I may have seen that one of the flavorings for fried rice was “toasted” sesame oil on Cook’s Country or America’s Test Kitchen. The first fried rice I cooked at home was a couple of years ago, and I only used Soy Sauce for flavoring, which didn’t make the fried rice flavor that I was accustomed to. But, I could only find regular sesame oil for my first try, but the finished product was close enough, and I bought some toasted sesame oil and yes, this is the flavor I was looking for. Amazing that I have not fixe more fried rice at home, since my first success. I think part of the problem is that I ended up with a bunch of fried rice and didn’t want to freeze a bunch of it. Also, you need to cook the white rice first, and then cool it in the refrigerator or freezer to keep the rice kernels separate when you cook it again in the wok.
Another note that I make when looking at the fried rice above is that I couldn’t find frozen vegetables without the green beans. The frozen veggies included garden peas, carrots, corn and green beans. The scrambled egg was just cooked in the wok along with the rice & veggies.
When I go to Maguro’s, I try to take a small vial (old test strips container, which has a air tight seal) of toasted sesame oil. I add this to their fried rice which kicks it up several notches! *No telling how many new chefs have cooked the Thai Basil Chicken dish for me since I first tried it there a couple of years ago. But, sometimes it doesn’t have mushrooms, egg plant (baby ones) or jalapeno peppers. I don’t like mushrooms in this dish, but definitely want the jalapenos and the egg plant (if cooked to tender). *I also take a vial of hot Chinese mustard along for the egg rolls.
NOTE [05/19/22]: I had lunch at Maguro’s. The chef left out the mushrooms, but had all the other “necessary” ingredients. I especially want the Thai Basil, Jalapeno slices & tender Egg Plant.
Interestingly, maybe only to me, is that I only took two pictures with my phone during the Reunion. I took a picture of the food ticket, which ended up not being used, and the highlighter pen, which was on the table. The reunion was both enjoyable and painful. Some people looked like they were 68 years old, many unrecognizable, and I hoped I wasn’t in the awful looking group. But, they did help me remember many things.
Earlier in the day I took one of my favorite rides, upon the auto ferry running between Minnesott Beach and Cherry Branch. It was a little stormy and I can see some of the rain that has already fallen on the black railing of the ferry.
I hope this utility cart works well. I ordered it from Amazon and it arrived in 2 days, although, I had to go pick it up at the Post Office. They attempted to deliver the first time, but the box would not fit in the receptical. I was home, but they did not attempt to deliver to my door. When I saw they had a problem with delivery, I went to the mailbox and saw the notice regarding why the delivery problem. It was about 20 minutes before five o’clock so I rushed down to the Post Office. I made it inside the door before they closed. The box had been brought back, so I managed to get the cart on the delivery day.
I wanted to get the cart, especially that first day because I was planning on driving down to Hubert the next day to deliver a bunch of cookbooks that I was planning to give to Jacqueline.
All the books that I wanted to give to Jacqueline fit in the cart. They were heavy, and might have been close to the 150 lbs. capacity of the utility cart… maybe not, but they were heavy. There ended up being about 41 books and a DVD Case with a digital cook book. Hauling the books out to my car worked great! One trip instead of six or eight trips. The books fit in about 4 rows across the back seat of the Camry.
Tuesday afternoon was very hot. Mary Ann and I had gone out to Watkins Flooring, then to Logans Roadhouse for lunch, and then to Target, where I lost her after the first few items that we placed in my cart. It didn’t dawn on me to call her until much later, and I had waited patiently near the front at the Starbucks section.
We got back home and I think it was after 6 pm, maybe just after 5 pm, and I said I needed to get the books out of the back of my car. I had hoped that Jacqueline or Ray might come over to Mary Ann’s house, so they could help with the migration, but when I mentioned this to Mary Ann, she was pretty sure we couldn’t rely on that happening, as she didn’t know when they might come home. I started moving the books from the Camry and to the front/side porch. I made four stacks of books and counted them (I think there were 41, or close to.). Mary Ann brought a Rollator to the door (Jim said he had taken the utility cart out to the garage, at her request, which she denied.) and I stacked 6 to 8 books at a time and she would roll them inside and put them somewhere.
The only problem with my utility cart so far is that when I went to fold it back up, the pull tab came loose in my hand. I saw that it was a black Velcro strip that had come undone, and I did not try and fix this problem, because it was in the morning as I was beginning to start my trip down to Hubert. I was able to fold the cart up, without this pull tab and it fit behind my driver’s seat in the Camry. Or, I might put it in the trunk.
