I just got done sending the picture I just posted of Sheri to the Wal-Mart website. I will be able to pick up a 4" x 6" print at our local store in a day or two for only $0.20. I will let you know how the quality is.
They also offer:
5 x 7 for $0.96
8 x 10 for $2.76
I think I can also send prints to more than one store, so you might get an e-mail from me one day telling you to go to your local Wal-Mart to pick up a print!
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Monday, November 22, 2004
We are going to go to Wal-Mart tonight to buy A Christmas Story and then go to dinner at Golden Corral. I can do pretty good there, diabetic-control-wise, if I stick to just the salad bar side of the restaurant.
On Sunday I made 3.5 pounds of bread dough, let it rise twice, and then formed them into a dozen 4.6 ounce rolls (quarter pounders!), and stuck them in the freezer.
On Thanksgiving Day all I will have to do is remove them from the freezer and place on a cookie sheet to thaw and rise. I think that should only take about two hours, and then bake them for 15 minutes or so, and voila, my famous fresh bread.
I normally don't add sugar to my bread, but since my little yeasticles will be cold during their final rise, I added two tablespoons to give them a little life.
I had about three ounces of dough left over, so I made a roll and baked it in our toaster oven. Turned out great. I haven't made my hard rolls since I became diabetic. I haven't lost my touch if I do say so myself. Even in the toaster oven it was very good. Crunchy crust. Chewy center. Of course I used King Arthur flour. My favorite.
I don't really use a recipe. I put three cups of COLD water in my Kitchen Aid mixer, 1 tablespoon of yeast, and 1.5 tablespoons of kosher salt. I then turn on the mixer with the mixing paddle and start adding flour until it gets too stiff to mix. This takes about 6 cups worth.
I then take out the paddle and insert the dough hook. I start it up and keep adding flour until it looks right and the dough "walks" around the bowl. That's it! I will let it rise a couple of times and then form it into loaves, rolls, pizza dough, etc.
Using cold-water means it takes much longer to rise, but the taste, texture, and crust is much much better. Very similar to sour dough but without the sourness.
On Thanksgiving Day all I will have to do is remove them from the freezer and place on a cookie sheet to thaw and rise. I think that should only take about two hours, and then bake them for 15 minutes or so, and voila, my famous fresh bread.
I normally don't add sugar to my bread, but since my little yeasticles will be cold during their final rise, I added two tablespoons to give them a little life.
I had about three ounces of dough left over, so I made a roll and baked it in our toaster oven. Turned out great. I haven't made my hard rolls since I became diabetic. I haven't lost my touch if I do say so myself. Even in the toaster oven it was very good. Crunchy crust. Chewy center. Of course I used King Arthur flour. My favorite.
I don't really use a recipe. I put three cups of COLD water in my Kitchen Aid mixer, 1 tablespoon of yeast, and 1.5 tablespoons of kosher salt. I then turn on the mixer with the mixing paddle and start adding flour until it gets too stiff to mix. This takes about 6 cups worth.
I then take out the paddle and insert the dough hook. I start it up and keep adding flour until it looks right and the dough "walks" around the bowl. That's it! I will let it rise a couple of times and then form it into loaves, rolls, pizza dough, etc.
Using cold-water means it takes much longer to rise, but the taste, texture, and crust is much much better. Very similar to sour dough but without the sourness.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Saturday, November 20, 2004
I like burning real cord wood in our fireplace, but for whatever reason I have not had any delivered since we have moved to Chicago. We normally just keep some artificial logs on hand for when we want a fire. They are very convenient. On a cold night we can have a fire going on a moments notice.
For the Ohio State vs. Michigan game today I wanted a fire but we are out of artificial logs, so while I was running a couple pre-game errands I stopped by Menard’s to pick up a case.
The 6 pound logs are about $2 a piece, which makes a 48 pound case of 8 logs $16.
Right next to the artificial logs they had the wood pellets for the wood pellet burning stoves. A 40 pound bag of pellets was only $3.50!
All the way home I was thinking about this price discrepancy. I got to thinking about burning the pellets in a regular fireplace and how to do it. After a while I did some Google searches and found an insert designed to let you burn pellets in a regular fireplace. No modifications or installation was needed either. The only problem is that it costs $250!
I was doing some more thinking and decided I could make the same thing. At half time I ran back to the store and bought that bag of wood pellets and a 3' x 5' roll of 23 gauge ¼” steel mesh.
I cut a square piece of mesh about three feet on each side, and then folded it in half. I formed it into a flat bottomed trough and then set it right on the fireplace grate.
I dumped two coffee cans worth of pellets into the trough and it is burning great!
I will let you know if it is a viable option to artificial logs, but so far it seems like a winner.
I have to get back to the game. There are 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter and Ohio State is ahead 34 to 21! The Buckeyes were 5 point under dogs going into the game.
For the Ohio State vs. Michigan game today I wanted a fire but we are out of artificial logs, so while I was running a couple pre-game errands I stopped by Menard’s to pick up a case.
The 6 pound logs are about $2 a piece, which makes a 48 pound case of 8 logs $16.
Right next to the artificial logs they had the wood pellets for the wood pellet burning stoves. A 40 pound bag of pellets was only $3.50!
All the way home I was thinking about this price discrepancy. I got to thinking about burning the pellets in a regular fireplace and how to do it. After a while I did some Google searches and found an insert designed to let you burn pellets in a regular fireplace. No modifications or installation was needed either. The only problem is that it costs $250!
