It’s been quite a few months since the motorcycle rider up in Lillington kicked my passenger side mirror and broke it. He shattered it into quite a few pieces, but none of them dropped out immediately. In fact, I determined that the motor for the mirror still worked fine, and I rode around with the broken mirror for months. Only a few weeks ago as I was heading to Goldsboro for lunch did part of the mirror drop out.
Actually one piece may have dropped out the day I had the car inspected at Hendricks and just after leaving the dealership, I heard a high pitched sound coming from the direction of the passenger side mirror, but I didn’t equate it with air passing through the broken pieces. It was only when I noticed one piece had dropped out that I put two and two together and put the sound with wind.
I got it this far.After Jeff Pressed the Replacement Mirror into Place.
On the trip to and from Goldsboro, much of the broken mirror dropped out, and I pulled a piece or two off when I was in the Longhorn Restaurant parking lot in front of the Mall. Only one corner of the broken mirror remained and this was when I ordered a replacement mirror. I’m pretty sure the $500+ quote that Hendricks gave me was to replace the whole mirror assembly, but I realized that I only needed the mirrored section. And, the unheated mirror section only cost $19 and now I see the price has gone down by a couple of dollars at Amazon.
I finally popped the black plastic piece of the old mirror off today. But when I went to put the replacement on, it fit, but it didn’t lock into place. I don’t know why, but will try online to see if it is a known issue and if there is a simple fix. I’ve put the old plastic back on and put some of the blue painter’s tape on to hold it in place.
I took the replacement mirror with me when I took my defunct Dell Inspiron laptop to Jeff this morning, hoping he might have a trick or some experience and sure enough, he was willing to press the new mirror with more force than I would have and it finally snapped into place without breaking. The passenger side mirror is now working fine. The mirror motor wasn’t damaged when the motorcycle rider kicked it and broke the mirror glass.
I went shopping at Walmart in an attempt to minimize the effects of Trump Tariffs. I bought the non-perishable items that I buy repeatedly. Things like toilet paper, paper towels, drain cleaner, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, bug spray, washing machine detergent, plastic sandwich bags, garbage bags, and toilet bowl cleaner. This wasn’t all, but I bought double of each item. And, the total came to about $342 or there abouts. I don’t think I’ve every spent that much at one time at Walmart. Maybe if I bought a TV, Chromebook or Laptop, but not for the day to day items. *And later in the day I went back to a different Walmart and bought about $62 more, so the total for the day was a little over $400. *A few days later I spent another $100, bringing the ticket against Trumpflation to $500.
I’ve got a $300+ Shark standup, cordless vacuum on the way. And I just ordered a replacement passenger side mirror for my Camry.
A strange thing happened earlier in the week when I went to get my car inspected. Just after leaving Hendrick’s, I was speeding up on a nearby on ramp for MLK and I started to hear a high pitched sound. It sounded like metal on metal, and it was coming from toward the passenger side rear view mirror. Couldn’t figure it out, and took it back to Hendrick’s immediately and they couldn’t figure it out. But the noise was gone.
I’ve since paid my property taxes online and renewed my car registration for the year. I login to the NCDMV site with my Google account and have to have the following to complete the process: Completed State Inspection, Insurance ID, last numbers on my car title. I always freak because I can never remember when this is supposed to be paid. And I now think, for me, it is by the end of May each year.
So maybe day before yesterday, I looked over at the rear view mirror and realized that a large chunk of it had dropped off. And then it came to me that the high pitched sound had probably been caused by a piece of the mirror either dropping off or wind getting behind it, and making the noise. Well, I noticed a little more had gone when I was on my way to eat at Longhorn in Goldsboro. And, I kept hearing pieces of the mirror as they dropped off and hit the side of the car before bouncing off onto the road somewhere.
*Before I got back home there was only a small piece of mirror left and that appeared to be stuck pretty firmly. But I just ordered a replacement mirror for about $20. I hope I can just glue it onto the existing backing, instead of having to take the inside panel of the door off to loosen the rear view mirror assembly. *Which I won’t do. Now, $20 is a far cry from the $500 price tag that the dealer quoted me some time ago.
The meal was “perfect.” I think I equated the better flavor because the chef had added a bunch of salt. The only thing that ended up not being perfect was the cheeseburger sauce that I had to ask for. I finally thought to have the waitress tell the chef I didn’t want the bun for the cheeseburger.
