Hawaiian Kabobs

I just got an e-mail from a good friend of mine, Art Sanderson, former emperor of Chico, California, in response to my announcement that the July "Recipe of the Month" was going to be posted July 6th. He wanted something for the 4th of July, and after thinking about it, I thought some of the rest of my readers might enjoy a special summer holiday recipe as well.

So, here it is. From an old clipping my revered grandmother cut out of an issue of "Better Homes & Gardens" from the 1970s;

HAWAIIAN KABOBS

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon dark corn syrup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 1/2 lbs beef sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
• 3 green peppers, cut in 1" squares
• 5 small, FIRM, tomatoes, quartered

1. In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, oil, corn syrup, garlic, dry mustard and ginger.
2. Add meat; cover and refrigerate several hours or (best) overnight
3. Drain the meat, reserving marinade.
4. Alternate meat, green pepper, and tomato on skewers (note: If you decide to use bamboo skewers, soak them in water overnight to prevent them from catching fire on the grill and burning your kabobs).
5. Grill over medium-hot coals till desired doneness. Allow about 15 minutes for rare.
6. Baste the kabobs occasionally with reserved marinade.

This makes 8 servings, and everyone will rave about how tasty your kabobs are.

By the way, I'm moving into a new apartment on July 12th. I plan to register at Target (pronounced Tar-Gay) for housewarming gifts. When I have everything set-up, I plan to have a nice housewarming party. I look forward to seeing you all.

When I Was Fair And Young

I was feeling a little sad and lonely, and thought of this poem.

When I was fair and young, and favor graced me,

Of many was I sought their love to be.

But I did scorn them all, and answered them therefore,

"Go, go, go seek some other-where,

Importune me no more."

How many weeping eyes I made to pine with woe;

How many sighing hearts I have no skill to show.

Yet I the prouder grew, and answered them therefore,

"Go, go, go seek some other-where,

Importune me no more."

Then spake fair Venus' son, that proud, victorious boy,

And said: "Fine sir, since that you be so coy,

I will so pluck your plumes that you shall say no more,

"Go, go, go seek some other-where,

Importune me no more."

When he had spake these words, such change grew in my heart's breast

That neither night nor day since that, I could take any rest.

Then lo, I did repent that I had said before,

Go, go, go seek some other-where,

Importune me no more.

I Don't Know What To Do.

I found out recently that the house my grandparents used to own is back on the market. Some of my happiest memories, not just from childhood but life in general, are connected in some way to that house, and the people who used to live there, namely my grandparents.

My grandmother sold the house in 2004 after her second fall (thankfully, she didn't break anything that time) preparatory to moving to an assisted living retirement home. She originally asked $220,000, but had to lower it to $189,500, and the "man" who bought it nickeled and dimed her down another $500 to $189,000, AND made her include all the major appliances (ie. refrigerator, deep-freeze, stove, and dishwasher).

Well, needless to say, I wasn't to happy about the way that "man" took advantage of my grandmother's need to sell and move into a retirement home. I would have bought the house myself, but had nowhere near the amount of money I would have needed to put 20% down, let alone make the monthly mortgage payments and all the other bills and expenses that come with home ownership (eg. water, garbage, sewage, taxes, insurance), so, I didn't buy the house, but I did, I suppose, put a kind of curse on the new owner.

Now, it seems, my curse has born out. I have learned from my grandparents' former friends and neighbors that the "man" lost his job, his wife left him for another man, and his daughter got arrested for something to do with drugs and is now in a juvenile detention facility near Ventura, California. Ah, justice (and the sub-prime mortgage meltdown).

I have given some thought to trying to buy the house back myself, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea. Where my grandparents kept the house immaculate and in perfect condition, the "man" who bought it wasn't so particular and the house needs a lot of work and the neighborhood isn't as nice as it used to be. I'll have to think about it some more, but if I decide to buy it, I'll keep you informed.

By the way, some of you may have wondered about my use of the quotation marks whenever I referred to the ' "man" ' who bought my grandparents house. I use them to indicate that I don't think the "man" in question was much of one, nickle-and-dimming my grandmother the way he did, and use the term only to refer to his biological gender, and even that I have my doubts about (the size anyway).

The Singing New Friend

I got such a great response to my own music video, I thought I'd attach one of someone who has actual talent.

Maria Johnson, the "Singing New Friend" currently plays the part of Angela Bukitinski at the Stockton Civic Theatre's production of "The Full Monty". A very talented lady, I'm looking forward to working with her on future SCT productions when I'm free of other obligations. If any of you can make it to Stockton, and see nothing else, see Maria and the rest of the cast in "The Full Monty". I give it 5 out of 5 stars. *****

In the meantime, here's Maria Johnson singing. I won't hope you'll enjoy it, because I know you will enjoy it.

My First Music Video

I went to Club Paradise this last Tuesday, 6/24/08, for the karaoke and ended up singing the Eurythmics song, "Here Comes the Rain Again" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PscogedAWTI.

Maybe I'm just an egomaniac, but I think I sung it better. What do you think?

Please, be kind.

I Just Had the Strangest Dream (1)

In the dream, I was in a restaurant or diner, a place that reminded me somewhat of The Creamery here in Stockton, CA. I was eating with some friends of mine when who should walk up to our table but Dan Savage, author, sex advice columnist, and stand-up comedian.

He sits down next to me in our booth and we begin a conversation. I ask him about his son, DJ, and partner, Terry, who he tells me is busy antiquing, and could not come down from Seattle.

Now, I have always, for as long as I could remember, what some would call prophetic dreams. That means I dream of something and it later comes to pass, though it usually takes me some time to figure out what my dreams mean, and I wonder what this one meant.

I don't think it means I'm going to meet the actual Dan Savage in The Creamery, but it could mean that I meet someone who looks like or otherwise reminds me of him. Could this be a dream about a future boyfriend? God, I hope so!

I'll keep my eyes open, and if it comes true, and the guy I meet doesn't object, I'll keep you informed.

More Than the Price of Oil

This is going to be a short post because I just wanted to bring to light the main reason gasoline in the United States is so expensive compared to what it was at just a few short years ago.

Did you realize the last refinery built in the USA, in Garyville, Louisiana, began operations in 1976. 32 Yeas ago! And boys and girls, and those of you who have yet to make up their minds, that is the youngest oil refinery. Most are older than that, are already working at near 100 % capacity, and are using antiquated technology. Everyone wants cheaper gas, but no one wants the refineries built "in their own back yards."

Also, refineries aren't really that big of a money maker. My research turned up the fact that it costs roughly between $2billion and $4billion to construct and bring online, and that the return on equity is only about 5%. You can make more money than that investing in Treasury Bonds!

We don't need cheaper oil (well, granted it would help a little). What we need is more oil refineries to process the oil we've pumped out of the ground now.