What is/was for dinner?

[0388631]

Yeah I keep them in a coffee can with the camping equipment. I wouldn't ditch the camp stove anyway even if I did switch the kitchen to gas cooking. Can't take the kitchen stove camping...

I don't know how new the regulations are, but at least they cut down on gas mishaps. It'll let some gas flow but then kills that flow after a certain amount of seconds where no ignition is present.

It was definitely around when I bought this house and remodeled it. I'm guessing it's a 90s regulation. Prior to that, any place or stove I used had a pilot light. When the range we had then was installed, I asked where the pilot light was and the guys looked at me like I was an absolute weirdo.

 

[LizKat]

I don't know how new the regulations are, but at least they cut down on gas mishaps. It'll let some gas flow but then kills that flow after a certain amount of seconds where no ignition is present.

It was definitely around when I bought this house and remodeled it. I'm guessing it's a 90s regulation. Prior to that, any place or stove I used had a pilot light. When the range we had then was installed, I asked where the pilot light was and the guys looked at me like I was an absolute weirdo.

Yeah it's the same with modern propane furnaces for forced-air heating. They have electronic ignition and then all these sensors for airflow and gas flow and venting and all that One year some unfortunate starling had somehow squeezed into the chimney and fell down to the duct connection, and then blocked the venting enough that the furnace wouldn't light. I say unfortunate because there's a common duct from the hot water heater and furnace to the chimney and the HW sensors are less fussy, so the bird was asphyxiated whenever the HW appliance first kicked in after the bird landed in the works. It was also practically mummified by time the equipment inspector and I had debugged the problem and found the poor thing.

My furnace gets maintained at season-end and then re-inspected in August. But I always have to go down and tap on the feed pipe sort of near the pilot tube with a scrap of wood when the heating season begins, if I've forgotten to run the furnace a bit on chilly mornings after the inspection: a tiny flake of rust can sometimes form in the pilot tube and it's just enough to tell some sensor uh that's a fail there, baby and I ain't lightin' nothin'.

But my furnace is worthless in a power failure anyway: the blower motor forcing air into the ductworks needs that juice.

 

[0388631]

Yeah it's the same with modern propane furnaces for forced-air heating. They have electronic ignition and then all these sensors for airflow and gas flow and venting and all that One year some unfortunate starling had somehow squeezed into the chimney and fell down to the duct connection, and then blocked the venting enough that the furnace wouldn't light. I say unfortunate because there's a common duct from the hot water heater and furnace to the chimney and the HW sensors are less fussy, so the bird was asphyxiated whenever the HW appliance first kicked in after the bird landed in the works. It was also practically mummified by time the equipment inspector and I had debugged the problem and found the poor thing.

My furnace gets maintained at season-end and then re-inspected in August. But I always have to go down and tap on the feed pipe sort of near the pilot tube with a scrap of wood when the heating season begins, if I've forgotten to run the furnace a bit on chilly mornings after the inspection: a tiny flake of rust can sometimes form in the pilot tube and it's just enough to tell some sensor uh that's a fail there, baby and I ain't lightin' nothin'.

But my furnace is worthless in a power failure anyway: the blower motor forcing air into the ductworks needs that juice.

Yep. I remember having to light a pilot light for a forced air gas furnace in a ski town we rented eons ago up north. I had to call the realtor's office to make sure I was doing it right and they walked me through it. It was a mid 90s or early 90s system. Clean and fairly efficient, but a wonky start method using timing and long stick matches. One thing I hated when we remodeled our house about 10 years back were new building codes for any new electrical and double gang boxes paired with a new receptacle unit. Receptacle units were changed sometime between when I bought the place and the second remodel. There's a much more snug fit because when you insert a plug in, there's two friction pieces that keep it in place. There's a right way to remove it to eliminate the friction but it's a pain in the ass. Time and use will loosen them up, but we paid extra to get receptacles joined to switches to make it easier unless it's something you don't ever leave plugged in, like an iron.

I definitely like stuff that uses a comfort grip for the prong over the traditional method. Easier to loop a finger or two inside the loop and pull something out of a plug. The wiring was redone in an overkill sense of terms. Using two cooling and heating units splitting the house was also smarter. They're connected together, but you can to multi-climate if you wanted to. It's much more efficient than running a single unit and expecting the heat to reach the other side of the house. During the summer, it makes more sense to run cooling towards certain areas rather than a useless place, like my office if I'm not using it.

