Thursday, September 10, 2015

Car Repair, Bowling, Movies. Surgeon.

Wednesday morning Matt took the car in for service. I had been telling him for months that there was a rattle in the back when he drove away from me having dropped me at the door in the garage and headed to park. He had tried winding the windows down and couldn't hear anything so he said there was nothing. When he left for the service I phoned them and told them about the rattle. It turns out there is a problem with one of the wheels which basically doesn't turn so they gave us an estimate which also includes replacing the tires which are getting pretty bare. Another large bill to be paid. Oh well, that's cars I guess especially older cars. Matt says it's cheaper than buying one which is true, but.... mind you it's been a very good car, and basically still is.

After lunch we went bowling for the second time this week. Because their Wednesday league is so huge, we had to bowl downstairs. Much to my surprised they had quite a few drop ins. However, at one point we had the whole alley to ourselves. I had a reasonable score, and then a good score with a final reasonable one again. Matt however, thrashed me in the last game getting a turkey and lots of strikes and spares. The owner and I were busy at the end talking about winter league teams and such for next week. I have been calling everyone to check that they are planning to return. When we were home later on, I called a couple more people and one of them called me back. We have friends who's name is Anderson. Bill and I used to work together but unfortunately he died of cancer a year or two back. You can imagine how startled I was to see Bill Anderson on the call display. Turned out that one of the bowlers, Jane Anderson, had been married to a Bill who was also 3 years deceased. An English couple too, they emigrated a few years after we did.

In the evening we watched a movie I had borrowed from the library, The Bucket List. I had seen it before but thought Matt would enjoy it again, in fact we both enjoyed it very much. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. The latter is a particular favourite of Matt's anyway, especially since his fantastic line "You can't handle the truth" from A Few Good Men. Mostly Matt enjoys all the parts Jack Nicholson plays. We both also like Morgan Freeman too, I especially liked him in Driving Miss Daisy. I have just received a couple of old movies I decided to buy, not watched them yet though. The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption (Morgan Freeman again) I am awaiting another one and right now cannot remember what it was. Amazon had them on special for a few dollars so I grabbed them. I'm seriously thinking about buying this one, I enjoyed it so much for the second time.

The reason we couldn't bowl on Thursday as we normally do is because I am finally getting to see the vascular surgeon about my blocked carotid artery. I didn't realise I had been waiting so long, but I actually had the ultrasound on June 18th. My collapse, fainting spell, or whatever must have been about a week before that.

This from the New York Times this week. Sounds good although we don't have a barbecue of course, too dangerous in an apartment building.

Grilled Baby Back Ribs With Spicy Peanut Shake

  • Yield 6 appetizer servings, 3 to 4 entree servings


Ingredients

  • cup dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons chile powder
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
  • 2 racks of baby back ribs, about 2 1/4 pounds each
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • cup hoisin sauce
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is best)
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Make the shake: Combine the peanuts, sesame oil and chile powder in a small bowl and mix well, then put in a sauté pan over medium-low heat and toast, tossing occasionally, until light brown and very fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. When the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the scallions and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, build a fire in your grill; when the coals are all covered with gray ash and the temperature is medium low (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the coals for about 7 seconds), you’re ready to cook. (For a gas grill, turn all burners to high, lower cover and heat for 15 minutes, then turn burners to medium low.)
  3. Sprinkle the ribs generously with salt and pepper, put them on the grill directly over the coals, and cook until a peek inside shows that the meat no longer has any pink at the center, about 10 to 12 minutes per side.
  4. While the ribs are grilling, prepare all the remaining ingredients but keep in separate containers.
  5. Take the racks of ribs off the grill, cut them into individual ribs, and put them in a large bowl. Add the hoisin, soy, orange juice and ginger one after another and toss with spirit. Lay the ribs out on a platter, sprinkle with the spicy peanut shake and serve.