I wanted all the other fixin’s, and a little more onion, and the only thing that didn’t arrive was the sauce. The sauce ended up being too salty, by a little, but that focused my attention on why the burger was “so tasty.” The appetizer bread was delicious as usual, with the butter, oh my.
The Shrimp & Lobster Chowder was good again. I even enjoyed the dill pickle slices. It’s not that I don’t like dill pickles, but I like a sweet, Bread & Butter type of pickle with that burger. I also normally bring along a little sweet onion from home, but didn’t yesterday.
I have a simple routine that goes with eating at the Longhorn. Afterwards, I drive over to a location near the SJAB air field, where I can see any airplanes taking off or landing. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I have seen the fighter jets & the fueling tankers in motion. There is a road that dead ends just before the fence that protects the runway. The road divides two large fields, and during the summer the crops sometimes block the view, but most of the year there is a clear view up & down the runway, and the control tower, and the fighter jets & the tankers.
After I view the jets I sometimes head back into town and visit the Wayne County Library. I know where the bathroom is, and it’s a comfortable rest stop. I then might look for a magazine to peruse: “Our State” or maybe “Gun & Garden.” “Gun & Garden” how Republican. like “Yellowstone.” I’ll usually sleep a little, but am usually aware if a library staffer is coming near to see if I am dead.
postandbeambarns.com
I’ve stopped to look at a large touch screen TV that is set up to project a web browser. I’ve seen a map and some info that proved to be part of a web page. I’m not sure if an onscreen keyboard pops up, but it would have to in order to enter a URL. *In looking for some pictures to illustrate what I’m talking about, I came upon one picture that I had taken of the back of the video display, and there was a keyboard, that appears to have a cable, and a mouse.
Oh, a couple of days ago I bought a small toaster oven, which I haven’t even taken out of the box. I hope the box is under the dining room table, because if it isn’t, I don’t know what I did with it. I also don’t know where I’m going to put it because I really don’t have room for it.
I bought a Shark handheld vacuum the same day I bought the toaster oven. And now I am wondering why. I did use it to vacuum some of the edges of the room and some of the gunk that had accumulated under my easy chair. *Which definitely needs to be replaced.
I drove from Goldsboro, to Smithfield on Hwy. 70. I stopped at J.R.s which is now a mere ghost of what it used to be. It is only a cigar shop now, but they also have a food mall next door and I think a “robot” project of some type. They didn’t have the cheap Avanti Estilo Cafe Mocha cigars that I like the smell & flavor of. I looked for something else, but didn’t find anything I wanted to buy. They did have “Ram Rod” cigars. The cigars are much like the “hard liquor” that I have in my closet. Something that I don’t use addictively, but occasionally and “to set the mood.” I used to say that I would smoke a cigar if I was reading a book like “1984.” Or maybe a detective novel.
Next, I stopped at Lee’s Fresh Market near Benson and bought some boneless pork chops. And then on down the road and I stopped at the “Rooms to Go” on I95 and walked about trying the various easy chairs. There was one, the first one I tried, that was comfortable and had electric controls for the foot rest. There was also a glass top dining table that I’ve noticed before. It’s round and I can buy chairs in different colors.
And the thought came to me about how to store and display the various types of nuts I like to eat regularly. At times I will have the following: almonds, cashews, pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, walnuts. And I will sometimes transfer these nuts from their clear plastic containers to Ball/Mason jars. And on the top rack I could add prunes, dates, raisins, Turkish apricots and/or dried cranberries.
The idea hasn’t fleshed out completely, but I also eat plain Greek Yogurt and various pureed or whole berries like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries every day, as a dessert or mid-meal snack. The nuts I eat throughout the day, or sometimes mixed just before bed.
I like the Greek Gods Plain yogurt, but also like the single serving, cheapo, store brands of Plain Greek Yogurt from Aldi’s SUD and LIDLs. I just gave away a four jar holder for jam, that was made of metal with a wooden handle. I only had one jar of preserves that I think Robin & Jeff had given me several years ago. I hadn’t eaten it because of the high sugar content, but was clearing things out recently and that went.
Bean Sprouting
Using Ball/Mason jars with a mesh lid. Process: soak, drain, tilt, reap. And Gemini suggested “putting a sock on it.” A cheap way to offer the seeds their privacy. *I’ve not found any sprouting jar filters or lids that are for regular sized Ball/Mason jars. They are all wide mouthed jar fittings.