This cart cost about $97 including tax. The wheels are large, but not wide. They roll easily on the floor, sidewalk, or asphalt pavement. I think they might have a problem rolling through soft sand, but I don’t intend using the cart in that environment.
NOTE: I came across this photo from June 22, 2012. My white 2011 Honda Civic (got it in January 2011) is in the picture, but note the size of the trees at the entrance to the walkway. I have two pictures above that show the current size of the trees. Ten years, amazing!
I just noticed something really interesting. Look at the photo from 2012 and the 2022 photo from the same perspective. Look at the sidewalk difference. Apparently, the tree roots have pushed the concrete up severely.
June 22, 2012
NOTE [05/28/2020]: And, “Yes, the cart is a useful tool, that I should have bought years ago.” Especially now, for the way I shop. I may visit three or four grocery stores (Walmart, IGA, Publix, Sprouts, Harris Teeter, Food Lion) and end up with a myriad of plastic bags full of various items. And, if I purchase milk, or sodas, or orange juice, and several cans of somethings, then carrying the many plastic bags becomes cumbersome, quickly. So, yes, this was a good purchase.
My mother and I both suffered from leg cramps at night. She has been dead for over 40 years, but she died of Leukemia and not leg cramps. Maybe you awake from sleep with your toes curling painfully down, or your calf muscles tightening, causing you to sit up in bed, trying to manually cause the pain to go away. Sometimes hopping up, so that you can put your curled toes flat on the floor.
My mother nor I ever figured out the cause, or a good remedy.
I rarely have night-time leg cramps any longer. But, some years ago, I had a revelation, at night, in bed, and I started developing a simple remedy, which for me, has worked very well.
I attributed my nightly leg cramps with having too much salt in my diet the previous day. I use some salt in my cooking, at home, but if I eat fast food, or eat out that day, I may not have much control of the salt in my food. Also, I have not paid attention to how much liquid I consume during that time.
The pre-ground pepper that you kept for 20 years.
Growing up, salt and pepper were about the only spices we used on our food. Needless to say, my mother was not a good cook. My “Aunt Sis” was a very good cook, but mom had not gravitated toward those skills. My mother liked working outdoors, in the yard, mowing and grooming the yard (although I wouldn’t say our yard would ever win any awards). She also bought a Singer Zig-Zag sewing machine and through the years made many of her dresses from “store bought” patterns from companies such as Butterick, Simplicity, etc. *She also would save up and I think about twice a year, or whenever Pik-n-Pay would have their sales special, she would buy several pairs of shoes for work and home. She did not skimp on me or my clothing, but she was quite frugal on herself. **I even recall that one time, after years of wearing the same prescription glasses, she absolutely had to spend the money on a new pair. And, when she put them on, she started acting like a child who was seeing things for the first time. After several comments from her about things she could now see, I said something to the effect that, “Mom, you should have bought new glasses when you first needed them.”
Sis was a good cook, but that is not to say that she used spices to flavor her food other than salt & pepper. She used fatback, and ham hocks, bacon grease. I don’t recall her ever using garlic. Pepper vinegar on collards. But her food was delicious. She would normally have two different meats prepared, and three vegetables (on the stove top), and maybe biscuits. But, she would cycle through what she had prepared. She might make soup out of the remainder of the week’s earlier vegetables (e.g. green beans, potatoes, tomatoes) at the end of the week. I don’t ever recall having broccoli, asparagus or Brussel sprouts, but blackeyed peas, green or white butterbeans, green beans & potatoes, corn on and off the cob, mashed potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, and turnips or rutabagas, and all the various tops/”greens” that could be “cooked down” with a little seasoning meat, including collards, turnip greens… Oh, and assorted seafood, fried fish, or crabs, etc. Chicken -n- pastry! Bacon/sausage and eggs (scrambled or over easy), grits or rice. A big hunk of pork or beef every so often. How about some sliced cucumber and chopped onions in sweetened vinegar? Beets!
My favorite dish, and one that I often said I would prefer as “my last meal” would be: Blackeyed peas, with ham hock, and some sweet Vidalia onion chopped up. Now, we did not have Vidalia onions when I was growing up, but I now use sweet onions for many things that just need a pleasant, sweet, raw onion. But, in almost everything that I cook, I start with sauteing a regular onion (“Any onion is sweet once it hits the heat.). *And, if seasoned well, sometimes a mess of large white butterbeans really hits the spot.
