Saturday, March 28, 2009

Bok Choy Becomes Bok Ciao !

Last night I cooked bok choy for the first time. I don't cook Chinese food. I let my local Rice Shop do it for me. I cook Italian food so I Italianized bok choy and it was great! From here on in I will refer to it as bok ciao lol!

Heat some olive oil in a pan and add as much chopped garlic as you like (we like LOTS of it) and a medium sliced or chopped onion. Cook until limp or just starting to brown on the edges. Meanwhile chop up 3 small heads of bok ciao. Start at the white end and cup into 1/4" slices. Add this to the pan. After a couple of minutes add the green part of the bok ciao sliced into 1/2" ribbons.

Then mix in some Herb-Ox chicken broth, in POWDER form, to taste (do not add water). I use this in many of my recipes instead of salt. It gives vegetables a nice, rich flavor in addition to the salt it provides (it is also available in a low-salt form). Add some Italian Seasoning (or any Italian seasonings of your choice) and black pepper. Mix all together and cook on a low to medium heat until the bok ciao is limp. About 5 minutes.

Bok ciao reminds me of escarole and makes a great side dish. It is delicious and a nice accompaniment to chicken or pork. Serves 3 to 4. Enjoy! Smoochies!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Superstitious! Who me? Kaboom!!

I am not superstitious. I walk under ladders, open umbrellas inside and pick up coins tails up. That was until three days ago. Here I was relaxing online in the middle of the night when the lights started to flicker. Was it my imagination? I continue to relax and then KABOOM! My computer made a loud and I mean very loud noise. All the lights went out for about 15 seconds. Not enough time for me to get out from behind my desk and run in the dark, winding my way through furniture to the nearest window to see if I am alone in my plight.

The lights come on. I turn on the computer and see A BIG BLACK SCREEN with the words "IT IS FRIDAY THE 13th". Actually the words were (and I'm paraphrasing here because I really didn't want to stare at the words for too long) "Windows files have been damaged". The black screen alone told me that. I tried to be big about it. I didn't cry. I didn't throw a fit. I went in the living room and did a crossword puzzle and made believe my connection to the outside world had not been lost.

Brought it into the shop, paid a few extra bucks to get it back within the day. Went to pick it up at which time I was told my pc could visit with me for a few days, but it has to go back...my computer has "issues". I have issues. Some people around me have issues. My Mother's cat has issues. But my computer? So it must go back this week for a stint on the couch and then it will be A-OK!

Fortunately I didn't lose any data. The lesson learned however is don't rely on a surge protector. Get yourself a battery backup. The sooner the better! Oh and stay offline on Friday the 13th! Smoochies!