DECEMBER 2023
Sunday 2023.12.31
The Year in Review
Another year comes to an end. The past year was better than the previous one, at least the latter half.
Medically, there were no major issues this year, unless I include my struggle with catheters. I was using catheters that had worked very well for me last year. Some time around April things changed. The catheters would no longer enter my bladder. I couldn't sleep at night because I couldn't empty my bladder. It was awful. I wanted to die. I talked to my urologist about it and he gave me several sample catheters to try. Relief at last!
There was one minor issue. I pissed off my primary care physician. I assumed he dropped me as a patient. I had been receiving two prescription medications — one for blood pressure and the other a statin for cholesterol. Neither condition was serious. One doctor, several years ago, told me my blood pressure was above normal, but not high enough to require medication. "Get more exercise, reduce your use of salt and lose some weight" was his recommendation.
The meds were the result of seeing a nurse practitioner. She wasn't a doctor. She couldn't practice medicine. What could she do? Prescribe meds. She prescribed four, two of which I stopped taking after several weeks. One did nothing and another lowered my blood sugar so much I was suffering dizzy spells. The other two worked, or at least the blood pressure medication did. I have a meter and my BP was normal.
Now, I don't take anything because my former doctor won't renew my prescriptions. Oh well, I got along well enough for 71 years without meds, except for the occasional antibiotic for a bacterial infection.
There was a slight turn of events just recently. The doctor's office wants to see me again to discuss my meds. He must need the money. I'll go, but I'm not certain I'll take the meds if he prescribes them again. I won't tell him that, though.
This year I turned 72. As a birthday present to myself, I bought a Janome 9850 sewing machine. There is a bit of a back story.
I had a Brother machine. Here in the trailer park there is a neighbor who earns his living fixing sewing machines. He saw my Brother and told me it wouldn't last long. It was cheap. Lots of plastic inside. And basically, I got the machine for free. So when it did fail, I didn't mind disassembling it and tossing the plastic and metal, what there was of it, in the recycling bin. The neighbor recommended a Janome.
I looked on the Amazon and Costco web sites. Costco offered only one Janome model and it was $300 less than the same machine of Amazon. So, I purchased it from Costco.
The Janome is much heavier. There is a lot of metal inside. It should last many years. And, even better, it does embroidery. Normally, I wouldn't care about embroidery. I tailor my own shirts, which doesn't require embroidery.
I've given up buying shirts in stores. Either they're too tight around the torso (even when they're not styled as "tailored fit") or the sleeves are way too short. I also prefer 100% cotton. That fabric is expensive at a store, but if I buy cotton bed sheets the material is a lot less expensive.
Getting back to the embroidery: One thing I've wanted for a long time is an embroidered patch I could put on the aprons I use in my cooking videos. You've seen my little camper logo in the upper left-hand corner. There are businesses that embroider patches. You send them the design and payment for the number of patches you want. Easy. However, with a machine that does embroidery, I should be able to do them myself.
I did some research on the internet and found a company in Canada, 123Digitizing, that can transfer a design into an embroidery file compatible with a Janome machine. It's a little complicated. The design needs to be suitable for digitizing. But when the basic specifications are satisfied, the file is generated and attached to an email.
I did the process and I received the file, which I then copied to a thumb drive and then into my machine's memory. That was easy. Then there was buying the threads, getting some fabric, and setting up the machine. I don't need to go through all the steps and details. However, the end result was a patch that looked excellent.
Over the course of several weeks I embroidered enough patches for all my aprons, plus a few to give away to friends who wanted them.
Another development worth mentioning (which I've been blogging about anyway; so, you already know) is that Amazon invited me into their Vine Voices program. As I've said many times in my blogs, I can select items from a Vine list and receive them free of charge. My only obligation is to write a review about the item. So far I've requested nearly 140 items, most of which I kept. However, I am trying to downsize. I have too much stuff. So mostly I order disposable items, like napkins, paper towels, coffee filters, things I'll use anyway. Otherwise, I might order something that will replace something. For example, I received a really nice cutting board and then discarded a bamboo board I didn't like.
I did add a few things to my stuff. I ordered a magnifying headset that I use when tailoring. I also received a headset with a bright light on the front, which I've wanted for a long time to use when I'm working under my desk or table and need light while keeping both hands free.
