Mickey Lamp

 Because of the positive feedback that Nicole and I received on our Mickey Lamp, I thought I would share how I made it.

For the most part, I followed the directions on http://www.carol-anne.ca/Mickey%20Lamp.htm and https://erinblackwell.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/how-to-make-a-mickey-lamp-post/. I do believe both of these posts were produced by the same person because they share the same photos. Because I followed these post, I am not going to repeat that information here. Instead, I will simply share what I did differently.

When I was thinking about this project, I came to the conclusion that I would have to modify the plans. The first modification that needed to be made came from the fact that Nicole and I camp in locations where we do not have access to electricity. It is very hard to plug in a lamp when there are no outlets. The second modification needed to come from the fact that it would need to fit into my Prius; it needs to be easily disassembled and reassembled.

So, here are the items that I purchased. I got most of the items from Home Depot simply because the webpages that I was looking at had their product numbers. The one item that I ran into is that these pages are old pages, and some of their information is out of date. Because of this, I have also listed the part numbers of the items that I used.
1. Lamp post: Model # 501817 Internet #202636904 Store SO SKU #1000946165
2. Plastic Post-Top Globe Fitter: Model # 7785-01W Internet #100671529 Store SKU #348480
3. 12 in. White Neckless Globe: Model # 8188300 Internet #203066102
4. (2) 6 in. White Polyethylene Globe: Model # 8190500 Internet #203066112
5. Solar Black Outdoor Landscape Spot Light with Solar Panel and Wire: Model # NXT-3149 Internet #206267338 Store SKU #1001486802
6. Umbrella base that I got from Target.

I didn’t noticed it until the items were delivered, but the 12 inch globe that I ordered was made from acrylic and the two 6 inch globes that I ordered were made from polyethylene. Because of this, Mickey’s ears are not the same color has his head.

I first made the globe by following the directions on the webpages, so there is nothing new to report here.

For the lamp portion, I was wondering how power the light. I was first thinking of using a flashlight, and I was wondering how to mount the flashlight along with how to turn the lamp on and off. One day I was walking around Target and I saw solar-powered landscape lights. Then I was thinking of making this lamp solar-powered. Then I was wondering how and where to put the solar panel. While looking at the solar-powered landscaping lights on Home Depot’s website, I came across one that has a detached solar panel, wiring that will run the entire length of the pole, and an on/off switch at the solar panel. I decided that this lamp would work for this project.

The first thing that I modified was the globe filter. I first removed the lamp socket. I then drilled one hole that was large enough for the wiring to pass through. I then drilled four smaller holes so that I could strap down the lamp.

I also replaced the self-tapping screws that were being used to hold the globe clamps in place with regular screws and attached a nut on top of the clamps. I didn’t know how well the self-tapping screws would hold after the lamp has been disassembled and reassembled several times.

I then had to modify the lamp. Because this was a spotlight, it was designed to produce a spotlight. Because I wanted the lamp to illuminate the entire Mickey’s head and not just the area between his ears, I first cut off the top part of the lamp. I also had to cut off part of the lamp so that it would fit centered inside the globe. After cutting the landscaping lamp, it now looks like this

I then attached the lamp to the globe filter. I first tied it into place with wires. I then ‘glued’ it in place with J-B Weld (https://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-Two-1-oz-Twin-Tube-Cold-Weld-8265-s/100189012). So now, the globe filter and lamp now looked like this:

Because this was a spotlight, I still needed to modify it so that it would illuminate the entire globe. So I went to Goodwill and purchased a very very very very small champagne/wine looking glass and attached it to the top of the lamp. Now, the lamp looks like this:

The last modification that I had to make was to the lamp post. Because the lamp post is so much larger then the metal base for a patio umbrella, I needed to figure how to make the post stable. I decided to drill a hole in the lamp post and use the bolt that came with the base to secure the umbrella to secure the lamp post.

