Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

I’m grilling steak Hank Hill would be proud of. Plus I tenderized it a bit yesterday and put some canola oil with salt and pepper on it. Looks so tasty I want it now.

I cannot wait to watch Aladdin 2019 movie on Friday 24 May 2019.

But here in Indonesia, there is a rule during Ramadhan which every cinema can start their business after Maghrib (started at 6 pm), so i can watch movie at my local cinema after 6 pm during Ramadhan (Fasting day).

Good news everyone, I'm finally understanding crochet. Can't wait to be able to make plush dolls and stuff.

A single hook is so much more travel friendly than the entire loom kit.

Awesome. I bet it’s easier to set aside something in progress, too.

I just got 5th in Tetris 99, pretty neat. I’ve got 77/100 points so I’ll do more tomorrow. Gotta liberate Steelport some tonight. Gangstas in spaaaace.

Oh yeah, absolutely. You can have multiple projects going on at once too, no need to finish one before being able to start another.

I binge played Tetris 99 last night to unlock the theme. I was starting to get dizzy by the end of the session... But I'm glad I got it.

Just finished watching bing bang theory finale... man I am sad to see that show go.

@Tyranexx You're welcome. I've got quite a few stir fry recipes, actually, amongst which also nasi goreng, green curry and a more Mediterranean dish, all of them prepared with chicken morsels.

As for beans: I've used pinto beans in the past, but not that often. They're a bit too bland for my taste.
I usually use either kidney beans, red beans, or brown beans. And over here, they also have various kinds of so-called capuchin beans, which is actually a kind of pea, and which are also nice to make stir fry recipes with. I believe that on your side of the pond, they're called grey peas, but capuchins are a Dutch variety of them, so I don't know how easy it would be, to get a hold of them over there.

Either way, here's a recipe with them, that you might like:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/kapucijnerschotel-recipe-captai...
And it's completely in English as well, so no Google Translate needed...

I didn't jump into making sauces and marinades straight away either, but good seasoning has always been a prerequisite for me. Meats or dishes without at least some basic seasoning aren't really worth eating, in my opinion.

As for sauces, such as the stir fry variety: there's a lot of different ones, but much like over here, I would assume that there are some decent brands over there, which can safely be used. Each of them has artificial ingredients, and/or a medium to high level of sugar, but ingredient-wise, it's only one part of a five part dish, so all of the fresh ingredients used, will easily balance out the bad of the one artificial ingredient you'd use in them, so there's nothing to really worry about in that regard. Soy sauce, sambal and the other ingredients that I often use, are all natural, so using those in a marinade isn't a health risk either.

Personally, I do like charcoal grill, or barbecued meat, but I can understand you not being fond of the smell, and smoked meat might not be to everyone's taste either.

I don't think you're nuts for not wanting to have/eat blackened meat: I don't either. Sure, the barbecue can sometimes add a couple of burned stripes to the meat, because of the grill it's on, but I always do my best to try and keep that a light brown, or a shade darker, but never black. I also agree with meat preferably being cooked/grilled/baked to medium. I don't like raw meat, unless it's meant to be such as in carpaccio recipes, or other kinds of appetizers.

But the meat definitely shouldn't be well-done. Medium in my case should be that the meat still has some pinkish color on the inside, so it is still tender, and easy to cut and eat. Don't like my meat to taste like a shoe sole...

@ThanosReXXX Remember how we always joked I'd end up killing myself at work, be it my dodgy knees (Physio has gone fairly well, still pain though) or alcohol around E3 to stomach EA?

Well I'm at the doctor's tomorrow with chest pain, difficult lifting/pulling things, shortness of breath, so on so forth.

I think it IS mostly just muscle damage though.

On the other hand...I'm only 23.

Speaking of work, our temporary department manager leaves soon, temporary as in "There as long as the others were" and still no permanent replacement. So what we do after that...dunno. Plus my supervisor just came back from cardiac issues and operations, said he plans to step down....

So is my department just gonna have no management? :/

@Knuckles-Fajita Well, you never were the average person, now were you? Let alone a typical 23 year old...

Hope you get well enough in time for this year's E3 though, because I have a feeling that you're going to need all your strength to get through that one...

Your workplace is starting to sound more like a sick bay than a place of employment, from what you've told us about it so far.

