Stock Rotation - An in-depth, fresh look

Stores that sell food, small and large, use a practice called stock rotation in order to get rid of older food products. When subscribing to this practice, newer products are placed behind the older ones. This way customers will take the older product that sits in the front of the self. We all hope that customers will not reach to the back of the shelf in order to pick the freshest item.

Many years ago, when I was waiting tables in various NY state diners, I used this practice when I was maintaining my tables. At the end of my shift I would take the salt shakers from, let's assume, table #1 and use it to fill the rest of the salt shakers in my station. The next day I would take the salt shaker from table #2 and use it to fill the rest of the shakes in my station. Then I used the same method with the pepper shakers as well. This way the salt and pepper was always fresh and properly maintained. Of course, I was the only wait staff that followed this procedure. But, I digress.

Goodbye, and Good Riddance!

Yes! The time has come for me to do what is proper and timely. To get rid of the Sharp R-305KS Microwave oven. We, at home, can do so much better than this. Not only can we do better but we deserve better, as well, by not using a microwave at all. My spouse and I talked about it many times but we never did anything about it. Today, though, I unplugged it, and said my good-byes to it. 

Here is the device sitting on counter top in the kitchen facing the North, North-East corner of the house. It occupies a lot of real estate and it is so cold looking. The device itself is not too large. The exterior dimensions were 20.5" (W) x 12.5" (H) x 17" (D), but it completely consumed one corner of a small kitchen.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

I have a cold, it was a miserable day and I am hungry. Time to make my world famous Chicken Soup for the Soul! Going out to eat for lunch or dinner is not an option because whenever we go out I whine about everything. I love to order soup but:

• it never has the right amount of ingredients, 
• it's not the right temperature,
• it's too thick or too thin,
• and the taste is just wrong.

I decided to make chicken soup. Now to make chicken soup you need it to be just a little creative. You need to open the refrigerator and take inventory of possible ingredients. In our refrigerator I saw:

• carrots,
• leeks,
• onions,
• and of course...beer.

In the freezer I had several containers with chicken stock. When I make chicken stock I save it in containers by a specific volume. This way if I need one, two, or three cups of chicken stock... I have it ready. I make sure I have a variety of volumes to be able to match any recipe requirement. If you save the liquid in two-cup containers then what would you do if you needed three cups of it? But, I digress. 

The beer is NOT for the soup, folks. Here is a Corona getting ready to get acquainted with me.

So, when did we decide that beer will be consumed directly from the bottle? I just don't understand why when I go to a restaurant and I order a beer they serve it to me without a bottle. Anyway. Let's move on.

To make things simple and easy for me I went to the local supermarket and I bought an already cooked rotisserie chicken.  There was nothing else for me to purchase there for this soup because I had everything else.  As you can see there is a chunk missing from the chicken. Well, I had to take care of Raspy because there was no way that she was going to let me cook without having her little tummy full.

Say What?

I spend more time at the supermarket and it should be illegal. I loiter about the butcher or fishmonger's station and I strike random conversations with the employees there. I know, I have issues.

Today I was shocked with the language used to describe a type of cut of meat.

Please pay attention to the label because it says "Beef Round Round Cubes Boneless"

First of all do not throw into the mix Roundcube, the open source webmail software because it has nothing to do with meat and message I am trying to convey here. Keep reading if you want to learn more about the issue I am dealing with.


First of all, as a former math student and ancestor of many great mathematicians I was insulted with the notion of "round cubes." What would Euclid say? Minimally, as a former Greek citizen, I am OUTRAGED!

Chicken Strips Wrapped in Bacon

Yum!
I recently purchased two split chicken breasts and a small package of chicken strips. We already had a small package with bacon in the refrigerator and I decided to mix the two together and grill them. First, I removed the bones from the split breasts and I saved the bones for chicken stock that I will make the end of this week.

I took the chicken filets and split breasts and placed them in a bowl and added a mixture of one cup apple cider and 1/2 cup apple cider. I let the chicken filets get nice and comfy with the liquid for an hour.

After one hour I started taking out two chicken strips at a time for further processing.
Here is the five strips of bacon getting ready to be introduced to the chicken strips.

The first attempt to wrap the chicken was weak and the bacon didn't stick well enough to the chicken.