the ribs are cooked. And I plan to do a video. If all goes well, it will be on YouTube in coming weeks.
I also plan to do an unboxing video, showing the components that come with it and some of the prep before using the oven for the first time to cook food. Thankfully, I already have the owner's manual in PDF format. I've been reading it.
Safe At Home
I haven't been inside a store since June 30th. And with good reason. The number of COVID-19 cases in this community increased by more than fourfold. The last time I was talking to anyone about it the number was eight. Now it's 34. And there was a disclaimer added to the report saying the data is "likely to be an underestimate of the true cases in the county" due to the state's reporting problems. I continue to order groceries on line, and a friend just brought me another 25-pound sack of flour.
The Presidential Race
How do I feel about Joe Biden selecting Kamala Harris as his running mate? I think it's a good choice for two reasons. 1) He will lock in more of the African American vote and 2) Harris went through the Democratic Primaries gauntlet during this past spring. She will know what to expect if she should choose to run for the presidency again in 2024 (assuming Old Man Joe doesn't run for a second term).
Sunday 2020.8.9
Phew!
That organization project I've been blogging about is finally done. I finished Wednesday evening, just in time to watch "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams" on MSNBC. The last part of the task involved solving a few problems — some duplicate files with different names and some unlinked files. I believe those are called "orphans" in web sites. There were only nine orphans to fix. Those were my mistakes, linking the files incorrectly.
Afterward, I did a complete backup of this computer, the first one since April 1. I also backed up the other computer; its last backup had been March 8. I used to do a backup every Sunday, but I let recent organization projects get in my way. Those are done.
What's Next?
I've been playing with "Cards" on YouTube. Without going through a lot of really boring details, I added a little flag, at about 5 minutes into each video, that links back to the recipe on this web site. I reference the recipe at the end of each video, but many people don't watch to the end. Five minutes into the video should be about right to alert them to the presence of recipes.
All those changes are now complete. Now it's time to start thinking about cooking again. Speaking of which…
Land of the Lost Recipes
There is only one, so far. Number 340. I do number them. If you look at the bottom of any recipe PDF you'll see the number in the lower left corner. It helps to locate the original files, either on this computer or in my database on the other computer.
Recipe #340, Chicken Ragu, is on this computer, but it isn't in my database nor on this web site. Nor do I have a video or photographs. There isn't even a PDF. However, it was evidently something I made in my Instant Pot more than a year ago, or planned to make. It is dated June 2, 2019. Perhaps I considered it not good enough. Maybe I simply forgot. Do I need to remind anyone how old I am?
But forgotten doesn't mean lost forever. I added it to my list of future projects to cook in my solar oven. It might actually work better slowly cooked outdoors in the sunshine rather than quickly cooked in my Instant Pot. And it will give me an opportunity to test my solar oven for heating water hot enough to boil pasta. Look for it in the future. Speaking of which…
That's More Like It
Friday morning I awoke to glorious sunshine here in SoCal. Not a cloud in the sky. It would have been perfect solar cooking weather, if I had my solar oven. On Thursday the sun didn't come out until after noon and it was only partially sunny for the remainder of the day. I sat outside and read, but I had to wear two shirts to keep warm. A cool breeze was blowing.
It was glorious while it lasted. Yesterday, and for the entire coming week (if the forecasts hold true), we're back to the routine pattern of morning clouds and maybe some sunshine in the afternoon. Temperatures are expected to remain in the low 70s. Pleasant weather, to be sure, but not encouraging for solar cooking.
I know how unwelcome that minor complaint might be to people in other parts of the country. They're dealing with sweltering heat and high humidity. I used to live in Connecticut; so I know. I moved to Southern California to enjoy better weather and, thankfully, I landed in Santa Barbara, near the ocean.
"Patience, Grasshopper"
I sometimes get irritated about some things. You might have noticed. (I won't talk about my neighbor's party outside my bedroom window that kept me awake until 2:00 in the morning.)
A while ago I blogged about ordering $150 worth of 7½ watt (equivalent) LED bulbs for my light sculpture, 40 bulbs to be exact. Actually, my sculpture holds 42 (and a friend asked me if that was intentional, a reference to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — some of you will know what that means). They were the perfect size I needed. I figured I could always order another box of four to complete my needs. Alas, they were no longer available. Until…
Yesterday evening I was looking through my Amazon wish list and the bulbs are available again. Specifically, they'll be back in stock on August 28th. I ordered another box of four. That should be enough. And, as I also said in those earlier blogs, I'll continue to use the incandescent bulbs until they burn out.
Wednesday 2020.8.5
Always Willing to Experiment
I mentioned in earlier blogs my efforts to stay out of grocery stores. One method involved the purchase of powdered milk and powdered heavy cream to make my own half and half for my coffee. The powders are pure dairy product, no additives. However, getting the powder to dissolve in a cup of hot coffee can be difficult. Lumps might float to the surface.
The containers suggest mixing the product with water in a blender and then storing in the refrigerator. That works well. Now I'm looking for an easy-to-clean small pitcher to hold my half and half coffee creamer.
Let's See What the Traffic Will Bear
My most popular video on YouTube right now is Fish & Chips. It has been at the top for many months. On Monday I edited the PDF, removing all the step-by-step photographs as part of my latest reorganization project. Will the fans notice? Or will they rely solely on the video as their guide? I'll know soon enough. (Addendum: A month later, no one seemed to notice.)
And Speaking of Which…
This week I received my July Google Search Report about this web site. What was the most searched-for recipe last month? Welsh Shepherd's Pie. Who would have thunk? I'm trying to think up a connection between that recipe and staying safe at home during this pandemic, but I lack enough imagination. Maybe people need satisfying comfort food. A recent magazine — I think it might have been a New Yorker — had something to say about the benefits of comfort food during stressful times. I don't have what I need, yet, but I'm thinking I could really enjoy some of Mom's American Chop Suey right now.
