tracker7 | Entries tagged with cooking

I got around to breaking in the Instant Pot this week. Nothing fancy, sauteing and pressure cooking a couple of pork loins I got at Aldi last week. No problems, but the process seemed to cook a lot of the flavor out of the meat. I used the leftovers in a big pot of stew - using the trusty ol' Crock Pot - and that came out really well.

Last night's Cyberpunk game went well. Short adventure, one from Street Stories that I'd overlooked. As I was packing up, I realized that I had nothing on my agenda for the rest of the weekend. No demands on my time at all. I wasn't entirely sure how to process that. Today's been rather enjoyable and very relaxing and almost productive. I dug up some DCC writing that had been left idle for a while, tinkered with that. Not a bad afternoon.

My Mariner is just darn near dead. The ECM is damaged, and that is a royal pain to replace. Dad found a possible solution - a seller with a same-year Mariner, same drivetrain on a lower trim level, failing transmission. The transmission in mine is in good shape, so if we can get things sorted, I'm going to buy this other one and put it together. Just a matter of getting the seller to respond.

This week has seen some gorgeous weather - sunny, mid-70s. I gave my little grill a good cleaning this afternoon and cooked up some too-thick pork chops for dinner. Very tasty.

My main grocery store is in the same building as a B&N, which can sometimes be dangerous. Monday, after putting groceries in the truck, I decided to duck into the bookstore for a bit. Wandered over to the games section, looked down at a lower shelf, and noticed that one of those Battletech beginner boxes was thicker than the others, and, well, I'm not made of stone. Lucked into a Game of Armored Combat box!

I'm starting to think that it's time to move. I'm looking for work down around the home turf, and there are some opportunities there. There are plenty of pros and cons, and it's not entirely in my hands, of course, but right now, I think I'd make the jump and see how things would work out.

My players are still showing up and having a good time, so that's something. I'm enjoying the story unfolding, so there's that, too. I'm still ready for this to wrap up, though.

The Buccaneers beat the Packers and the Chiefs beat the Bills, so we've got the first Super Bowl where a team will be playing on its home field. I've got nothing against the Bucs, and they're a strong candidate for my NFC team of choice, but I'm an AFC guy and Andy Reid is a heck of a coach, so, yeah, go Chiefs!

Last weekend, I tried something new - cooking a whole damn turkey. I've roasted legs and wings and had a prepacked breast for my own little Thanksgiving dinner, but never a whole bird. Meijer had (and still does) leftover frozen store-brand turkeys for next to nothing, so I wouldn't be out any real money if things went wrong, and if they went right, well, money well-spent. It was money well-spent. But so much food. So very much. A couple days to thaw, a half-day of prep and roasting, and a week of sandwiches and soups and chili. It was darn near overkill, but I expect I'll do it again.

Got our first real snowfall last night. About two inches in my part of town, with a little bit of freezing rain on top. No problems with the morning commute, and a solid day of very pretty views.

Christmas Day, RV bomb in Nashville. Last night, a RV was parked in downtown Lexington by a vacationing family - the vehicle wouldn't fit in their hotel garage, surprise surprise - and that caused, well, a police response and evacuation and all that. This afternoon, guess what. Some fool parks his rented RV on 5th Street in front of the Humana building and he and his family skip off to the Kentucky Science Center. Streets closed, buildings evacuated, all manner of hell raised. Stupid fucker.

Gods, I hate people sometimes.

In better news, there's a seven-pound ham in the oven and I have NOTHING to do tonight since both game stores are closed for the holiday and we're not playing anything. It's just now 6PM and I'm about seven seconds away from saying to heck with it all and getting into pajamas for the evening.

I mean, why the hell not? CBS All Access is misbehaving when I want to watch Discovery but Pluto has a The Next Generation channel going, so I'm getting a fix of hopeful and optimistic science fiction before dinner. And probably during and after, too.

Come to think of it, I don't have any demands on my time at all this weekend, except for Alan's M&M game tomorrow afternoon. This sounds really damned good tonight. Sleeping in tomorrow? A lot of reading? A legitimate couple of days to recharge? Good heavens yes gimme.

The "stimulus" deposit was in my bank account this morning, and there's a sizable Federal tax refund coming, so that's going to be a big boost to the old savings account. There will be some irresponsible spending, of course.

Kentucky is now part of what I can best call a regional alliance, with respect given to a 30-year-old Top Secret/SI sourcebook. We're working with Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin to plan when and how to "reopen" our states' economic engine, share resources, all the things that a functional Federal government would be handling. I'm here for this, but I wish it wasn't necessary.

It occurred to me tonight that I haven't done any real meal cooking in a long time. Well, relative to the strange days that we're living in. Everything has come out of a box or a can, and that's not been a whole lot of fun. I guess the panic buying and shortages it brought on made it harder for me to find things and/or just easier to take the pre-made way. I should fix this situation soon. Like, tomorrow, I think.