 

[LizKat]

Dinner was late tonight... still in summer mode here so a salad with leftover poached chicken, halved grape tomatoes, nice black olives, some jullienned carrots, all over iceberg mixed with a few leaves of spinach and some more or less Italian oil and vinegar based dressing.

 

[0388631]

still in summer mode here

Me, too. It was about 6:30 when I woke this morning and still fairly dark. The sun was out at 5:40 just a month ago!

 

[kazmac]

I meant to have oatmeal for breakfast today and there was none left from the last batch, so... measured out the water and set that on the stove to get started while I hunted up the raisins and peeled an apple... was reaching for the box of oatmeal when the microwave beeped and its face turned dark... no electrical power, and i don't have a gas stove.

So yeah, Cheerios it was, with a sliced apple on the side... while the elec utility did something or other for 45 minutes. Thank goodness I'd already had my coffee.

Well at least I turned off the stove burner so I didn't fry the pot after the juice came back on. I swear one of these days I'll take that old stove back out to the barn I found it in and get a gas stove installed. At least then my life won't be about firing up a camp stove to make coffee when the power goes out.

Cheerios are such a tease...

Hope you have oatmeal tomorrow.

In my case, the egg came before the chicken. Egg veg thingy for breakfast along with an apple and a Mounds bar.

Lunch was salad, green juice and roasted sunflower seed butter.

Dinner: chicken and salad.

 

[LizKat]

Me, too. It was about 6:30 when I woke this morning and still fairly dark. The sun was out at 5:40 just a month ago!

Yah the sun is hanging out in the south more now, and the plunge towards November's dark starts and early nightfall is accelerating by the day. I was noticing yesterday how long the shadows of some trees along the driveway are now even at lunchtime. Ugh! Even the ongoing balmy weather doesn't distract from having to start rounding up a simple dinner's ingredients by 6pm if I want to finish preparing it in daylight.

 

[0388631]

Yah the sun is hanging out in the south more now, and the plunge towards November's dark starts and early nightfall is accelerating by the day. I was noticing yesterday how long the shadows of some trees along the driveway are now even at lunchtime. Ugh! Even the ongoing balmy weather doesn't distract from having to start rounding up a simple dinner's ingredients by 6pm if I want to finish preparing it in daylight.

One of the cons of the seasonal change this time of year is that balmy feeling you're talking about. Wind comes to a complete standstill and the air is thick with a slight dampness that doesn't go away until late into the night when the coastal breezes pickup.

I'll have to drop by Target tomorrow and buy their entire shelf of antibacterial handwipes and hand sanitizer.

 

[LizKat]

One of the cons of the seasonal change this time of year is that balmy feeling you're talking about. Wind comes to a complete standstill and the air is thick with a slight dampness that doesn't go away until late into the night when the coastal breezes pickup.

I'll have to drop by Target tomorrow and buy their entire shelf of antibacterial handwipes and hand sanitizer.

We don't get that here usually this time of year except as dense fog in the mornings sometimes.. Otherwise when that burns off then there's a breeze most of the day, it's just lately coming more from the west than northwest so it has stayed warmer during the day and early evening.

It's nice having the windows open this late into September on so many days. I didn't shop for enough salad greens for summery suppers though if this keeps up much longer. I had bought a cabbage figuring on a few veggie burger and coleslaw nights etc. but I keep going through lettuces instead.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I am preparing a version of the "Yiddish/Jewish Chicken Soup" recipe that my brother gave me, who received it from my German sister-in-law, - her parents came from what used to be known as East Germany, crossing to the west in the 1950s before the Wall went up.

Essentially, it is a broth of chicken thighs (organic, free range, skin and bones still attached - that is where the flavour comes from) in stock, cooked softly for well over an hour, with leeks, carrots, (all organic) added.

Frozen peas go in later, and I shall add some organic tomatoes. The recipe also cals for asparagus, which I think is something that my store cupboard lacks; must remedy that.

I am debating whether I shall add rice to the dish, in an hour or so, or cook it separately.

 

[kazmac]

I've never dined at Superiority Burger, but their Instagram feed often has delicious things such as this posted. Their captions crack me up (from yesterday)

 

[0388631]

Even without the quote, I'd think, "Yes, that's American... or from Mayfair."

 

[decafjava]

That place looks amazing, no beer though but love the "free NYC tap water with lemon". I won't tell you how much I got charged for a carafe of tap water in Zurich once...😳

 

[0388631]

That place looks amazing, no beer though but love the "free NYC tap water with lemon". I won't tell you how much I got charged for a carafe of tap water in Zurich once...😳

To be fair, the tap in Zurich is excellent. I can't say the same for NYC... Personal preferences, of course. There are very few places in America I'd bother consuming the tap water, and they're very high elevation areas with their own private aquifers and whatnot.

