MARCH 2021
Wednesday 2021.3.31
I Changed My Mind Yet Again
Earlier this month I blogged about my search for a perfect pan. But first a little history.
I've been watching the CNN food series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. The Rome episode really hooked me because I love pasta too. There was a bowl-shaped pan the chefs used to sauce spaghetti or other pasta. I searched Amazon. I ordered one, I cancelled it, I ordered another one, and I cancelled that one too. They were a little expensive, around $30.
Last week I was in Costco (feeling a little brave with my first Moderna vaccination) and I saw some Nordic Ware 10-inch "Authentic Spun" (whatever that means) woks. And they were only $20 each. Even at only $20, I know better than to purchase on impulse. I went home to think about it.
A few days later I saw another Tucci episode in which another chef used a similar pan. I went back to Costco and looked at the wok again. Made in the USA — a big plus for me — and with a handsome nonstick interior. I bought it.
And so on Sunday evening I cooked some spaghetti. About a minute before it was done I started the flame under the sauce in the wok. Then, drain the spaghetti and place in the wok. Toss, toss, toss to coat the pasta evenly. Plate and finish with some fresh basil leaves and some shredded Romano cheese. Maybe a little extra virgin olive oil. What could be better?
I'm a Food Snob
I wrote to someone I know, mentioning something about prosciutto, and he proudly responded with his love of really good quality prosciutto. He described it as very lean, not stringy, and American made. He's very fussy about getting only "the best."
As I've mentioned several times, I've been watching the Stanley Tucci series and in the episode in which he visits Bologna he meets with prosciutto experts. True prosciutto is only made in Italy. DNA tests are required to certify the pedigree of the pigs used. The pigs must be of pure Italian bloodstock. There are other legal controls too, such as the use of only salt for curing, no flavoring, and minimum air drying time. My friend's perfect prosciutto is really only thinly sliced and slightly dried sandwich ham — Oscar Mayer perhaps.
I didn't attempt to correct him. I've known him since my college days. He's one of those people you hear about — "Don't confuse me with facts." He does no harm. So let him be.
Gopher War
The gopher war continues. I'm trying to build up my stamina for doing landscaping again. I won't need to be as strong and healthy as I was back in 2015 when I was moving tons of sandstone (not all at once, of course). But I would like to progress to a level at which I can work most of the day without being too tired to shower afterward. I'm working toward a goal of ten pounds of mortar laid down per day.
Monday morning I cleaned up a few gaps around a large piece of stone. I even brought out my hammer and chisel (and ear protection) to trim off a couple points of stone. Then I mixed up more mortar and filled the gaps. In the afternoon I sifted more concrete mix (see "Who Knew" below to learn about my error) to essentially make more mortar mix.
Tuesday morning I leveled stone. The gopher tunnels caused some slumping in an area where drainage is important. I lifted one really heavy large stone to find a gopher superhighway tunnel beneath it. I used an entire five-gallon bucket of retained soil (I recover soil when I can for this purpose) to fill the tunnel and raise the stone to proper level. And, while doing that, I cleaned the gaps around it.
Cleaning gaps would have been one day. Filling the gaps with mortar another day. And dealing with concrete mix yet another day. No mention of working with a sledge hammer and chisel. I'm getting some exercise and that's a good thing. Which leads to…
More About Mortar
I learned something new yesterday. "Mortar" isn't enough to know when it comes to buying material to fill the gaps between my slabs of sandstone. There are four different types of mortar, depending on how it is to be used and where.
After having bought one bag of the wrong stuff — concrete rather than mortar — I decided to do a little more research. The mortar I need is Type N, which is best for working with brick and stone. A 60-pound bag (easier to handle than that 90-pound bag of concrete mix — ugh) at Home Depot is less than $5. I checked on line. They have plenty of it.
Meanwhile, I continue to sift the concrete mix to remove the gravel. I have no idea what kind of "mortar" I end up with after the stones are taken out. Probably the wrong kind, but it will hopefully suffice. I'm using it in the back area of my yard where it won't show.
And Then I Had a Thought
When backing into my driveway I sometimes drive over a corner of the landscaping. If I did that after the mortar is laid down I could crack it loose. What if I were to use some of that concrete mix to lay down a thick substrate beneath the stones to fortify the area? And it would use up some of that concrete mix — less to sift.
Sunday 2021.3.28
An Interesting Spring
I am beginning to refer to the past few months as the "Pandemic Winter," especially now that the winter appears to be over (at least for me, as I'm finally getting vaccinated). I'm feeling more creative and playful with my cooking videos. That's how this week's feature recipe, Pesto Chicken Saltimbocca, came about.
And Also Related to Spring
I said March. It's March. During a quick trip to Home Depot for more concrete mix I also bought a tomato plant and a tomato cage. I mentioned in past blogs my plan is to train an indeterminate plant round and round a tomato cage, such that all of it's length will surround the cage. To that end, I bought a 48-inch cage, about a foot of which will be buried in the soil of a 5-gallon bucket.
I don't know how flavorful Early Girl tomatoes are, but flavor wasn't the goal. I wanted something I could grow and photograph. The plant I selected spoke to me because it is already leaning to one side, which might help as I try to train it to the cage.
And I learned something new while watching a video about growing basil (more on that in a bit). You don't need to plant the plant in the center of a pot. Toward one side is okay. The roots will know where to go. Meanwhile, I watered the plant and its in my kitchen window getting acclimated to its new home. I need to re-watch some tomato videos again to make sure I'm starting my plant properly.
Now, about the basil. The video I watched was very encouraging. He propagated his basil from clippings and then more basil from more clippings. Basil grows well, but it needs a lot of water and sunlight. I don't really have any place around my home where plants can get a full day of sunlight, except maybe the roof, which is obviously out of the question. The maker of the video used a grow light quite successfully (he lives in Scotland). I ordered one from Amazon. It's supposed to arrive today, and that will yield another unboxing video.
I purchased the one that comes with its own telescoping stand. There are four LED lamp things on goose-neck supports. Here's the plan. I'm thinking of moving my herbs back onto my deck and using the grow lamp — there is an outlet out there — to give them the light they want. (The tomato will go out in the yard where the Roma tomato plant was.) I put some basil clippings in water to root, but those are second-year growths. They want to seed. So I will probably pick up a living basil plant the next time I shop for groceries.
Who Knew?
Meanwhile, yesterday morning I went back to fighting the gophers. As mentioned above, I bought a 90-pound bag of concrete mix (which I couldn't get out of my SUV; so I'm working from there). I tried mixing up some concrete to work a few more gaps between the sandstone, but there were rocks in the cement, or more like large pebbles. How am I supposed to get a clean, smooth finish to my concrete? Where does one go to get the answers? The internet, of course.
I learned something new: The stones give concrete its strength for projects like laying a slab for a building or when erecting a bridge. I don't need concrete for my project; I need mortar. There's a difference? Yes. Mortar is for putting between bricks and stone. It's smooth. No rocks. So okay. I have about 70 more pounds of concrete to sift and next time I go to Home Depot I'll look for mortar mix.
In the afternoon, feeling somewhat recovered from my morning's work, I went outside again and pulled up some dead Dymondia (and some not so dead) to prepare the next area to work on. I'm not sure how long this will take. Originally I said I'd like to be done by the end of summer, but now I'm thinking the end of the year might be a more realistic goal.
And Then I Turned to Something I Know
I made a batch of Marinara in my Instant Pot. I have all those cans of Cento tomato paste (the Gucci of tomato paste) out in the shed. Simply said, it's basically concentrated tomato puree. Two 12-ounce cans with four cans of water, some garlic, onion, herbs and a little salt and you're good to go. I used the pressure cooker function to cook it 20 minutes, let it cool, then portioned it into 1‑cup packets and froze it. That will keep me going for a while.
Wednesday 2021.3.24
Epiphany
I was editing a Kitchen Vlog video and a thought occurred to me. I have fun making videos. Maybe I shouldn't agonize over why someone's awful video gets two million views and my good quality videos get only 2,000. Maybe I should just make videos for fun and forget about the analytics. What is success? More popularity? Or more fun in life?
Which leads to…
Freaking Hot Party Wings
More than a week ago I mentioned a YouTube video that accumulated more than two million views in two years, and yet there was almost nothing appealing about the video nor the recipe — except maybe one thing: She was making spicy hot chicken wings. So I pulled out all the stops.
I made a marinade with Zatarain's Concentrated Shrimp & Crab Boil, House of Tsang Mongolian Fire Oil and Cajun's Choice Creole Seasoning, all of which are wickedly hot. Although it is totally unnecessary to debone chicken wings, I like to because it makes a pleasant surprise to guests when they expect to encounter bones in their wings. And using a meat injector, I put a little of the marinade in the canals where the bones used to be.