Initially I was grabbing items to satisfy the requirements for an upgrade, which hasn't happened yet. Now I only request items I really want or need. Among my favorite items is a good quality chef knife, two glass saucepans, a silicone cover for my induction cooker (that I can use while cooking), some stainless steel hangers I use when hanging laundry to dry, and a beautiful carbon steel pizza steel.
Christmas having just passed, I didn't miss an opportunity to buy myself a nice Christmas present. I ordered a Meta Quest 3 with 512GB memory. It will arrive next week. I have been thinking about those Virtual Reality headsets for a long time. Finally, a friend and his wife told me how much they enjoyed theirs.
The headsets come in cardboard boxes, of course, but I want protective cases, so why not request them, if they're free. I requested some of those too. For example, I have two deluxe head straps designed for the Quest 3. They are supposed to make the VR set more comfortable to wear on the head. I ordered padded boxes to store those, along with a really nice hard box for the VR headset.
That's all I can think about at the moment. In Wednesday's blog I'll probably look forward into 2024.
Wednesday 2023.12.26
A Quiet Christmas
Those who know me well know that I like to prepare one of my homemade Pizzas on special holidays. That didn't happen this year because I had pizza two days earlier. So, I was content with chicken.
I've been saying I want a Meta Quest 3 Virtual Reality headset with 512GB memory. I decided I would order it on Friday. That will be my big Christmas present to myself. As I've said before, a friend and his wife have them and they really enjoy them. If I have my information correct, we can even do things together on line, like play golf, even though they are in Kentucky. I'm sure there will be a fairly steep learning curve, but they will be good sources of guidance.
Meanwhile, I sort of gave myself another Christmas present. I gave myself a haircut yesterday morning. My hair was getting into my eyes and ears, which was annoying. It came out better this time. My last haircut had a few rough sports, but this one looks fairly decent. I'm sure a barber would know it wasn't professionally done, but done in the bathroom with two mirrors and my dad's barbering tools, it's good enough.
Writing Reviews
Today is a big day for writing reviews on Amazon. Four items arrived this morning. Three more are out for delivery. These reviews are easy. They don't require my cooking something to see how well the item works. One look is enough. All of them so far are items I want. These won't go into the recycling bin.
The Frozen Foods Chronicles
I haven't written about my freezer lately. I have been making some progress using up my frozen foods, but progress has been slow, especially lately. It has been more of a trade-off. I used some of my Homemade Chicken Stock to make more Cream of Spinach Soup, which I portioned and froze. I was craving cheeseburgers; so I bought some deli rolls and beef patties, which were added to the freezer. And yesterday I made a pot of Marinara, using some canned San Marzano tomatoes and a can of tomato paste I had out in the shed. Pasta sauce is a staple in my freezer.
So, there is still work to be done. Maybe I'll make another New Year's Resolution, again, to eat down the foods in my freezer.
Another Clock On the Wall
People are going to think I'm crazy. In Sunday's blog I wrote about a digital clock I saved from recycling and put it on the wall outside my kitchen. The LCD clock that had been hanging there went into a box. I've been wondering what to do with it. There really was no place for it. Yesterday I mounted it back on the wall from which it came, affixed below the red LED clock. Two on one wall. Weird. Oh well.
Sunday 2023.12.24
Merry Christmas
Another Christmas arrives tomorrow. As usual, I'm not planning anything special; however, I have lots of stuff I might say were once under the Christmas tree because I received it free this fall/winter.
The one item I most want for Christmas is a Meta Quest 3 with 512GB memory. I've been wanting one of these virtual reality things for years. They're expensive, but I think I would really enjoy playing with it. A friend and his wife each have one and he says he uses his once or twice a week. She uses hers almost everyday.
I can easily justify spending the money this year. Although my net earnings from YouTube weren't enough, I saved a lot of money by getting free things from the Amazon Vine Voices program. I try to use YouTube earnings for toys or other items I really don't need at all. I busted the budget quite a bit when I purchased that Janome 9850 sewing machine. There isn't enough from YouTube to fully pay for the VR headset; however, as I said above, I can justify it with some of my savings from Amazon Vine.
Saved
In Wednesday's blog post I wrote about my failed attempts to donate my unwanted Amazon Vine schlock to charity thrift stores. The items, still new in their box, have been in the back of my SUV. The plan has been to discard or recycle what I can.