Now mom could fix fried chicken well, add a few sides, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, or potato salad and dinner rolls (store bought). Sweet tea. The potato salad included large diced white potatoes, onion, sweet relish, mayo and some sugar. — A pot of diced ham in white rice, or chicken was deliciously filling. Corned beef, potatoes & onion in a simple stew (S&P). And, from the really brief time, when the paycheck hadn’t lasted and mom had me scrounging in the rear floor board of the old, gray/tan Chevy, “Saltines & Yellow French’s Mustard”. **I still love the flavor of Saltines and mustard to this day. We liked Kraft Sharp Cheddar cheese.
Lyde Jones
The above picture was taken by Mary Ann Kellum (Sharpe) a little after my 6th birthday. This is the back porch of the old two-story house that mom and I lived in, which was on one corner of Hwy. 24 and Queens Creek Road. Many things in this picture: chain off the new Roadmaster bicycle from Western Auto; Wisteria bush; front end of tan/light gray Chevy; little house that Lyde lived in (because she had TB); mule on other side of ditch, tail to us; beyond the mule and across Queens Creek Road was an old tobacco barn that burned down. I note that the edge of the porch is a fine straight line which means this porch had probably been recently replaced. The wood at the edge of an old porch would begin to wear away and become jagged. The kitchen would be to my back and the porch to my left would lead to the door of the main house & its hallway.
So, what do I do when I wake up with leg cramps at night. I hop up, go to the bathroom, and drink a bunch of water and the cramps go away… I go back to sleep and the cramps do not return that night. It might take about 5 minutes for the cramps to fully subside, and if the cramps seem to want to persist longer, I drink a bunch more water. But, for quite a few years now, drinking the water has worked for me! Oh, I have a friend that said her remedy was to eat some Yellow Mustard. I see online that this is a suggested remedy. If I ever need to I might try the mustard in addition to the water.
Now that I think of it, eating the Saltine crackers with French’s mustard should be sort of a checks -n- balance, shouldn’t it?
NOTE: There was a manual, hand crank, ice-crusher mounted on the wall near the back door (kitchen in Sis’s house). Like this one.
Oddly enough, when I checked online as to what might cause leg cramps, I surprisingly found that one article said that not having enough salt, or magnesium, could cause the leg cramps. One article talked about athletes that have leg cramps (during a game). One article said that athletes were sweating out the salt they needed. But, this goes entirely in the wrong direction for me. Sure you may be sweating out liquid & salt, but I’m saying that too much liquid is leaving, and leaving you with too much salt in your blood. *Drink more water!
[05/04/22]: I awoke between 1 am and 4 am, and realized that I had a minor leg cramp. Actually it was just at the top of my right foot, but I knew from previous instances, that this was the start of a cramp. I jumped up and drank about two cups of water and went in the living room to sit. The soreness, as it hadn’t developed into a full cramp, started to subside. Sure enough, in about 10 minutes, the cramp was gone. Cause: Well, I had a Country Ham breakfast at Helen’s Kitchen… I had a hamburger and baked potato at Logan’s and then, I had a hamburger and onion rings (which I salted) at Hwy. 55 on the way back to Fayetteville. A bunch of eating out during the day, and with salted foods.
I took the above photos of the Pepper Palace in Smithfield, NC on January 2nd of this year. They were closed at the time. Previously the site location was for a kitchen store, which I had visited many times.
Yesterday, they were open, for my first visit and I had a fun time with Acey, the store manager. She directed me and led me around to different hot sauces and spice rubs. And I tried quite a few. I ended up buying a couple of the sauces/marinades that she had mixed together (Asianxxx and a “Sweet and Spicey”). Later, last night, I heated a couple of egg rolls in the microwave, and got some Chinese Hot Mustard out, and used the above mixture as a sort of a hot Duck Sauce. It was all good!
This is going to be eclectic because I came across my Flickr account online, and there are over 8K of photos I’ve taken and posted, but these are older, going back to 2009 with my first photo of the boat landing down on the Cape Fear River at Elizabethtown, NC. This is a photo of one of my favorite food combinations, in the Summer:
Corn on the cob, fried okra (I don’t usually bread them), a freshly sliced tomato… and I see here that I had used Tomatillo with some onion (probably with some vinegar and sweetener) that I now might call a chutney. And you have to wait until the early corn comes in, and okra & tomatoes are available. I like meat, but this is super satisfying meal without meat.
The collage of photos below includes some from the State Farmers Market in Raleigh (different visits) and focused on the various peppers, some tomatillos & dried chilis at Compare Foods in Fayetteville, and various shots of Tiger Sauce.
NOTE: I hope to finish this later, but I need to get to a late breakfast. Want to find pictures of hot peppers at the Raleigh Farmer’s Market. **I realized it was Wednesday, and I like the Turkey Club Sandwich Combo at Subway (with the Onion Teriyaki Sauce), so I will eat a lite breakfast at home and then get an early lunch at Subway.
