I Made Cheap Balsamic Vinegar Better

I had a seriously bad case of sticker shock last week.  Went shopping at an olive oil and vinegar store in Nashville… walked in and walked out!  Pre Covid plague I could get a nice balsamic was $22 for 750 ml, now it is $48.  [500ml would cost $32] 

Ummmm… no.  So I have worked out an option.  Here’s how to dress up a cheap but good quality balsamic.  I’m speaking specifically about Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinegar of Modena” in a 500 ml bottle that (to me) looks like a beer bottle. It costs $2.29 at the Trader Joe’s store.  Yes you read that right… TWO dollar and twenty nine cents. 

While it has not the flavor of a beautiful 18 year old Modena, it is actually not all that bad.  My issue is that it is really thin… like almost apple cider vinegar thin.  That’s OK for a basic salad dressing but unacceptable for a Caprese Salad.  It’s got to cling, right?

When I make a sauce that I want to have some ‘body’, I reduce it over a low heat.  Why not do the same to vinegar?

 

 I used a pan so there would be a larger heating/evaporating surface.  I poured the entire bottle into the pan and set the stove temperature very low.  It was just steaming (next time I’ll try it a bit higher).  

 

Every 5 to 10 minutes I gave it a stir.  This was a slow process.  After reducing by half I was satisfied with the results.   

A word from experience here… have your stove fan going during this process!  This is VINEGAR after all.  We both were having allergic sinus issues from some deep cleaning we are working on.  This opened them right up!  Persia Kitty headed to the other side of the house. 

Nope, it didn’t magically turn into a fantastic aged Modena.  But next trip to Trader Joe’s I’m going to buy two bottles and reduce by half.  That will give 500 ml for $4.60.  It is a nice thick inexpensive balsamic that works.  Which is fine for me at this point in my life.  

Better Call a Plumber

 A few months back we got a water bill that nearly knocked me off my feet.  It was SEVEN times higher than normal! 

I called the water department right away.  She did some sort of 'check' and chirped "It's on your side of the meter.  Better call a plumber." 

I was truly sick to my stomach envisioning a middle 4 digit repair bill.  You see, the idiots who built this house have the water meter set about 300 feet up the hill and thru the WOODS from our house (where it should have been about 50 feet if it had been placed intelligently).  In case you don't know, YOU are responsible for any problems on 'your side' of the meter.  And digging up a water line is a specialty plumber too.

I found a plumber who had good reviews and called to set an appointment.  BUT since monsoon season had just started they couldn't get to it for a week IF the rain stopped soon.  You can't find leak mud when everything is rain muddy.

The secretary did say hopefully that most leaks are right at the meter box...

... which is exactly what they found.  Thank you Jesus!!  That knocked a zero off of what I was afraid the bill would be.

And the last few bills have been about $10 lower than our previous averages for about a year.  It must have been dripping for a while and we just thought the price had gone up.

 

Muddy messy leak site.

Non-moving water meter shows the leak is fixed.

The job done!

Review on LG washer CUSStomer service RE repair

 

 As said before, we bought a LG washer in January when our 20 some year old Kenmore finally gave it up. 

Everything was going well until mid-May (only 4 months old!!) when it started having a problem with the spin cycle... as in it wouldn't!  Himself (the launderer) tried all sorts of things.  Sometimes it would work, sometimes not.

So on 23-May I called LG customer service to invoke my warranty for repair.  It took 7 minutes to get thru the useless robo-operator and get to a human.  Then that 1st "customer service" agent hung up on me!!   Back to robo again but at least the 2nd agent didn't hang up.  She took 'information' and said the repairman schedule me in soon.

Two days later repair called - asking for the same info I'd already given.  Then they said they'd get back with me 'tomorrow'.  And I got a call the next day... from LG asking me the same blasted info I'd already given TWICE. 

Who did not call was the repairman.  The 800# that showed up on caller ID was an unmanned line that was never answered.

So on 2 June I when thru the nutroll again of calling LG customer again.  The customer DIS-service agent said she'd call me back in 2 days regarding the issue and would get it repaired.  I said "So you will be calling me Saturday?"  Her reply, "NO!  I don't work on Saturday!"  She then said she'd call on Monday.

She lied.

So I started spamming the LG FB page with a dated list of how the so called customer service was blowing off my attempt to get my warranty service.

EVERY.  SINGLE. DAY. on 10 different post comments. 

After a about a week of that, they gave me the local phone number for the repairman.

They didn't answer that number either.  So I looked up where the shop was located.  Wonderful!  We were going to drive right past it that day.  I stomped my very unhappy self into their shop/store.  The dude said, "How can I help you?"  I replied, "By answering your phone.  I've been calling trying to set up my appointment since you never called back..."

Miraculously I got an appointment for 2 days later.  Amazing, eh?

Happy to say, repair dude showed up just fine.  The whole issue was when it was delivered and set up, one of the leveling legs wasn't locked in and had shortened.  Being unlevel caused it to stop the spin acceleration because the drum was being shaken too hard.

A full month it took to get my repair taken care of.  That must be what LG stands for...

Lots of Garbage! 

Bunting,... Indigo Bunting

 

A recent visitor to our yard.  We are keeping the bird bathes full which is keeping an everchanging stream of of feathered guests coming by to cool off.

Tennessee is entering drought.  June is supposed to have around 4.65" of rain.  We've had 1.05".  And it has been HOT.  I will probably have to start "bucket watering" soon.  That means using a 5 gallon bucket (or two) with a small hole drilled at the base to slowly soak water to some of my larger, thirsty small trees.  Uff-dah!

For Your Safety

 

I have a public service announcement.

At the below web site you can check the latest recalls of all edibles and medicines in the US.  With the way businesses are being so careless... there is a lot of them.

Some notices are for undeclared stuff like nuts, dairy, or wheat.  Others are for pathogens such as E coli, Salmonella,  Bacillus cereus, etc.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts 

New BFF

 Living out here in The Sticks, we have most of the wildlife you'd expect in NW Tennessee... deer, opossum, raccoon, ground hog, coyote, fox, and more.  We quickly found out that having a traditional compost pile was a waste of effort.

So now we place vegetable and fruit scraps at the edge of our yard.  All the above come down for their nightly yum-yums.

One little guy has discovered that hitting the buffet early has big advantages.  And we have the fun of watching him!

Pork Chops with Sweet & Sour Peppers (Gordon Ramsey)

Second recipe from my Gordon Ramsey cooking class - Pork Chops with sweet & sour peppers. 

 I used tenderloin as that is what I had.  It is excellent and VERY easy.  Recommend!  The below is a link to the recipe:

https://bingeworthybites.com/gordon-ramsays-pork-chops-with-peppers