I'm glad my bins were full. I thought about an LED digital clock that requires plugging into an electrical outlet. I was hoping it would be battery operated. It was out in the car. Then I thought of a use for it.
Outside my kitchen, on a wall I can see when I'm shooting a video, there was a battery-operated LCD clock. It wasn't always easy to see clearly from the kitchen. The LED clock has big bright numbers. But there was one possible issue.
Would the red numbers reflect off my glasses when the camera is on my face? I had to make sure. I mounted the clock and set the time, then I recorded a quick clip of my face, turning my head a little in several directions to try to capture a reflection of the clock. Everything looked okay.
Gifted
My friend in Kentucky was here in Santa Barbara for something related to his job at the University. We had lunch together in a restaurant where we often ate when he lived here. He gave me a LEGO car kit to build. It was fun, but I have to admit it was also frustrating. As I've mentioned occasionally in the past, my hands don't work with the same precision they had many years ago when I repaired typewriters for a living.
I wanted to give him something for Christmas and his birthday, which is on January 2nd. I ordered him a small Star Wars LEGO kit. He is very much into LEGO. He even has a small business selling LEGO parts online.
'Tis the Season
Tomorrow I will likely hear from my twin brother and his wife. We exchange email a few times each year. In the past it was only on our birthday, but it seems like we've been communicating with each other more often lately. I like to think of it as part of the aging process. As I've said before, as we get older we lose friends and gain doctors. Maybe my brother and I are corresponding more often because our friends are gradually dwindling in number.
Reading
As I do every year at this time, I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I start with Stave 1 on the 21st and read a chapter each evening so that I can finish the book on Christmas Day. It's one holiday tradition I am pleased to observe every year.
Wendesday 2023.12.20
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
And so the recycling and trashing begins. I went to three different thrift stores. Two were not accepting donations and for the third I was supposed to drive down into the city. I even tried offering free stuff to people in the parking lots. They looked at me as if I were weird. I am. And I don't want to explain to any of them that the stuff is not stolen.
I wasted too much time and gasoline trying to donate all these items, most still new in the box, never used. I'm not proud, but I'm not ashamed either. I started tossing the schlock into either my recycling bin or my trash bin.
I thought about printing a big sign that says FREE STUFF and setting it on the back of my SUV. But then there are the people to deal with. I don't want greedy people grabbing stuff like it was food and they were starving. So, the bins were my best option.
I find some solace in the expression, "It's the thought that counts." I tried. Sometimes that's all a person can do.
I Learned Something New This Week
Did you know you could heat an induction-compatible pan through parchment paper? I didn't.
I saw a liner to use on induction stove tops. It looked like a large sheet of parchment paper. Here's the thing: I use my induction cooktop fairly often. It get's dirty, especially when I'm frying a beef patty for a cheeseburger, even with a splatter screen on top.
I decided to try parchment paper. After cleaning my induction cooktop really well, I tore a piece from a roll and laid it on top, covering everything. Then I made a cheeseburger. I've actually cooked a few other foods since then and my induction cooktop is still clean under the paper.
It isn't perfect. There was a little scorching of the paper, but it didn't catch fine. With safety in mind, I requested the liner. After all, it was free.
Weather
If you've been seeing news reports about rain on the West Coast, they're true. The first wave of rain passed through Monday and yesterday. It was light, as expected. Where I live less than half an inch fell. The greater rain is yet to come when the second wave moves through today and tomorrow.
We are currently under a flood watch. No advisories or warnings yet; however, things could change. The rain is expected to be moderate to heavy at times, with the possibility of thunderstorms. Where I live 2 to 5 inches are possible. Some areas might see 5 to 10 inches.
This is a slow moving storm. It will dump plenty of rain during 48 hours. I'm always curious to see how the reservoirs are doing. Our local lake is currently at 89%.
This is the time of year when I really enjoy retirement. I don't need to go out in bad weather. I can stay home, warm and dry, with the drapes open so I can watch it rain outside. I have projects to keep my busy, and there is always the free stuff to look through, hoping I might find something I really want.
Sunday 2023.12.17
Refining My Vine Voices Understanding
I did a little research on the Amazon Vine Voices program. If I learned anything, it was that the program lacks consistency. When a person fulfills the goals of the Silver Tier, how long before they are upgraded to the Gold Tier? It's anyone's guess. Some are promoted right away. Some wait until the end of their six month evaluation period. Mine ends on May 6th of next year.