With a pork chop, but the tomato doesn’t look as good.
The photo of me with the Tiger Sauce: I had purchased a couple of bottles of this at the Harris Teeter in Cary, NC. I have since bought Tiger Sauce Original and the newer Tiger Sauce Habanero & Lime through Amazon. I like the Habanero & Lime version better.
Recognize the white tag as those used at Sprouts to label and close the plastic bags for nuts, flours, dried fruits, etc. You only have to use one side of the label, and the twist-tie is long enough to attach to most items I wish to label, such as headphone or USB cables, or chargers.
I found a recipe online and made a small test batch, not using the suggested ratios of ingredients, and it turned out really well. I used Avocado Oil which has little flavor. *For years I have confused this sweet, red salad dressing as being either Russian or French… and maybe that is because I think I have seen it mislabeled on various restaurant salad bars. But, I do like the sweet, red Catalina Dressing.
Thousand Island
Mayonnaise
Ketchup
Onion – diced
Pickle Relish
Hot Sauce
Vinegar
Garlic – minced
S & P
This may not be the original online recipe I used, but it is close enough to the ingredients. I made this dressing at home to go on my Pastrami Rachel Sandwiches and it “turns” the Sauerkraut just right. I have made this recipe several times and it turns out well.
Curried Mayo Remoulade
Mayonnaise
Curry Paste
Small Capers
I first made this at home after having visited the Water’s Edge Restaurant for the first time several years ago, and having a Shrimp Po Boy Sandwich that had a curried remoulade dressing. I’m not sure of the actual ingredients, but these three items came close enough. At one time, I kept a small jar of this in my refrigerator regularly and put it on various sandwiches, not just seafood.
CATALINA DRESSING
The first time I made this I used the wrong amounts for several of these ingredients but it made the dressing better. I think I used twice as much smoked paprika as designated and this made the finished product a deeper red color. It looked beautiful, a shiny ruby red.
I was watching re-runs of Fawlty Towers the other day, and in the episode above, the American guest tries to order a Waldorf Salad. Basil Fawlty is having to be the chef, and he has no clue. Not sure I’ll remember it correctly, but the guest repeats several times to Fawlty the ingredients for making a Waldorf Salad… Apples, celery, grapes, walnuts in a mayonnaise sauce, on a bed of lettuce.
Swansboro Elementary Cafeteria
I think, as a child, the cafeteria used to serve a Waldorf Salad on various days of the week. Seems healthy and simple enough.
So, now I have made a Waldorf Salad at home about three times and it has turned out very well. I like toasted walnuts and pistachios, some raisins, halved seedless grapes, apple slices (Gala, Envy) , chopped celery, Equal sweetener and mayo. I’ve also added some Greek Yogurt to the mayo, and that does give a light tanginess to the dressing. I added some chopped dates, and that is pleasant also.
Both pictures above are of the same salad, just used the camera flash on one of them. Made and mixed this in one of my medium Pyrex bowls. *Several years ago, I bought six Pyrex mixing bowls: 2 – Large, 2 – Medium, and 2 – Small. The medium sized bowls have been used a great deal, and every so often, some concoction requires a large mixing bowl.
I added dried cranberries, with grape halves, and toasted walnuts & pistachios. *The toasted nuts definitely add to this salad! I used a little Splenda and a little Agave Nectar.
Pecan-Chicken Salad Sandwich at Arby’s
Ingredients: Diced chicken, red grapes, apples, celery, pecans and mayonnaise with green leaf lettuce on toasted honey wheat bread.
Lime juice, Red Wine vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce
Salsa Ranchera – Herdez
Roasted Tomatoes
Carrot
Onion
Sweet Bell Peppers (red, orange, yellow)
Sweetner
Splenda
Agave Nectar
Cilantro
Marjoram, Basil, Salt, Pepper
Cabbage Slaw
Cabbage
Sweet Bell Peppers (red, orange, yellow)
Onion – Sweet
Sweetner – Splenda
Mayonnaise – Dukes
Half-n-Half
Marjoram, Basil, Celery Seeds, Salt, Pepper
I’ve done these types before, and probably even combined them as a meal, but they are really good together. *Chicken is currently very cheap. I had noted that steak, pork, and lamb had all gone up in price, but I passed by the fryer chicken a couple of weeks, but noted how cheap it was a pound. Finally, I bought a package for a little over $6, which had six good sized portions of chicken breast.