Finally, after several years of searching, I found another coffee mug so similar to the one I bought, that is has to be the same potter. The photo was attributed to Claudia Dunaway, an artist living in Burnsville, North Carolina. I have not been able to recall where I bought my mug, but from a date on the photo, and that I was on a short vacation which went through Asheville near that time, I have guessed that I may have bought the mug at Southern Highland Craft Guild, Folk Art Center, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just off Hwy. 70 at Asheville. *I have asked there, and at the New Morning Gallery another place that I’ve bought mugs from through the years, but neither location recognized my description or image I had on my phone.
I just found a useful piece of information about Claudia Dunaway on the Toe River Arts web site:
“From 1974-2018 Claudia Dunaway was a full-time potter working primarily in stoneware and porcelain, with a focus on carving and drawing on the surface of her pots through colored slips, a process called sgrafitto. In 2018 Claudia received a scholarship to Penland School of Craft for a woodblock printmaking class taught by Master Printmaker Keijo Shinohara. This experience shifted her focus to printmaking….”
John D. Richards’ Spaceship Drawing
Claudia Dunaway explains silkscreens in use.
I was on one of my short vacations in 2018 that took me through the Asheville, North Carolina area.
I bought the mug because of the various whimsical elements: cartoon space ship, plants which in my mind represent an alien race or community, the swirls embedded into the mug, and the “three point” nature of the mug’s odd shape. *I did not expect to find the following YouTube video in which Claudia Dunaway explains how she makes the imprinted pottery/mugs. She is actually using the image that I have on my mug of a cartoon spaceship. And, if you look closely at the video, there are several not yet printed mugs that might be like mine once finished.
I’ve now found enough examples, see above gallery, that I know this is a Claudia Dunaway and John D. Richards Collaboration. They were doing these as far back as 2012, and Claudia Dunaway may have gone in a different artistic direction about the time when I bought my mug. Oh, well.
NOTE: I sent her an email asking a couple of questions and she had definitely been doing “other” work and could hardly recall anything about my mug. It was a collaboration between her and her partner. He had drawn the images, and she had added the images to the mugs and other pottery with a print screen process (see video). Interesting and it might have even been possible that one of the unfinished mugs seen in the YouTube video might have ended up being mine. [end]
I bought this on Amazon a few months ago. I’ve put it on the door knob in the hallway for easy access. Because it has a good flashlight included, I don’t need the little flashlights, and you have the reading lights also. I like that it has a hand crank for recharging the unit, but will also recharge by USB cable, or solar, or you can add AAA batteries.
What is nice is that it will also recharge your phone by the included USB cable. It may take a while to recharge your phone, but if you are in a situation, with no power, and your phone’s charge is low or nil, this will get your through. Enough to be able to make an emergency call. It also has an emergency audio alarm that can get someone’s attention if you are unable to call for help.
*A short time ago my electricity went out during the night and it was then that I realized that this “non-digital” device also didn’t have illuminated buttons, so you had to get another light source to be able to see how to turn it on and tune it. I just ordered and received a Mudder USB LED Light for Laptop, that has a gooseneck and works perfectly for drawing it’s energy from the device and lighting all the control buttons.
I think I bought this more because of having watched many hours of the devastation, caused by Hurricane Helene, in the Asheville, North Carolina area. There were repeated stories of persons and families being stranded with no connection to the outside world. Having a weather radio, and access to regular radio stations for news would be a boon to your survival. But also being able to recharge the unit, if your electrical power was off would be a blessing, and being able to recharge other devices, like your cell phone, would be absolutely essential to connecting to the real world again. And, without power, the night becomes a long hard to endure event, so having a reading light or a flashlight, that would work, without batteries is a must.
I had visited Asheville about five weeks before Hurricane Helene came through Western North Carolina. It was such a wonderful visit. Less than a day really. I arrived in Asheville late on a Monday afternoon, and had dinner at the East Village Grille, then checked into my hotel, a Quality Inn, and had a brief jaunt on the Blue Ridge Parkway, where two black bears crossed my path, a short distance ahead of my car. My hotel stay was very comfortable, and even the toilet was a “quiet flush.” The next morning, I got up early and drove around downtown Asheville, passing through the Tunnel and then finding another way above the tunnel. While doing this new route, I turned into an old residential neighborhood and saw two wild turkeys which quickly disappeared before I could get their picture. The morning air was cool and pleasant, because Fayetteville had been extremely warm for quite a while.