Then I put everything together, and our Mickey lamp now looks like this

And when the sun goes down, the lamp looks like this

Anyway, I do want to say thanks for the feedback on our solar-powered mickey lamp #mickeylamp #solarpowerdmickeylamp #solarpowered

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 13 results - Chicken Lyonnaise

Chicken Lyonnaise

Once again, my niece and nephew came up with another great idea. They came up with the idea of having the same meal that some people had as their last meal on the Titanic.  Because the cooks on the ship had different meals for the passengers (based on how much the person paid for his or her ticket), it was decided to try the first class meal first.

The recipe for the Chicken Lyonnaise can be found here: http://posttrib.suntimes.com/lifestyles/renwald/10875595-452/titanics-last-meal-chicken-lyonnaise-simple-but-elegant.html


While this was one of the better meals that I have cooked in a couple of months, I was still expecting more.  I did cut back on the salt (I tend to use 1/4 of salt that is listed in a recipe), and I believe this was one of the issues.  I also believe it could use some fresh thyme.  The thyme that I used was not that fresh.

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 12 results - Madagascar Chicken

Madagascar Chicken

Hmmm,
This was not the worst meal that I have cooked. Palvo has that spot as of right now.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't that bad.  It wasn't that good also.  It was simply bland.  I am not sure why, but I do know that I will not be making this meal again.

The recipe we used can be found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/madagascar-chicken-309431

Around the World in 80 meals (meal number 12) Madagascar

King Julien & Move it

I was at Busch Gardens, and this show gave me the idea for the next meal.  So we are going to, as King Julien would say, "move it move it" all the way to Madagascar.  

Here is the link to the actual dish we will be cooking: http://www.food.com/recipe/madagascar-chicken-309431

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 11 results - Tempura

Tempura

 For our 11th meal, we went to Japan for some tempura.  Tempura is the batter used to deep fry various meats and veggies.

Because I have only deep fried my food one other time, you could say that I am not an expert in this cooking method, and it showed.

I fried some fish, chicken, and some green beans, and nothing looked like it came from a Japanese restaurant.

I made four different variations of tempura.  The first was the recipe from the Food network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tempura-batter-recipe/index.html) without any changes.  Without any seasonings, it was very bland.  The batter was also very very very thin.  I did add more flour to thicken it up some.

I replaced the seltzer water with ginger ale for the second batch.  This made a small change in flavor, but not much.  The batter was a little sweeter.

For the third batch, I added some old Emeril's Creole Seasoning blend that I had in the frig.  This seasoning made the meal.  The chicken, beams, and fish all tasted good.  The fourth batch also used Emeril's Creole Seasoning blend, but I didn't use as much.  This too was good, but not as good as the third batch.

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 10 results - Palov

Palov

 Well, this was a total bust!  It looked simple to make, and it was.  While it was easy to make, it simply did not have any flavor.  It was one of the most bland meals I have consumed in a very long time.

I attempted to give it some flavor, I mixed some of my left over Brazilian Black Bean Stew.  This helped, but it didn't helped that much.

I then tried to add some salsa to the dish to give it some flavor, and this was better than the Brazilian Black Bean Stew.  I then tried it with some ketchup (1 cup of ketchup and 2 cups of Palov), and this wasn't bad at all.

My next attempt to make this dish palpable, I added a couple of tablespoons of Emeril's Creole Seasoning that I had left over from the Chicken Cordon Bleu.  This actually made the meal taste good.

You could say that I will not be making this meal again.  You can see the recipe that I used here: http://momsdish.com/recipe/222/uzbek-palov

Around the World in 80 meals (meal number 10) Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan's Palov

I was on my way to work the other day, and I was listening to Morning Edition on WUSF.  They were doing an article on how Russia is now exporting immigrants (who they used to build the stadiums and infrastructure for the 2014 Winter Olympics) back to their home country against their will once they have completed their work project.

One of the countries that they mentioned during this article was Uzbekistan, and this got me wondering on what do people from Uzbekistan eat?

