There is so little to report it's embarrassing. I am just hanging out, trying not to sweat to death. It's 92 here. Ah, summer, the only time I don't like living in Atlanta.
I have fielded about 100 emails today, some of them with possibilities of work. Very exciting.
Also, my campaign to implore all my friends to help me market my book, is working. I am basically available to talk about adoption anywhere, anytime you will let me sell a few books. Planning a bar mitzvah? A ladies' tea party? A baby shower? Bachelor party? Dog's 5th birthday? The opening of an envelope? I am so there.
One aquaintance called and asked if I would babysit her dogs. Uh, no. I've been laid off for two days, not two months.
I took Alesia to therapy. It's part 50-something in my quest to help her become more tolerable. She's 17. There are issues. Not huge or really unusual issues, actually. She's a teenager.
The most exciting thing I did this afternoon was to pick up Mother's prescription at CVS. I refused to buy Mike a wrestling magazine. Drama always happens when we go to CVS.
My friend Judy asked me for my mother's wonderful meatloaf recipe, and I figured it out. First, don't use turkey. If beef freaks you out, don't fix this. There are ridiculously low fat beefs out there, so if you use those, add in some olive oil or something.
Elva’s
Meatloaf or Meatballs
1 lb. Ground beef
1 egg
2 tblsp. Baking powder [correction: Elva said it's more like 1 teaspoon. oops...]
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup ketchup
1 piece of bread
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Lawrey’s seasoning salt
Black pepper and salt [to taste]
Put the ground beef in a bowl, and add the egg, and the baking powder. Soak the piece of bread in water. Add the soy sauce and ketchup, and all other ingredients. Wash your hands thoroughly. Really, use soap. Mush up the meat with your hands. Yes it looks gross. Get over it. It should be very mushy, very watery – barely holding together. Don’t put it in a loaf pan. Get a 9x13 pan or other oven-safe dish and shape it into a rectangular shape. You can add ketchup or tomato paste on the top, or a couple of pieces of bacon are good. Put a little water in the bottom of the pan if you use metal. Meat should be no more than 2 inches high. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so, uncovered.
Meatballs: instead of doing meatloaf, form the meat into egg-shaped balls and fry them in hot oil. The meat should be so moist it just barely holds together – add water as needed to achieve that. When both sides are done, cut it way down, and add beef broth, some red wine, and soy sauce, and cook it on low, steaming the meatballs, for about 15 minutes.
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ADDENDUM
I made this for dinner, but I used
chicken filets instead of wings. I didn’t grate orange peel. I don’t eat “zest.”
Yuck. I also don’t like sesame oil, so I used
olive oil. I put all the ingredients in a pan and mixed them up, then threw in
the filets and just cooked them about ten minutes. The chicken was wonderful.
Szechuan Chicken Wings Recipe
Chicken wings - 12 to 15
Dry chili flakes - 1 to 2 teaspoons
Orange - 1
Ginger - 5 slices
Minced garlic - 1 teaspoon
Green onion - 2 (chopped)
Honey - 1 to 2 teaspoons
Light soy sauce - 1/4 cup
Sesame oil - 2 to 3 tablespoons
Corn starch - 2 teaspoons
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Grate about 2 teaspoons of orange peel, and juice the orange to make about 1/3 cup of orange juice.
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Mix the orange peel, juice, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and red chili flakes. Mix well, and then evenly coat the chicken wings.
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Let it stand for 30 to 45 minutes The longer the better - over night if you wish.
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In a large frying pan, add 3 tablespoon of oil, and turn heat on medium-high. Add in the chicken wings and reserve the sauce. Fry one side of the chicken wing for 7 to 10 minutes. Flip and fry the other side of the chicken wing.
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Cook until the chicken wings are browned.
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Take the chicken sauce and boil in a small pot. Add the corn starch to thicken. Serve this with the chicken wings.