And the last place I visited before leaving Asheville, a little after noon on Tuesday, was the “New Morning Gallery.” I’ve visited this gallery several times through the years and even bought a bowl my last visit. Most of their wares are located on the second floor of the gallery. This gallery is located in the Biltmore Village District, and this was one of the areas severely hit by the flooding. Biltmore Village was a high end shopping area, and seeing it go from haute cuisine, to mud pies is devastating. New Morning Gallery web site.
After I watched the hurricane videos of the flooding, I later re-watched the videos of the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean that came ashore and washed away the lives of thousands. And now, I’ve watched just a few news reports of the California fires and see where whole neighborhoods have been razed to the ground, even those homes along the Pacific Ocean with their million dollar views. Now the million dollar views are available to all who can travel the Pacific Coast Highway. At least until realtors and construction crews start to rebuild.
More than 30 years ago, I was eating a version of the Bucheron goat cheese. I don’t recall what store I was getting it from, but it was called “Bucherondin.” I forgot about this cheese when I moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1995 and did not recall it until about a year or so ago when I bought the Bucheron Goat Cheese produced by Old Chatham Creamery (FB) at Wegman’s in Raleigh, I think. It may have been their Cary location. When I got the cheese home and tasted it I immediately remembered that I had tasted this cheese a long time ago and even recalled the name it had gone under back then.
I like different cheeses for different reasons and I like both cow and goat cheeses but the goat cheeses seem to be more distinct in flavor. My current favorite goat cheese is the Capricho de Cabra that I have been buying at Whole Foods for quite a few years. It is tangy and crumbly, and I recently had some on a rice cracker along with some Raspberry Fruit Spread that I bought at Whole Foods.
I show the French Baguette above, baked by LaFarm, but sold at Whole Foods in Raleigh, North Carolina because a little over a week ago I bought a loaf, cut it in half and gave Jeff & Robin one half. I’ve not done that before, but hope someone there might enjoy it as much as I did the other half.
I cut small slices of this baguette off and heated it a short time in the microwave (about 10 seconds) and it came out warm and more pliable and then I spread some butter on it. It tasted good. But another time I just folded a piece of the Wegman’s White American Cheese and ate just that and a slice of the baguette, and it was fantastic! So much so that I marveled that just two ingredients could provide so much pleasure.
*I mean, if I have some black eyed peas, chopped sweet onion and seasoning meat, such as a ham hock, this can elicit the same response, but another item has been added.
**Recently I’ve bought several packages of Chicken Gizzards and cooked the gizzards with a little onion and some chopped celery and a little bacon grease in Chicken Broth. After they are done, and you do have to cook them a long time to get them tender, I eat them with some rice. They have such an earthy flavor and it is very rewarding on such few ingredients. Previously I would cook the gizzards with the rice, but I ended up with too much rice.
There is no good reason to mention the following observation under this posting, but I want to put it somewhere before I forget it.
Someone, and it might have been Ray, mentioned that he thought the dill pickle skins became tougher when you applied the Ranch Dressing powder to the pickle juice. I might have begun to agree with him. I had not eaten one of the dill pickle spears in a while. I had put the Ranch Dressing in the jar a long time ago, but just now the dill pickle skin did seem to be tougher. *And, I was just on another blog site and someone had a question about whether the dill pickle skins seemed tougher after the ranch dressing was applied.
I was watching a YouTube video and someone was cooking in a pan that had the same (or similar) interior. The Hex Clad pans are similar, but the top rim doesn’t have the repeating flame pattern that this pan has. As I looked at the closeup of the pan I said to myself that I wanted to get one of those.
[NOTE 01/06/25]: I want you to see the bottom of this pan. It is beautiful. I was standing with it, and thought it would look beautiful hung from the wall with the bottom showing. I think it is a well made pan, but it is also beautiful. [end NOTE]
I like the lid for the Dot Clad wok shown below, with the handle instead of a knob. I also like the woks that have a handle on the pan, since these are larger, heavier pans.
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I actually now think that VinChef is a knock-off of the Hex Clad process. I would have to go back on Amazon to see what I paid for this, but I think it was around $54. That’s cheap. No, $67 and others, below are more than $10 less.
I just used this pan for the first time to broil some steaks in the oven. It is oven safe.
