Turkey omelet

First is the prep of chopping up turkey and green onions. They will get tossed in the microwave for about 15 seconds before being added to the eggs. And I realize the cutting board is stained, it has been bleached, vinegared, Simple Greened and run through the dishwasher and clean stained it will likely remain.



Here is the omelet in the pan. The pan was preheated with shortening, lightly wiped and 1tbs of butter heated until clear before the ingredients were added. All the ingredients except the cheese were brought up to room (65°) temp before cooking.



Here it is with the cheese after being tossed. You will have to take my word I flipped it in the air. Flipping it is one thing, flipping it while trying to get a picture in the air with the other hand just isn't going to happen. :-)



Here it is presented on the plate.




And here it is ready to eat. Yep, that is gravy on top, if you don't do gravy for breakfast you can use sour cream too. And that plate really is 11" across. :-)

My Thanksgiving feast

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I started cooking the night before. The candied yam recipe came from my brother and was based on our grandmothers recipe. I omitted the nuts as I don't care for nuts in cooked stuff. I had a cup of raisins left over from the cookies I haven't baked yet so I tossed them in. It came out great even though I forgot about the vanilla *oops*. After chilling overnight I added the marshmallows and browned them. Maybe I am just getting old or have lost my appetite for really sweet stuff but I didn't like it with the marshmallows on it. I may have added too many or whatever but after the first serving I scraped most of them off. As for "to taste" I used a heavy 1/2 teaspoon of each spice. I bought a 3 lb bag of sweet potatoes and after peeling ended up with about 2-1/2 lbs. Word of caution: don't measure 1/4 teaspoon of salt in hand with cut in finger joint. :o)

2-3 pounds of sweet potatoes
1/2 stick real butter (not margarine or spread) at room temp., per pound of potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
ground cinnamon (to taste)
ground nutmeg (to taste)
ground allspice (to taste)
OR 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice instead of cinammon, nutmeg,
and allspice
1 or 2 cups brown sugar (enough to turn potatoes from orange to burnt-orange/golden brown)
1 or 2 flat cans of crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon REAL vanilla extract (not vanilla flavoring)
1 cup crushed pecans (Grandmother used walnuts, but pecans taste better)
1 bag miniature marshmallows enough to cover (or cut large ones in half, but that's a PITA)


Peel, chunk, and steam the sweet potatoes just until al dente (15-18 minutes), the drain thoroughly. (do not boil them)

Blend spices into the butter first. (The butter will carry the spices throughout the dish to ensure even distribution. The spices will bloom overnight, so be modest about it.)

In large mixing bowl with hand mixer, add sweet potatots, spiced butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. Start slow to combine, then speed up to whip up to fluffy.

Fold in pecans and pineapple, turn into casserole, top with marshmallows.

Can be stored in refrigerator overnight to allow it to set. Bring to room temp an hour (eliminates condensation) before browning tops, then brown marshmallows in hot oven 5-8 minutes, or just until tops begin to brown.




Starting with the standard Campbell's recipe for the green bean casserole I used cheddar cheese soup and added shredded cheese on top. Not sure I particularly cared for the outcome. I used some sour cream instead of milk with the butter in the mashed potatoes. I had also intended to saute some garlic in butter for the potatoes but by that time I was tired of cooking. The gravy is the last of the McCormick's jar from Costco, now I will get starter from Better than Bullion like I have for beef gravy. I have a real gravy boat but is was just me and the measuring cup is easier to wash. The turkey is a breast I grilled too dry, but that is what the gravy is for. :-)



I was stuffed after just this one plate full.
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Dogs

Nothing against them, but I wouldn't have one in an apartment. They have needs too and as an owner you have to schedule around them. So here it is Thanksgiving morning. Time to sleep in late and wander around the apartment sort of half dressed and have a leisurely breakfast. WRONG! I got the sleep in late (7:00AM) part down but as soon as I got out of he shower I had to run downstairs and take Duchess out to do her thing. No coffee, no clean teeth, sort of thrown together. At least I wasn't alone, I saw several folks in various states of dress and awakeness doing the same thing, all hoping nobody was going to see them and mumbling good mornings under their breath lest their breath knock somebody over. :-) As dogs go Duchess is pretty cool, hardly ever barks, doesn't chase cats, is always ready to go for a walk or any where for that matter. We have one ongoing disagreement however: her owners walk her without a leash and I won't take her out without one more for her protection than anyone else's as she loves everybody. She has been taught to stay away from the dumpster and so she normally waits at the walk while her "baggage" gets tossed. So I go trying to get her close enough to toss the bag in and have to drag her kicking and squirming over there. If nobody is around I will give in and just drop the leash and she goes over to the walk. *sigh*

edit for those who didn't know: Duchess belongs to neighbors downstairs who were away for the week. I quite often take care of her when they go out of town unless I go out of town with them. Duchess is getting older and stumbles going back down the stairs so I don't really "have" her so much as taking care of her needs.

