Dinner by Chef Jay Dill
Posted on June 2, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Jay made us dinner last night. Dinner came with free cooking lessons.
Here he is demonstrating how to slice a pineapple.
He is such a show off! LOL.
Here he is slicing bell peppers…
..and chicken…
Brian was his helper.
The finished dish is a chicken stir fry consisting of bell peppers, a little bit of jalapeño, onions, garlic, and pineapple. It was actually pretty good.
Here’s another photo. (BTW, I contributed by making rice. Becca made us some guacamole which isn’t pictured. It was really good also.)
I was quite impressed. When I asked Jay where he learned how to cook, he explained that he was trained at the culinary school of “short order.” I guess he’s picked up some tricks of the trade from working in various kitchens over the past 30 years. Just kidding. He’s not that old. He’s worked in quite a few kitchens, though. He knows how to handle a knife, that’s for sure.
Thanks for making us dinner on Saturday night, Jay and Becca! We look forward to your next culinary creation.
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Our Covered Deck Just Got Shadier
Posted on June 1, 2013 by Ching under Home Ownership.
We love our new house and everything, but the one thing that we’ve always complained about Casa de Felitaciones is that the deck/backyard faces West so it gets way more sun than we like in the afternoons. There was a house behind us that we really wanted a couple of years ago (it’s a really beautiful house but we liked it mostly for the East-facing yard), but we were afraid to make an offer on it. Anyway, we found our house a year later and got a really good deal on it so we were willing to compromise on the yard orientation. We figured we could always get some sun shades for the deck, which we have finally done.
I’d been wanting to get sun shades since we moved last year but hadn’t found the right one until now. I found these Coolaroo sun shades
It blends in so well that you don’t even notice it when it’s retracted.
The other thing that I love about them is that they block the sun but not the light so you still get plenty of natural light. That was one of my concerns with putting some shades on the deck. I didn’t want it to get dark. I can’t begin to describe in words how well these shades fit my needs. They’re exactly what I wanted.
The only down side is that we underestimated the height of our ceiling. I thought the six-foot length would be sufficient. When we unroll the shades, they don’t quite reach the deck railing. Brian and I came up with an ingenious solution, though.
It’s not the prettiest solution but it works. Basically, we extended the tie downs by using nylon cord attached to a plastic clip. The mate of the clip is attached to our deck railing. That keeps the shade from flopping around in the wind. It’s a concern for us because it’s pretty windy in these parts. Anyway, when we are done, we just unfasten the plastic clips and roll the shade up. One part goes up with the sun shade and the other part is permanently affixed to the railing so we don’t have to mess with tying knots every time. All we have to do is fasten and unfasten the plastic clips. Mighty clever, right? I thought so.
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This is How We Do Breakfast
Posted on June 1, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Mom couldn’t make it this morning but we had a good breakfast with dad, Jay, Becca, and Chad. Brian made hash browns and scrambled eggs…
..and pancakes…
..and Nutella croissants.
I helped by frying the bacon.
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Dad’s Airboat in Action
Posted on June 1, 2013 by Ching under Toys, Videos, Wishlist.
Dad brought his new airboat over this morning and tested it out in our pond. At about the 2:50 mark you’ll see video footage of the airboat in action. It goes pretty fast. Brian got to play with it some this morning. Now he wants to make one too. I told him that if everyone makes one we can host an annual race! LOL.
P.S. Brian thinks he can make one, but he’s not as crafty as dad. His birthday is just around the corner, though. Here’s one that I thought of getting for him but can’t now that we’ve bought a new mattress. I’m broke.
Anyone want to get this for Brian?
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Grand Central Hotel and Grill
Posted on May 31, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We had a nice celebration lunch at Grand Central today in Cottonwood Falls. I had only dined there once before, about six years ago, with some Diversity Champions teammates. I didn’t really remember much from that previous experience other than I recognized the place when Darcy and I arrived there.
The food was actually pretty good. I had a salad before my meal, which I inhaled. I was either really hungry or it was really good. I think it’s both. I thought the raspberry vinaigrette dressing was yummy.
I had grilled chicken and beans and rice for my meal. The chicken was nice and juicy but was lacking in flavor somewhat. The rice and beans were good. Despite my slight disappointment with the chicken, the meal was not bad overall.
Darcy had the reuben.
This is Susan’s salad.
I’m not sure how everyone else felt about the place, but I actually liked it. I liked it enough that I’m considering taking Brian on a road trip that way. Now to just figure out what kind of sights we can see in Cottonwood Falls. LOL.
Anyone know what kind of attractions and points of interest we can see over in those parts? Suggestions of places to see and things to do would be most welcome. Please post your recommendations in the comments.
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