I’m going to have to go back and review the cleaning process after each use, but nothing stuck from the steaks and I used paper towels to wipe off the grease. I think oil or cooking grease actually accumulates in the little hex patterns which repeat on the interior of the pan, and this helps with it’s non-stickiness.
Sometimes I buy something and don’t appreciate it at first. I haven’t had this colander long, and even so, I don’t recall where I bought it. It would almost have to be WalMart, but then I might have been in Target, which I rarely visit now. Maybe I was walking past this item and bought it on impulse. *I almost have a vision that I was in the WalMart that is across town, near the Cracker Barrell and the Mall just a few blocks away. Not sure what I was looking for there, but now I recall walking up and down the isles. I was looking for something, and I think I looked down and saw the colander.
My thought was that I needed a small colander for canned beans. Often canned beans have a thick liquid they are packed in, not just water and instead of just pouring this liquid in the pot along with the beans, it is suggested, and I want to rinse the beans off first. You might be washing extra sugar or salt away with the packing liquid. The image isn’t an actual picture of my new colander, but is much like the one I have.
I have another colander I use regularly to strain out organic leftovers. I don’t want to put these wet items in my regular garbage bag which might later leak. I keep it in my kitchen sink, and when I have the ends of an onion, or potato peels, or some food that I have had in the fridge, but want to throw out, I usually put these in the colander. This strainer keeps the items from clogging the sink. And when this colander becomes full, I take four plastic grocery bags and nest them and then dump the refuse from the colander into them and tie them up. I mentioned that I use four bags and this is to help insure that if one or two of the bags have holes in them that four should keep any liquid from draining out of the bags. I don’t need them absolutely leak proof, but just leak proof long enough to get first to my car, and then from the car into the dumpster.
I’ve used my new colander to strain some black beans that I was using for a soup.
Spice Jars & a Repurposed Lazy Susan
Next is my repurposed Lazy Susan. I used this for my spices until a few months ago when I bought a set of empty spice jars. I’ve filled most of those jars already and I used one of the packing matrices to keep the jars neat and organized. But there is still a problem that I have not yet found a solution to. I use a 3 letter code that I put on the jar lids to remind me of which spice is in that container, but with almost 48 containers, how do I organize them? At first I just placed them alphabetically. But then making a subset of the “most used” spices seemed appropriate. e.g. garlic powder, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, celery seed, marjoram, cayenne powder, cumin, and even turmeric. And then I thought about grouping the “warm spices”: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, mace, nutmeg and pumpkin spice (which includes the previously listed spices). *I use the warm spices to sprinkle on my fried apples. For years I just used cinnamon, but then I thought of using the other warm spices, and even included coriander. I then thought of making a “warm spice” mixture just for my fried apples.
The apples fried, I put them on a plate and then reach over to the Lazy Susan and get a spoonful of Splenda and sift it across the apples. I then reach back over and get the red topped “warm spice” mix and sift that on top of the Splenda & apples. Works great!
But, now I had the Lazy Susan sitting on the kitchen floor leaning against my portable kitchen island. After a few days I suddenly had a thought for how I might repurpose this Lazy Susan. I could put it over next to my stove and use it to organize my sweeteners (Splenda, coconut sugar, Sweet-n-Low, Agave Nectar and Cary’s Sugar Free Syrup) and several other items like corn starch, corn meal and polenta, and even the oil brush I use to spread oil in pans. No sooner had I thought of this, and cleared off the spot to put the Lazy Susan, but it came to me to try and put my ceramic container of kitchen utensils (spatulas, tongs, thermometer, etc.) in the middle of the Lazy Susan (if it would fit). And fit it did, almost perfectly. It is surprising to me that after so long, this item found its perfect place and use.
It has continued to be a welcomed change. I pull out a spatula for either a stir fry or a hamburger in a frying pan on the stove top. Or, I reach for my oil brush to spread oil in a pan. Or, I choose the sweetener I want for either coffee or tea, or adding Splenda to fried apples. And on the back side, I have my cornstarch that I use at the end of my stir fry.