Ahhhh warmth !

So following my plan I picked up a heated mattress pad a couple of weeks ago. This weekend it got just a bit of a chill at night so I used installing the pad as a reason for my semi annual bedding change. Cranked that sucker up to 2 and snuggled in. Had to drop a bit of air out that I had recently put in as it expanded with the heat. Only problem is I don't want to get out of it in the morning. :-)

I could get used to this

Six weeks ago I paid $3.499 a gal in California for gas (It was about $3.25 here). Two weeks ago I paid $2.429 in Tucson. This morning, just two weeks later I paid $1.999 a gal! I understand when the economy picks back up again demand will cause it to rise some but meanwhile I will enjoy it while I can.

Walmart

So I got tired of the one at 59th & Northern. 59th and Bell is getting remodeled to a Supercenter but it will take another year. That leaves 79th & Peoria and 83 & Union Hills, neither of which I knew about until I went looking on the website even though I shop regularly at the Costco just 1/2 mile South on 83rd. I mentioned to a customer that lives in my neighborhood about the two stores and that my neighbor shops at the one at 83 & Union Hills and he said they really keep that store nice. So last night off I went on my way home from work. It is a newer store layout much like the one at Camelback & 101 (I went there once and never again, I never saw a larger collection of over weight women with white spandex and bright colored thongs in my life). This store shares a parking lot with Sam's Club and of course I went in on the wrong end and had to traverse the parking lot.

What a difference! Just in general the store is brighter lit, everything is cleaner and fully stocked and neater displayed and there is more open floor space. And the people! Both employees and customers are more friendly and smiling. With the impending Holiday and folks looking for stuff they do not normally buy there were employees and customers helping find stuff. And conversations amongst strangers as to the variations in green bean casserole and candied yam recipes. The whole experience was a good one. I mentioned the differences between the stores to the young man checking my order and he said it was driven by the managers concept of what the shopping experience should be and he had the entire store caught up in it.

The difference in the more open layout is a corporation thing. Much like the newer Targets which is why I shop at Northern & 91st rather than 79th & Bell. But beyond that it is up to the manager to make it a positive shopping experience. I just hope corporate realizes that and compensates the entire range of employees at that store for their efforts.

Just like many folks I was shopping for some stuff I do not buy often. I knew I had flour on my list and fortunately this new to me store is a 90% mirror image of my old one. Started out with flour which I could read the aisle sign that said flour, then off to bread then I needed marshmallows which after searching I found my self back in the same aisle as the flour. Then I found crushed pineapple in the canned fruit aisle but it took searching about 4 aisles to find raisins about 2 feet from the marshmallows back again in the flour aisle :-).

Egg Surprise

Last week I was in Costco and went by the eggs. I knew I had eggs on my regular grocery list and I use them fast enough I could use up 18 before they went bad. The price looked good (it turned out 10 cents cheaper than Walmart) and they were extra large rather than large like I was used to. I found out three extra large eggs are considerably heavier than 3 large as I attempted to toss an omelet, the first try netted one little corner making it up to edge of the pan. I pushed the edges all back together and was much more successful on the second try. :-) Now I am worried the next time I have large eggs I will splat them on the bottom of the microwave again like I did once learning to toss them.

With so much discrepancy in egg volume I do not recall recipes calling for a certain size egg(s). I wonder if it is a given that a certain size is assumed when writing recipes?

Ah-So

16610 N 75th Ave (at Paradise), Peoria. There are several now in the valley and I was to find out they are locally franchised rather than a chain. The atmosphere seemed a bit antiseptic and bright for a Teppan style restaurant but I got over it. Whoever issued the building permit with that few parking spaces should be shot, the restaurant was only half full and I counted 2 open spaces in the lot before I took mine. Part of the parking is taken over by valet services. That seems to be a big thing here in Arizona because of the summer heat. We had a reservation for 6PM on a Friday which is the latest they will accept reservations. They used to have an hour or more wait on Friday and Saturday nights and advised Manuel to take advantage of the reservation. Not a good move on their part, we would have had 3 more people in our party if we could have made a reservation later or had been told they never fill the place up nowadays because of the economy. The Sushi bar and regular service side of the restaurant was busier but still not full. We left just before 8 and noticed they were seating 1/2 full tables at the grills and most of the grills were going unused.

