Left-overs

Alright, pretty exiting topic, right? Believe it or not, this is one of my girls' favorite meals. Easy to put together, cheap (a big plus), tasty, and if you have a young one who doesn't eat her veggies (like our youngest), you can sneak 'em past her!

I keep a few odd items on hand for this dish, but they are not essential. If you happen to have an Asian grocer near by, or a very well-stocked specialty isle at the local super market, look for Oyster Flavor Sauce, fresh ginger (although prepared minced ginger works too), and soy sauce (yes, available everywhere, but at an Asian market you pay less by buying it by the gallon).

Day-old rice works best, but any steamed rice works. I use a wok, but again, almost any deep pan suitable for frying will work. I heat oil to smoking (I don't use non-stick pans so I can cook with high heat), add garlic, then throw in whatever meat I have left over. The picture below is some beef steak; ham, chicken, sausage, pork, or fish all work. Add some soy sauce and heat through. I move the meat to a dish, reheat the pan, add more oil, the in go the veggies. These can be left-overs, or fresh veggies, or frozen veggies, or a combination of all three. Shown below are fresh carrots, celery, and onion, and frozen beans and corn. The fresh carrots were cooked a minute in the microwave to soften them a bit. For a picky eater, chop the veggies fine enough that she cannot pick them out. As this cooks I add the ginger and a dash of Oyster Flavor Sauce. This stuff is not fishy, it just adds a nice flavor to the vegetables, and rounds out the flavor. Splash in some soy sauce, and add the meat back in. Here you go:


Pretty, huh? Next, add enough cooked rice that you think it will fill the kids, then add more. This can be tricky, because the rice will want to stick, so I turn the heat down and add more oil, or some butter. Stir it up, add more soy sauce, and serve it.


My kids love it, my wife loves it and asked me fix it for dinner tonight (well, she did most of the work while I was in my home office - I just cooked it and accepted the accolades), and I think we fed the whole clan, including second helpings, for under $3.00.

Homeschool begins again...

We are gearing up for the new school year. First and Fifth grades. This year we are going to use St. Thomas Aquinas Academy again. We used them in First and Second grades, and I think their curriculum recommendations are spot on.

Homeschooling is more challenging, as my oldest wants to only work on those items of interest to her. It is like pulling teeth to get her to work on a variety of subjects.

Well, that is why it is helpful to get outside advice from time to time.

Fun with Home Repair

I have some nominal ability to effect repairs around the house. Electrical work, however, has been something up with which I shall not put (paraphrasing Churchill). Recently, when our microwave oven died after plugging a radio into an outlet, I called an electrician for help. This happening on a weekend, the service wanted a credit card number for the "emergency service fee". I told them that I could cook on a stove top, so this was not considered an emergency. Schedule something for Monday, please.

In the mean time, I jumped on the internet to see if I could troubleshoot the problem. I came across a great web site, The Circuit Detective. This fellow has a great troubleshooting page (I had an open neutral in a circuit that ended at the microwave), advice, even telephone consultation if you are not near enough that he can visit in person. On top of that, you can order his book from Amazon!



Bottom line, with the advice from this site, about $9.00 worth of outlets (including a cheap tester), I effected a repair that would have cost $125.00 just for the service call, had I considered it an emergency.

Interesting side note: The electrical repair shop never did call me to set an appointment.

Special on iPods at Calumet

Yes, a blatant plug. Full disclosure - I (through my company, Camera Collectors, Inc. am an affiliate of Calumet Photographic. A new relationship, I hope they can supply items my customers may want, but that I cannot supply. With luck, I may make a buck or two as well.

That said, they are offering free shipping on iPods. My older daughter loves hers, and I was sufficiently impressed I may replace my MP3 player with an iPod (I have some Scot blood in me, so I won't do it until the MP3 player breathes it's last breath).

How does this apply to homeschooling? Please, if you haven't already, check out iTunes University. My MP3 player does not have any music. I have iTunes U college lectures on the Epistles, I have lessons on Biblical Greek (these lectures are downloaded free of charge), and a few audio books from Audible.com. I load Jack Benny's radio programs to listen to while traveling - driving at night, kids and wife asleep, and I'm laughing out loud.

Anyway - here is the link. If it looks like a good deal, try them out. I buy hard-to-find photographic gear from Calumet, and have always been pleased by their prices and service.

Free Shipping on ALL iPods at Calumet Photographic! while supplies last. no code necessary

To steal a line from Monty Python...

And now, for something completely different.... Technochicken!

Who has this much time on their hands?

Ugly Lessons

And I'm not referring to the ugly mug my kids see during their home school lessons. No, this was an unfortunate (but fortunately rare) lesson in human nature.

An acquaintance of my older daughter was creating a ruckus in the parking lot between several buildings in our townhouse complex. An owner (middle aged woman) came out to holler a complaint. She was obviously already in a bad mood - who knows what had happened in her day (or life) to upset her - and this boy became the target of her ire. Being a nosy neighbor, and knowing the boy, I suggested to the youngster that he quit making such a din, as the lady was upset enough. That suggestion lasted as long as one would suspect with an eleven-year-old boy, about five minutes.

The next time our irate neighbor approached the boy his sitter intervened. This girl has anger issues of her own. Imagine being seventeen years old, oldest of six children, in charge of watching and schooling all five siblings for a majority of each day (the youngest still in diapers) as momma works afternoons and nights, and pappa is gone (a divorce the children learned of when the legal papers were left lying about) - no social life, no contact with kids outside the immediate area, in a crowded two bedroom townhouse all day - I think the anger and attitude are understandable, right or not.

Long story short, the two short tempers ended up choking each other until the seventeen-year-old hit the pavement. Police cars, firetruck, ambulance... more excitement than this quiet neighborhood has seen in many years.

Sad situation, but it does provide a "teachable moment". The kids learned some of what leads to the anger, how the situation escalates, how people should and should not handle these problems, and a quick Bible lesson in turning the other cheek. Sometimes good can come from bad.

Busy Week

Here is the problem with a blog - I don't write consistently. Lots of fun this last week, though.

We finally made the home-made cheese referenced below. It was fun, and I figure it counts as home economics and chemistry. It needs a little something - a great texture, but a little bland. I think with a little garlic, maybe some herbs, it will be delightful. Next step, aged cheese!