Then I added some of the Creole Seasoning to some of the coating mix for my Finger Lickin' Chicken to spice it up a little. After letting the wings marinade for 20 minutes, I rolled them in the coating mix and cooked them in an air fryer. When they were done, I dared to taste a tiny piece. It was hot! It was way too hot for me. You can see me suffering at the end of the video, which you can link to from the recipe, Freaking Hot Party Wings.
And that's how this week's feature recipe came about.
It's too early to know whether or not the video will ever go viral on YouTube. My older videos are the ones that do well: Fish & Chips (2013) is currently the most popular. Then Salmon Jerky (2016), Pork Spareribs cooked in an Air Fryer (2018) and Copycat Bailey's Irish Cream (2019).
I Scored an Appointment!
On Monday afternoon I received an email notifying me of available appointments for the Moderna vaccine the following day. I immediately signed up and received my confirmation. I'm glad I did; they were going fast. When I got into the system there were only about ten left.
Yesterday afternoon I received the first of my two vaccination shots. Phew! I feel so relieved. I realize I won't be fully protected until a few weeks after my second shot, but I'm feeling a lot safer already, just knowing the process has begun.
Here's an Idea
The vaccination site yesterday was across the street from Tri-Valley Produce. I've been wanting to shop there, but it's at the other end of the city. In particular, I know they sell 1-pound bags of fresh basil. After receiving my vaccination I went into the store. They had only one bag of basil, which I bought. The plan is to experiment with my juicer.
I've known for a long time that the best way to make Pesto is the crush the leaves. You need to break the cell structure to release the juice. That's what flavors the pesto. Just tossing the leaves into a food processor isn't enough. Some people who have tasted my pesto ask, "Why does your pesto taste so much better than mine?" It's the juice.
What if I were to put the leaves in my Breville juicer to extract the juice? Also toss in the cloves of garlic. Collect the pulp. Follow up with the stems; they have juice too, but discard the stem pulp. Then mix the leaf pulp and juice with some finely ground almonds or pine nuts, grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, and olive oil. How would that taste?
The plan is to do that experiment later today, shooting a video of the process, and then use the pesto with some chicken thighs. I experimented with those earlier (no video), in which I spread a little pesto in each boneless thigh, rolled it up and tied it. Then I fried them in a skillet until fully cooked.
On the way home yesterday I also bought some grape tomatoes because I saw a photograph of some broccoli cooked with those. It looked really good on a plate. So, for the pesto chicken thighs, I'll also sauté some broccoli and tomatoes to arrange on the plate. If all goes well, the recipe and video will be featured on Sunday.
Sunday 2021.3.21
Wow, A Migraine!
I hadn't had a migraine headache in years. Wednesday I was hit with a powerful bastard above my right eye. I know what to do — two Excedrin and an hour in bed in a darkened room. It didn't work as well as in the past, but it made the pain tolerable. A cup of tea and a little something to eat also helped. By the following morning it was almost gone.
I don't know what set it off. Maybe I pushed myself a little too hard working outside in the yard. I didn't do any concrete work that day, but I did spend about an hour clearing the next area to work and leveling some of the stones that had settled a bit due to the gopher tunnels. Working with a hammer and chisel probably wasn't a good idea either.
Back in 2017 the trailer park roads were covered with a slurry coat. A bit of it overlapped a couple pieces of sandstone. I needed to chisel it off so that I could lift the stone and level it. I wondered at the time if I should be wearing ear protection; the sound was just a little too loud for my comfort. I don't like intense noises. But there wasn't much to do; so I soldiered on. That might have been the trigger, along with needing a day off.
Let's be honest. I've been sitting at a desk in my home for about a year. I haven't been getting much exercise. I know I need to get out more, maybe ride my bike a few miles each day, but I've been lazy. I'm not in the same shape I was back in 2015 when I began re-landscaping my entire yard.
And so Thursday really was a day of rest. I had been achy from the work I'd done and it really was time to give my body some time to recover. Friday I felt well enough to do a bit more, actually twice the work I had done in previous days. I was tired and sore afterward, but not as much.
I need to work on getting the grout smoother. It looks like a really amateur job. I'll improve with practice. And eventually I'll get my stamina back and maybe I'll be able to work for several hours each day like I did in the past.
