Arrggghhh!!!

You know, CSI used to be a smart show. But tonight...

A hunter has been killed by a Kodiac bear (not native to Nevada). Bear was killed by a third party. The M.E., normally smart as a whip and one of my favorite characters, says "The gallbladder's been removed. I can't imagine why." [emphasis mine]

Well, let's see. Black bears are routinely poached for their gallbladders, which are sent to Asia for medicinal purposes. He should have known that. And even if Kodiacs are not normally used for gallbladders, wouldn't the words "bear" and "missing gallbladder" have caused a reasonably smart geeky person to say, "Well, bears are often killed for their gallbladders?"

[Edit: Okay, so they have now had Warrick do Internet research and tell Willows that bear gallbladders are used for medicinal purposes. Sheesh.]

Dinner

I am feeling moderately pleased with dinner this week.

Monday: Tortellini with shrimp sauce (simmer half a jar of Classico spaghetti sauce -- the other half of the jar was for the people in my family who don't like shrimp -- and add half pound of shelled raw shrimp; cook until shrimp was done.)

Tuesday: Mardi Gras party at church (Bananas Foster. I will follow you anywhere for Bananas Foster.)

Wednesday: Ginger chicken (melt three T butter, add two T chopped ginger, saute 3 chicken breasts (cut in half to make 6 pieces) until done; deglaze pan with 2 c. orange juice and juice of a lime and another T of chopped ginger -- reduce until thick) and pineapple-coconut rice (Minute Rice made with coconut milk and the juice from a can of crushed pineapple, with the pineapple added as well).

Tonight: I wasn't sure what to make, as pay day isn't until tomorrow so I had to go with what was in the freezer and pantry. We have a frozen lasagna, but I wanted to save that for Sunday. So I took a package of pork chops from the freezer and sauteed them in butter on top of the stove. I removed the chops from the pan, and deglazed the pan with some amount (2-3 c?) of Cranberry-Raspberry Juice Blend (from Costco) to which I added about 1/4 tsp of Penzey's ground star anise. Again, reduce until thick. I served it with a package of frozen roasted sweet potatoes and sour cream Bisquick drop-biscuits (2 and ~ 1/3 Bisquick, a good dollop or two sour cream, with enough milk added to make a soft drop-biscuit dough). (I wanted to make yeast rolls, but got started too late.)

I have been trying to cook more "real" food the past few months. I have started making my own mashed potatoes rather than using flakes. I'm don't think of myself as great cook, but I'm working on being a good cook.