I was doing some more thinking and decided I could make the same thing. At half time I ran back to the store and bought that bag of wood pellets and a 3' x 5' roll of 23 gauge ¼” steel mesh.
I cut a square piece of mesh about three feet on each side, and then folded it in half. I formed it into a flat bottomed trough and then set it right on the fireplace grate.
I dumped two coffee cans worth of pellets into the trough and it is burning great!
I will let you know if it is a viable option to artificial logs, but so far it seems like a winner.
I have to get back to the game. There are 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter and Ohio State is ahead 34 to 21! The Buckeyes were 5 point under dogs going into the game.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Thursday, November 18, 2004
I was taken out to lunch today to a place called La Zaza Trattoria. It was recommended that I have the whitefish that came in a light lemon sauce with capers, and a side of fire roasted spinach.
Both were excellent, but I was especially impressed with the fire roasted spinach. It has a slight smoky taste and I could see a few charred spots here and there. Each individual leaf still had texture, but it was definitely not crunchy. It was flavored with garlic, salt, and olive oil and/or butter from what I could tell.
I was so impressed I asked the waiter how they prepare it. They must get asked a lot because he said it was a Zaza's secret. I asked him again later and he still wouldn't say.
OK, not a big deal. I will just do a Google search and find 1,000 recipes. The search "fire roasted spinach" returns exactly two results, and both from the same web site; and they are not recipes.
I think I will buy some fresh spinach and give it a try.
I think if I just put fresh dry spinach on the grill it would dry up and burn.
I think I will try soaking the leaves in ice water for a while and then tossing them on a hot grill. I think I will also try tossing the leaves in olive oil first and then grilling.
I will add garlic, salt, and seasoning, etc. after I remove it from the grill.
If anyone nearby wants to try it and see if they can come up with a recipe, the address is:
La Zaza Trattoria
5 South First Street
St Charles, IL 60174
Both were excellent, but I was especially impressed with the fire roasted spinach. It has a slight smoky taste and I could see a few charred spots here and there. Each individual leaf still had texture, but it was definitely not crunchy. It was flavored with garlic, salt, and olive oil and/or butter from what I could tell.
I was so impressed I asked the waiter how they prepare it. They must get asked a lot because he said it was a Zaza's secret. I asked him again later and he still wouldn't say.
OK, not a big deal. I will just do a Google search and find 1,000 recipes. The search "fire roasted spinach" returns exactly two results, and both from the same web site; and they are not recipes.
I think I will buy some fresh spinach and give it a try.
I think if I just put fresh dry spinach on the grill it would dry up and burn.
I think I will try soaking the leaves in ice water for a while and then tossing them on a hot grill. I think I will also try tossing the leaves in olive oil first and then grilling.
I will add garlic, salt, and seasoning, etc. after I remove it from the grill.
If anyone nearby wants to try it and see if they can come up with a recipe, the address is:
La Zaza Trattoria
5 South First Street
St Charles, IL 60174
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Greta came in late yesterday afternoon for a visit. Her and Sheri went and picked up a Lou Malnati's mushroom and pepperoni pizza and the movie The Stepford Wives. We ate pizza, watched the movie, and went to bed. The movie was decent. Clever, but not the best movie of the year. Overall I would say go ahead and rent it.
The two of them just took off a little bit ago for shopping, shopping, and maybe a little more shopping.
My list for the day is:
• Go to the store to buy milk to make yogurt
• Make yogurt
• Clean the aquarium
•Update router software (just did that)
• Storm window on front door
• Engage built-in storm windows on upstairs windows
• Pay some bills and go through mail
Yesterday I applied the fifth and final application of lawn fertilizer for the year. I got the fertilizer at Menard's, and I was reading the information on the back of the bag and it sounds like this company only supplies fertilizer to Menard's and to commercial operations like golf courses and parks. I don't know if that is a selling point or not, but I guess I will see how things look in the spring.
The first step in getting my contract approved at the county will be this Friday (11/19) at the Transportation Committee meeting. If that goes well it will be presented at the County Board meeting in early December. Everything looks like a go, but keep your fingers crossed just in case.
The two of them just took off a little bit ago for shopping, shopping, and maybe a little more shopping.
My list for the day is:
• Go to the store to buy milk to make yogurt
• Make yogurt
• Clean the aquarium
•
• Storm window on front door
• Engage built-in storm windows on upstairs windows
• Pay some bills and go through mail
Yesterday I applied the fifth and final application of lawn fertilizer for the year. I got the fertilizer at Menard's, and I was reading the information on the back of the bag and it sounds like this company only supplies fertilizer to Menard's and to commercial operations like golf courses and parks. I don't know if that is a selling point or not, but I guess I will see how things look in the spring.
The first step in getting my contract approved at the county will be this Friday (11/19) at the Transportation Committee meeting. If that goes well it will be presented at the County Board meeting in early December. Everything looks like a go, but keep your fingers crossed just in case.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Thursday, November 11, 2004
This is a direct result of the huge fines the FCC imposed on the Janet Jackson Super Bowl hubbub. I am sure the cable industry is licking their chops in this dumbing down of American broadcast television.
Many ABC affiliates around the country have announced that they won't take part in the network's Veterans Day airing of "Saving Private Ryan," saying the acclaimed film's violence and language could draw sanctions from the Federal Communications Commission. [full story]
Many ABC affiliates around the country have announced that they won't take part in the network's Veterans Day airing of "Saving Private Ryan," saying the acclaimed film's violence and language could draw sanctions from the Federal Communications Commission. [full story]