Vaccine
Nothing new to report, other than this promising statement from Dr. Henning Ansorg, the Santa Barbara County Health Officer: "Hopefully (emphasis mine) by May everybody who wants a vaccine will be able to get it."
Each week I try to watch the county's Friday news conference from Ansorg and the County Public Health Director, Van Do-Reynoso. You hear a lot of umms. Someone from the news media asks a question and the response starts with, "Umm, umm, …" They look like they know something, but they're trying to find a positive spin to put on some information that is obviously negative and potentially embarrassing. I can't help wondering what they're hiding, and I'm not one to pay attention to conspiracy theories.
One of the people asking questions reported that the Sav-On and Vons grocery store pharmacies in Santa Maria (north county) are each offering only 12 appointments per day. Santa Maria has a population of well over 100,000. "What is being done to get more vaccines into the city?" That got a few umms. The answer is always the same — "More vaccines are on their way; people have to be patient."
Operating under the theory, "It's the squeeky wheel that gets the grease," I'm looking for ways to squeek. The county is accepting questions from the public prior to a town hall meeting this week. I submitted this:
Is there any truth to the rumor many vaccines here in California are being held for the privileged wealthy? I'll be 70 years old in July and I can't find an appointment. All the local sites are "fully booked." Friends in Kentucky, in the 45 to 55 age range, got their vaccines. Some states are offering vaccines to anyone aged 16 or older. I am trying to be patient, but my patience is wearing thin.
I gave them my email address and phone number, in case they want to contact me. I doubt I'll hear from them. It's a big county.
Worth mentioning: The town hall meeting will be up in the Santa Ynez valley, not here. There are many very wealthy people living there. Michael Jackson's former home, Neverland Ranch, was there. Bernie Taupin, lyric writer for Elton John's songs, owns a ranch there. Do a Google News search for "covid vaccine wealthy" and you'll see the news reports. I wish reporters from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times or The Washington Post would investigate what is going on in Santa Barbara County.
And it's not just Santa Barbara County. The Mercury News reported on Friday: "Santa Clara County (in the San Francisco Bay Area) cancels thousands more vaccine appointments amid 'continuing insufficient' supply." Among the 50 states, California has the worst record of vaccine distribution.
Is it Soup Yet?
Even though winter officially ended yesterday, the weather is still cool enough here in SoCal to enjoy a satisfying bowl or cup of soup occasionally. I made Split Pea Soup in my Instant Pot again, but this time I used half green split peas and half lentils. Palouse Brand sent me some free peas and lentils; so I was able to make soup without shopping.
I cheated a little. I used dried onion. And rather than fresh carrots and celery, I used some vegetable base I have in the refrigerator. The garlic came from a jar too. I cook it longer in the pressure cooker, 20 minutes rather than 10, because a good stir is all that is needed to purée the peas. No need for the immersion blender nor the Vitamix.
The soup has a satisfying texture. As expected, the split green peas disintegrated into a purée, but the lentils held their shape. The next time I make this soup I might video the process and add it to my YouTube channel.
Wednesday 2021.3.17
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Wear something green today. Someone in my family once did one of those ancestry things and learned our last name used to be View, not Viau. They still pronounce it view. I changed the pronunciation to VEE-oh when I studied French for two years in college. Supposedly the last name is Irish, but I told that family member I've been saying my last name is French for too many years to change to Irish now.
Dream
I haven't written about dreams in a while. This week I dreamed a vaccination clinic opened up here and I was first in line to get my shot. Then a friend called me outside to talk with me about something. When I went back into the clinic there was a huge line ahead of me, getting their shots, and I couldn't help worrying they might run out of vaccine before it was my turn.
As for vaccination appointments, I check daily. Nearly every site in California is fully booked. It's not a Santa Barbara thing; it's a state thing.
The Gopher War Begins
Well, sort of. I started by prepping. On my back deck was my Dymondia "nursery" — four flats of potting mix where I rooted ground cover clippings to later fill in the gaps where the gophers had destroyed my landscaping. On Sunday morning that stuff went into the trash, after I sifted the soil for other uses. I can use it to level stones and maybe fill in some tunnels as I find them. Into one of the empty plastic flats I poured some "river pebbles" I had out in the shed and I gave them a good rinse. Where the gap between stones is wide enough, the plan is to press some pebbles into the concrete for a more decorative look. I also have some sandstone chips I can use.
Sunday afternoon I mixed up one small batch of Quikrete in a one-gallon ziplock bag. After I got the consistency right I cut off one corner of the bag and tried to squeeze some into a gap I prepared between two pieces of sandstone. No go. It was too stiff. I don't know what concrete the masons were using in the YouTube videos I watched, but mine definitely wouldn't flow. I needed to scoop some into the gap and push it into place with a gloved hand. A second batch was needed to fully fill the gap.
Then I added a few pebbles and finished it off with a wet sponge to make everything look clean and neat. It took a while, but I was finished before the concrete hardened.
I won't decorate every gap with pebbles. Some are too narrow. And I visited YouTube again to watch more videos about grouting flagstone. The old professionals make it look quick and easy. I also saw one guy using a little hand tool to push the cement into the gaps. I have a ¾‑inch dowel; so I cut off a piece and shaped the end with a little battery-powered saw and sanded it. That made things easier and more efficient when I did another gap. For really narrow gaps I might be able to use a screwdriver.
Once I get the hang of it, the project should go more smoothly. And here's a thing: What is the best tool for smoothing the concrete between the stones, getting a clean, finished look? A spoon. I didn't take one from my kitchen; I used an old ice tea spoon I set aside for spreading gopher bait into their tunnels. The spoon works well.
A few advantages I look forward to enjoying: 1) No Dymondia to trim. I covered my yard with sandstone so that I wouldn't have a lawn to mow. 2) No watering. In summer the ground cover needs to be watered at least once a month or it dies. 3) No weeding. Grass seed, especially crab grass, gets down into the Dymondia and grows. If a seed does germinate in a gap somewhere, a quick spray with a vinegar-water-soap solution should take care of it.
And so, at my age, anything that requires less maintenance is welcome.
Sunday 2021.3.14
Happy Daylight Saving Time
If you haven't jumped your clocks ahead one hour, you might want to do it now. I have several radio controlled clocks. They connect to the signal from Fort Collins, Colorado (the home of USA's atomic clocks) and update themselves automatically. The others were adjusted this morning.
There is talk again about moving the country permanently to Daylight Saving Time year round. I don't know that I care. I'm retired. I don't wake up to the sound of an alarm clock anymore.
What's the Benefit?
When I was studying for my master's degree in counseling psychology I picked up an expression I need to use more often. "What's the benefit?" Someone enters therapy because they are engaged in a pattern of thought or behavior that makes them unhappy. So why do they do it? What's the benefit? Finding the answer to that question can often lead to a successful treatment plan.
I've been asking myself that question again.
The number of views of my YouTube videos is in decline. It always happens this time of year. The boom time is November and especially December when people are searching for recipes for the holidays.
I also watch cooking videos on YouTube. Sometimes I am looking for new ideas; often I am researching something I want to prepare in a video. Shrimp Scampi is a recent example. However, I see their videos are getting 400,000 views and mine are getting 400. What are they doing right? What am I doing wrong?
I posed those questions to the friend who taught me how to make videos. (He says I taught him how to cook; so it's a mutually beneficial symbiotic friendship.) He made the suggestions I discussed in Wednesday's blog: Improving the colors to make them pop and recording a voice-over.
A short aside:
I asked him about including subtitles for the ingredients because a few people said they'd like the info in the video rather than having to click a link to the recipe on this web site. He said, "If they're too lazy to click one link, they're not going to cook the dish." Good point. Nix the subtitles.
I shot a few short test videos, experimenting with my camera's picture profile settings. You didn't see those videos because they were "unlisted" on YouTube. I gave my friend the URLs and together we judged the tests for the best color saturation — pleasing enough to pop, but not glaring.
I edited and encoded the Spaghetti with Clam Sauce video four times to get something I could publish on YouTube. It was four times the work.
- Initial editing to bring together all the video clips.
- Write the voice-over script.
- Record the voice-over.
- Import the voice-over into the video and then edit the clips again to time them to the narration.
Normally I do only step one above and then encode the video for YouTube.
I put an early version of the video on YouTube as unlisted and my friend, as well as a few people who had exclusive access (through this blog), all agreed the video needed an introduction and a final tasting clip (outro) with the camera focused on me. I had eliminated those clips because some successful YouTube content creators don't use them and I wanted to feature the food more than myself. One positive comment I appreciated was how the color setting really improved the video. "It's almost as if we're in the same room."
I shot intro and outro clips and edited them into the fourth version of the video. And then I sat back to assess my work. What's different? It's the same formula: intro — MOP (method of preparation) — outro. What's "new and improved"? Better color and tighter audio. But is that enough to move my videos from 400 views to 400,000? What's the benefit?
I slept on it (or more accurately, I lied awake in bed thinking about it) and at 4:00 in the morning I sent my friend an email with my assessment. Unless there is some outstanding necessity, such as to cover an error, future videos will be the simple formula I always used. 400 is better than zero.
What's the Secret?
I watched a video this past week when I was doing research on YouTube. There were no technical skills. The presentation was awful. The cook wasn't a sexy young thing in minimal clothing. There was nothing about the video to make me want to keep watching it. It was made two years ago and had more than two million views. The channel has 76K subscribers.
I have 48K subscribers and the videos I made in 2019 have barely a few thousand views. One did well though, Copycat Bailey's Irish Cream, 236K views. It's not two million though. What's the secret?
I thought about the show Emeril Lagasse had on the food channel. What were the three ingredients the audience always applauded? Garlic, liquor and hot sauce. The woman (obese, wearing a muumuu) in the video I saw was making spicy hot chicken wings, which she cooked in an air fryer. Maybe it's the spice?
I'm planning boneless party wings. I'll make some so hot and spicy I'll need to alert the local fire department before serving them. I think I'll call them "Freaking Hot Chicken Wings" on YouTube. We'll see what happens.
Meanwhile, I ordered a couple things from Amazon I'll use in the video. And I'll do an unboxing and demonstration video for My Kitchen Vlog channel when they arrive.
Shirts
I'm done. I finished the tenth shirt yesterday. I feel good about that project. I gave myself ten weeks to tailor ten shirts. There were tasks to complete everyday, giving me something to do each day. Now that the weather is improving and the days are getting longer, I can move on to my next project — my war with the gophers.
Wednesday 2021.3.10
I Cancelled Another Pan
In Sunday's blog I wrote about my search for the perfect pan for a spaghetti preparation I saw in the CNN series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. The dish was simple enough. Cooked spaghetti gently tossed in a pan with some cheese, then plated and garnished lightly with pepper. I ordered a pan I thought might be good, cancelled it, then ordered another, which I also cancelled.
The reason was as simple as the spaghetti dish itself. I decided I needed to try the dish before investing in a pan strictly for that purpose. So, using what I had (which wasn't perfect, but it was functional), I made the spaghetti. Like the Chicago style deep dish pizza I made last week, I wasn't impressed. The flavor didn't justify spending $30 for a pan.
Here is what I believe about pasta: It's a vehicle to deliver a delicious sauce to the mouth. It could be ragù, béchamel, Bolognese, carbonara, whatever. A delicious sauce is the highlight of the course. The pasta is what fills you up; the sauce is what you remember. And so, in a sort of rebound, on Sunday I made a pot of my mom's American Chop Suey, an Italian-American macaroni and beef ragù dish popular throughout the USA and known by different names. In New England we called it American Chop Suey.
How did it get the chop suey name? According to Wikipedia, the name came about because the dish was once made with rice, a base ingredient in Chinese cuisine.
Sometimes I Surprise Myself
All modesty aside, I know my way around a kitchen. After watching another episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy I felt inspired. I know I didn't invent Spaghetti with Clam Sauce. There are dozens of videos of YouTube, many better than mine. But I worked by inspiration, no recipe, just winging it.
I started a single serving a dry spaghetti boiling in salted water. In a skillet over medium heat I melted some butter and added a little splash of olive oil. Then I added some chopped fresh sage, a sprig of fresh rosemary (whole) and a little dash of freshly grated pepper. I stirred that a little to flavor the butter. Then I added some canned clams, not much, and cooked the mixture over low heat for a minute or two before removing from the heat.
In a separate bowl I mixed some half & half (half milk, half cream) with sweet rice flour, blending with a whisk. (I would have used cream, if I had it, but I didn't want to go shopping.) About a minute or so before the pasta was cooked I added the milk mixture to the clam mixture and brought it to a boil to thicken. Then I removed and discarded the rosemary sprig.