@Anti-Matter that all looks surprisingly good for pizza hut. Back in the 80s pizza hut restaurants were really good. Now they're really bad premade reheated food joints. They REALLY went downhill over 25 years or so. Are they as bad there as here, it is that just a "stupid Americans don't care about quality" thing? #thanksReggie

@NEStalgia I completely agree about the quality of Pizza Hut. It seems like they transitioned from a fun dining experience to a pickup-delivery center. The pan pizzas at the pickup store are good here, but the sole dine in location is such a slow and forgettable experience that I only visit it around three times in a year. It’s unfortunate, because I was a Pizza Hut fan as a kid that loved reading; the Book-It program was like getting rewarded for being the bookworm.

@ThanosReXXX Oh it's pretty bad. We can't keep a department manager more than 3 months if that.

And yeah, hoping it isn't too serious. Wanna do my usual live reactions for E3.

@HobbitGamer @NEStalgia 100%. Pizza was so good early to mid 90s. And I totally remember that reading program. I used to have read all these hours to get a 6" personal pan. Nowadays, kids read and get tickets to 6 flags. WTH happened?!

@HobbitGamer the food itself really transitioned. I remember back in the day, it was a true Chicago deep dish. A big, heavy pizza served in a pan, thick, soft, oil soaked crust, with a slight garlic infusion and a thick layer of molten cheese. And they had cheese bread to die for.... Thick slices of garlic bread and 3 cheeses on top. It was quality food.

Today they just have Frozen parbaked shells of the thinnest, cheapest cardboard material, throw a little cheese on top and go. It's not even nearly the same product. It went from scratch made restaurant pizza to a glorified frozen pizza to go. The last sit down restaurant closed a decade or more ago here. And the "pan pizza" isn't a deep dish pan pizza anymore.

Heck the restaurants used to serve beer in a pitcher! Far cry from the delivery/pickup fast food joint today.

@NintendoByNature I'd rather have the pizza. Six flags sucks . Nothing like waiting 2 hours in 98 degrees in asphalt to ride one ride, that's probably too painful to enjoy as they push the limits of physics, and remove all the normal rides.

Actually the book it program was probably during the decline. It was better before that era by a lot.

It actually was during Reggies tenure it went into the toilet

@NEStalgia I think you're right I do recall it hitting toilet right when the big foot pizza came out haha

@NintendoByNature

@ThanosReXXX I need to expand a little more into beans. Really the only reason that I've done mostly pinto beans is due to how cheap they are, plus I'm a sucker for the occasional refried bean dish. Thanks for the recipe link, I don't believe I've had capuchin beans but would certainly try them.

I used to make some store-bought stir fry mixes (frozen ingredients and all) but drifted away from those. The veggies were fine, but the sauces, noodle/pasta/etc. ingredients, and to a lesser extent the meat & preservatives kinda raised an eyebrow. XD I'm sure I could pull off a healthier one with a sauce.... It'll just take some research.

I don't generally mind grilled or barbecued meat, I'm truly just bothered by it when it's nuked. I had some excellent smoked barbecue pork for lunch as part of a fundraiser. I get teased now sometimes when I order a medium steak...."So you want it to moo?" XD

@NEStalgia, @HobbitGamer I was a Book-It fiend when it came to Pizza Hut. I participated in the program as my elementary school used it instead of AR. They used to have pretty decent pizza - their buffet in particular was great - but they have went downhill over the past decade or so here. I last had their buffet about a year ago with some of my family, and we weren't too impressed with the food or the place's cleanliness. Some of it is the chain itself, but management changes are to blame too.

I really wish they hadn't taken those streusel/fruit dessert pizzas off their menu back in 2011 or so. Those things were sinfully amazing. I'd only consider their cinnamon sticks worth having at this point.

If I want pizza around here, I much prefer a couple of local joints at this point. The few times I want chain pizza, I prefer Domino's. Marco's went out of business, Papa John's is too greasy, gas station pizza is for mild desperation, and Little Caesar's is for emergency cases only.

Incredible. I was at my niece’s birthday party this evening eating a slice of Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza wondering when exactly they switched from decent, greasy, deep dish to the “grab-n-go” esque stuff their serving these days; and then I find this conversation. I swear, the crust of that pizza was styrofoam. It used to be a golden bread sponge drenched in olive oil and meat drippings.

I also remember those clear plastic pitchers of beer. They looked magnificent. So bubbly. My dad looked like Clint Eastwood crossed with Charles Bronson when he took one down. I also slayed the Book It! program. I was a big reader. My goal was to get the month’s total in the first week. Good times. Fun conversation.

Hears Game of Thrones theme song revving up
@SheldonRandoms: