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Note to self: change the oil much more frequently. My wife went to seal something the other day. She said it sounded weird, and then turned off. Inspection revealed there's a fuse holder in the power socket, complete with a blown fuse. And a spare, yay. I put the spare in, turned it on. It sounded as if the motor or pump were seized. As I was reaching to turn it off, it blew the fuse. (They're 15A AL250 fast blow fuses, 5mmx20mm, which, of course, isn't a fuse I keep on hand.) Today I started to take it apart to see what's going on. First I drained the oil, which was pretty cloudy. Then I pulled the pump out. The pump is coupled to the motor with a Lovejoy style coupler. The pump is attached to the motor with four bolts, which you can see and touch. You can't get a tool on them, at least not easily. I ended up using a 10mm crowsfoot to get them out. A longer than normal one would make it easier, as the pump body is in the way. AT some point, I realized if you take the four screws on the top of the sides out, the whole chamber piece hinges up, and there's a stay to hold it it the service position. This makes it somewhat easier to get at things, but it's still a pain to work on. The pump is a pretty standard eccentric rotary vane pump. Back cover covers the oil reservoir and air seperator bits, it's bolted on. the pump proper is bolted together, and further secured with pins that pull out pretty easily. Three vanes made of aluminum, in a steel rotor, no tensioning, just centrifiugal force to keep the sealed. The pump side of the Lovejoy is keyed to the shaft on the rotor. And welded in place, presumably because that's cheaper. Also means I can't separate the shaft from the front cover, where there's a bearing or bushing (the other end is a brass bushing, I suspect this one is too). There's a lot of play in the rotor shaft there, both end float and side to side. Before I took it apart, it initially wouldn't turn. a little bit of rocking got it turn freely. I didn't see anything that would have caused it to stick, but there's a lot of rust staining on the vanes, so one could have been stuck. The resevoir was full of sludge and built up crud on the bottom, where it would have settled out of the oil. I've cleaned everything up, and when I get replacemet fuses, I'll put it all back together, and see if it works, or if I need to figure out a pump transplant. That'll be a week or two, though....

Four days ago, my cousin shared this on Facebook: Wise words but I can’t stop tracking! My order is now “out for delivery” 🥳 Very pleased as it says a signature is required and I have to be out for some commitments tomorrow so 🤞for today! I have a friends gathering on Sunday and am hoping to share my bounty!

@Shelby me, too. I'm a real sourpuss!!

Back to things in bowls here. A little leftover duck, thick noodles, lots of green veggies, herbs and chicken broth. The bean sprouts countdown is on.

my no-knead uses 430g bread flour - I use a heaped tablespoon. dunno about "should" - that's just my practice.

@AlaMoi, thanks. The Malted Milk concrete never softened, so I tossed it. I may need more bread early next week. I have 506 grams of bread flour, white whole wheat and semolina flours. How much Diastatic Malt Powder should I use?

I regularly use the dia malt powder in breads - no-knead to full blown knead forever stuff . . . among other 'things' - it adds that "fresh German Broetchen" aroma....

Please report how freeze dried ice cream balls taste, @Smithy !

Been very happy with the Hestan pans. Easy to clean and care for.

Pastrami scrambled eggs from Alon Shayla’s book Shaya: A while back, I spied an NYT article touting the pastrami egg & cheese as the best breakfast. I picked up some pastrami from ZEF BBQ to try it but decided to start here.

It was veal. One of my elderly relatives was mentioning how they used to eat veal a lot when they were young, so I splurged on a mail order veal roast and made the cutlets. Veal is not something found in supermarkets around here.

My neighbor got herself a freeze-dryer earlier this year, and presented me with this Christmas gift: Freeze-dried ice cream balls (strawberry, vanilla, one or two chocolate). I'm told that they can make good bombs to plop into one's hot chocolate or coffee! But she provided me also with homemade chocolate sauce. My sister sent me a dozen Harry and David Royal Riviera pears! Oh, joy!

What meat schnitzel? I usually do chicken breast, either as parma, or slice it up into chicken katsu with Japanese curry. Now that you mention it, I want to do the lemon squeeze.

I was really pleased how my schnitzel came out, I think someone took a picture, I didn't because I was focused on the process. I found out I prefer schnitzel with lemon squeeze vs. gravy. Dinner was al fresco and we played Bingo (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) for a while which is an all ages game for our group. The weather was a bit overcast but the sun eventually peeked though. Peaceful A selection of pie slices from Rock Springs Cafe was the dessert offerings. I went up a couple days before Christmas and grabbed a selection. I've been imbibing with the ube flavored egg nog every morning while off work. so smooth.

@MaryIsobel congrats!! @sartoric that's my kind of tradition.

Woo hoo! So... six months old for next Christmas. Just about right for wide-eyed and highly photogenic bewilderment.

😳I've never heard of this site! This could be dangerous for me

then there this : Chipotle answers ? https://www.outkick.com/culture/chipotle-congratulations-you-got-me-protein-cup-review I might try this one.

I count 8 fishes! (Or aquatic contributions to the menu, if you will)

My sis gave me a gift certificate for Olive My Pickle. How will I ever decide what to get!!! I want everything.

Not the prettiest dish in the Chinese canon, I agree. However, it does taste good. Scrambled eggs with prawns, chives and kelp. Served with rice.

We had a lovely day--some things didn't quite go as planned but nothing dire. Well, except the fog. It was a foggy drive to Topeka but not horrid. Originally, the fog warning was set to expire at 10 am. By the time I left at 9:30, it had expanded to noon. At some point shortly after that, it extended to 2 am today. I am not a fan of driving in the dark. I ended up leaving later than usual, so not only was it dark, but the fog was some of the worst I've driven through. By the time I got around 25 miles from home, I couldn't even see the exits on the freeway. It was terrifying. I made it safely, but I'm still tense and exhausted. I did not take a single photo all day.

Hi @TdeV I use traditional Chinese tea sets to brew loose leaf tea and enjoy the pleasure of the tea-making process. Sometimes, I brew tea with a ceramic teapot that has a stainless steel tea infuser, It makes tea easily. I like rougui tea that is a kind of oolong tea, this tea has a thick flavor and intense aroma. I also like black tea, such as Lapsong and Jinjunmei. The tea water has beautiful color and taste fragrant and sweet.