Indian Long Pepper & the Grinder
Sometimes, if I see a spice, condiment or food item that I’ve never tried, I might buy it if it is cheap enough. I think that is what happened when I saw a package of Long Pepper somewhere. I bought it and then didn’t open it, for probably over a year. And then a couple of years ago I was throwing out unused items (which rarely happens until fairly recently) and happened to come upon this plastic baggie labeled with “Indian Long Pepper.” Fortunately, I didn’t throw it out without first opening the package and tasting the flavor. The problem though is that Indian Long Pepper is unlike the little round seeds that make up most other peppers, be they black, white, green or red. The Long Pepper has a gnarly shape and is very hard. It just won’t fit in a regular pepper grinder. So at first I just used my small mortar and pestle to grind my Long Pepper. But, when grinding, if you don’t cover the top with your hand, or have a cover for the mortar (bowl for grinding), its possible that some of the Long Pepper will jump out of the bowl. And, grinding with a pestle & mortar isn’t convenient.
I went online to see if I could find a pepper grinder that would accommodate the shape & hardness of the Long Pepper. Not sure of the exact words I used, but I finally came upon a nutmeg grinder that incorporated a microplane in the process. I ordered one from Amazon (later ordering more as Christmas presents for those I was also providing with a package of Long Pepper) and when it arrived I was amazed at the remarkable planning that had gone into it’s design.
There are some designs for items that are just a cut above. Form follows function. e.g. The P-51 Mustang is a well designed propeller driven fighter airplane. You just have to look at one to recognize it’s uniqueness. Or how about the old Northwest Airlines logo which I consider the most perfect logo for an English speaking people. Note that the logo incorporates a compass shape, with the pointer pointing (where) Northwest. But then the pointer portion makes the large italicized “N” also become a “W.” How brilliant could you be? I’ve looked, but never found a record of who actually came up with this design.
And a logo that will never be, because of the choice of how to name the institution: A few years ago, Mount Olive College became a university and it was decided, not by me, to name it “The University of Mount Olive.” But my thoughts then, and they have reoccurred to me since, was that it would have been a much more clever name if they had named it “Mount Olive University.” Why, more clever? I visually see them emphasizing the first three letters of “MOUNT OLIVE” as “MOUNT OLIVE.” And then incorporating an advertising campaign something the effect of, “Mount Olive University, the start of your education in Mount Olive.” Okay, maybe not exactly the best advertising phrase. And sometimes when I am passing throuh, I also play with advertising for Dunn, North Carolina. How about, “When you are “Dunn” shopping why not have dinner and a movie?”
So this microplane grinder was perfectly designed. It can grind nutmeg which is an incredibly hard nut. But I also tested it, and I could grind cumin, other small spices and the Long Pepper. There was even a storage compartment in the top of this grinder. And now for the one imperfection. The grinder is made of black plastic, except for the metal microplane, and the screw top of the storage container sometimes seizes. It locks up and can’t be unscrewed. And at least once, when it did unseize, I tried to use olive oil to keep it from seizing, but this didn’t work.
Several years into using this grinder, it just stopped working. I couldn’t figure out why, and finally I noted that the metal microplane was rotating with the grinder handle. I’m not sure if the plane was glued and the glue had come undone, but I bought some Gorilla Glue Gel and just put a dab or two on the outer edge of the metal plane. It seems to have fixed the plane again and I’m going to try it out shortly (before the 24 hours suggested setting period). If it’s going to work, I think it will have already set. *Yes! It worked! **I was hoping the glue wouldn’t prevent the grinder mechanism from rotating so I only put a little glue gel on the opposite side of where the inner protrusion was. It worked fine.
I think the ground Long Pepper is more pungent than regular ground black pepper, and I still have a regular pepper blend in another grinder.
Microwave Onion Cooker
When I was growing up there was an FCX in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The Farmer’s Cooperative Exchange sold all sorts of farm supplies: seeds, plants, equipment, parts for farm equipment, etc. In 1986 the FCX went into bankruptcy and was incorporated into the Southern States Cooperative. I think of the Agri Supply store just outside of Lumberton, NC as being a like business.
I think I may have first bought a “Microwave Onion Cooker” at the Agri Supply store. It looks like a large white plastic onion, that has two halves and a very small steam vent. It’s “first” use is to cook a whole onion in the microwave and it does that very well. But, I then started to think of other things I might cook . I can cook a white or sweet potato in this cooker. I have cooked an egg, even adding onions, peppers & cheese in this cooker. The egg concoction comes out in a flat round shape perfect for an English muffin. You could bake an apple in it, even adding a little butter, cinnamon & sweetener.
The Agri Supply store still sells this item and probably offers the best price for it.