I think, since the weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon calls for cloudy skies and rain, I'm going to lie on the couch and watch Blade Runner and BR2049. Seems appropriate, and with the first images of Villeneuve's Dune starting to appear, I'm good with getting another look at the director's work.

Went to Lexington for a X-Wing tournament Saturday. Well, mostly, it was an excuse to see Clayton and Ray, but, hey, starfighter combat. Following a couple of practice matches, I rebuilt my squadron, swapping out two A-Wing aces for an A4 Y-Wing and a cheap(ish) B-Wing. The change to firepower over maneuverability worked out very well. I took losses, especially against the seven-ship Advanced/Fighter/Interceptor force I went up against first, but for the most part, I was able to get in hits every turn of combat and wear down the opposition. I faced a StarViper for the first time; not especially impressed, but I sicced three of my four fighters on it immediately, so it was powerfully outgunned. Anyway... placed first against a small pool of opponents and won more than my entry fee back in store credit, which I used to pick up a StarViper. I wouldn't likely buy one of the things, but I can justify using the spoils. It isn't a bad ship, and I'll find a place for it in a build soon enough.

In a couple of weeks, I'm flying in another tournament, and will probably strip out the B-Wing and some add-ons from this recent list to fit under the hundred-point cap. I'm too reliant on turrents to use the A4 title on all of my Y-Wings, but it's too useful to discount completely.

The last two Sunday mornings have started off with really good omelettes - last weekend at Patachou in Indianapolis, yesterday at The Fish House here in Louisville. Patachou, man, have mercy. So good. And The Fish House is really really good, too. People swoon over their beignets, and they're good, but ultimately they're just fried dough. Again, anyway... I'm going to learn to make these things. Too tasty.

Current Mood: content

More on the weekend - I made lunch for my parents and grandmother on Sunday. A beer-can chicken. Very, very well-received. And delicious.
The Horsemen lost United Bowl 3 to the Storm, 59-62. The Storm scored the game-winning touchdown with 7 seconds to go in the game. So darn close.

I slept so very well last night. Woke up one minute before my alarm would have gone off, so I didn't have to hear it screaming at me.

Today's writing-at-work goal: another 400 words on a Starship Troopers project.

I finished reading Promethean: the Created this weekend. I like it, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. The core book doesn't feel as complete as, say, Blue Mage does.

Mongoose Publishing has acquired a Traveller license.

10 days until GenCon.

This weekend was the first family reunion that I know of on my mom's side.

I left Lexington around 8 Saturday morning, and the drive was terrific. Filled up in Cannonsburg (maneuvering through the construction there), and took the crazy-ass state road out of Huntington. It was much much more fun in the Mustang than in the Explorer. Stopped briefly about halfway to Logan and dropped the roof. Got to Chief Logan State Park and started helping one cousin with the cooking - a whole damn pig.

Lots of relatives in the afternoon and evening. Catching up with many, avoiding some. Lots of food and hiking. The park is located in an old mine valley, and the trails are great. It's a beautiful place, and a great example of how to reclaim an old industrial site.

A little more goofing around and whatnot on Sunday morning. Left out around noon, and took the longer-but-faster route out. Sporadic conversations with Erin (not a whole lot of cell coverage unless you've got line-of-sight to a tower). Detoured to Berea to pick her up and get some steaks and shrimp to grill at

elalyr and

tegyrius' house.

I was exhausted when I got home last night. Stayed online to talk with Erin for a little while, but decided it was bedtime when I tipped over on the couch. Today, it's back to work, where I'll be flying solo for the first three days of the week.

Spider-Man 3 opens Friday. Hoping to catch it over the weekend.

Current Location: The Bunker

Sunday was good. Slept very late (until almost 11), then over to

elalyr and

tegyrius' house for Trinity. We've started meeting up an hour or so early so that we may walk around the neighborhood before the game. I like this a lot, as it's always easier to exercise with others. After the walk, the game - we got a clear demonstration at how powerful Aberrants are compared to us psions. Then, I grilled steaks and some kebobs that Elalyr had put together. I managed to get a steak done up plenty rare for

spoe, which was honestly a new experience for me.

Watched a few episodes of Planet Earth, and it is the most amazing thing. I'm starting to believe that it may be the reason TV was invented in the first place.

More excellent TV tonight - Heroes returns! The last five episodes of the season. I squeal with delight.

Erin and a couple of her friends stayed here last night - the last 35 miles or so of their trip home was just too far for them to manage. Poor sweet girl.

Current Location: The Bunker

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Roadside Picnic

Bright Ideas, Dark Futures

Why my man Won't Treat me Right

I am the Cool

Arise

Deja Vu

The Sound of Thunder

While the Earth Sleeps

Ego

There and Back Again

I'll be You

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December 2025

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