[skeptic7]

People are standing further away from each other in stores. I heard that the Naginata Seminar in Jersey City at the end of the month is still being held, but my teachers have been asked not to come. Fran is over 80 and Ray is younger but getting up there too. No one is hugging each other in greeting.

Do you think I can still bake and give away Hot Cross buns if I don't have any symptoms?

[skeptic7]

My father sent 3 cans of black beans home with me. I made Brazilian Black Bean Soup with orange juice and cumin. I normally make this with 2 cups of dried beans which normally cook up to over 4 cups of cooked beans so three 15 oz cans of cooked beans is a little more beans than the recipe. I put in a little more onions, a little less cumin and garlic, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles instead of plain diced tomatoes.
I cooked this overnight in a slow cooker until the carrots were tender. Its pleasantly rich and spicy. I'm eating this with fat white buns with a cinnamon topping also a present from my father.

Now does anyone know a good recipe with lots of raisins? Preferably cooking the raisins first, they are rather old.

[skeptic7]

I got it.

[skeptic7]

I missed this

[skeptic7]

I think the enzyme treatment works well if there isn't a blockage. I got my first house 6 years ago and have been doing monthly enzyme treatments since then. The drains are all running well now but there were three times when I had to call the plumber to remove an obstruction and a couple of times that I cleaned up one on my own. I like the enzymes since it doesn't hurt the pipes, and it isn't a danger to me or the plumber if I have to try something more drastic. I really believe that the drains are working better with the regular treatment.
I use the little screens to prevent debris from going down the kitchen sink, and the plastic covers to prevent hair from going down the bathtub.
It was so hard getting 6 feet down the drain line, I'm so glad that I didn't have to try to break through something further down.

[skeptic7]

I'm not cooking or baking anything. I'm visiting my father and he insists on doing all the cooking. I was trying to get a plumber to come while I was visiting. I thought there were lots of plumbing that needed to be fixed especially as my father and his friend are enthusiastic amateur plumbers -- but they have more enthusiasm than skill. The kitchen sink had drained very slowly on my last two visits. The upstairs bathtub drain is locked open, the shower head is ancient lacking a top cap, the toilet rocks -- Dad and his friend installed it, the downstairs bathtub overflow drain lacks a rubber gasket. The plumbers came and Dad drove them out screaming that everything was fine. The kitchen sink at that time was taking hours to drain. It had been bad when i arrived three days before, and the enzyme treatments I had tried didn't help, and Dad tried using a plunger which made it almost completely plugged.
Since it was Dad's house, the plumbers couldn't do anything without his permission.
i had tried cleaning out the P trap under the sink on Monday and then running a snake down the pipes. there was some debris in the P trap but not enough to be responsible for the slowness. I couldn't get the snake to go more than a foot or so into the pipe. This didn't fix the problem and the sink continued to drain very very slowly.
However on Wednesday since Dad had driven the plumbers away and I was desperate i tried snaking the drain again, and again and again. I finally got the snake to go further down and I twirled it around and withdrew it. I fastened every thing back up and tested it. Didn't work. Took the P trap apart again and tried with the snake and tried and tried. This was a drum snake with a handle and a crank to go around. Still didn't work. i read the directions again and started twisting the snake around and pushing into the drain at the same time, and tried again. finally the snake went down and down. i twirled the snake around and push it in. finally there was about 6 feet of snake down the pipe and twirling and pushing wouldn't make it go any further. i rotated the snake and pulled it up and rotated some more. This time when I put everything together the water drained straight down quickly with a nice whirlpool affect.
Now the rest of the plumbing problems are still unfixed and beyond my expertise. Dad is almost completely deaf so I can see why he doesn't call plumbers on his own. However I want to use the bathtubs when I visit without worrying about water leaking everywhere.

[skeptic7]

I don't think I ever particularly wanted clear broth. I tried skimming the broth while it was cooking once to remove the solids and decided this was too boring to try again. I still have the skimmer thing.

[skeptic7]

I have never cooked with a tomatillo either. I should make a point of trying it this summer.

[skeptic7]

I guessed it, but will have to google for more information. I can't visualize it.

[skeptic7]

I guessed correctly.

[skeptic7]

I don't really like the idea of storing unshelled eggs so long. I like to think of the shell as protecting the eggs until I am ready to eat it.

[skeptic7]

Somehow I didn't notice that Fat Tuesday was the last Tuesday until two days later. I had dreams of baking a King Cake or Cinnamon Rolls or something else deliciously decedent. As it was I had a dental appointment and just warmed up leftovers.
Now its the Easter Season I'll have to look up my Hot Cross Bun recipes. The best recipes take a lot of time and kneading.

[skeptic7]

Congratulations. Do you like the way the microwave treated the kale?

[skeptic7]

The pie sounds very tasty. Does it look anything like a mincemeat pie?

[skeptic7]

I looked up "chiffonade" on the internet. I wasn't sure of the word.

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