The dinner itself was excellent, I had a filet and a Kirin along with the normal soup,salad,rice and veggies. Even though stated on the menu we were not offered white rice as an option but the fried rice was made right there on the grill and was good. Priced appropriately (the bill was about $4 less than at Mizumo's for an identical meal in July). At a table of 9 only a gentleman about my age and I were using chopsticks for most of the meal (I never picked up my fork!). The show was a bit on the weak side but the cook (Korean, raised in D.C.) was more open and friendly than many of the Teppan chefs I have been served by. His favorite take out is Mexican 24hr taco shop. :-). The wait staff was attentive without getting in the way. Unless I find a Teppan grill in the area I like better I would go back again. It would be interesting to go to the one closer to where I live just to see any differences between one of the original ones and this, one of the newer ones.

And the occasion for a dinner that was a bit more expensive than I would normally do? Happy Birthday Amy!!!!

Cold feet

Last winter I started only heating my apt for a short time when I got up in the morning and setting it at 60° the rest of the time. So yesterday morning is the first time the apt was really chilly and on the way in the shower I hit the heat button. When I opened the shower curtain to dry off I noticed the air was full of steam. This doesn't seem correct (I find it not to make any sense to climate control the place and push all the heat or cooled air out the vent so when the HVAC system is running I don't use the bathroom vent) so I check and the circuit breaker popped. I reset it and this morning it worked fine but I hope this is not an ongoing problem. The cool nights are serving as a reminder that I was going to get a heated spread this year. Air beds share one thing with water beds in that they get cold or warm depending on the room temp and it is hard for the body to warm them up.

Arizona sports night

Two close home games last night. Suns over the Grizzlies 107 - 102 and the Cardinals over the 49rs 29 - 24. Both games could have gone the other way at the end, it was like the home teams couldn't handle being ahead and did stupid things to keep the opponents in it. Of course that kept me bouncing back and forth the entire time and ended up staying up past my normal bedtime.

And just for the record the football team I root for, the Rams, lost 47 - 3 on Sunday. :-(

What happens in Vegas

2008. Romantic comedy. Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Dennis Miller, Queen Latifah. My first notion when I had it in my queue was why, given the subject and trailers, was this PG-13 rather than R. Must be the dirty old man in me :-). But seriously, not many romantic comedies are PG-13 any more. Most rely on some sexual content to attract and keep the audience. This movie was funny from start to finish! When I settle in to watch a movie I have an empty ashtray and a full beer next to my easy chair. An hour and 41 minutes later I still had an empty ashtray and an almost full beer. Talk about cheap sets, two scenes were shot in what was supposed to be a commercial cabinet shop. I am sure they were just in the studio wood shop, but it was cool they had woodworking.

Tucson woodworking show

Semi business trip yesterday. Got to have breakfast with some really nice folks that, with one exception, I had only met online before. Wandered the show for about an hour. My pocket book this year said no tool buying. I did buy a replacement drill bit for my Kreg jig. This was the first time the show had been held in Tucson rather than Phoenix. Attendance was down for both buyers and vendors because of the economy. The new owners of the show have done a better job this year of having demos and classes but fell short in some other areas.

This was the first time I had ever been to Tucson and the first time I had driven through it in daylight. I imagine now that my son moved there yesterday I might be back again. The drive is just over 2 hours. They are undergoing a complete rebuild of the freeway through town that is supposed to take another two years, glad I do not have to deal with that mess during the week. I kept hearing how gas is much cheaper down there so I pulled in to fill my 1/2 tank, 3¢ cheaper per gallon, big whoopee. This morning on the way in to work I noticed my normal station is 2¢ cheaper than that. oops.

Turkey, I hope the weather is good

Made an impulse buy last night. One Butterball frozen 6lb turkey breast. Walmart is not my choice for most meat but no matter where you buy major brands of frozen turkeys most have added water and salt. I'll be at home this year and Duchess will be in my care. Weather permitting I'll bring out the electric Patio Caddy and grill it. I'll have to remember to ask if Duchess can have a piece, I am always hesitant to give dogs food not on their normal diet. Have no clue other than sourdough bread for sandwiches afterward what I'll be having with it but I have 21 days left to decide. The scraps will end up in soup.