What's the advantage of the Gold Tier? It turns out that might be questionable. In that tier we are allowed to request a maximum of eight items per day (three in the Silver Tier) and there is no limit to the value. As one person said on a forum, it's just more of the same junk. Who would want to add eight pieces of junk to their home.
I thought I had to request at least 100 items. From my additional research the requirement is to write at least 100 reviews. Yesterday I reached the goal for which I was aiming. That doesn't mean, of course, that I can't order anything more. However, now I will only request items I really want or need, not just to satisfy a goal.
The trick, as I see it, is simply to stop looking because some things are just irresistible — for example, an 18 ounce hand painted soup bowl with loop handle for $35.99. I buckled. I ordered it. It was free, and you know how much I love soup in winter.
I now try to keep three questions in mind when I am browsing Vine products:
Will it replace something? I'm not a hoarder. I'm trying to downsize. So when I saw a beautiful cutting board, I requested it. Then I threw an old bamboo cutting board into the trash bin.
Is it disposable? I don't want to hold onto things. Coffee filters, paper towels, and napkins are obvious choices. I use them anyway; so, if I can get them for free, why not?
Will I really use it? On Friday I saw a package of 100 vacuum sealer bags. I do use them. So, I requested it.
Getting stuff for free is a temptation (if not an addiction). If I were an Ebay seller it might even be profitable. I'm not a seller and I've already set aside three boxes of schlock to give to the charity thrift store. Those will be delivered today. Now it's time to be reasonable.
I can also admit to a little satisfaction when I see something I want, successfully request it, and when I refresh the page the item is gone. Did I get the only one? A good quality chef's knife — German steel, full tang, Japanese-style blade — was available this morning. I grabbed it and moments later it was no longer there.
I believe I know knives. I have enough of them. An 8-inch chef's knife selling for $65 is about right for fairly good quality. I've seen other knives in the Vine program selling for prices like $19.99. How good a knife is that? I don't want those.
Soup
With a beautiful hand-painted large soup cup on its way, I made another pot of Cream of Spinach Soup. I added a little more milk, maybe ¼ cup, to make it easier to drink out of a mug. And, it's delicious!
And warm soup is an attractive idea because what is coming this week.
Finally, Some Weather
I wait for it every fall — the first significant rainfall of the season. Usually it happens in November. It's late this year. We are currently at only 16% of our typical rainfall for this time of year. The forecast this week is rain, rain and rain. So far, the prediction is 90% chance of precipitation tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday with rain continuing to the end of the week.
So this is going to be a week of indoor projects. Maybe I'll get some sewing done. I might even have another shirt by the end of the week.
Wednesday 2023.12.13
Goals Achieved
On Monday I reached my goal of 100 orders in the Amazon Vine Voices program. I grabbed two before 8:00 in the morning, just to bring my total up to 101. That left one more for the day, which I ordered at 9:30AM — another bed sheet. Yes, I vowed I wouldn't order any more sheets for making shirts. This latest one is a king flat. I have sewing machines. I can use it to make a fitted sheet and have fabric left over for pillow cases. That's the plan.
The next goal was to have reviewed at least 90% of the items ordered. As of this morning I had reviewed 93 items and my percentage was 90.29%. Today's deliveries put me over the top. Six more items arrived this morning.
And speaking of deliveries, it's not unusual to roll out of bed at 7:30 in he morning and see one or two boxes on my front porch. Maybe because of Christmas deliveries, the post office is working harder to get parcels delivered ASAP.
So now I wait. I don't know what happens next. Will I automatically be upgraded into the Gold Tier when the 100/90 minimum shows up in my account? Or will I need to wait until someone reviews my account? I'll let you know.
Meanwhile, I can still order stuff. If I can get 100 paper coffee filters for free, why not? I make coffee. There is one caveat though. More free stuff means more reviews. That could lower my percentage. I need to stay at 90% to fulfill the requirement. Therefore, I resist any temptation to look.
Do a little math with me. If I've ordered 100 items and I reviewed 80 of them so far, that's 80%. If I order 10 more, that reduces my reviews to 72%. Ergo: Don't order any more items until I get into the Gold Tier.