Therefore, I thought I would cook a Uzbekistan meal as way to honor the people who worked to build the items for the 2014 Olympics and who are now being kicked out the country that is hosting the Olympics.

After doing some research, I decided to cook Palov because it looks like a simple and tasty dish.

Bon Appetit

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 9 results - Paella

Well, I thought I was caught up.  I was looking at Nicole's map that she posted on Facebook, and she had Spain colored in.  I was wondering when I cooked a dish from Spain.  I went through my photos, and I didn't see anything indicating that I cooked any other meals.

Thanks to Nicole, she was kind enough to remind me that I did not shop or cook this meal; she did when she was visiting me. :-)

Here is the recipe that she used, and I am happy that she reminded me of this meal so that I can add it to my "I am going to make this again list."

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-paella/

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 8 results - Brazilian Black Bean Stew

Meet is cooking and smelling good!

Nicole is the one who picked this meal, and when I first saw it I said to myself, 'Oh my! This is going to be an adventure'  I was wondering how all of these flavors would work together.  There is the flavor that the chorizo sausage brings, and the mango, and ham, and the sweet potatoes, and the chile pepper.

Veggies waiting to be cooked

 Not only is there several different flavors I didn't know if they would go together, there were some that I simply not a fan of.  I am not a big mango person.  Sweet potatoes are okay (but I have been starting to enjoy them more over the past several years).  And cilantro is also okay (and again I have been starting to enjoy its flavor more over the past several years).

Everything is in the pot

I was wondering why the directions indicate that the chorizo sausage needs to be sliced and cooked with some oil.  Chorizo sausage that I cook (which is a Mexican sausage) doesn't need oil and it crumbles.  Apparently, there are two types of chorizo sausage - Mexican and Spanish.  So I am assuming that I used the wrong chorizo sausage.




The only other change I made to the recipe is that when I went to the store, I purchased two sweet potatoes instead of two pounds.  Never-the-less, I still ended up with seven servings (the recipe states that this makes six).  So this recipe did allow me to restock my freezer for lunches.

Will I make this again, yes I will.  And I will also bring this dish to a pot luck or two.

Lunch is served

Around the World in 80 meals - results from meal number 7

Ratatouille Niçoise

Veggies all prepped

I have always had a fondness to French food.  I don't know why, I just know that I do.  So when Disney/Pixar produced a movie about French food, I simply had to go.  After I saw the movie, I said that I am going to Ratatouille Niçoise one of these days.  I forgot all about cooking this meal while I was in seminary.  Now that I was trying new dishes, this meal went to the top of my list.

Cooking the veggies

There was only one issue, I have always wanted to make Chicken Cordon Bleu.  I had a hard time deciding on which of the two dishes to make.  So I made the decision the only way I could - I made both dishes.

I made Ratatouille on Friday and the Chicken Cordon Bleu on Saturday, and I made enough food to last me several days.  It wasn't until I had it for the fifth day that I was getting tired of the meal.

I was completely taken back on how delicious the Ratatouille was.  This is now my second favorite dish I have made since starting this project.  I will be bringing this dish to the pot lucks that I go to because it can be served cold.

Dinner time

I believe it was the fresh thyme and  basil that set this dish apart from the rest.  I will say that this dish needs something with it  It is missing something if it is served just by itself.




.

Chicken ready to be cook

The recipe we used for the Ratatouille is http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/the-essence-of-emeril/ratatouille-recipe/index.html, and I found it strange that Emeril Lagasse could create a recipe that was so easy to follow.  The Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-cordon-bleu-recipe/index.html) was also from  Emeril Lagasse, and this recipe was like the other Emeril recipes I have attempt to follow

Cooking the chicken

I will make this dish again, but not just for myself.  It is too much work for just one person.  Because I could not find Bethmale cheese, I used the same cheese that I used for the Mornay Sauce (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/classic-mornay-sauce-recipe/index.html).  I will also bake the chicken next time instead of pan frying.  I will also double up on the proscuitto and use a different cheese (like provolone).