Phoenix Ranch Market

The other day I was at Manuel and Amy's and mentioned I had read some reviews in Yelp about Phoenix Ranch Market and asked if they had ever been there. They said fairly often, would I like to go with them sometime. Sunday afternoon they stopped by work and drug me away to the one at 5802 W Thomas. Not in a good part of town and several security officers wandering around, this place is supposed to represent a Mexican Mercado. Never having been to Mexico I couldn't say but it when you say Mercado I envision noisy and crowded and this certainly fit the bill. The reason for the trip was to eat at the restaurant inside. I had a chicken quesadilla, not really on the menu, and a carne asada taco. Amy had a carnitas burrito that looked small but was 100% meat inside and Manuel had 6 carne asada tacos. The food was great, the burrito and quesadilla came with a salad (small bit of finely shredded lettuce with a watery dressing topped with grated Parmesan. The liquid moved over and made parts of my quesadilla soggy and Amy asked why I didn't move them apart as she did to prevent that. I countered that is why I went with folks that had been there so they could show me the ropes. :-) You definitely have to speak Spanish or go with someone who does or you will go hungry, the order taker was bilingual but the person who called out the order number did so in Spanish. To go with the meal we went to the Aquas Frescas bar and Manuel suggested Horchata, a sweet rice milk drink. It was very good but he ordered three large ones that must have been like 40oz at least. Way too much milk product and it did as much to over stuff me as the food did. Overall the food was good and really inexpensive, there were some pieces of gristle to work around but they were small and few.

After we ate it was time to shop. The whole store shows signs of constant wear from being crowded and having loose kids running around. I noticed several staff members working clean up duty full time. There is Mexican music playing fairly loudly. To enjoy the experience you cannot be in a hurry. The store includes a bakery, an outdoor barbecue, the restaurant, A totillaria, a service deli, a seafood market and a full service butcher. The aisles are narrow and crowded. Anything you want to prepare traditional Mexican dishes was there. I noticed that just like Oriental markets the fish, meat and deli departments had wares that were prepared for cooking Mexican dishes and packaged differently than similar products in an American market. I got a pint of crema con sal (salted sour cream), Manuel got 3 lbs of marinated carne asada and Amy could not pass on some fresh baked goods and fresh tortillas. Before we went over I mentioned I was going to pick up some beer as I was out and didn't want to make another stop and joked they probably don't have anything but Bud Light in that part of town. Amy assured me there was a good selection. Sure enough at least half of their beer cabinet was Bud Light and the rest was Bud and some Mexican beers. Not an MGD in sight. I like Corona but dislike dealing with bottles so I got a case of Milwaukees Best by Miller. Not really great beer but it wont give me a headache like Bud does.

I would go again. Next time I would like to try the barbecue.

Pumpkin dump cake

I came across a recipe that sounded good while roaming blogs. I had never hear the term "dump cake" before so I Googled it and came up with all sorts of variations on a theme. Basically mix most of the ingredients and put in a 9x13 baking dish, greased on the bottom only, sprinkle a box of cake mix on the top, pour a melted stick of butter over the whole thing and bake at 350° for about 45 minutes or until brown. The ingredients for this one called for large can pumpkin pie mix, 8oz evaporated milk, 2 eggs. It also called out for pecan halves on top but I don't care for nuts in my baked goods so I omitted them . The cake mix called out was yellow. I had no clue what would be considered successful. So I mixed it up and tossed it in the oven for 45 minutes and it wasn't brown and even after 60 minutes I still didn't consider it brown but I pulled it out anyway. Most of the cake mix absorbed moisture and in some spots was crumbly and in others real hard and some of the cake mix was still sort of powdery. The real test is if people liked it. After 6 servings all 6 liked it. It seems to be better chilled, a couple of folks would have liked whip cream on top. It didn't taste as sweet as the ingredients would lead one to believe and it was agreed that was a good thing. One caution about mixing things: I totaled the volume of all the ingredients in my head and picked a mixing bowl which indeed held everything. Ever try mixing ingredients in a bowl filled 1/4" from the rim?

Tums, a pondering

Calcium carbonate in all it's different brand names. I keep some at work, home and in the truck when I travel. Good for mild indigestion and as a calcium supplement. Initially each tablet was 250mg. Then came extra strength at 500mg. Now the regular is 500mg and you can seldom find it on the shelves. Extra is now 750mg and Ultra is 1000mg. No matter what strength you get the serving size is always 2 tablets. So how do you decide which strength to buy? My typical usage is down one every 5 minutes, with a glass of water when available, until I feel better. Thanks to Google I finally found the maximum usage is 7,500mg in a 24 hour period. And to further confuse the issue if it says 750mg on the front only about 1/2 that is calcium carbonate which may be why original used to be 250mg and is now 500mg (gotta love creative labeling). No way have I ever some close to the maximum so I am thinking maybe this is all more than I needed to know. :-)