I drained the cooked spaghetti and added it to the clam sauce, stirring and turning to coat. Taste for salt (it needed only a little). The sauce was a little thick; so I stirred in a little clam broth. Then I plated it and garnished with a drizzle of olive oil, some little fresh basil leaves from my garden, and a little Romano cheese. It was delicious.
I was so happy with it, I decided I needed to make it again for a video. I produced the video yesterday and uploaded a test version to YouTube for my friend to judge. Since then I made a few corrections. The updated version was uploaded this morning.
Which leads to…
Something(s) New
The friend mentioned in the previous paragraph encouraged me to experiment with color saturation in my videos. My camera has many settings I never explored. One of them adjusts "picture profile." I did some test videos that were uploaded to My Kitchen Vlog as "unlisted." Only he and I could view them. We agreed on a profile setting.
The issue comes from the change in televisions. Back in the old days of picture tube TVs the colors weren't very dynamic. People today are used to the color vibrancy of flat screen TVs.
The audio will be different too. I watched several videos when I researched Shrimp Scampi. Many of them made use of a voice-over track rather than a running narration recorded with the video. (Compare Binging with Babish to Gordan Ramsay on YouTube.) I wanted to experiment with using a voice-over for this next video. It's a little more work (I wrote a script) and it takes longer to do, but I like it. The voice-over makes it easier to fix errors.
A third experiment was subtitles, but I abandoned that idea. I simply listed the ingredients in the video Description on YouTube.
And finally, a fourth idea was to make the video more about the food and less about me. In an early version I didn't include the introduction and tasting clips with the camera on me. It was decided the video benefits from those clips, so the latest version includes them.
I encoded the video four times before I finally got what I wanted. I'm happy with the latest version. There is always a little research and development period when testing new ideas. I think I have a good plan now.
And Finally, Some Rain
It's been raining, off and on, and some showers have been heavy, really pounding the roof. I might see lightning and hear thunder today. I can hardly wait to go outside to see how much my shed roof is leaking. I really need to get it fixed.
Sunday 2021.3.7
Vaccination
I'm trying to be patient. I'm trying not to complain. I remind myself I love living in Southern California, especially Santa Barbara, even if it has some disadvantages.
A friend who lives in Kentucky told me he and his wife got their vaccinations yesterday. Their local hospital was vaccinating anyone who were 50 years old or older. Several states are now offering the vaccine to those in that age group. I'll be 70 in July and I haven't qualified for an appointment yet. On Thursday a local hospital opened a drive-up vaccination site for people 75 and older. The county has more than 32,000 residents 75+ years old. The hospital was allotted 2,500 vaccines.
So far, there are no pharmacies or clinics within ten miles of my home that are offering any appointments. The hospital down in the city is only offering to put people on a waiting list. The county's weekly press conference on Friday reported the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available this week — but to whom?
I am not in any immediate danger. I have months of food in my freezer and shed. I can hold out longer than many. Sometimes I feel like I am living like a survivalist. I'm thankful I did some advance preparation. And, personally, I'd prefer to get the J & J shot. I like the "one and done" option, even if it doesn't work as well as the others at preventing me from getting sick. I can put up with a little mild illness. I get a flu shot every fall and occasionally I get the flu, but it's mild and it goes away in a day or two.
And so I wait. The President promises anyone who wants a vaccination will be able to get one by the end of May. Maybe by then I can choose the one I want. There could be an advantage to waiting.
Something I'm Looking Forward To
As I mentioned in last month's blog, March 14 is the first day of Daylight Saving Time. On Wednesday of this past week I once again set up my electric griddle on the deck railing and cooked some steelhead trout for dinner. I prefer to cook fish outside to keep any fish odor out of my home. I sautéed vegetables on the griddle as well. And, once again, my dinner was delicious. Starting in mid-March I'll have an extra hour in the evening to cook my dinner outside.
I really like having an electric griddle. However, I keep it so tucked away, almost out of sight, that I fail to think of it when looking to cook a meal.
My mom had an electric fry pan she used many times down through the years. She'd come home from work during lunch, start something like ground beef and sauce for her American Chop Suey (macaroni and ragù) and if I was careful not to get caught, I'd sometimes enjoy a small after-school snack when I got home.
Amazon offers a small electric skillet — 8 inches, small enough to prepare dinner for one. I put the appliance on my wish list, but I'll take time to think about it.