I have found that a little cream in the slaw is better than just mayo. The echo of sweet bell peppers, cooked with the chicken, and raw in the slaw play well together.
I would imagine that a baked sweet potato would work well with this meal. Chicken, slaw and baked sweet potato, hmmmm good;-) Rice might work, but I can’t imagine it with slaw. *Just thought, avocado! Maybe just sliced or cubed, but maybe with something else. Play off of the Mango, Avocado, Onion & Chipotle Salad idea…
I don’t recall if I had tried Bigelow Teas before I met Rick and Linda Bell (New River Baptist Church), but I do recall having Constant Comment and Earl Grey tea at their home (Brynn Mawr Dr., Jacksonville, NC).
See Spring 2017 Vacation for how I first tried the Raspberry Royale tea. This was the tea I tried, and there was an assortment of Bigelow Teas in the Public/Common Area.
I bought a small package of dried orange slices at Sprouts some time ago. I got them home, and took one out and then realized that eating them straight out of the package wasn’t pleasant. They were hard, dry orange slices. Not candied. But, I didn’t throw them away immediately. *After months, I was preparing a cup of Constant Comment tea, and I had the thought that the flavor influence of this tea was ‘orange’ and I thought that maybe adding a slice of the dried orange might enhance the flavor. It worked. The orange slice re-hydrated, softened, added to the tea’s flavor and even was almost completely edible after the tea was drunk.
I like cream in my Earl Grey and Raspberry Royale teas.
ADDENDUM [02/13/22]: I had not thought of Rick or Linda Bell for quite some time. Rick was still a Baptist pastor in Liberty, NC the last time I saw him in person. And, unfortunately, I was in a state of mental turmoil, specifically due to my work, at the time, and am sure my visit was viewed negatively. What do I remember? I think I met the Bells about 1984 and we attended New River Baptist Church in Jacksonville, NC at the time. Rick was still in the Marines and I believe he was a Marine pilot that was a navigator on an Intruder. He attributed hearing damage in one ear due to the placement of an engine on the Intruder. He was stationed overseas at some point and left Linda and the two boys, Chuck and Chris, in Jacksonville (Brynn Marr Rd.). I got to know Linda because we were both in the New River Choir. When Rick returned from being stationed overseas, we all became friends, and Rick and Linda took me in, as a family friend. Both Chuck and Chris were still boys.
As Rick was being extricated from the Marines, he and I played on the Red and Gold golf courses on board Camp Lejeune. I wasn’t any good, and the golfing bug never really caught me. *I was a tennis player. After the Marines, Rick went to seminary (Wake Forest) and became a Baptist minister. Seems like Rick and Linda lived in Raleigh, NC for some years, but I last saw them in Liberty, NC, where Rick was pastoring. Rick and the boys were outdoorsmen, canoeing, etc.
I was told that Chuck was in the Navy and was a whiz on a nuclear submarine. Chris had learning issues. One time, I recall saying something ‘witty’ to Chris, who looked at me angrily… as he processed through what I meant, and when he realized that I wasn’t intending to insult him, his demeanor changed and the anger left his face. But, his learning disability would haunt him, and he failed his senior year in high school, twice. He did not know how to cope with this failure positively. *I think that he could have used his outdoorsman talents, as a nature/hunting guide or some such, found him a girlfriend/wife and had a pleasant life doing those things he was good at.
I’m not sure of which year I last visited the Bells in Liberty, NC, but I just came across the obituary for their oldest son, Chuck who died at age 42 in November of 2012. No one wants their children to precede them in death.
ADDENDUM [ 11/17/23 ]: Glad I wrote this because I couldn’t recall the name of the aircraft that Rick flew on. And, in reading about the seating arrangement of the pilot & navigator (Rick being the navigator.) on the Intruder, they were seated side by side, but the navigator’s seat was located slightly lower than the pilot’s in order to give the pilot a better view. This might have put the navigator closer to the engine, and that would have aided Rick’s hearing loss in one ear.
I think Rick didn’t go to seminary fresh out of the Marines. Seems he may have acted as a camping guide for a while, not sure if Raleigh or somewhere further west in NC, before going to the Baptist seminary in Wake Forest, NC. *Not Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC.
But, it was while Rick was a pastor in Suffolk, VA (I think.) that Chris committed suicide in his father’s study. Just yesterday, it sank in a little deeper at how devastating this must have been. I did go up to visit the family during that time and recall Linda in tears. I’m sorry that Chris didn’t find a positive way out, or past his learning disability. As I said above, he could have probably found “his niche” in society that might not have been up to a certain standard, but more than enough to make him a happy, fulfilled person.
Bill Gibson, II 