Cooking, company news, little setbacks

I did not mention our cooking lesson in yesterday’s blog, but it did happen Tuesday night after I got home from my ill-fated dental appointment. By the time we got the Chinese home in Decatur it was around 6:40. Grandma C already had everything cut up and ready to cook. The rice, which is a distinct variety, had been soaking for about two hours. That has always been the challenge with Asian cooking. The time required to prep the food for cooking is generally much longer that the time it takes to actually cook the dish being prepared. Anyway, the instant we were there we were ushered into the kitchen for our lesson. That is, as soon as we were given house shoes (slippers) to wear since we had kicked off our shoes at the door. (Mine were way too small and Yilin and Cheyenne got a big kick out of watching me try to keep them on my feet.) the pot was put on to start heating and a bit of oil was added. When that was sufficiently hot the shrimp was put in the oil to begin the process. They were allowed to cook for about a minute.

Grandma kept Shulin busy translating her every move as she put the Chinese Cabbage, the fresh ginger and carrots – all cut very small – into the pot with the shrimp. Those cooked for a few minutes before the rice was added. As Grandma was adding the rice she added water heated in a kettle. So, everything was at boiling temperature very quickly. Once the pot began to boil, the heat burner was turned off and the pot was let stand for about twenty minutes on the burner. That twenty-minute wait was the longest part of the whole process. Grandma kept wanting me to taste the porridge and Shulin kept reminding her that my mouth was still numb. All in all, we were in and out in about forty minutes. We went home with a fresh pot of porridge and the information on how to prepare it ourselves. Grandma, through Shulin, told us that she loves to cook and does not get many opportunities to do so, so, if we make the soup and it does not turn out as well as the soups she has made for us, she would be very happy to make the soup for us anytime we want. That is a wonderful backup plan.

My company had a company wide meeting yesterday to announce some changes to the employee handbook. All the changes were good policy changes or updates. All reflect a cultural shift away from a small, mom-and-pop organization towards a more established corporate mindset. One of the changes that resonated with my fellow employees was the more relaxed dress code. We will no longer be required to dress business casual; rather, we will be allowed to wear jeans to work while at the office. There are caveats that I wish were clearer, but overall, that particular item made everyone very happy. Outlining a new bereavement pay policy and moving payroll to an in-house function were also good changes. Though less immediately impactful, they will prove to be very good choices on the part of our leadership. It reflected a huge step forward in our HR oversight.

Mama and I stopped by the office after church last night. We would like to advertise our two little female goats for sale on the Myotonic registration site and that requires more internet power than I have available at the house right now. But we were unable to find out just how to get the advertisement placed on the site. Mama will call today to get a detailed explanation from the ladies that run the site. We know it is possible because Rick – our goat mentor – has used the site often, but we were totally at a loss to discover how and it was too late to call for help.

Our Sequoia has been burning out fuses lately. The one that fails allows power to the dome lights and the clock. It is not noticeable so much during the daylight hours – other than the clock not keeping time – but at night it a bit disconcerting. In the past I have been able to replace the fuse, and all is well. But when I replaced the fuse Tuesday evening, it did not rectify the issue. Tonight, I will spend some time on troubleshooting, but there is a limited amount I can do. Maybe the replacement fuse was bad.

I have several to experiment with but few ideas past that.