Dinner 

Around the World in 80 meals - results from meal number 6

Shepherd's Pie   

I got real excited for meal number 6.  My nephew came up with a very cool ideal.  Instead of going someplace, he decided that we needed to go back into time to have a meal that Shakespeare would have consumed.  So we fired up the DeLorean, engaged the flux capacitor, set the time circuit to 1602, and got the Delorean up to 88 miles per hour.

Because of the time that has passed between the time I am writing this post and the time I cooked the meal, I do not remember a lot.  It was good, and I will make it again.  I am not sure if it was the meat that I used (had a gamey taste, and I thought that it was odd) or something else, but I think my dish would have tasted better using beef instead of lamb.

I did wish that I had more potatoes, so the next time I make this I will double the amount of potatoes.

The recipe came from the Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html)

Around the World in 80 meals - results from meal number 5

Making the Pico de Gallo

 We went to Mexico for meal number five.  I decided to go to Mexico because I can eat Mexican food eight days a week.  Also, I basically had everything on hand.

We had Chicken quesadillas with Pico de Gallo. Nicole and I made this meal together when she came and visited me.  She said that this was combination between a quesadilla and fajita, and I would agree.

Cooking the veggies for the quesadillas 

As you can tell, we had more than enough Pico.  I had Pico on everything for more than a couple of days after Nicole went back to L.A.

We got the recipes for this meal from the Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chicken-quesadillas-recipe/index.html).

Cooking the chicken

Finished product

Results from meal number 4 - Souvlaki

seasoning the lamb and veggies

It has been a long time since I posted my last meal.  While I have not been posting, I have been cooking and eating.

Over the next couple of days I will be posting my results from the meals that I have cooked thus far.

Meal number four was from Greece.  Nicole decided that we should try Souvlaki (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Souvlaki), and we did.

Getting ready for the grill

This was a simple meal to prepare and to cook.  I again used my stove top pan grill.  Once again, I ended up filling my apartment with smoke from the grill.

This would be a great meal to cook to have people over and cook on the grill.  It is one of those meals that looks like it takes a lot of time to cook and prepare, but it isn't.

Done and ready to for the table

Results from meal number 3

Spicy Basil Chicken – Gkai Pad Gkaprow

When I was looking at the ingredients for this recipe, I was wondering how this could not be a hit.  And it was!!!!  I like chicken, I like basil, I like spicy food, and this recipe has all three.  While there is a lot of chopping, dicing, and slicing involved with this meal, it is well worth the time.

I followed the recipe fairly close.  The only changes that I made were (1) I used olive oil.  This is because I only use olive oil when I cook.  (2) I used chicken breast instead of thighs because that is what I had in my freezer.  (3) Because the frozen chicken was a three pound package, I tripled the amounts that I used.

I served this dish over rice.  The white chicken and the white rice made the dish look somewhat boring.  The only color the dish had come from the basil and from the peppers.  The next time I cook the meal I will use more basil so that it will have more color.  What was also missing was a cold beer.  Because I was on-call for the St. Joseph hospitals, I drank a diet coke with the meal.  It was okay, but a cold beer would have been better.

I will also say that this dish had a good amount of heat.  I used about 30 Thai chilies, and they gave the meal a good deal of spice.  The peppers did not make my nose run, my eyes cry, or simply sweat.  Still, I believe the dish would be too spicy for most people.

Again, I will be making this dish again, and the recipe can be found at: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/basil-chicken-recipe.html.

Around the World in 80 Meals - meal number 3

For meal number three, we are going back to Asia.  This time we are going to Thailand.  I have always liked Thai food, but that is not why I picked this location.  I decided to go to Thailand so that I could use up the rest of my ingredients from Laos.  :-)

What I did know about Thailand is that it once was called Siam.  Now, the next time I watch the King and I, I now know where they are.  I also learned that Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country in terms of total area (little larger than Spain), and it is the 20th-most-populous country.

