Quicken, DOS, Windows, Internet

I was talking about financial programmes to a friend on Facebook. I said I had been using Quicken for 20 years. I am actually not sure if that is accurate. I used to use MYM or Manage Your Money in DOS format and did so for a number of years. I liked that software very much. Then Quicken started to appear and at about the same time Windows also started appearing, both of which I hated. They had pictures of offices and you had to click on file drawers or various other things showing on the screen to get somewhere or other. Having used DOS for a number of years, it was so cumbersome and everything took so long to happen. Gradually MYM became out of date, they did try one Windows version, but it didn’t really work for some reason and so Quicken took over as far as I was concerned. Today it is a pretty slick product, but I would probably never have switched if MYM had stayed the course. Now I rely on it for all my financial information. It took me quite a while to get used to Windows and their early versions were pretty cumbersome. Most of the computer users of today wouldn’t be able to use DOS at all, but in the early days we had both that and BASIC which was a programming language. Once upon a time I could write very simple programmes but once Windows came on the scene, it was no longer necessary. One year, for Hallowe’en, I copied a programme from a magazine I read and turned the screen to face out of the window, I had a man’s head turning into a werewolf and the kids were fascinated.

My first real computer was a Commodore 64 (I had a cassette tape version before that, had a couple of great games on it too) which I bought in 1987, it didn’t even have a hard drive, I had to get one installed, I think it was 500 Mbs – not all that many people had personal computers then but I had been using them at work. One system had a stack of instruction books to go with it. I was sent to IBM for a week to learn to use it and to read the books. Before this work places had large systems which had to have programmers to work them and punch tapes. A colleague told me I would never be able to use computers because I was no good at math. Guess he was wrong; computers changed, not my ability to do math. I first started accessing the internet around ‘88 to ‘89 I think. In those days it was very rudimentary and there were very few servers, AOL was one of the first, I can’t even remember the name of the ISP I used. It was expensive too because you not only had to pay the server, but the cost of the phone call to the server so one didn’t stay online for very long. We were living in North Carolina at the time and there were very few computer stores. Now the place is littered with them. One repair guy I had came to me one day, amazed, and told me about 1 gig hard drives - we couldn’t believe it, now I have something like 240 thousand gig on my laptop and 400 thousand on my desktop and that is nothing compared with what some people have, especially if they are gamers. Hell people’s handhelds have a lot more power and storage than my first PC.

The next day or two we are supposed to get a fair amount of the white stuff. Especially tonight I believe.

Here’s a somewhat decadent breakfast. Think I might put Nutella on it.

Brandy Sour Cream French Toast

Active Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Yield: 2 4 pieces

You wouldn't guess how easy this decadent-tasting breakfast really is.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs. sour cream

2 tbs brandy

Good crusty French bread

DIRECTIONS

Whip all ingredients except bread well.

Slice bread about 1 inch thick.4 slices

Soak in wet mixture.

Heat griddle and coat with butter. Cook bread until nicely brown on both sides and cooked through.

Serve with favourite syrup or homemade apricot jam

Have a great day

Quicken, Favourite Movies,

Yesterday morning I received an offer from Amazon.com for a new version – Quicken Deluxe 2012 – at a pretty reasonable price - to download. Apparently the new versions are separated into Canadian or US because, I am told, these days the programmes contain so many forms it would be impossible to carry all of them for both countries. I bought Quicken Cash but that didn’t contain all the stuff I have been using for years so I ended up with Quicken Home and Business which was quite a bit more expensive and more than I had intended to spend, however, my version was getting a tad ancient.

Not having much to do and very little on TV, we decided to watch The King and I with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. This is one of my favourite movies although I howl all the way through it much to Matt’s amusement. I especially cry at the final scene when the king dies. I always loved Yul Brynner as an actor and another movie of his that I love is Anastasia with Ingrid Bergman. I have always loved the story of Anastasia and like to think that maybe she really did survive the assassination of her family. Even if she had, she would not be with us any more as it was so very long ago now.

The Canadian news, at the moment, is full of reports on the killings of three daughters and a former wife by Mohammad Shafia and his current wife. There seems to be more and more of these kinds of killings and, I don’t care how much honour they consider is involved, in Canada that’s murder, plain and simple, and they should get the most extreme penalty we can give them. If you want to live that way and do that kind of thing, please return to your own country.

I love Chinese and Chinese style food so when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist it either. Peanuts actually make me think Thai, but this is Sichuan style.

Sichuan Chicken with Peanuts

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

The piquant Sichuan Sauce (which doubles easily) works well with almost any stir-fry but particularly enhances dishes with meat, fish and poultry. When stir-frying chicken, always spread the pieces in the wok and let them cook undisturbed for 1 minute before stirring. This allows the chicken to sear and prevents sticking. To smash the ginger, use the side of a cleaver or chef’s knife.

Servings: 4

Make ahead Tip:Prepare Sichuan Sauce (Step 1); cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Recipe Ingredients:

Sichuan Sauce

1. 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
2. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
3. 2 teaspoons black rice vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
4. 1 teaspoon sugar
5. 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
6. 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
7. 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
8. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more to taste

Chicken

1. 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, or thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
2. 1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
3. 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
5. 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
6. 1 tablespoon canola oil
7. 2 1/2-inch-thick slices ginger, smashed
8. 2 cups sugar snap peas, (8 ounces)
9. 1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
10. 1 scallion, minced

Recipe Steps:

1. To prepare Sichuan sauce: Whisk broth, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and crushed red pepper to taste in a small bowl.
2. To prepare chicken: Combine chicken, rice wine (or sherry), soy sauce, cornstarch and garlic in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly.
3. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl oil into the pan, add ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Carefully add the chicken mixture, spreading it out. Cook until the chicken begins to brown, about 1 minute. Using a spatula, stir-fry for 30 seconds. Spread the chicken out again and cook for 30 seconds. Continue stir-frying until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Add snap peas and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir the Sichuan Sauce, swirl it into the pan and stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened and glossy, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a platter (discard the ginger) and sprinkle with peanuts and scallions. Serve immediately.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 273 calories; 12 g fat ( 2 g sat , 6 g mono ); 66 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrates; 28 g protein; 3 g fiber; 177 mg sodium; 427 mg potassium.

Have a great day

Debt, Money, Computers, Qbids, Fats.

I constantly see ads, especially on Facebook, about how to wipe out your debt, GMA have money managers telling you how to do this that or the other to erase your debt. I have some pretty good advice to offer too, don’t spend it. OK I realise there are some people in serious money problems through no fault of their own, job loss etc., but some of these people with massing credit card debts are just spend crazy. Its not real money, it’s a plastic card, etc. etc. Its been said before, we live in the days of instant gratification, no-one wants to save for something, get now, pay later, only paying later basically doesn’t work. I too used to think it did, I wised up. Actually, d’you know why I wised up, I started using a money programme on my computer, the first one I had was Manage Your Money which I liked very much, but then along came Quicken which seemed to knock most of the other programmes off the radar. With MYM I discovered what our budget looked like, what happened with forecasting, etc. and yes, I learned how to Manage My Money. Admittedly before that we had account books, but it wasn’t nearly as efficient as accounting software which really brought home to me what I was spending and where and how much of it was unnecessary. Mind you if anything happens to me, Matt will be back to using an account book again. Another thing I appreciate is being able to bank online, I can check on the status of our accounts as often as I want which I think is absolutely great.

Thinking about the early days of account programmes, made me start thinking about the early days of personal computers. Although I was using early versions of PCs at work, my first home computer was by Mattel and worked with cassette tapes, I can’t even find pictures of a similar computer. My second, a Commodore 64, operated with DOS and had no hard drive, everything worked from 5” floppy disks, I had to have a hard drive installed, it was minute compared with what we have today. I was then thrilled when I got a floppy drive for 3” disks which stored so much more data. I’ve mentioned this before but when I start thinking about it, it always astounds me the leaps and bounds taken by computers in the last 25-30 years. I was once told I would never use computers because I hadn’t got a mathematical brain, true, I haven’t, but thankfully they invented Personal Computers which were comprehensible by mathematical dummies and I have never looked back. Thanks Bill and to a lesser degree Steve, never been into Apple. All the Apple users I have ever met, swear by their Macs and think they are wonderful. It is true they are not targeted by hackers and spammers as much, or if at all, I don’t really know. But I suppose they will be one day. I cannot imagine how a hacker could resist.

Talking of money and purchases, I have seen a lot of advertising for Qbids lately so I checked it out. It appears that before you can bid on anything, you have to buy your bids, and the minimum is 100 bids for $69. Then you have to hope its worth it and you can buy something fantastic for next to nothing, ain’t too sure, thought it sounded too good to be true in the first place. Think if I want to bid on something I will stick to eBay.

Last weekend I cooked a rib roast which we had bought on special just before Christmas. Originally I was going to cook it on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) but then I ended up cooking the turkey on Christmas Day so we froze the beef. The roast was, of course, delicious and we have been enjoying it cold for supper as well. However, by the very nature of the beast, it is quite fatty which made me think of the times my parents tried to make me eat beef fat when I was a child and then when I finally learned to eat it, the health gurus told us all it was bad for us. I certainly hated it when I was young, never minded pork fat, especially if there was a bit of crackling attached (pork skin roasted). Didn’t like lamb fat or warm ham fat although I never minded that cold. Funny isn’t it how one’s preferences are formed? Although I still make it a practice to try something I don’t like every couple of years or so with the result there is very little I don’t like. One thing I am having a problem with is vegetables cooked in softened water, I hate the taste, I am wondering if steaming would make a difference here, never tried it, challenge for you Jo. Later - OK I found that broccoli tasted much better steamed.

A somewhat different version of Eggs Benedict. But I thought they looked pretty good and that I would try them.

Eggs Italiano

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

This sophisticated take on Eggs Benedict swaps a full-flavored, chunky vegetable medley for Canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce. Add whole-wheat English muffins and poached eggs and this combo makes a lovely brunch or an elegant light supper when served with a salad.

Servings: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), diced

12 ounces plum tomatoes (3-4), diced

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

8 large eggs

4 whole-wheat English muffins, split and toasted

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe Steps:

1. Fill a large, straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil. Add white vinegar.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in zucchini and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in 1 tablespoon basil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, reduce the boiling water to a gentle simmer; the water should be steaming and small bubbles should come up from the bottom of the pan. Crack each egg into a small bowl and slip them one at a time into the simmering water, taking care not to break the yolks. Cook for 4 minutes for soft set, 5 minutes for medium set and 8 minutes for hard set. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a clean kitchen towel to drain.
4. To serve, top each muffin half with some of the vegetable mixture, an egg, a sprinkling of cheese and the remaining basil.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 329 calories; 14 g fat (4 g saturated fat, 6 g mono unsaturated fat); 425 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrates; 22 g protein; 5 g fiber; 675 mg sodium; 570 mg potassium

Have a great day