Air Fryer Parchment Paper

We have two air fryers. We got the first one a couple of months ago. It was a small basket style. We liked it so much we decided we needed a bigger one that could cook a pizza and a whole potato worth of French fries. That one is more of an oven/air fryer style. Upon the suggestion of a friend, it was recommended that we get parchment paper to collect the oil and whatnot from cooking. That way you don’t need to wash the pans every time. So I ordered two different sizes to see it it really makes a difference. We never really thought it was much of a hardship to wash the pans, but we would give the parchment a try. For the larger air fryer the parchment paper has holes - so it sort of defeats the purpose. So last night we tried the paper with French fries in one and crab cakes in the other. Since we use olive oil there is a certain amount of residue. We were also interested to see how it would affect the overall cooking - it didn’t make sense that things would air dry as well if the bottom was covered. After all, the idea is to have the hot air circulate on all sides. In the end the paper does absorb a lot of the oil and debris, and seems to work fairly well. You can’t preheat with the paper in place and when you do use it, it needs to be covered by enough food so as to avoid it flying around and hitting a heating element. We still ended up cleaning the pan - especially using the paper with holes. Perhaps it’s better to use the paper for certain foods. I guess it all gets down to personal preference. 

52Frames Shoot From Above Weekly PhotoChallenge

The subject this week for the 52Frames photo challenge was “shoot from above.” So we thought we might find something at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We were wrong. Even though I took a lot of photos, none of them really did much - including the elephant in the main entrance, and the scientists working on fossils. Even the street scenes and some of the flowers were lame heading back for the car. Then I tried taking something at home -  a pear in a bottle- but that wasn’t very good either. Then later in the week we took a walk early in the afternoon rather than the morning. The sun was at a different level when we crossed over a pedestrian bridge in the neighborhood park. I didn’t think much of it until I started to edit the image. I didn’t like the original colors so switched it up to almost black and white. It looked almost like a lunar landscape the way the rocks in the stream looked. And to create my signature composite a picture of a crow - that was taken on our balcony - was added to the rail to match the same color as the shadow. I’m sure this photo won’t get much recognition, and that’s okay. But sometimes those are the ones that sometimes get more attention. You never know. 

Florida State vs Virginia Basketball

I use to tutor Florida State basketball players - way back in the day when FSU was the number two school in the country. I didn’t realize it at the time, but not a lot of people could say that they had the entire basketball team and some of the coaches over to their house after a tournament. I can’t imagine what my parents thought! Long after I graduated I got free seats right behind the bench when FSU played Marquette in the Midwest. In college, I knew all of the players and coaches and never missed a game. I still have fond memories of it all. So last night when we were fumbling around trying to find a TV show to watch we landed on a sports channel. And FSU was playing UVA. Now I had two reasons to watch at least a bit of it. Our grandson goes to UVA - so it was worth seeing which team was winning. I could tell right away who would most likely win after watching a bit of the first half. We tuned in to something else at the half, and this morning I looked up the score. UVA won by four points - which is what they were winning by when we were watching. It was fun to see the arena where they were playing in Tallahassee - with the garnet and gold everywhere and hearing the familiar chants lead by the band. Our venue back then was about the size of a high school gym and I always sat right across from the bench facing all of the players. What an interesting and fun time that was. 

The Other Way in Old Town Alexandria

We usually visit Old Town Alexandria at least once a month for a morning walk. We generally take the path along the waterfront and then criss cross up and down past the stately old homes and townhouses. But yesterday we decided to go the other way. I read somewhere that there was a Washington Monument somewhere along the way - and we did find the miniature version. So we headed towards the airport where you can see the Capitol and the real Washington Monument in the distance. This path is the same one that winds all the way down to Mount Vernon along the Potomac River. There are a lot of new condominiums this way and everything starts to look the same after a while. There used to be some locks here to lift boats up and down - particularly during the civil war. There is also a very ugly and rusty old power plant that looks to have been there quite some time. The pathway is surrounded by a bird cage - perhaps to not get hit by any falling debris? We took the higher ground back towards the car where the old railroad track cuts through the town. After the walk we sat by the water in Founders Park and ordered pizza and chicken from Vaso’s Kitchen - a habit when we are in the area. After picking the food up we drove on to Gravelly Point to watch the planes land and have a bit of lunch. I don’t think we will probably walk that way again. But it was good to check it out for a change of pace. 

Joon Restaurant

It is such a rare thing to go out for lunch. Before the pandemic we went out at least once a week. Now we rarely go, and if we do it’s for brunch/breakfast. So when we read about the Persian restaurant Joon opening in Vienna and getting stellar reviews, we thought we should give it a try. It’s not an easy place to navigate because you have to use complimentary valet service or park in the garage. The place itself was nice enough and the waiter was very pleasant. We had a seat in the window but the table was tiny. We not o only ordered what we were having for lunch, but also two extra items to take home for dinner this week. We have been to many Persian restaurants and my husband is from Iran so he knows how Persian food tastes. You can’t really go wrong with the kabob, but the chicken sandwich was just okay. The bread tasted like rubber. The French fries were good but that’s not the point. We took home a stew and I have to say it was almost inedible - the lemon was overwhelming and the pieces of lemon should have been removed. It left an awful taste in my mouth. The eggplant appetizer was “sweet” and not in a good way. My husband thought the rice was undercooked. When we looked at the reviews they were glowing - except not from the Persian names. Needless to say neither one of us would go back. I suppose we are spoiled by the neighborhood Moby Dick that we have been going to since we moved to DC seventeen years ago. It’s not unusual that we don’t like what most people do. I suppose this is just another example. 

A Delightful VDMV Experience

When we moved to Northern Virginia from Capitol Hill one of the first stops was to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a Virginia Drivers License. We had to bring a lot of documentation to get the RealID license. It was also very crowded and took a long time. What a difference five years makes! My husband needed to renew his license before March. We filled in the paperwork at home and also got his vision documentation from the eye doctor since he had an appointment within three months. Then we were able to make an appointment on line - and they sent reminders. When we got to our destination this morning I tried to “skip the line” by logging on to his appointment via text, but it didn’t work or I didn’t know what I was doing. Once we had gotten past the information desk we were already being called to a window. We handed over the paperwork and license. My husband had his photo taken, we paid twenty dollars, and got back the license and a temporary paper. The new license should be mailed within two weeks, and you can track the progress. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes. We were both surprised about how organized and courteous the staff were. It was actually a very pleasant experience. 

An Almost Empty Wine Glass

We used to drink a half glass of red wine every evening before dinner. That stopped mid way through the pandemic. We just didn’t have a taste for it anymore. Now we have a small amount of wine on special occasions - which are rare - or every once in a while at home. But since my husband has started taking a new medicine, that has changed things up again. This medicine puts him to sleep and zaps out his energy. That’s why he takes it before he goes to sleep. But oftentimes there is a residual effect. And, we are also trying to figure out if there are any dietary issues that are exacerbating his problem. That could include wine, tomatoes, coffee, chocolate and a host of other things. So it’s not a great idea to drink something that can also make you tired. So every once in awhile - especially if there is a bottle open - we have a glass of wine. Except now I have the usual less than half glass, and he barely has a swallow. I’m not sure if or when he will ever be able to eat and drink the things that we always did. Things could be a lot worse. Right now it’s just a big inconvenience.