Smartie's Bar & Grill #68

Yup, the okra provides a form of liquid which is thick and rich and tasty. It's very similar to cornstarch.

 

I cannot believe that some people are so cold and stupid that they would always do what they are told by a boss.

 

Woks were all the rage in the early 80's.I bought one and
never got the hang of it.I have been Sauteing w/olive oil
for 3 decades.The Best chefs and restaurants use the
French way of cooking { Sauteing }.I am a stickler when it
comes to good wine { only red }. However I can't taste the
difference between a really expensive Olive oil and a
good one.I use fresh mushrooms in most my sautee dishes.
I also use fresh cut carrots.NO Onions.

 

Almost all human beings feel compelled to obey direct orders from authority figures in their presence. Real rebels are rare.

 

And I believe okra is relatively low carb - will check.

 

One of my most favorite foods is fried noodles. I don't care if they're udon or ramen, I love them.

I absolutely cannot cook them to my satisfaction. Occasionally, I get them close to good, but it's just by accident. I have to go out to get them done right. I am clueless.

 

Unless its breaded and fried... then, YUM.

 

Or a form of Deglazing a pan that has pieces of meat charred on the
pan plus juices.

 

Don't eat the stuff.Has the potential to end up looking
and tasting like booger snot.Like mystery vittles.
I'm an asparagus guy.,Broccoli guy.I never buy Cauliflower but
my Mom always served it.I have a brilliantly prepared salad at lunch
with a small sandwiche.of course Moi makes the salad.
I take my time and it's very healthy.But I also fix a rich dressing\
like a Caesar salad with touches of White Balsamic vinegar.
Homemade croutons and cracked pepper and the freshest of Romaine
or Green leaf plus kale.The best cherry tomatoes I can locate.
Plus leftover antipasta tossed in { different sorts of chopped olives
and real slices of sun-dried tomatoes }.Plus chopped up pieces of
Garlic dill pickles { for zest }. Sometimes shredded Sarvecchio Parmesan.

 

The only thing I have ever breaded is fried chicken. Never vegies.

 

Grilled cheese sandwich for lunch today. It has been 12 hours since I ate breakfast at 2 a.m. so I was getting hungry.

The cat and I have been napping all day so far.

It is a holiday in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. R.I.P. and so many businesses are closed and thus we have extra personnel available as guards today.

I am on call again today and for the next 3 days.

On days like this when I have lots of time I cook my own meals, usually things that take longer in the preparation.

I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich now and maybe in a couple of hours some soup to go with it later.

When I am on call I cannot drink alcohol of any kind, so I am having 50-50 coffee-hot-chocolate with it. This is rewarmed. I save excess brewed coffee in the fridge then re-heat it later and add hot chocolate mix by Swiss Miss. Very good that way, and it gives you a boost from the moderate caffeine level -- about the same as a can of Coke.

 

You don't need to be a rebel to use your common sense.

 

Cornmeal. Veggies dipped in beaten egg and rolled in cornmeal then quick fried in hot oil are awesome. Some folks even fry whole green beans. My vegan niece always chides us for ruining perfectly good veggies. Shes such a stick in the mud.

 

Potato Leek Soup turned out good, but too thin. Had to google to remember the term 'slurry' and make one to add. Now its perfect.

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/potato-leek-soup.html

 

"What".....No Coffee. WhatsamattawitU.

 

Fresh pot just for you, darlin

 

Thanks Sugah.

 

1/2 in ice/snow in forecast tonite. Prob ending around 2 am, hi temp tomorrow 29. Grocery shelves are emptying fast. Lines forming at gas stations. OMG, run for your lives!!!

 

We might even get a bit of snow tomorrow night, I will believe it when it happens. Can't remember when we have had cold last so long, we were supposed to get up to 74 last week, that didn't happen.

 

Beef Stroganoff Stew w/pork loin chunks.Great cold weather
meal.One can go further on a hot meal.Easier on the metabolism.
Which is why Arctic explorers always have a hot meal.
Imagine an Arctic explorer thinking he can have a banana and
an energy bar for lunch.Trendy food.

 

Did Westward Ho and the Pioneer spirit skip the Lonestar
state.
No ... because the great Novel by Jeannette Walls starts out
on The KC Ranch on the Rio Hondo.
Also Lillian Gish in the great silent :
- The Wind - and her dealing with the windy western prairies of
Sweet Water { a Texan desert }

 

One would hope so, but many studies have demonstrated that almost all human beings will obey an authority figure in their presence.

"Before conducting the experiment, Milgram polled fourteen Yale University senior-year psychology majors to predict the behavior of 100 hypothetical teachers. All of the poll respondents believed that only a very small fraction of teachers (the range was from zero to 3 out of 100, with an average of 1.2) would be prepared to inflict the maximum voltage. Milgram also informally polled his colleagues and found that they, too, believed very few subjects would progress beyond a very strong shock.[1] He also reached out to honorary Harvard University graduate Chaim Homnick, who noted that this experiment would not be concrete evidence of the Nazis' innocence, due to fact that "poor people are more likely to cooperate." Milgram also polled forty psychiatrists from a medical school, and they believed that by the tenth shock, when the victim demands to be free, most subjects would stop the experiment. They predicted that by the 300-volt shock, when the victim refuses to answer, only 3.73 percent of the subjects would still continue and, they believed that "only a little over one-tenth of one percent of the subjects would administer the highest shock on the board."[7]

In Milgram's first set of experiments, 65 percent (26 of 40) of experiment participants administered the experiment's final massive 450-volt shock,[1] and all administered shocks of at least 300 volts. Subjects were uncomfortable doing so, and displayed varying degrees of tension and stress. These signs included sweating, trembling, stuttering, biting their lips, groaning, digging their fingernails into their skin, and some were even having nervous laughing fits or seizures.[1] Every participant paused the experiment at least once to question it. Most continued after being assured by the experimenter. Some said they would refund the money they were paid for participating."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Milgram was shocked by the results and wrote a book "Obedience to Authority" which is short and worth a read.

On the bright side people are more likely to disobey if they think the authority figure is not observing them.

 

Cary Grant's career was marked by the use of good old-fashioned
" common sense ", along with his handsome looks,impeccable
dress and voice inflection.Yet he had a bit of a Booze Problem.
Was one of The First Volunteer to take LSD in a clinical environment
{ Hospital } in order to psychologically rid himself of said Booze dependency.
Did it take.? I dunno. What came first the Chicken or the Egg.

 

All of this cold weather talk reminds me of a poem I once heard. There's a back story (there's always a back story) and since it takes place in a bar it seems fitting to pass it along.

I used to stop at this mom & pop bar for a few beers on the way home from work. It was like every other mom & pop bar you've ever been in. The clientele on any given night consisted of a few regulars and a larger group of occasional customers. One of the infrequent visitors was a plumber named Joe. He generally avoided the place because his ex-wife was a regular. They were on good terms and all, but this being the northeast fringe of the Bible Belt he felt like it might be construed as an abomination to be spotted lifting drinks with your her.

Anyway, to get to the story, one winter night it was about 5 below zero when he walked in. "You guys think this is cold!" he shouted. "This ain't nothing." He then proceeded to recite, word-for-word, "The Cremation of Sam McGee." For those unfamiliar with this poem of the Arctic by Robert W. Service, I've included a video of Johnny Cash reciting it.

As it turns out I didn't see much of him after that night. He was booted out of the bar and banned for life a few weeks later. I wasn't there when it happened, but it seems he had a big plumbing job involving a blocked sewer and didn't bother changing out of his work clothes before he stopped in.

 

Okra prepared right is very good. Especially in a gumbo. Of course there are endless ways to make it taste awful.