Musings

Cooking and discussing scallops

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Every other month or so, Bob & I (in Raleigh) have a Zoom-call happy hour with Bob’s brother Jimmy and his wife Cindy (in Scottsdale), just to catch up.

For it, we each make an “agenda” to keep the meeting moving and to cover everything that’s on our collective minds.

We were texting recently and the subject of scallops came up, and Cindy requested that we add that to the agenda.

We buy Patagonian scallops from Publix whenever they’re BOGO, which means we get one $19.50 bag like this one for free.

In preparation for our call, I did a search on “scallops” in all of our meal menus since January 1, 2024, to refresh our memories of all ways we’ve cooked them — and by “we,” I mean Bob, because I don’t cook. This is what we found:

Heat & serve prepared appetizers:
With Bob’s intuition:
  • Gingered scallops with teriyaki rice
  • Sweet sesame teriyaki scallops
  • Veggie Yakisoba c̅ scallops
  • Stir-fry scallops
  • Cabbage fried rice c̅ scallops
  • Scallop fried rice
  • Sautéed-in-butter scallops
  • Crispy baked scallops
  • Scallop Pad Thai Soup
  • Shrimp & scallops chef salad
  • Mac & cheese c̅ scallops
From recipes:

Organ recitals

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While walking around the aforementioned Corvin Square, Bob and I got tickled when we saw this sign:

Whenever “people of our age” get together and start talking about all of their knee and hip replacements, etc. — which Bob hates — I’ll eventually announce, “Okay, the organ recital is over.”

Simple syrup, rock candy, and science experiments

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At Costco this morning, a man had a cart with 10 25-lbs of fine granulated sugar and 6 18-packs of bottled water.

Of course, the wheels in my head started immediately spinning to answer the question: “Is there anything you can make with just sugar and water?” So I took it to ChatGPT:

With just sugar and water, you can create a few things, including:

  • Simple Syrup: This is made by dissolving equal parts sugar and water, typically by heating the water and stirring in the sugar until completely dissolved. It’s a versatile liquid sweetener used in:
    • Cocktails
    • Sweetening coffees or teas
    • Making lemonades or other fruit beverages
    • Moistening cakes or pastries
    • Creating sorbets or granitas
  • Rock Candy: You can grow rock candy crystals by creating a supersaturated sugar solution (dissolving more sugar in water than it can usually hold at room temperature by heating it), then letting the solution cool. As it cools, the sugar molecules will crystallize onto a string or stick placed in the solution.
     
  • Hard Candy: By boiling a sugar and water mixture to a high temperature (hard crack stage), then pouring it into molds or onto a prepared surface, you can create hard candy. Note that some recipes for hard candy may include additional ingredients like corn syrup.
     
  • Science Experiments: Sugar and water can be used for interesting science experiments, such as demonstrating density. By creating solutions with varying amounts of sugar, you can layer them in a glass to create a colorful “rainbow” effect.

Versatile grilled chicken

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I grilled chicken on Sunday evening:

We grilled enough to make 3 meals of it, each delicious in its own way. Bob’s homemade pasta salad is yummy!