Text 35111, 95 rader
Skriven 2006-07-29 20:17:46 av Carol Shenkenberger (6:757/1)
  Kommentar till text 34572 av Roy Witt (1:1/22)
Ärende: Re: IQ Test
===================
*** Quoting Roy Witt from a message to Carol Shenkenberger ***

 CS> Inspections happen every 6 months and while I dont expect 'perfect'
 CS> (after all we arent!) there's been just normal wear and tear.

RW> I had put a new roof on my house in February of last year, before I mo
RW> to Texas. I also had the house painted, inside and out and when the
RW> painters were done, I had the carpets super steam cleaned. The garage
RW> opener had a gliche in it that required some expertise and so I had
RW> somebody look at it and they said they fixed it. It didn't work when I
RW> there. The rental agents had their own 'handymen' to fix things, but t
RW> jerks wanted $80/hr. So I had a friend of mine (who's in the handiman
RW> business) go over and replace both faucets at the washer when the tena
RW> complained that they leaked. They leaked the day we moved into that ho

Well, my rental fellow seems to have decent handymen that do the job for a
reasonable price though I could always wish they charged 5$ an hour (grin).

 RW>> That's ok, I've noticed the lack of oriental food stores here...so
 RW>> whatever we get in the H.E.B. supermarket, is what we have to use.
 RW>> Bes

Ohh I remember those.  That and VONs.  Not a bad chain overall.

RW> restaurants serve chinese or go out of business.  BTW, one of the next
RW> door neighbors to my house in MM was a Mexican/Japanese couple. She is
RW> nice and he is from Texas. They met while he was stationed in Japan.
RW> They're retired now, although he has a part time federal job.

Tell them Konnichiwa from Sasebo!  It's middle-end burdock season here now and
just before melon crop time.  Major meekan season (Meekan=Mandarin oranges).

 CS> a smoker but i want to check them out.

RW> Reading your comments in the COOKING echo, I gather that you're more
RW> experienced in that than most. I've thrown things together and have ha
RW> some very good luck with it and so has Nancy. But yours reads like you
RW> cooking talent comes naturally. Ours is learned.

Domo Arrigato Gozimas Roy-san <g>.  Mine is learned too but once one reaches a
certain plateau, the rest gets pretty easy.  I'm not a super-chef but no one
will starve in my house.

I'm curious to try out a simple smoker unit but never have.  I make lots of
things though from all over.  Probably California least impacted my cooking
style (they dont really have one as far as i can tell).  I only refined some
crockpot things there really.  Cooked rather 'American Standard Southern' with
some Hawaii (real Hawaii, not ersatz add a pinnaple bit and it's called
Hawaiian).

Tonights dinner was close to American.  Rice with Mahi and butter plus a little
'bannana sauce' (a simple mild 'hot sauce'), canned asparagus (we happen to
like it canned), sliced cucumbers with canned black olives (ok, a little
California slipped in), and fresh grapes for dessert.  They have these really
lovely dark purple huge ones here, a bit like the muskydine.  Season for them
now so we are getting our fill of them.  Delicious...

The rice with Mahi isnt anything all that odd.  It's just sticky rice (medium
grain calrose with a little extra water), with a little butter and a dollop of
a mild 'hot' sauce then fish bits (cold) added to the top.  I used to have
something like it in South Carolina though then it was catfish or trout and
the 'bannana sauce' then would have been ketchup mixed with a little tobasco.

If you see Bannana sauce at your local grocery, give it a try.  Jufran Banana
sauce (one N on the label on the bottle) is the one i have just now.  Suspend
your disbelief for a moment.  It doesnt taste at all like bannanas.  No tomato
in there but is a decent sub for ketchup.  Lasts forever in the fridge so a
worthy thing to have about.

No soup this time.  We had udon for lunch (fat noodles in soup base) which we
'beefed up' with kangkoon (local type of spinach, called Hollow Stem, kang
kong, and several other things where you are).  With the udon, we had more of
the grapes and the last of Don's squid special, so lunch was pretty 'Asian' I
guess.

My crockpot is busy making pork stock for a neighbor (we get to keep some which
is the trade).  It's a heavy veggie type and you filter out the veggies later
which then get added in bits to store-bought noodle packs (ramen is too simple
a name for these but might be what you would relate to best).  More on that in
the cooking echo <g>.

Roy, my cooking is also self defense.  I have cholestrol problems so had to
reduce that, sugar problems (not diabetic, other type and genetic but need
diabetic almost level caution though i can cheat in the short term if i dont
do it too often), and Don has salt-reactive high blood pressure.  You can eat
really good even sugar-free, fat-low, and salt-low if you make it yourself. 
prepared things though, dont work well.  Don would keel over dead if I used
canned chicken broth all the time (too salty) but he can have all he wants as
long as i make it at home as it tastes better yet is salt-free (we add touches
at the table of othe things to make that work right).

                                       xxcarol

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4
 * Origin: SHENK'S EXPRESS, Sasebo Japan 81-6160-527330 (6:757/1)