Our third meal is going to be Spicy Basil Chicken – Gkai Pad Gkaprow (or Gai Pad Kaprao), and you can find the recipe here: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/basil-chicken-recipe.html.

Results from meal number 2

Boerenkool Stamppot (Kale Hash)

Well, all I am going to say is that meal number two  was not a hit and it was not a miss.  When I was reading up on stamppot, I came to the conclusion that when the people in Netherlands make soup, they do not use beef or chicken broth.  Instead, they use mash potatoes in place of broth.   The stamppot wasn’t bad, just bland.  After adding some salt and a lot of pepper, it wasn’t bad.

With the leftovers, I converted the stamppot into a crispy mashed potato pancakes by added eggs, milk, flour, pepper, abodo seasoning, and some chives.  While it didn’t look that good, it did taste better than it looked and better than the stamppot.

I did follow the recipe closely.  The only thing that I did different is that I used red potatoes so that I did not have to peel them.  I also just tossed the bag of kale into the mixture.  I didn’t take out the large stems, and let us say that gave a few bites a little extra crunch.

Overall, I will say that I will not make this recipe again.  I might try a different recipe for stamppot, one with more seasoning/ingredients so that it will have more of a flavor.

Around the World in 80 Meals meal number 2

Nicole and I are heading to the Netherlands for our second meal because Nicole wants to go to Amsterdam.   

Because I have not been to the Netherlands, I went to Wikipedia to read a little about the country.  I discovered that the Netherlands still have three special municipalities in the Caribbean.

The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 20% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level, and 50% of its land lying less than three feet above sea level. This distinct feature contributes to the country's name: in Dutch (Nederland), English, and in many other European languages, its name literally means "(The) Low Countries" or "Low Country". Most of the areas below sea level are man-made, caused by centuries of extensive and poorly controlled peat extraction, lowering the surface by several feet.

Our second meal is going to be Boerenkool Stamppot, and you can find the recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/boerenkool-stamppot-kale-hash-33269.

Around the World in 80 Meals: Results from meal number 1

Laotian Grilled Pork Skewers with Papaya Salad and Sticky Rice

I was excited to try this meal because I have always wanted to visit Laos.  When I was doing the research for this meal, I discovered why I wanted to visit Laos.  The adjective that most often applied to visiting Laos is forgotten.  For me, my theology centers around ministering to "the forgotten."

Anyway, to the meal.  I was letting the meat thaw when the heavens opened and the rain fell.  Because I wanted to cook the meat, I decided to use my grill pan instead of an actual grill.  I like cooking on my grill pan because the food tastes just like it was cooked on an actual grill.  The problem that I have using it right now is the stove's exhaust fan in my apartment takes the smoke from the stove and blows it into my face instead of removing it from the kitchen.  It only took a couple of minutes for my apartment to fill will smoke, and the smoke detector went off a couple of times when I was cooking.

I really really really liked how the meatballs came out.  They were delicious.  I think they will go great in my spaghetti too.  The only thing that I will do differntly is thgat I will add a little more lime leaf the next time I cook them.

For the rice, I simply cooked the rice that I had.  Thus, nothing to report.

The papaya salad is a completely different story.  First, I could not find a "green unripe papaya."  Heck, I had to go to three different stores just to find a papaya.  I purchased the most unripe papaya that I could find, and it was very ripe.  The papaya turned into juice right away, and by the time I put all the ingredients together, the salad looked more like a soup.  I must have done something wrong in cleaning the papaya because the salad/soup was very very very very bitter with a good amount of heat.  The salad/soup was soooooo bad that the meat, rice, or the beer that I was drinking could kill the lingering taste that was in my mouth.  The salad went straight into the trash.  I would say that this was the second or third time that I tossed something into the trash right after I made it.

This was a fun experiment.  I now have a new way to make meatballs.  I now know how not to make a papaya salad. And I am wondering what to do next.  Hmmmm....