Damsel’s Para Ordinance Warthog still has the occasional hang up; it did it a couple times as she put 100 rounds through it at the range yesterday. At Rob’s suggestion, we purchased some Strike Hold cleaner/dry lubricant. After our weekly shootout, we came home and used Strike Hold for the first time to clean and lube all of the guns.

Image - Strike Hold and some dirty guns - click to enlarge.

I have to say that the cleaning aspect of Strike Hold was phenomenal. Up until this weekend, we have been using solvent to clean off residue and light gun oil to lube. Damsel also tried some of the Para-supplied lubrication. Compared to the solvent, the Strike Hold lifted off most residue and particles with literally half of the effort.

After cleaning, we spritzed a little Strike Hold on the slides and moving mechanisms for lubrication. After wiping off the excess, we put the guns away for another week. Next week, after Damsel takes the Warthog to the range, we will probably have another product report on Strike Hold. We’re hoping to be able to report that the Warthog fired the 100 rounds without any problems.

A product description and a link to where we ordered our Strike Hold follows:

Continue reading » Product Report - Part I

Here’s a recipe suggestion for Kini, who commented yesterday about fixing something other than chili in the crockpot.

This meal was adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe, with Andouille sausage, cubed chicken and shrimp. The original recipe calls to cook some of the ingredients in a skillet, but we toss everything in the pot and cook on low for six or seven hours. Everything cooks in the broth and the results are essentially the same. We don’t toss in the pre-cooked frozen, cleaned shrimp until about 20 minutes before serving time. We prepare the rice per the package instructions and serve the jambalaya over a scoop of rice in a bowl. Oh yeah, I forgot - we always chop up a couple cloves of garlic since the original recipe left it out for some reason.

A couple weekends ago, we broke in our new crockpot. Today, we’re breaking in a new steamer. We have prepared this particular dinner several times since we saw the recipe on The Food Network by Chef Tyler Florence. It’s called Steamed Soy-Marinated Chicken. In the past, we used a traditional bamboo steamer over a wok filled with water just to the bottom of the bamboo.

A couple of years ago, we got this counter-top steamer from Mom and Dad. We almost forgot about it until the other day when Damsel ran across it in our storage closet.

Right: Steamer all loaded and ready to go. (Click for a close-up)

Here’s the recipe that we used:

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut oil
½ lime, juiced
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, sliced thick
1 cloves garlic, sliced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 head savoy cabbage

Into a large, re-sealable plastic bag add the soy sauce, sesame oil, peanut oil, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and cilantro. Seal the bag and shake it to mix the ingredients. Add the chicken breasts and shake it again. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour or up to overnight.

Pour about 1-inch of water into a wok and bring it to a boil over high heat. Line the bottom of a bamboo steamer with a layer of cabbage leaves. Place the marinated chicken on top of the leaves. Cover the steamer and put it into the wok. Steam the chicken until it is cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes.

And here’s the delectable result: Steamed soy chicken with baby spinach, bok choi (grown in our garden and harvested yesterday) and savoy cabbage with saffron rice. The greens had a wonderful Chinese dressing with soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and rice wine vinegar.

This is the petite flower on a succulent in our garden that I call “red bells.” They are in the eschevaria family, although I don’t know the exact variety. These are showing up later than usual, opening in January where in previous years they would open in November. I posted articles about them in November 2005 and November 2006.

Damsel took a picture recently of her Balancing Warthog and posted it here. Just out of curiosity, I took out the other pistols and tried the same test. The S&W 908s wouldn’t balance at all. The Glock 26 balanced just like the Warthog, without the magazine and with the slide locked back.

The Glock 30 wouldn’t balance until I inserted a magazine. The magazine gave it a flat bottom to rest on. The Glock 26 has a lip on the bottom front of the grip which kept the gun from falling forward like the 30 was prone to do without a magazine.

Left to right, Glock 26 and Warthog, sans magazines, and Glock 30, magazine inserted.

I’m thinking that this balancing act is possible due to the pistols having been designed for good recoil properties. Does anyone have thoughts on that?

Last night, I was going through some of the pictures we took in 2007. I ran across the photos of last summer’s visit to the Grand Canyon. Today, as I sit at my desk I have the greatest urge to pack up and drive out of town to someplace like this. But, I suppose I’ll have to be patient and wait for our next vacation. Besides, I plan to retire soon - like in about 1 year, 6 months and 14 Days or so - but who’s counting?

Click on the picture below of Damsel enjoying a rainy day canyon view to see the 1024 x 768 version in the photo viewer.

Please don’t associate the “point ‘n’ click” terminology with computers - unless the *&^$@ computer dies and just might make a better target than a tool. Come to think of it, even though the hard disk died, it’s possible it could be recovered and read by unauthorized persons. Any personal data on the hard drive should be destroyed.

Hmmmmm - a remote area, the Glocks and this defunct laptop - it might be fun.

Naah - I’ll just remove and destroy the drive and take the rest to the recycler.

Second Amendment Alert - Via Redstate via The Wandering Minstrel:

Redstate has a post today about the intervention of the Solicitor General of the United States in the Heller vs. D.C. case. In the post is a link to savethesecond.org where Congressman Eric Cantor (R - VA) is organizing a petition to let the government know that you value your second amendment rights.

Click here to sign the petition.

Here’s an excerpt from the petition site:

Last Friday, the United States Solicitor General filed formal briefs asking the Supreme Court not to affirm the lower court’s decision. This is just outrageous. The Solicitor General is the Federal Government’s lawyer. So, now we have the federal government using our tax dollars to argue for a delay on a ruling concerning our fundamental rights.

Take action today - sign this petition to let the government know that you value your second amendment rights. Together, we can ensure that your rights are protected. For the first time in years we have the opportunity for the Supreme Court to clearly say that the second amendment applies to all Americans and that no government can ban all handguns.

Let your voice be heard - sign the petition today.

Did you know that with no magazine installed and with the slide locked open, the Para Warthog will balance upright on a flat surface?

Feast your eyes on these beautiful shish kebabs as they cook on the grill. When we finished grocery shopping this morning, we came home and cut up a tri-tip (bottom sirloin) roast into chunks, removed the stems from some fresh mushrooms and put them in a marinade consisting of extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped rosemary leaves and minced garlic.

We also boiled up some red bliss potatoes, Brussels sprouts and diced acorn squash chunks. We only boiled them until the potatoes were just barely fork-tender. These were drained and set aside to cool.

While the vegetables were cooling and the meat marinated in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, we watched some football and visited with the family at a nearby eatery. We didn’t order any food, though, since nothing on their menu could possibly compete with what we were planning to have for dinner.

At the left, you can see the meat and veggies on the skewers before we put them on the grill. Notice the rich deep-brown color of the marinated beef and mushrooms.

Click on either picture to see a closer view.

On the side, Damsel prepared a pasta salad with orzo, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, olives and artichoke hearts. I have to tell you, this was a great meal - and certainly better than anything on the menu at the eatery where the family gathered.