As for those five (of 19) skillets I tossed into the recycle bin, I pulled them out again because a friend wants them. He says he needs skillets. I need fewer. Fourteen is still too many.
Baking with Binging with Babish
On my No-Oven Skillet Pizza YouTube video someone left a question, asking what pan I use and if it is oven safe. To make a long story less long, I said I would probably use a cast iron skillet instead. That gave me an idea. What about making a Chicago style deep dish pizza in a cast iron skillet? I headed to the motherland of cooking videos, YouTube.
A cooking friend of mine often tells me about videos he saw from Binging With Babish. Near the top of the list of potential pizza videos was one by Babish; so I clicked. He used a 12-inch cast iron skillet, which I have, and his recipe was easy to write down.
For a long time I have wanted to make a Chicago style deep dish pizza. I never tried until Thursday afternoon. I was disappointed. The flavor profile seemed wrong (all that sauce on top) and the grainy crust, made with some corn meal, had a texture I didn't like.
It wasn't what I hoped for. It was okay, maybe even good, but having eaten New York style pizza off and on for most of my life, I much prefer that to Chicago style. I'd show you pictures, but they weren't impressive. I doubt I'll ever make it again.
Searching for the Perfect Pan
For the second time I watched an episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy on CNN. In this episode I believe he was in Rome. There was one preparation of spaghetti that intrigued me. The cooked pasta was placed in a bowl-shaped pan with a little of the pasta water. Then it was gently flipped repeatedly while being dressed with a mixture of grated cheese (70% Romano, 30% Parmesan). The action in the pan produced a creamy sauce, like risotto. The spaghetti was plated and garnished lightly with a little freshly ground black pepper. Simple, but supposedly an iconic dish in Rome.
I looked at many pans on Amazon. The ones that came closest were "stir-fry" pans. The size varied. Some had lids. I ordered an 11-inch pan, but after looking at my 12-inch skillet I cancelled the order. It would be too big.
I then looked at an 8½-inch pan. It was deeper than the other one and it had more vertical sides toward the top. It has no lid, but coincidentally my Calphalon space saver pans (the smaller ones) are also 8½ inches; so a lid should fit (not that one will be needed).
The pan will never be placed over a flame and it will seldom need washing. With no fat in the pan, a good rinse followed by a gentle wipe with a towel should be enough. So I ordered it. I'll write about it in future blogs.
Shirts
I'm in the final stretch. Nine shirts done; one to go.
Wednesday 2021.3.3
Improving One Plating Skill
As I said last month, my plating skills leave much to be desired. The carving fork I ordered for plating spaghetti arrived on Sunday. It seemed like a good opportunity to do an unboxing video for My Kitchen Vlog (and considering more than a month had passed since my last vlog, it was a good idea).
The fork performed excellently. I was thoroughly pleased with the plating. It's only one technique, but I feel like the experience will help me focus more on my plating skills as I continue to consider how I might make food look better in my cooking videos.
Status Report
This being a new month, and my not having much to blog about, I thought I'd report on my resolution to eat all the foods in my freezer (and maybe the foods stored out in the shed too).
I've been taking the pandemic seriously. When California Governor Newsom issued a stay-at-home order, I stayed home. He has since lifted that order, but I'm still staying home until I get my vaccination.
I used up the last of the deboned chicken dark meat I had stored in a pocket on the freezer door. Four cups of frozen chicken stock went into making split pea soup (which wasn't a net reduction because the soup was portioned and frozen). Monday evening I made another No-Oven Skillet Pizza, which used up some of the mozzarella cheese, sauce, Italian sausages and pepperoni I had stored.
Feeling I could be better organized, I inventoried the food in the freezer. Why not keep going? I inventoried the shed too. I printed the list and attached it to my freezer door with magnets. You might see it in one or more of my future videos. Having done that, one thing I learned is that I am now completely out of raw chicken meat. I won't buy more until I use up the fish, lamb and beef.
I might also have made one thing easier in the process. When considering: "What's for dinner?" I'll look at my list and choose something.
CPAC
Maybe I could blog about Trump's CPAC speech. I heard it. Nothing new; nothing true.
Learning a Better Way
I'm working on shirt number nine and, as usual, I struggle with trying to get the collar points crisp and pointy. I use a bamboo point turner, but I rarely get what I want. Where does one look for a better way? YouTube, of course. I found the right video.
I wish I had thought to look for a better method when I started tailoring these ten shirts.