Stuffed Cabbage

Chef Elaine grew up with Stuffed Cabbage and I grew up with Cabbage Rolls, probably because my ancestors were from Germany and the Chef's (at least half of them) were from eastern European countries like Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Slovakia.  I made the rolls shown below from the recipe at the bottom, taken from a 1973 cookbook called "Three Rivers Cookbook."  The picture shows the little rolls sitting on a layer of sauerkraut before being submerged in tomato sauce and tomato soup (what!), water, bacon, and sugar.  

The term "Golumki" in the recipe's title might be a typo, as a search returns "Golumpki", which means "little pigeons".  Fortunately, that's a reference to the shape of the roll, which looks like a pigeon’s chest, not the source of the meat. 

More information and a list of dozens of ethnic variations can be found at this link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_roll

Holiday Spirit

Two of our friends introduced us to the cocktail below, a dazzling display of Christmas colors.  You start by rimming the inside of a martini glass with marshmallow fluff (~ 3/8" deep) then turn it upside down to get a layer of red and green sprinkles to adhere.  Fill the glass with a white-colored concoction of your choice and wait for the sprinkles to slowly dissolve into streaks.  

This particular cocktail was made with 2 oz of Rumchata, 1.5 oz of Vanilla Vodka, 1.5 oz of Amaretto, and 1 oz of Half and Half.  Merry Christmas!

Carabiner Part Deux

After my post a couple of weeks ago, a reader noted that carabiner is a really strange word which led me to look at the word's origin.  Pronounced "care-a-bean-ner" (short "a") the word comes from the German Karabinerhaken, where Karabiner translates to Carbine and haken to hook.  So a carabiner originated as a method to attach a carbine rifle to a soldier's belt, but is now used for a variety of purposes and a mainstay for mountain climbers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabiner

WhatTheFont

As I was searching for a nice font to use, I found one I liked printed on a card we received, but of course, I had no clue which one it was.  I searched through the Google Play store and found the WhatTheFont app.  I scanned the text and the resulting matches are shown in the screenshot below.  That was enough information (the "light" was the key) to find a similar font in Google Docs to meet my needs.  

You can also use the link below to upload an image or select an image's URL to have WhatTheFont perform a similar search as the smartphone app.

https://www.myfonts.com/pages/whatthefont

Pixel 7 As A Webcam

While I don't think the world needs a higher-resolution image of my face when I'm on a video call, the picture below comes from my Pixel 7 smartphone being used as a webcam on my Mac.  It's a boastful 1920x1080 that blows away the 1280x720 spec of my normal Microsoft HD-6000 webcam by 2.25 times more pixels.  Attaching it to my Mac was seamless but Chef Elaine's Windows PC just ignored it.  Windows is supposed to support USB Video Class (UVC) cameras like my Pixel, so when I get time I might try to figure that out.

The biggest downside to using my Pixel 7 as a webcam is that I don't have a stand that would elevate it to eye level so that just might have to be a snowy winter's day project.

https://support.google.com/googlecamera/answer/14274129

Three Challahs

I've made Challah bread several times in the past (see link below) but have always made one great loaf that a part went to waste, plus it's way more than Chef Elaine and I care to have in our limited-carb diet.  A few weeks I had the brilliant (or more like it, finally) idea to make three smaller loaves as seen below.  After they cooled, two of the three were wrapped up and stored in the freezer for later consumption.  I find it amazing that something this simple takes me years to think of.  Sigh...

https://dailyposts.paulishing.com/2016/12/challah-bread.html

Christmas Tree

After years of buying a real Christmas tree, hauling it home tied to the top of the Jeep, dragging it into the living room, getting it level, and watering it daily, we finally caved and bought the artificial tree shown below.  We bought it from Frontgate Outlet in West Chester, Ohio just after last Christmas when their markdowns were at their highest, making this overpriced-at-$1,000+ tree reasonably affordable.  The tree is just three pieces and has hundreds of small white lights installed.  Just connected the pieces, plugged them into an Alexa-supported smart plug, and added some of the hundreds of ornaments from Chef Elaine's large collection.  It is one of the prettiest artificial trees I've ever seen.

https://www.frontgate.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Frontgate/US/CustomerService/WestChester/content-path

Falls Of The Ohio

Last October we took the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience in downtown Louisville and in addition to learning about the history of the brand, we learned about the origins of the city.  It's located on the Ohio River just upstream of the Falls of the Ohio which back in the 1780s presented the only rapids on the Ohio from its beginning in Pittsburgh to it flowing into the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois.  Those rapids were very dangerous and boats would offload their cargo, which would be hauled overland 2.5 miles downstream to a spot below the Falls, and hopefully loaded back on their original ship, assuming the lightened craft could navigate the Falls safely.  

The Louisville and Portland Canal was completed in 1830 and renamed the McAlpine Locks and Dam in 1960.  This removed the obstacle the Falls presented and allowed commercial and pleasure craft safe passage up and down the river.  More information can be found at the link below.

https://www.fallsoftheohio.org

Kirkland Soap

I've used Dove soap for over a dozen years and have been happy with it, but as the cost of everyday supplies has gone nuts, I decided to search for a cheaper version that was equally gentle on my dry-ish skin.  I gave the Kirkland brand shown below a try and it is even better than the Dove at about two-thirds of the cost.  It lathers like crazy (caveat, we have a great Enting Water softener) and does so even as the bar shrinks to a sliver, something the Dove doesn't.  We get ours at Costco but it looks like it's available from eBay and others, albeit for a higher price.

Travel Essentials

Since I seem to travel a lot, a follower asked "What are the essential items you always pack?"  Turns out it's the nearly three dozen items that are listed below.  The most important part to me is these are always ready to go.  I don't go around collecting these; they are dedicated to traveling only, and none are used while I'm home.  That's a lot of duplication, but it's also a lot less work, and more importantly, I will remember everything essential.  I just pack my toiletry and Crown Royal bags in my suitcase and grab my laptop bag.  On the road again!....

Inside my Toiletry Bag

• toothbrush and toothpaste, toothpicks
• razor and shaving cream
• soap in a plastic container
• deodorant 
• ibuprofen, Tums, eye drops, lip balm, body cream
• small flashlight
• bottle opener/small knife
• nail clippers, tweezers
• sewing kit
• hand wipes, bandages

Inside a purple Crown Royal bag

• 40W 4-Port USB Phone Charger
• two USB-C cables (iPads, Pixel 7)
• one Lightning cable (iPhone 11)
• one Magnetic Charging Cable (Apple watch)
• one USB 2.0 Micro cable (travel mirror)

Inside my laptop bag

• small slotted/Phillips screwdriver
• pens and index cards
• flash drive, earbuds
• Coffee CarryAround (see https://dailyposts.paulishing.com/2023/11/carryaround.html)
• Packets of Equal (the only zero-calorie sweetener I like)
• a plastic pouch for receipts
• spare reading glasses