Thursday, still catching up

It was 22 degrees F. when I woke up on Thursday, so the lake in back was now an ice rink!

I went to Kroger's at lunch and finally finished up last weekend's grocery shopping. I raced home, put most of the groceries away and then raced back to work.

I learned that one of the cats (I'm not naming names) had decided it would be a swell idea to barf on the bedspread before I got home after work. So, without even changing clothes, I threw the bedspread and the blanket into the washer (after spraying the stain).

Next, I started a new venture for me. One of the people I respect in the food world, Michael Ruhlman, who writes "cook" books (as opposed to "recipe" books) and Blogs about food, mentioned a rather simple recipe for beef jerky. So, I decided to give it a try. I like beef jerky, but it's so damn expensive these days!

Now Alton Brown (another hero) had a neat setup, using a box fan and furnace filters, but I no longer have a box fan. So, I thought I'd try this. But, there are problems with this one, too. You need to set your oven on 90 degrees F. Now, that's cool if you have a commercial oven, but my lowest setting is 170 degrees F. (or "warm"). He suggested that, if that was the case, you could leave the door open a crack. But, can you imagine the gas you would use over a 20 hour period?

However, one of the comments on his Blog mentioned a 100 watt light bulb with the door closed gives you just the right heat. So, since I do have that, I am going with it.

So, I took the 2 1/2 pound round steak out of the fridge. While I let it warm up, I mixed together the rub which was 3/4 ounces of kosher salt (using my kitchen scale, here) or about 1 1/2 tablespoons, 1 3/4 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1 3/4 teaspoons of onion powder and 3 teaspoons of ground chipotle.

I cut off all the fat I could and then cut the steak into 1/4 inch strips (you want them around 1/4 inches x 3/4 inches). Now, if you want it really chewy, you cut it against the grain, but, for people like me (I can't eat bacon as crispy as Carla likes it, for example), I cut it with the grain. I put the strips into a large bowl and dusted it with the spices. I tossed them and dusted them again, tossing and dusting them over and over until the spices were gone.

Then, I put them on racks sitting on half sheet pans (see photos). I rigged up the 100 watt bulb, rearranged the oven racks and slid them in. I shut the door and will check on them tomorrow when I get home from work. I did check my free-standing oven thermometer (never trust what your oven says!) and it was 95 degrees, so the guy was right!

The bedspread and blanket were now dried, so I made up my bed.

So, it was now after 7:00 PM and time to make dinner. I pulled the chilled brown rice from the fridge, threw it on a sheet tray and busted up the big clumps with my hands. I let that warm up while I put one cup of frozen peas into a sieve over a bowl to thaw.

Next, I made my mise en place. I had already cut the pork chop into cubes, so now I thin-sliced some scallions (four of them, white and green). Then, as I said I would add the last time I made these, I cut up about a half a tray of mushrooms into the same size as the pork.

I mixed up the sauce (1/4 cup oyster sauce and two tablespoons good soy sauce) and scrambled three eggs while my biggest non-stick saut� pan heated up to medium-high.

When the pan was ready, I added the eggs, swirling them around to coat the whole bottom. I cooked them without stirring until they were firm (adjust the heat if you need to, but don't let them brown). Then I transferred them to a plate to cool.

I returned the skillet to the burner, added vegetable oil and heated it on high heat. Meanwhile, I cut the eggs into small pieces. When it was hot, I added the peas, scallions and mushrooms and cooked, stirring constantly, for about one minute. I added in the rice, the sauce mixture, the eggs and the diced pork. I continued to cook that, again stirring constantly for another one to two minutes (until the rice was cooked through). I plated it, drizzled it with sesame oil and a little more soy sauce and went in to watch TV.

Well, since I brag about my culinary triumphs, it's only fair I report my failures. This fried rice sucked!!! I am not sure if it was the mushrooms or the brown rice (I suspect both) but this consistency was nothing like restaurant fried rice or even like my last batch. This was just soggy!

Fortunately, I found an old Sherlock Holmes movie (The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring Peter Cushing, from 1958) which more than made up for the mediocre dinner. I surprised myself by staying up until it ended (at 10:00 PM). Then I went to sleep.