And by the way, the people at Amazon who review our reviews are not consistent. I reviewed a fitted sheet and the review was denied because it did not satisfy guidelines. I reviewed another fitted sheet using the same review, word for word, and it passed. Go figure.
Donate Button Revisited
I've been doing some random testing of the new Donate button. So far, everything worked. As I mentioned in Sunday's blog, the process of fixing the problem involved removing all the "<form>" codes that were initially used by PayPal to accept donations on my behalf. That was replaced by a simpler system. I now have a membership page on PayPal. The button takes visitors there to make a donation if they wish. Although making the changes was a lot of work over three days, it was worth it. I like the new setup better.
Early Delivery
Now I know why I see a box on my porch when I get out of bed in the morning. Yesterday I woke up at around 6:00. I turned on the computer and started my door cam. At 6:30 it was still dark and I saw yellow flashing lights. It was the postal worker delivering my freebies.
Sunday 2023.12.10
A New Donate Button
A fan of this blog and my YouTube channel alerted me to the failure of my former Donate button. PayPal changed their donation feature and the button no longer worked. It took a while (and dinner with a friend and a deluxe chicken burrito, hold the onion and cilantro) to figure out the new way. It turned out to be easier than I expected, but I had nearly 750 HTML files to update with the new code. I knew it would take time, but I'd get it done. It's almost always good to have a project to work on.
The new button is a little large, kind of in-your-face a bit, but this isn't a popular website. So, I doubt it will offend many people.
Meanwhile, it forced me to refresh my knowledge of HTML codes — specifically how web sites reference the location of things like buttons. I messed up enough times to finally understand. After that, it was a relatively easy task of copy-and-paste.
It also forced me to standardize many of my HTML pages. Some use one form of donation button, some use a different style. When finished, they would all be the same. And it gave me an opportunity to make other little cosmetic fixes that don't affect how this website functions, but they should be done the right way anyway.
As for progress: I finished the most important 460 pages first. Nearly all of those are recipes. That left 280 blog archive files. Who reads them? Anyone? Nonetheless, they should be fixed so that all the pages are properly updated.
And then I found some untapped energy. I forged ahead, updating all the blog archive files too. Then I did a word search through the entire site for the code (<form) I was removing. I found only one that I missed, which I corrected. Not bad for an old man.
Done and dusted, as they say, by 8:00 yesterday evening. Phew! It feels good to get that major project done. Now I can get back to schlocking. Speaking of which…
Schlocking
Thursday was not a good day for schlocking, which is how I refer to getting freebies on Amazon Vine. Even though no new items were added, I managed to find three I can use. They brought my total to 90 items.
It's amusing to see what people request. There are many Vine Voices and, like me, they stay on line to see the newest items added. The expensive items typically go first. An electric spice grinder might appear. The next time I refresh the page, it's gone. I already have a spice grinder; however, like them, as soon as I see something I want, I request it.
Friday afternoon was better. Amazon added items again. I didn't want to spend a lot of time looking through available products; so I grabbed the first three that looked good. I wanted to use my time in a more productive way by updating my website pages with the new Donate button.
I scored really well yesterday. I requested a stainless steel whistling kettle that will be compatible with my induction cooktop; another electric scrubber, which I'll use with polish to clean the outside of my stainless steel cookware; and two glass saucepans that will look really good in my videos — they might rival my ceramic pans.
If I can continue to request three each day, I should reach my target of 100 (actually 102) tomorrow. I won't request anything more, unless I see something I really can't live without. And I'll await my promotion to the Gold Tier, at which point I can order up to eight items per day and there is no limit to the dollar value. I still won't request anything unless I see something I can't resist.
Meanwhile, after I score my three for each day, I try to resist any temptation to look further, lest I see something I wish I could have requested if I hadn't already used my three for the day.
Wednesday 2023.12.6
Jumping In
The last thing I need (besides more shirts) is another cookbook. When a friend alerted me to the Institut Paul Bocuse Gastronomique: The definitive step-by-step guide to culinary excellence I thought about it all day. A few years ago we both watched the Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown episode in which he travels to Lyon, France to dine at Bocuse's restaurant and later meet with the world renowned chef.
I took the plunge and ordered it. I did make room for it though. I put a thick Italian cookbook in the box going to the thrift store.
