It's been a while since I last posted anything food-related. More on that hiatus later, but first, kitchen adventures!
I found a bottle of Chick-Fil-A Polynesian Sauce in the discount cart at my local grocery store. The expiration date was looming, so it cost only 99¢. I decided to give it a try, and browsed the meat department case to discover packages of pork steaks at $2.49/lb. A simple dinner menu was forming inmy mind, built around this main course!
When I got home, I began marinading one package of pork in about 4 oz. of the sauce. An hour before dinner time, I started boiling 4 cups of water with 1 cup of rinsed wild rice. It takes 40 minutes or so to properly cook.
The Mother Thing was planning her own grocery shopping on her way home, so I asked her to buy some bagged salad. She even found a Caesar salad kit with dairy alternative dressing and fake cheese!
When the rice still had 20 minutes left, I put the pork steaks on a broiler pan, brushed on more Polynesian sauce, and set them on the top rack. It quickly became apparent that the extra height of the pan and drip tray put everything too close to the broiler element. I shifted the rack down a notch, flipped the steaks, brushed on more sauce again, and kept a closer eye on the cooking process. When the wild rice was almost done, I flipped the steaks one more time, added a touch more sauce, and then got distracted with other things. It was slightly over-cooked, but not ruined.
Aside from some crispiness on some of the fat and the bone, it was still quite good. I had another pack of pork steaks and half the bottle of sauce left for another day, so we had a repeat a few evenings later using steamed asparagus spears instead of salad for the vegetable course, and I tried some pineapple chunks as a marinade supplement. I know pineapple is from South America, not Hawaii or any other Pacific islands, but it tastes good. It also definitely belongs on pizza. Fight me.
I paid closer attention to the broiling process, basting more regularly and keeping the meat slightly further from the heat right from the start. This was absolutely amazing.
I have been going through some personal turmoil lately. The cold weather, work stress, old injuries flaring up, and other elements have been making it difficult to regularly post content. Those who follow me regularly may have noticed posts and voting becoming more sporadic than usual. I have kept up with the Power Up Month challenge though, so I've been here for that every day at least! I may increase my delegations to Curie, OCDB, and Ecency so my vote power can still support content creators even if my activity level here is low. However, I may be on the upswing from this last downturn, so maybe I'll be manually curating again myself. Time will tell.
As inflation mounts and housing costs balloon, I am also open to abandoning my library career and switching to crypto and crafts. I'm tired of obnoxious kids and obnoxious adults. Even though the district is technically a non-profit, our funding is largely derived from tax revenue, and I have never been comfortable anywhere in the political plunder revenue system. I can't fix it from the inside. Maybe it is time to focus my energy elsewhere. I don't know.
I am also starting to ponder whether I can stay here in the northerly part of the country for another winter. The cold is harder and harder to handle every year with my thyroid disease and back injuries. Instead of trying to cope through caffeine and medication, I should consider relocating. I'm not sure about anything yet, but I am weighing my options more seriously this spring.
Needless to say, I have a lot on my mind. Change isn't fun, but the status quo cannot be sustained. Maybe just getting back in the habit of blogging about my various interests will help me better focus on solutions. Thoughts, prayers, good vibes, $BEER, and $PIZZA are all welcome if you would like to help!
