Thursday, July 7, 2016

Postal Strike, Bowling, Books,


Canada is anticipating a postal strike. I could be wrong, but it seems to me in this age of emails for employees of the Post Office to go on strike is extremely short sighted. A lot of the business which used to belong to the Post Office now goes by UPS or Fedex. In fact it seems to me that about the only thing that goes by mail these days is advertising or junk mail. Yes, I know there are many still who receive cheques by mail or bills by mail, but I would guess that traffic is getting less and less almost by the moment. I still get bank statements by mail, Matt does not use the computer, mind you if I popped my clogs before he did, he wouldn't have a clue anyway. Everything of ours is on computer and has been for a very long time now. At least 20 years, if not longer. So, in my book, going on strike is enough to put the death knell on the postal service.

I don't know how well our team did today at bowling because the team we were playing against hadn't finished their game when we left. I will find out tomorrow. We definitely took the second game and had a pretty good chance with the third.

From feast to famine, I now have three library books. Two by Mercedes Lackey and one by J.D. Robb - the latest of her "In Death" series, Brotherhood in Death. Pretty good story. I do enjoy these books - it did occur to me Matt might enjoy them, but he doesn't think so! Oh well. Trouble is, I put a hold on a book when I hear of it and sometimes, like now, they all become available at once.

This is a recipe from MyRecipes which sounded a good way of 'making do'


Easy Thai Steak Noodle Bowl


The Anderson family loves Thai food, but they don't have many options to satisfy cravings in their
small town. This recipe gives them the flavors they love with supermarket ingredients.


Yield:
Serves 4 (serving size: 1 bowl)
Recipe from


Ingredients

2 1/2 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
8 ounces uncooked flat brown rice noodles (pad Thai noodles, such as Annie Chun's)
12 ounces top sirloin steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons red curry paste (such as Thai Kitchen)
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
4 lime wedges (optional)

Preparation


1. Combine cabbage, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.

3. Toss steak with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add steak to pan; cook 2 minutes. Turn steak over; cook an additional 30 seconds or just until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

4. Add 1/2 cup water to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add curry paste and coconut milk, stirring well to combine; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 teaspoons lime juice, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange about 1 cup noodles in each of 4 bowls; divide steak evenly over servings. Ladle about 1/2 cup broth over each serving; top each with about 1/2 cup cabbage mixture. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over servings. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.Have a great day
 

22 comments:

  1. Ah, Thai food. My favourite!
    Australia Post is going broke. Most of their business is delivering parcels from online shopping, so I don't know why this is so. And they're going to charge us $10 if we don't collect parcels from the post office soon enough. That'll win them more friends, won't it?

    Love JD Robb's books. And when she writes as Nora Roberts.

    Have a great week, Jo. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How odd, didn't realise the picture was at the start too. I have always enjoyed such Thai food as I have eaten. Post offices are really becoming a t hing of the past. Not so keen on the Nora Roberts books. You too Denise.

      Delete
  2. Silly with the strike, seems like it would be a waste of time. You are right, so much is done through the Internet. Son just changed auto insurance and saved $25 if he went paperless.

    Betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is silly Betty. I think there are lots of advantages to going paperless.

      Delete
  3. I pay just about everything online so I have enough checks to last a very long life time. I too have often had several books ready for me at the same time. Our library has a 'bestsellers club' where you can list your favorite authors and get their books when they come out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You and me both Denise. There are places which don't take credit cards, not many. The asparagus farm, for instance, cash or cheque but no cards. That's a good idea for the bestsellers club.

      Delete
  4. I admit, I've never trusted it enough to do my banking online. I still pay many of my bills by check. Or credit card.
    I've read a couple of Mercedes Lackey books. Don't remember which ones.
    And you had me at Thai food...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How very old fashioned of you Mr. Cavanaugh!!! I have been banking on line for a very long time. The bank offers coverage so long as you have fulfilled your security responsibilities.

      Only a couple, I devour her books, especially the Valdemar stories.

      Yes, you enjoy Thai food don't you?

      Delete
  5. Hi, Jo,

    Love Thai food... looks like a yummy recipe.

    I agree... With prices already so high at the post office, going on strike and jeopardizing your job is kid of silly. At some point postal workers will be replaced by machines for the few people who like to MAIL things.

    Thank you for the sweet comment about my intros.... If you ever do write that book, let me know....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pretty simple one too Michael. You are so right, will be machines of one kind or another.

      I can't see that happening somehow. Too much like hard work in the first place.

      Delete
  6. I agree with you about the postal service. I think we still get our electric bill in the mail but I'm changing that this month. I do the same thing with library books. Put on hold and then they all come at once.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't have an electric bill, part of our rent, only bill is cable/internet and that is electronic.

      I know Susan, it's somewhat annoying, but that's how it goes.

      Delete
  7. Wow...I can't imagine what a postal strike would be like. We get all our bills in the post. You're right about the junk mail though. I wonder if companies would just stop making it if there is a strike. I hope you don't have a strike. :( The Tia dish looks delish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I basically don't care if there is a strike or not, as far as we are concerned, but I suppose in fact there are still a lot who do get bills by mail Sharon, the same as you.

      Delete
  8. Some strikes cripple the entire country. Postal strikes would take so much away from pensioners and veterans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Certainly Susan if they don't have pensions paid direct to their banks. In this day and age, I don't know why they wouldn't.

      Delete
  9. I still like getting my bills through snail mail and I mail out my cards to people who I don't see on a regular basis but I agree with you. From what I know it is about the pension plan but these workers are being so short sited, or should I say the Union people. I knew someone who worked for the post office and he had stated every year the mail gets less and less and less. It is only a fraction of what it used to be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Luckily we don't have any bills through the mail Birgit. Rogers bill is paid automatically and that includes phone, TV, internet. Hydro is part of our rent. I think the Post office is going the way of the dinosaur and will eventually be extinct.

      Delete
  10. My husband's the same as Matt. I've just astonished him - again - this morning by paying a bill online while he watched. He just has no understanding of the online world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems odd doesn't it Helen, to us who are so familiar with it that is.

      Delete
  11. I had thought that our post was going to go down to less days per week, but then I didn't hear anything more about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure whether they are going on strike or not Ivy. Need to check it out I guess.

      Delete