Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Time tested advice from cowboys and old farmers

Your fences need to be horse high, pig tight and bull strong.

Don't interfere with something that isn't bothering you.

*Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

Most of the stuff people worry about isn't ever gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

If it dosn't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably isn't.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered....not yelled.

Meanness don't just happen overnight.

If you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging.

Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every morning.

Don't corner something that you know is meaner than you.

*Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

It dosn't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.

If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around.

Live a good and honourable life.  Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

And live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and leave the rest to God.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Crispy fried salt chicken

I cooked again!  Yayyy but unfortunately maybe not as well as my friend Lalala; check out her original recipe for Yan Suji chicken here:

http://notveryauthentic.blogspot.com/

Uhhh, how do you do that link thing where you just type here and its clickable......?

Ok well, i did my best cuz this recipe sounded and Lalalas pics look soooo good.

Warning: some of you know i am somewhat of a klutz in the kitchen.....

I was a little scared as i've still been experiencing difficulties with some foods, chicken included.
(over-reactive taste buds)  I've found though that small pieces or parts of chicken are ok while 1/2 chicken breast or larger is not.  I can't even deal with the smell of it cooking here at home or in restaurants. It has something to do with the density of the amino acids in a large piece. So anyway, this recipe was for drumsticks so that was great, so far.

BTW, i noticed Lalalas 5 drumsticks cost her a whopping $2.22
The same 5 cost me closer to $5.....whats that all about......!


First step - i marinated overnight in soy sauce, minced onion, granulated garlic, red chili pepper and sugar. I didn't have the 5 spice powder so skipped that ingredient.

Step 2 - tossed in the flour and let them air dry in the fridge.
Maybe i started to mess up right about here. Were they supposed to be air drying on a rack? I just had them on a plate.....they didn't really get very dryish.....

Step 3 - pan seared in a little oil
Step 4 - roasted in a 400ยบ oven for about 40 minutes

Pretty good so far eh?

This is where i mess up royally cuz i remember we have some sea salt....oh yum, i can hardly wait, the thought is making my mouth drool....

Now, Lalala didn't say to use sea salt. That was my own little touch. I  never remember to stop adding my own little touch!
And it probably would have been real yummy if it was a reg. fine grind sea salt. Or normal salt. But it wasn't and i happily proceeded anyway.

Step 5 - Toss in salt and pepper.

Here is my finished version. Looks a little burned but thats ok and kind of normal for me. But the salt. Oh dear, dam the salt. Salty. Way. Too. Much. Salt. Coarse. Sea. Salt.
You can see it and know that it had to be rubbed off and that action also rubbed off the skin.

But then i enjoyed my Yan Suji all by myself.  Yayyyy, a good way for me to get it all!

OK all kid'n aside, it was really good and i'll make it again with regular salt, less too.
 
But for next time Lalala, i need to know how come yours looks so scrumptous and sort of dryish while mine looks sort of greasy and that made the salt easy to adhere. 
Should it be patted dry or left to cool for a while before tossing in the salt and pepper?
I think some of the salt melted into the hot chicken. Lalalas salt is visible on her chicken yet so yummy looking, unlike mine. How did you do that?

Anyone up for making this recipe?  Use Lalalas recipe, not mine. And show pics please.

Now, i'll go and have my 9th glass of water.........

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Where's Willy?


It's been a long time since one of these bills has come into my hands so i brought it home rather than stick it into another slot machine. Hope it's ok to scan and upload money.
I went to the Where's Willy site and found i was still registered as of 2004 when i found my last one.
I entered the info to find out where my twenty had been and this is what i found:



The URL of this page is:

http://www.whereswilly.com/report.php?key=ee9faadd624e5ef3001d432286bde7538c18b44294e76b13

For the curious - you can track any bill even if it dosn't have a where's willy or where's george stamp by entering the serial number. If somebody else has made a report then you'll get the info.

You can click on the google map there and it shows how far my twenty travelled.
In kms. 3672 = 2281.68 miles and that's also how far my son-in-law came to join our family. A lot happens in that distance; different language, way of life and so on. It's sort of silly but also interesting to get the scoop on your $ 
I read that the most travelled and reported Canadian twenty dollar bills have on average 11 entries.

I guess i was supposed to enter the condition of the bill. Its in good shape although it's folded in 3 different places. I believe these folds are made by riding in folding wallets and some get so sharply folded or worn down at the crease they're a slot machine players nightmare. This bill is ok though, the folds are soft and it has a long life of travels yet.

American money check:   http://www.wheresgeorge.com/

Canadian twenties have Queen Elizabeth on them so hope you have fun Liz and a safe journey. Hope to hear more about your travels.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

This is our ride

Cruis'in Deas Island Park

Mr. Cool
yup. its me. LOL!
Last photo compliments of Jim at  http://www.jim-hatch.artistwebsites.com/
Its a 1940 Ford and it's hard to capture the colour correctly;its called candy brandy wine.
Fordy has been our ride and Bobs pride for almost 20 years.
Anything that looks like a scratch isn't. He keeps it lookin' good for show'in and shin'in from May through Sept. weather permitting.