Box Cutter Pens
I do want to mention the box cutter (pen) as one of those exceptionally useful items, not just in the kitchen drawer, but by your easy chair and in your car. Any place that you often have a packaged item that needs a quick open, the box cutter can do the job. *And it also works in helping to peel an orange.
I bought these through Amazon. They easily slice through the Amazon shipping packages, mailers, and taped boxes. Many see thru plastic packages that may contain things like ink pens, fingernail clippers, or have tamper proof seals are easily “gotten into” using this box cutter. The blade length is adjustable and there is a blade lock that is easily manipulated with a single hand. For peeling oranges, just set the blade far enough to slice through the outer rind. Tupperware had a promotional “orange peeler” that they used to give away. This does the job just as well.
Ramekins & 3 Footed Salsa Bowls
I have a set of blue and white ceramic ramekins that I have used as “monkey dishes” for years. I might mix up some cornstarch in one to pour into my stir fry. Or I might mix several spices in one before pouring them into a dish or pot. I’ve also put bacon grease in one of these. But, I also have a few 3 footed plastic salsa bowls. I had a red, yellow, and a green salsa bowl so I might put mild salsa in the green and spicy salsa in the red and homemade hummus in the yellow bowl.
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Not too long ago, WalMart started selling these colored salsa bowls for about a dollar, so I bought a couple more colors (blue & a grayish color). And then it came to me to start using these bowls in the same way I had been using the ceramic ramikins. They are a perfect little mixing bowl, and when needed can be individual salsa, dip, or hummus dishes at a party. I almost forgot, I now put my Greek God’s Plain Yogurt in one and add in a little pureed raspberries, blackberries or blueberries and mix it all up.
Braun MultiQuick Tool
Of all the kitchen items I’ve mentioned so far, this tool with its various attachments is probably the most used over time (except for maybe the onion cooker or box cutter).
I bought the smaller, less powerful, and less capacity version of this Braun manufactured tool years ago when I was looking for a “stick blender” to puree hot liquids while they were still in their pots. I had a “Curried Apple” Soup that had onion, carrots and Granny Smith apples cooked down, but it all needed to be pureed, and a stick blender was the way to go. This tool also came with a whisk attachment, so you could get a carton of heavy cream and make your own whipped cream easily. Depending upon the size of your mayonnaise jar, you could even scoop out a little mayo, add any flavorings (curry, capers, etc.) and blend it all in the jar. *I mention mayo specifically because years ago I had a “Shrimp Po’Boy” sandwich at the Water’s Edge Restaurant on Shem Creek just across from Charleston, South Carolina. The sandwich was good but it was the “curry remoulade” sauce on the fried shrimp that made it special. I came home and tried to figure out how to replicate this sauce. At the time, I couldn’t even find a decent definition of “remoulade” online. But, I finally concluded that I would use Dukes Mayo, some Patak’s Curry Paste, and some small capers and these three ingredients when mixed together formed a yellowish sauce that went well on fried shrimp, but also on a ham or turkey sandwich. *Patak’s Curry Paste is also what I use to make my “Curried Apple Soup” and you can add chicken to this soup or leave it vegetarian.
I mentioned that I had originally bought the less powerful version of this tool, and as a result I limped along for years using the chopper attachment that was too small to hold a whole can of Garbanzo beans, and also not powerful enough to blend the whole can at one time for making hummus. When I finally bought a new larger version, what a difference. I now dump a whole can of chickpeas into the chopper, add some tahini, some cumin and some lemon (I use lime.) juice, blend and you have a delicious hummus dip for an assortment of veggies, or as I also like, for Smoked Oysters.
But I can also whip up a fast, delicious homemade salsa in the chopper. Sometimes, when in season, fresh tomatoes, but often with a can of “Roasted Garlic” diced tomatoes in a can. Roughly chop up some sweet onion, colorful sweet bell pepper, some Herdez “Salsa Ranchera” (smoked chipotle flavor) and during the late summer add some spicy, colorful peppers from the State Farmers’ Market. Or jalapenos and poblanos, that you buy at WalMart, and first roast in the oven for more flavor.
A quick trip through the Taco Bell drive thru, and bring a bean burrito back home to eat with some homemade salsa, chopped sweet onion and sour cream.