Our area's tap is one of the best or so I've read in state reports, however, I personally prefer our robust RO systems we have installed at multiple junctions for consumption.

We're also on a grandfathered water delivery plan for those coolers I got back in 2002, IIRC. 20 gallons a week... We use a lot of it for cooking and the electric kettle. It's refined spring water with some minerals added back. It costs us less than $60 a year.

I usually drink anywhere from 8-12 glasses of water alone a day, on top of tea and coffee.

 

[anika200]

Wings, celery etc... leftover from last nights dart match, baked fall Squash and baked pear.
The squash and the pear were an excellent pairing and of course the wings are always good with the celery and blue cheese dressing.
In case you have not noticed I am addicted to wings. 😃😃

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Wings, celery etc... leftover from last nights dart match, baked fall Squash and baked pear.
The squash and the pear were an excellent pairing and of course the wings are always good with the celery and blue cheese dressing.
In case you have not noticed I am addicted to wings. 😃😃

View attachment 863725

I think it impossible not to be addicted to wings, especially if served with blue cheese dressing.

However, whether one gratifies and indulges this addiction, and, if so, to what degree, is another matter entirely, one that is both personal (and rather subjective).

 

[D.T.]

That place looks amazing, no beer though but love the "free NYC tap water with lemon".

No neer is an automatic no_can_do (though I guess for someone eating there during work hours ... nah, you still need beer, maybe even more so )

In case you have not noticed I am addicted to wings. 😃😃

We make wings all the time at home (usually the weekends) in our air fryer. I'm telling you, if we cooked nothing else, it would be worth it for __just__ wings. No oil, they come out nice and crispy, cooked super even - we do a goodly amount of dry seasoning, so even without saucing they're delicious, but they almost always get a good bath We usually do 2 or 3 different sauces, one of our favorites is a traditional hot wing (with Crystal pepper sauce), but then ... tossed in parmesan cheese. Holy smokes, it's amazing (idea stolen from Fat Heads in Pittsburgh, some of the best wings on the planet, though ours are pretty darn good).

 

[D.T.]

Oh yeah, instead of actual wings, we sometimes do thighs (maybe skinless and/or boneless), they're pretty fantastic.

 

[decafjava]

@D.T. a few good ideas next time I see wings or thighs on special, thanks!

 

[D.T.]

Spicy habanero BBQ

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Spicy habanero BBQ

View attachment 863827

With ranch dressing (an American classic) and/or blue cheese dressing on the side?

 

[0388631]

I find regular ranch not good for wings. It needs to be buttermilk ranch dressing. Regular ranch is too sharp on the tongue. It ruins the flavor of wings, IMO.

 

[D.T.]

With ranch dressing (an American classic) and/or blue cheese dressing on the side?

You know, these are so flavorful, especially because the wing (or "wing") is so heavily seasoned before it's even sauced, it's almost too much! Though we are high volume condiment consumers, so I'm sure one or both made an appearance

I find regular ranch not good for wings. It needs to be buttermilk ranch dressing. Regular ranch is too sharp on the tongue. It ruins the flavor of wings, IMO.

Ranch dressing without buttermilk is ... umm ... not ranch dressing.

Very good grocery brand for dressing, full calorie (which we generally don't do), Naturally Fresh in the cooler/produce area (outside of a DIY).

In fact, I'd say a good, general rule-of-thumb: dressings in the cooler are always better than the stuff in the room temp aisle.

 

[0388631]

Ranch dressing without buttermilk is ... umm ... not ranch dressing.

Traditionally, yes, but non buttermilk versions are a thing apparently. It took me years to figure out why one brand was sharper than another, or why homemade made me want to bathe in the stuff.

For dressings from the store's aisles, I like Ken's and some other band that comes in a weird shaped glass bottle. For the cooler aisle, this may be a west coast brand but it's called Bob's. That's a really good brand and their thousand island is killer. Close to what I can make at home. Infinitely tastier than 99% of store bought brands.

 

[anika200]

in our air fryer. I'm telling you, if we cooked nothing else, it would be worth it for __just__ wings.

Hey this sounds super cool, I just had the most awesome dry rub wings in a bar the other night.
Hmmm, I have never looked into air friers. Are there features to look for if buying one? Is there a good name brand you could mention.

I really like the idea of not oil frying in the house to make wings, I usually double fry my wings to get the sauce soaking and crispy wing.