Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

So...this signal is from World Christian Broadcasting, and was very listenable, playing some Arabic music. It's broadcasting out of Madagascar, and...TEN THOUSAND MILES AWAY. O_o;

Taking the dough instructions for the kolache and merging them with the instructions for the Pigs in a Blanket in the hopes the Kolache dough works better (which is how Weikel's makes them anyways)

I wrote yesterday. I drew today. Can I keep it up?

...seriously, can I? I hadn't worked on either comic in over a year. I just don't have the spoons anymore.

I did an art. First time since November 2021. O_o;

Really hopeful that this'll be something that finally gets produced...

I just finished ripping my DVD copy of Fail Safe to disk. This movie, man. This movie. This is one of the most engaging and stressful movies I've ever seen. As the movie goes on, every scene ends up just being a scene of deeper and deeper trauma of everyone involved and a terrible and unnecessary Catch-22.

I may not be able to pull off cosplay, but I know who can-tchya, Daaaarling!

Is this a threat? This sounds like a threat....

Snow! Started about 2AM. Night mode cameras rock.

Now THIS. This works.

This Week's Meals (1/4): Spicy Chinese Pork

All of this week's meals are recipes I've screwed up. But for the life of me, I can't remember what I screwed up. Still, it was good last time, should be better this time!

# Spicy Chinese Pork

Help! My Apartment has a Kitchen
2.0 servings

6.0 whole shiitake mushrooms
0.5 pound pork
2.0 tbsp soy sauce
1.0 tbsp water
4.0 tsp flour
0.5 tsp ground ginger
4.0 cloves garlic
1.0 medium onion
1.0 whole red bell pepper
2.0 whole scallions
2.0 tbsp vegetable oil
0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
2.0 tbsp vinegar
1.0 tsp sugar
4.0 ounces bamboo shoots

1 - Wash the fresh mushrooms and cut away and discard the bottom 1/4 inch of the stems.
2 - Slice the mushrooms thin and set aside.
3 - Cut the pork into thin slivers. Combine the soysauce, water, flour and ginger in a medium-size bowl and stir.
4 - Add the pork, stir and let marinate for 10 minutes.
5 - Peel and finely chop the garlic.
6 - Peel and thinly slice the onion.
7 - Wash the red bell pepper and cut it in half.
8 - Remove and discard the stem and seeds.
9 - Then slice the pepper into strips 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long and set aside.
10 - Wash the scallions. Cut off the root tips and top 2 inches of the green ends and discard them.
11 - Cut the remaining white and green parts into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside in a seperate dish.
12 - Heat half of the oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat.
13 - Add the mushrooms, garlic, onion, red bell pepper and red pepper flakes and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
14 - When the vegetables just begin to soften, transfer them to a plate.
15 - Heat the remaining half of the oil in the wok.
16 - Lift the pork from the marinade, add it to the wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes over high heat.
17 - Add the marinade from the bowl and bring to a boil. The mixture will thicken and have a slightly glossy sheen.
18 - Add the vinegar, sugar, bamboo shoots and scallions and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
19 - Return the rest of the vegetables to the mixture, heat through and serve.

This Week's Meals (1/4): Spicy Chinese Pork

All of this week's meals are recipes I've screwed up. But for the life of me, I can't remember what I screwed up. Still, it was good last time, should be better this time!

# Spicy Chinese Pork

Help! My Apartment has a Kitchen
2.0 servings

6.0 whole shiitake mushrooms
0.5 pound pork
2.0 tbsp soy sauce
1.0 tbsp water
4.0 tsp flour
0.5 tsp ground ginger
4.0 cloves garlic
1.0 medium onion
1.0 whole red bell pepper
2.0 whole scallions
2.0 tbsp vegetable oil
0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
2.0 tbsp vinegar
1.0 tsp sugar
4.0 ounces bamboo shoots

1 - Wash the fresh mushrooms and cut away and discard the bottom 1/4 inch of the stems.
2 - Slice the mushrooms thin and set aside.
3 - Cut the pork into thin slivers. Combine the soysauce, water, flour and ginger in a medium-size bowl and stir.
4 - Add the pork, stir and let marinate for 10 minutes.
5 - Peel and finely chop the garlic.
6 - Peel and thinly slice the onion.
7 - Wash the red bell pepper and cut it in half.
8 - Remove and discard the stem and seeds.
9 - Then slice the pepper into strips 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long and set aside.
10 - Wash the scallions. Cut off the root tips and top 2 inches of the green ends and discard them.
11 - Cut the remaining white and green parts into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside in a seperate dish.
12 - Heat half of the oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat.
13 - Add the mushrooms, garlic, onion, red bell pepper and red pepper flakes and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
14 - When the vegetables just begin to soften, transfer them to a plate.
15 - Heat the remaining half of the oil in the wok.
16 - Lift the pork from the marinade, add it to the wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes over high heat.
17 - Add the marinade from the bowl and bring to a boil. The mixture will thicken and have a slightly glossy sheen.
18 - Add the vinegar, sugar, bamboo shoots and scallions and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
19 - Return the rest of the vegetables to the mixture, heat through and serve.

#cooking #thisweeksmeals

Enjoying the "fire" on the coldest night of the Winter so far....

My little shortwave receiving station. The antenna really isn't what I use for an antenna. I clip a longer 25 foot antenna that hangs from the patio outside to it.

What is takes to get Jenn to put on a jacket:

That time of year again where I say "it's time to charge all the rechargeable batteries in the house" and other people say "I think you have a problem, Jenn."

It's funny how my handwriting has changed post transition. I didn't change it on purpose, but it's morphed over the years. I really slice the downstroke on the t, and something you don't see here is I really hook the crook on the letter "f."

It's kinda cartoony, but kinda cute, too.

Silly Jenn Fact: In high school, Steph decided my handwriting was so unfeminine, she made me practice writing like a girl. It didn't take at the time. Maybe it did decades later?

This Week's Meals (4/4): Chinese Sweet-and-Sour Pork

Yeah. This...I've had better. It's not BAD, but it's far more spicy than sweet, and certainly not sour. I have better recipes for this that I'll use moving forward....

Title: Chinese Sweet-And-Sour Pork
Yield: 7 servings
Category: Entree
Cuisine: Chinese
Rating: 3/5 stars
Source: The Ultimate Chinese & Asian Cookbook

---
Ingredients
---
12 ounces pork
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground Szechuan peppercorns
1 tbsp dry sherry
4 oz bamboo shoots
2 tbsp flour
1 whole egg (beaten)
vegetable oil (deep frying)
1 tbsp vegetable oil (sauce)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1 whole scallion (cut into short sections)
1 whole green bell pepper (seeded)(diced)
1 whole fresh red chili (cut into fine strips)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water

---
Instructions
---

1 - Cut the pork into bite-sized cubes. Place the cubes in a shallow
dish.
2 - Add the salt, peppercorns and sherry to the dish. Marinate for 15
minutes.
3 - Dust the pork with flour, dip into beaten egg, then coat with more
flour.
4 - Heat the oil in a large preheated pan and deep fry the pork in
moderately hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring to keep the pieces
seperated.
5 - Remove the pork and drain.
6 - Reheat the oil and return the pork to the pan now with the bamboo
shoots.
7 - Fry for 1 minute or until golden brown. Remove and drain well.
8 - To make the sauce, heat the oil for the sauce in a clean frying
pan and add the garlic, scallions, green bell pepper and red chili.
9 - Stir-fry for 30-40 seconds, then add the soy sauce, brown sugar,
rice vinegar, tomato paste, and the water.
10 - Bring to a boil and then add the pork and bamboo shoots.
11 - Heat through and stir to mix.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

Given what happened to the comal (currently still in Intensive Care with Lissa), I've become wary of using my "working heirlooms," but this fourth generation cook needs to grind some Szechuan peppercorns.

This Week's Meals (3/4): Shiitake Fried Rice

This recipe book is a mixed bag. So far, the food I'm getting is amazing. But the instructions are bad. Like in the Beef Noodle Soup, it never tells you when to put the beef back in. I made an educated guess and updated the recipe.

In this one, the recipe ended with fried rice, sure. But it was not hydrated rice. Just fried hard rice. It never asked for water to hydrate the rice. So I edited the recipe and added some water and instructions for steaming the rice at the end.

Title: Shiitake Fried Rice
Yield: 6 servings
Category: Side
Cuisine: Chinese
Source: The Ultimate Chinese & Asian Cookbook

---
Ingredients
---
2 whole eggs
3 tbsp vegetable oil
12 oz shiitake mushrooms
8 scallions (sliced diagonally)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 green pepper (seeded)(chopped)
2 tbsp butter
1 cup long grain rice
1 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
salt
1 tbsp water (eggs)
1 1/4 cup water (rice)
pepper

---
Instructions
---

1 - Beat the eggs with the water and season with a little salt
2 - Heat one third of the vegetable oil in a large preheated frying
pan.
3 - Pour in the eggs and cook into a large omlette. Lift the sides of
the omlette and tilt the pan so that the uncooked egg can run
underneath to be cooked.
4 - Roll up the omlette and cut into thin slices.
5 - Remove and discard the mushroom stalks if they are tough.
6 - Slice the caps thinly.
7 - Heat another third of the oil in the pan.
8 - Stir-fry the scallions and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, until
softened, but not brown.
9 - Transfer them to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.
10 - Add the green bell pepper an stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes.
11 - Add the butter and the remaining oil.
12 - As the butter begins to sizzle, add the mushooms and stir-fry
over moderate heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until both vegetables are
soft.
13 - Pour the sherry over the mushrooms, then stir in the rice.
14 - Heat the rice over moderate heat, stirring constantly to keep the
rice from sticking
15 - Stir in the scallions, garlic, omlette slices, soy sauce and the
chopped cilantro.
16 - Add the water for the rice and cover. Bring to a boil on high
heat. Do not open the pot.
17 - Drop heat to medium, and wait five minutes.
18 - Drop the heat to low, and wait five minutes.
19 - Take the pot off the heat, and wait five minutes.
20 - Remove the cover, and fluff rice.
21 - Season with salt and pepper to taste.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

Third windstorm in a month last night, and again, we just happen to be juuuuust in the right spot for nothing.

I was in Smokey Point an hour earlier though and it was super breezy.