The plan is to find some recipes I can prepare in a cooking video. Perhaps the video(s) will earn enough YouTube revenue to pay for the book, which was nearly $50. My recent Tuscan Beans and Sausage recipe was modified from a cookbook and, so far, it earned $4.47. I don't make a living doing cooking videos for YouTube. I think following some of the methods taught by Paul Bocuse in this cookbook might be fun.
Jumping Out
Not a plunge after all. I don't know what made me think of it, but I searched the newsgroups for the Paul Bocuse book. Someone scanned the entire book, all 720 pages!, and assembled it as a PDF. I got it, and then immediately cancelled my Amazon order. Okay, it might not be right, copyright violation and all that, but what do you do when a free copy is staring you in the face and only requires the press of one or two keyboard buttons? I couldn't resist.
Jumping Up
My YouTube video of Beef Sausages surprised me this week. Is it going viral? "Viral" for me is anything above average. For some odd reason, it is increasing in popularity. It's way above the "typical" performance line.
I did an internet search for beef sausages to see where my recipe and video might show up. I was surprised to see the video in first place in the "Videos" section on the Google page.
And Speaking of Cooking
I shot another cooking video on Monday. It has been a while, actually since October 1st. I made Cream of Spinach Soup using a recipe I somewhat modified from a Food & Wine cookbook. I didn't modify it much. I can't image spinach without a little nutmeg; so, I added it.
It's one of the best soups I ever made. A ten out of ten. I will definitely be making this again before the end of winter. It's delicious!
DUH!
Everyday I look through the available freebies in the Amazon Vine Voices program. There are thousands of them. It's a laborious task. I've seen enough crevice brushes for one lifetime.
On Monday morning I discovered the subsections. Were those there all along? There might be 5,000 to 6,000 items in the Home and Kitchen section. One day it peaked at nearly 7,500. But in the Kitchen and Dining subsection — the items I am most interested in — there might be only 1,500. The items are still mostly schlock. More crevice brushes, but fewer items overall. It takes less time to look for something I might want.
Highlights of this week's haul: A padded lap desk I can use with my computer when I'm sitting in front of the TV. I've been wanting one of those for a long time. A splatter shield for my microwave oven. Ten stainless steel hangers I can use for hanging laundered clothes to dry.
Straight to the thrift store schlock: A cheap pasta machine. I already have a good one, made in Italy. A manual coffee grinder. I already have two.
Sunday 2023.12.3
It's a Minor Addiction
I can deal with it.
Those who have been reading this blog for a while know I like to tailor my own shirts. I have too many of them. However, what do I do when I can get 100% cotton bed sheets, queen size, for free? I can get two shirts out of each sheet. And it gives me something to do when I'm inside in winter.
I got three free sheets among my items from Amazon Vine Voices. One is a plum color, another a dark gray and the third is pink. Guys can wear pink shirts, although in some conservative circles they might refuse.
So, another resolution: No more sheets, even if they are free.
Actually, I take that back, sort of. I ordered another sheet this morning. It's a fitted bottom sheet. This one will not be cut up for a shirt. It will go on the bed.
I Learned Something New This Week
When it comes to steak, tenderness does not equate to flavor. As part of the Vine Voices program, I received a free meat tenderizer attachment for my Kitchenaid stand mixer. I don't eat steak; so I know very little about it. What would be a good tough cut of steak that would benefit from tenderizing. I asked the butcher at the meat section of the grocery store. We decided on London broil.
Okay, the attachment works. The meat went through well enough. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and broiled it in my air fryer. Even with plenty of Worcestershire sauce it didn't taste good. It was bland. It was also chewy, not tender.
I tried again. For this experiment I cut a piece of steak in half. I ran one piece through the tenderizer three times. Both pieces went into a plastic bag with some salad dressing to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
To cook them, I put safflower oil in my carbon steel skillet and heated it until the oil started to smoke. Then I cooked the steaks very briefly on each side so that they would still be plenty pink inside. They had a little more flavor, but the meat wasn't as flavorful and tender and I would prefer.
I think a USDA prime beef tenderloin or tri-tip would have better flavor. In fact, some of the best Real Texas Chili I ever enjoyed was made with tri-tip I bought on sale at a lower price than chuck.
And I Learned Something More This Week
As I said above, I cooked the steaks in my carbon steel pan. There was salad dressing on them. The acid in the vinegar stripped some coating off my pan. It wasn't a disaster. It's easy to re-season the pan, which I did. But it was a lesson learned.