I haven't been in a store since June 30th, but I will probably need to go shopping again by the end of August. Many foods I can buy on line, but the 25-pound sack of flour at Costco is an unavoidable bargain. On line, the cost of shipping is nearly twice the cost of the flour. I've heard late in the afternoon, between 4:00 and 5:00, is the safest time to go to Costco.
Mistakes Happen
One advantage of doing all the latest organization of this web site is that I found a few mistakes. Rustic Bread wasn't listed under Breads in the Recipe Archive. Potato Chips wasn't listed on the Snacks page. Those and a few others are now fixed.
As for progress, I have fewer than 100 recipes to update. That, I think, will be the last of my organization projects for a while.
Oops
Not my mistake this time. I just received a notice from the California Franchise Tax Board, the state equivalency of the IRS, saying they did not receive my tax forms for 2018. I know I sent them because I have copies. I never failed to file on time. I sent copies yesterday.
There won't be a penalty nor interest. They owed me a modest refund. I looked back through my bank statements on line and, sure enough, I never received that refund. If I owe them interest for failing to pay, why don't they owe me interest for not sending me my refund? Because they have all the power and I don't.
I Have Never Seen So Many Clouds
It's August, not June. Typical May/June weather is overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. We call it May Gray or June Gloom. Sometimes the cloudiness lasts all days, for many days.
It's something called the "marine layer," a blanket of low clouds that creeps in from the ocean during the night. It's usually gone by 11:00 in the morning. By July/August the marine layer stays out over the ocean. We rarely see clouds until late November.
I'm a bit concerned because during the next two weeks I expect to receive my solar oven. I will need sun. I'm already planning. On the wall above this computer is a list of foods I want to cook in my oven. My first attempt will be slow-cooked ribs. I'll need to decide whether or not to brown them, and how. In the air fryer? Under the broiler? With a propane torch? And when? Before? Afterward? I have plenty of time to think about it.
On the bright side: It has been a cool summer so far. Other than a couple of days when I needed to run the office air conditioner to keep my computers cool, my home has been comfortable. September and October are typically the warmest months; so we'll see how long this pleasant weather lasts.
Sunday 2020.8.2
More Organizing
What's next? When I started writing recipes for this web site I included step by step photographs. Then, almost at the same time, I started doing videos. Those are much better than the pictures, but I kept doing them anyway. People, however, told me they didn't use those photos; so I discontinued them several months ago and no one seemed to notice.
There was a problem: At the end of my older cooking videos I say to look for the recipes on my web site, which include a PDF with step-by-step pictures. I want to simplify those recipes, removing all the photos. Smaller recipe files will make backups easier and quicker. I'll include a note at the end of each recipe stating the photos were removed due to lack of interest. Besides, the video of the recipe preparation is a lot more informative. I'm reminded of a story.
Many years ago a friend bought his first computer. He called me. "Come over and show me how to use it."
"That's easy," I said. "Just switch it on and use it."
"No," he protested. "I need you to show me how to use Microsoft Word."
"Oh," I responded knowingly. "You want me to teach you how to use the software. I don't use Word; so I don't know how to use it. Read the manual."
He didn't like that answer.
The point being: A lot of people don't want to read instructions. They want to be shown how. My cooking videos accomplish that better than a series of photographs because I also provide spoken instructions. (I've seen many videos with no voice at all, just music.)
And another thing: I occasionally hear from people who want to print the recipe. It's on my web site, but they don't watch the video all the way to the end where I provide that information. As I'm updating these recipe PDFs, I'm also adding a YouTube "Card" to each video; that links to the recipe.
I set myself a goal of 100 updates before today. Late yesterday evening I finished my first 100. 261 to go.
Revisiting all these old recipes is giving me ideas. How about macadamia nut biscotti?
More About That Solar Oven
I was thinking that I might want to start yet another YouTube channel devoted to cooking in a solar oven. However, I quickly abandoned that idea. It took five years for my Mobile Home Gourmet channel to become popular enough to qualify for monetization. Solar Oven Cooking is such a niche idea, it might take ten years for the channel to qualify, if ever. So the plan is to revisit many of my published recipes and make them again using the solar oven. Besides, search for videos on solar oven cooking. They're there, but not many of them. It's a very narrow interest. (And I've seen most of them.)
I saw one web site that said the popularity of the oven increased dramatically during this time of pandemic. Evidently, with more people at home, they're doing more cooking, and using this oven outdoors keeps the house cooler in summer. Therefore, the company has a backlog of orders. Mine might not be shipped for a few weeks.
If I Might Be Allowed…
Pardon me for being a bit of a snob. My bad. I can't tell you how many cooking videos I watched on YouTube, all of them having to do with the solar oven. I don't know how many, but I watched LOTS. Really. Having to wait for my oven to be shipped gave me plenty of time to learn all I could.
Some people who do cooking videos, well, maybe shouldn't. I don't get it. They make a mess. The food on the plate looks like vomit. I'm not good at plating. I wish I was better at the presentation part of cooking, but I don't think I do it so badly that people turn green watching my videos. I really don't understand. If they want "Likes" and "Subs," you'd think they'd try harder to cook something appetizing and get a tripod to hold the camera steady.
However, I'm a firm believer in learning from other people's mistakes. It costs less. I learned a lot about the solar oven, and I learned a lot about what not to do when mine arrives.
Bummer
On Friday I broke my favorite coffee cup. It fell into the sink and shattered. And, of course, it is no longer available on Amazon. I could have bought a used one, but who wants a used coffee cup? I ordered a similar one, slightly larger, and with a glass lid. I like a lid for when I sit outside on the deck. It keeps the bugs out.