Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

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."

Okay, I screwed up last night's "Music Before Bed" so it's time I posted it right. IT'S THAT IMPORTANT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0_udnkCNWQ&t=287s

Last Boost: Mom and I still have our challenges. A lot of them. But she's come around. It's a lot of work from both sides (and there's more work to be done - lots more), but it's happening.

Huh. Maybe this is the make-up routine that would work for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Zhcefsc48

METEOROLOGISTS!

When you say "Westerly winds" do you mean wings going to our coming from the west?

Woke up today after a twelve hour sleep, head pounding, body feeling like I ran a race and the left side of my face feeling like my sinuses have invaded their neighbors.

Not sure if I caught something or just over did it last night, but hopefully lots of water will fix me me up. If I'm still feeling bad before bed, Covid test....

Music Before Bed:

Please enjoy this earworm....

https://youtu.be/Q0_udnkCNWQ

This isn't a restaurant in the far reaches of the Texas Hill Country, it's the setting for an anime that takes place in the far reaches of the Texas Hill Country....

https://goo.gl/maps/2gELW56jpgUnr1nx7

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

::looks up from cooking::

HOW IS IT 2AM?!

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.

Original Beef Stock is my fave Soda stream flavor.

This Week's Meals (2/4): Beef Noodle Soup

Tastes like Little Taipei's Beef Noodle Soup, except there are carrots and spinach. The book is from the 70s, so I'm assuming the spinach is a substitute for Bok Choi, which wasn't as widespread as it is now.

The recipe calls for "egg noodles" so make sure you're getting Chinese egg noodles, which look like Spaghetti, and not the ribbon kind of egg noodles.
Title: Beef Noodle Soup
Yield: 4 Jenn Sized servings
Category: Soup
Cuisine: Chinese
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: The Ultimate Chinese & Asian Cookbook

---
Ingredients
---
6 whole scallions
2 whole carrots
12 oz sirloin steak
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 inch ginger (peeled) (finely chopped)
5 cups beef broth
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp dry sherry
3 oz thin egg noodles
3 oz spinach (shredded)
salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms
2/3 cups boiling water
2 tbsp vegetable oil

---
Instructions
---

1 - Break the mushrooms into small pieces.
2 - Place the pieces in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Set
aside to soak for 15 minutes.
3 - Shred the scallions and carrots into fine 2 inch long strips.
4 - Trim any fat off the steak and slice into thin strips.
5 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan
6 - Brown the beef in batches, adding oil as necessary. Remove the
beef with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on paper towels.
7 - Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and carrots to the pan and stir-
fry for 3 minutes.
8 - Add the beef broth, the mushrooms along with their water, the soy
sauce, and sherry.
9 - Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10 - Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
11 - Break up the noodles slightly and add to the pan with the spinach
and beef. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
12 - Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as necessary.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

"'Shred your scallions.' How do you shred scallions? Oh, it's a knife thing I've never done before. Well, I'll just be careful and...."