Have a great day
 

24 comments:

  1. Shawshank is one of my alltime fave movies. It's one that I will watch whenever it's on, which is quite frequently. And I loooooove Jack Nicholson too. He was great in A Few Good Men. I also loved him in The Shining. He's already so unhinged at the beginning, and so over the top crazy, that instead of being afraid I end up laughing uproariously as he backs Wendy up the stairs. "Wendy? Darling? Light. Of my Life?" hahahahahha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never seen The Shining JoJo, but we both love Shawshank and A Few Good Men. Isn't The Shining a horror movie?

      Delete
  2. Finally seeing the surgeon today? That was a huge lag time in between.
    I understand that when a car's paid for, you don't want to add a car payment to the mix. Both of our cars are fairly new, but they are paid for, and I don't plan on another car payment for a very long time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was Alex, but I assume he didn't consider it urgent. I hope anyway.

      Ours is a pretty old car, but it runs really well and at our time of life we don't really want to invest in something newer. Not sure we could manage a car payment anyway.

      Delete
  3. I'm glad you're finally getting to see the surgeon. It must have been a constant niggling worry. Just as well you sorted out the car too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right Helen it was, but I just assumed the surgeon didn't think it was urgent.

      Yuk, cars.........

      Delete
  4. Glad you will be finally seeing the surgeon and if he recommends surgery, hoping you won't have to wait too long for that. So true about cars, especially as they age. We finally got to the point with the car that it was going to cost several thousand dollars to do the repairs it needed (brakes, transmission work, etc.) that it came to the point of buying a new one. Don't relish the car payment, but thankfully it is a small one and manageable.

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No surgery thank goodness Betty. On pensions it isn't so easy to manage car payments unfortunately.

      Delete
  5. Glad you'll get relief soon from the surgery. Love the car! Shawshank was very touching, ribs are always welcomed here. Thanks, JO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't know about surgery yet Dixie.

      Matt isn't so keen on ribs but I love them.

      Delete
  6. Hubby would like this recipe, if he ever gets the time to BQ again. He's been working like the dickens since his promotion at work. So glad you're seeing the doc, get rid of that worry once and for all!
    J N movies are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We don't have a barbecue Yolanda, have to do it under the broiler. Not safe in apartment buildings. If he is working that hard, makes you wonder if it was worth the promotion. Just got back from the doc, no operation at least. Will write about it tomorrow.

      Delete
  7. Hi Jo - sorry about the car .. those bills are always a nuisance ... glad you enjoyed the film and then that recipe - sounds good .. cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not just a nuisance Hilary, a strain on the budget. Yes I did enjoy it again. Have you seen it? Ribs are yummy.

      Delete
  8. I always seem to come to your blog when I'm hungry. That looks delicious!

    My husband's car is as old as our oldest child (both born in 1994). I tease him that he's going to be driving down the road and his seat will fall out of the rusty bottom. My neighbor jokes that the appraised value of Chad's car depends on how much gas is in the tank.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. Chad's car is older than ours Liz. I am so glad others have old cars too. I think the appraised value comment is hilarious. I must remember that for the future.

      Delete
  9. Shawshank is one of the most popular movies ever. I love Morgan too. He plays God so well. As for the car... I agree with Matt. Even though you get warranties with new cars the expense does quite weigh up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, he was good as God Pinky. A financial guy I worked with used to say the car was a more expensive investment, in the long run, than a house.

      Delete
  10. The driver's side window on my van suddenly stopped working. $300 later, it works again. Ug. I reminded myself that an occasional repair is cheaper than a monthly car note.

    That recipe looks really good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're all in the wrong business with the kind of prices they charge. Some of our occasional repairs are not that cheap unfortunately, but still cheaper than a new one.

      It does Melissa, have you ever had jerk chicken?

      Delete
  11. Cars-you love them but at times, you wish you could shoot them and put them out of their (or ours) misery. I love The Bucket List and have that film. My favourite line is "Somewhere some lucky B%$#@ is having a heart attack." They are both great actors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too true Birgit, and yet these days we can't do without them. I had forgotten what a good movie it was until we watched it the other night. You are right, they are both great.

      Delete
  12. That really did feel like a long time to get to see him.

    ReplyDelete