A trick for making coleslaw (the mayo version) is to rough chop the cabbage, put it in the chopper and cover it all with water, then blend with a few pulses. The water will keep the cabbage from becoming mush. Pour off the water, add some mayo and some Half-n-Half (a trick I learned from a restaurant I frequented) add S&P to taste. The Half-n-Half makes it creamier (no duh) and I don’t prefer carrots in this, but I do like carrots.
Hillshire Farms Reusable Containers
More than a year ago, I had bought a container of “Hillshire Farms Deli – Pastrami,” and when it came time to throw away the plastic container, I took a second look. It was a nice size for left overs, slightly smaller than the Rubbermaid Easy Find containers I have a bunch of. It had a clear bowl, and the tight seal lid was of semi clear red plastic. It was then that I realized the Hillshire Farms Company had planned for me (or others) to re-use these containers, and had made it especially easy to do so. The advertising was printed on a cardboard sheet and attached to the red lid with that stretchy glue substance. The cardboard and the glue were both easily peeled off. I keep my bacon in one of these and it will hold a whole pound of bacon.
It pays to pay attention to the prices for the same products at different grocery store chains. I visit a varied assortment of groceries during a week and I try to keep in mind which store has the cheapest price for a product. The Hillshire Farms Deli meats (in the 7 oz. container) can range from over $6 to under $5. And I figured that if the meat was under $5, then the storage container was worth the cost. WalMart and Aldi normally have a cheaper price on these products and also on the Beef Polska Kielbasa.
P38 Military Issue – Field Can Opener
I have a steel version of one of these that probably came via the US Marines from over 50 years ago. I got it while I was still in high school and have kept it mostly on my key chains through the years. I forget about it until I need it, and then it never fails… at least not yet.
This was issued to Marines (and probably most other services) to use in the field to open their metal cans of K-Rations. The “Jar Heads” might have called it their “John Wayne.” I don’t know why the can opener would take on that name. I do know why rough toilet paper takes on the name of John Wayne.
I’m at home using my regular hand crank can opener, and then I find a can that for whatever reason won’t open completely. The cutting mechanism doesn’t “catch” in some location and you end up with a can lid that you can’t lift up to get at it’s contents. John Wayne! And he finishes the job, plodding along at one little twist at a time.
New Electric Wok
I’ve had an electric wok that a cousin of mine gave me years ago. I run through periods of use and not use. I forget how easy it is to chop up the ingredients, quickly cook them and easily clean the wok before the next use. The wok I had was made by Westinghouse and has worked faithfully through the years, but apparently they don’t make electric woks any longer.
I have a friend who’s oldest son is to be married at the end of next May and I thought an electric wok might be a good wedding gift. If the young couple likes Chinese Stir Fry, you can’t get much cheaper that making a stir fry at home, or cooking it quickly, and cleaning the wok quickly. And you could make a veggie version, or add your choice or rotate through chicken, beef, pork or shrimp. Cheap that I am, I’ve also got a 3 in 1 Cookbook that probably cost me a dollar. It has a section for Chinese, Thai and Japanese cooking.
So that was the impetus for buying a new wok. I thought it prudent to buy one for myself, and if it seemed sturdy, to buy another for the wedding present. I chose one that looked good, from Amazon, and was relatively inexpensive. It arrived. It looked good. It cooked fine, and cleaned up easily. So I have already put in an order for another one.
New Waffle Maker
I may leave this off because I currently do not have an ideal waffle maker. It’s one of those that you pour the batter in and then flip the unit upside down. Then you wait for the green light to come on and the waffle should be ready. *I got rid of the flipping waffle maker, to the Thrift Store.
I bought a new Cuisinart Waffle Maker. It cooks really quickly, but the one thing I have noted is that the wells for the waffle aren’t deep. I’ve had that observation before with a different cheap waffle iron. Looking at the picture of this waffle iron, the depressions look much deeper than from the actual iron. But this waffle maker was only $25, so I will live with it. I got this one from Amazon.
S Hooks
I haven’t found these yet, and I don’t want to take those off my shower curtain, but those appear to be exactly what I want for my mobile kitchen cart. I want to hang my large non-electric wok on one, and maybe a pot/pan or two if they will fit.
I did buy these, but note the smaller S crook. That was a problem with some of my pans that wouldn’t fit on the small hook, and the small hook wouldn’t fit on the rod. So, I bought these, and they are working fine for all my pots & pans. They have clear plastic protectors on each end of the S hook.
Bill Gibson, II 