Cast Iron Griddle

We've upgraded the griddle on our GE Cafe stove with the cast-iron version you see below.  The one that came with the stove was a coated aluminum version, but after making our weekly Oklahoma Onion Burgers, that coating is just about gone.  This griddle was seasoned several times by heating it up, applying oil, and letting it cool down.  It's about twice as heavy as the old one, but it's worth it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJV1GNB7

ThermoPro TP50

We needed a second thermometer and found the one you see below on Amazon for $12.  I like the humidity sensor, and while you can barely see it in the photo in the upper-left-hand corner, it displays a smiley face when it's comfortable.  It also displays the range of temperature and humidity, which is useful if you are trying to see how it varies across a hot summer's day.  They also make a model for $36 that includes WiFi connectivity, which would be very nice if you're away from home often.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1R0K68

Wall Of Tomatoes

Just down the street on Marshall Road is the house pictured below.  It's kind of genius to use the south-facing wall of your home, with just a foot of dirt between the house and the driveway, to grow tomatoes.  I don't know the variety, but growing plants over six feet tall is pretty amazing.  

The Practice Center

The scenic golf course picture below is at The Practice Center (TPC) in Franklin, Ohio.  It's an executive course (i.e., par 3s) and a great way to practice your short irons since most holes are less than 130 yards long.  It's not tour quality, but again, it's meant for practice, not tournaments.  And, unfortunately, the geese find it a pleasant place to gather.

So if you're traveling south on I-75 and notice a very large driving range on your right, you've found TPC.

http://www.tpcgolf.com

Original Jerk BBQ Sauce

Gourmet Chef Elaine picked up the bottle of jerk BBQ sauce at Dorothy Lane Market and used it to kick up our evening meal of sautéed Kielbasa, and it was a delicious choice.  The sauce is both spicy and sweet, and would pair well with chicken or other types of sausage.  If you're looking for something a little different, this sauce, or any jerk BBQ sauce, is something to try.

Lock Your Phone Number

A recent Clark Howard article (link below) discussed scammers who attempt to transfer your SIM card identification to their phone.  If successful, they can use that to bypass any two-factor authentication that involves sending a text message to your phone, since it will go to their phone instead.  Clark goes on to strongly recommend you lock your SIM card with your cellular provider.  The procedure varies by carrier, but I was able to quickly find it with my provider, Google Fi.  Still looking into how/if I can do this on Total Wireless for Gourmet Chef Elaine.

https://clark.com/cell-phones/why-you-need-to-lock-your-phone-number-today

Farmer's Market

The picture below is just a small portion of the Farmer's Market located at 4404 Wagner Road, which borders Kettering and Beavercreek.  Map it out before if you pay them a visit, as the entrance will sneak up on you if you're not prepared.  It's very quaint, laid back, and their prices seem much better than other options.  When you get there, if no one is around, just wait a little while, and someone will wander down from the house to help you.

Twenty-Seven Cents

Martinis and Oklahoma Onion burgers have become our Monday cocktail and dinner combination, and the biggest mess is the splatter from the burgers on the uncovered sides of the gas stove.  I solved that by using a sheet of aluminum foil on both sides of the grill, as shown below.  That has saved Gourmet Chef Elaine the time it takes to clean that up, but I wondered whether it was really worth it.  So I did the math.

The 2.5 square feet of foil times the cost of $0.11 per square foot equals $0.27.  

Definitely worth it.

HEIC Viewer

Gourmet Chef Elaine received a photo with a ".HEIC" (High Efficiency Image Coding) extension, presumably a picture sent from an iPhone or iPad.  Her Windows PC (I love her anyway) could not open the file, so I had her send it to me, figuring my Mac (I love my Mac) would handle it, which it did.  For the more technical types, a HEIC file is typically half the size of JPEGs for the same image quality and offers additional features (e.g., multiple images) that make it superior.

It figured that somebody somewhere had created a solution for Windows, and sure 'nuf, the free (I love free) HEIC Viewer is available on the Microsoft App Store.  It's from Duckhead Software, and they offer a range of useful image and video converter software. However, only a few are free, with the others ranging from $0.99 to $9.99.  Find the HEIC Viewer at the link below.

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n490gv4j2xl

Awesome Cheesesteak

This cheesesteak you see below puts all others I've ever had to shame.  Expertly cooked on a Blackstone grill, the onions, multi-colored peppers, very thinly sliced steak, and melted cheese on a soft and hearty hoagie bun delivered the taste.  

Big shout-out to our friends Dan and Kim for this delicious dinner!