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Delson Computer In Charleston SC

2010-04-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

DELSON COMPUTER.
“Serving residential/commercial clients on James Island, West Ashley and Downtown Charleston.”

Why Us?
29 years experience, no price gauging - repair parts sold at cost, our labor rates are up to 50% less than competitors, no nonsense: if we can’t help you, we’ll locate someone who can.

Services:

PC: Slow or infected PCs, PC repairs or upgrades, new software or hardware installs, parental controls for internet access, migration from one PC to another, training.

Networking: Computer cabling, connecting PCs, printers and other devices together, wired or wireless, solutions to boost wireless reception in home or office, solutions that allow you to securely remote into a home or office PC from anywhere, solutions to securely separate your business network traffic from any visitors/guests using your network, solutions for securely connecting business-to-business, etc.

Business: Server support, backup and/or disaster recovery solutions, internet abuse/overuse solutions for your staff, solutions that allow you to securely share your business apps outside your office, system migrations, scanning/document management solutions, business process consulting, software/hardware planning/acquisition,.

Phone: Phone cabling, voice over IP solutions to reduce monthly phone bills, digital phone systems/voice-mail.

Programming & Other Solutions: Website consulting/development, website marketing, video production (e.g. sales demos/special events), data analysis / manipulation, scripts to automate tasks.

Support Contracts: Contracts are flexible, usually quarterly and can be canceled by you at any time without penalty. Reduce your IT cost, reduce business disruption, ensure timely response/ownership of your issues, after a contract is setup, we can at your discretion securely remote into your office to resolve issues quickly sans costly office visits.

2010-04-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Easy "Crossfit Safe" versions of Several Malay/Thai Dishes

2010-01-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

Teans Gourmet offers easy to make authentic South East Asian off-the-shelf paste mixes. While the pastes are not as healthy as I would like, you can adjust using healthy lean meats such as chicken breast, a variety of vegetables (frozen or fresh), if called for, whole grain pasta etc. The last two recipes are really good mixed with whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice, etc.

Malaysian Curry Laksa (Kari Laksa)
This is a traditional hot and spicy soup. Try it out at first but be mindful for American tastes, consider some minor tweaks such as at the end adding two or so tablespoons of honey, 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon, additional coconut milk and/or water/broth to taste.

Ingredients:
> 7-oz pack Teans Gourmet Curry Laksa paste (online or in Asian groceries).
> 4-oz whole grain pasta (whole-wheat, quinoa, etc)
> 1 - 2 lbs of assorted chopped up veg, seafood, lean meat
> 5-oz coconut milk
> 3 cups of water or vegetable, fish or chicken stock.

Break 4 ounces of whole grain pasta into small 1-2 inch pieces; to do this, leave pasta in box and repeatedly bend box on a counter edge. Cook the small pieces of pasta using instructions on pasta box. In a different pot, mix packet of paste with water and put pot on high heat. If using meat, add now. Bring to a boil. Add coconut milk and vegetables. Bring to a quick boil and then switch to low heat. Add cooked pasta pieces. Serve in bowl. Garnish with cilantro, 1/2 of boiled egg, etc.

Malaysian Vegetarian Curry (Kari Sayuran)

coming soon.

Thai Tom Yum Soup

coming soon.

Paleo Cookies

2010-01-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

Paleolithic Diet Cookies
These paleo cookies will turn hard if baked to long so keep a close eye on them in the oven; this recipe produces semi-sweet cookies; if you prefer sweeter, consider adding optional dried chopped fruit and/or more honey or agave sweetener (up to 1/2 cup more) to this recipe. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies. Keep in sealed freezer bag - can last several weeks if kept sealed, several months or more if kept in freezer. Note: this recipe is considerably easier if you buy two 16-oz bags of Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour at a local Whole Foods, Earth Fare, etc.

Ingredients:
Parchment paper
2 cups or 16-oz honey (we prefer orange-blossom)
2 cups by volume or 10 ounces of whole walnuts
4 cups of almond flour or 20 ounces of whole almonds
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
Opt: 4-8 oz of your fav chopped dried fruit - blueberries, cranberries, raisins, etc.

For soft and chewy cookies, bake only approx 15 minutes in a well pre-heated oven, let sit on parchment paper for 15 minutes then put in freezer to harden. For harder cookies, bake approx 20 minutes.

Grab at least a five quart bowl or pot, place closed jar of honey in pot, fill with very hot water so honey melts. In a food processor or blender, grind nuts in small batches (about five ounces per batch) to as close to a powder as possible. Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly.

Tip: I power on/off blender/food processor; in between use dull knife to clear blades of the ground nut mixture; repeat until there's a powder.

Remove jar of honey from original bowl, dump water, dry out that bowl and dump 2 cups of honey in. Gradually (in about four or five batches) stir in nut flour/ground nuts using fork or dull knife. This will be a workout for some. Mix in optional dried fruit last in small batches until well mixed.

Put bowl with dough in fridge for approx 20 minutes. At about the 15 minute mark, preheat oven for 350 degrees bake. Grab cookie sheet and line with parchment paper. Place dough on paper and flatten with hand or back of spoon to ¼ inch. Using a cookie cutter, pizza cutter or dull knife, cut out 2-inch diameter cookies or 2-inch squares and bake (BAKE THESE ON PARCHMENT PAPER) at 350 degree for no more than 15 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye so they don’t get hard or they’ll turn into dog biscuits - hard, but good dipped in coffee.

Mr. Tatsoi

2009-12-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

Tatsoi is a great green you can add to salads. I found out recently it's grown all over the US including my own back yard on farms on Johns Island, SC.

Tatsoi is in the same family as collards and kale and can be eaten raw in salads, pan sauteed, boiled, etc.

Raw, it's a bit like spinach, only crunchier but without the gritty texture one experiences when eating raw spinach; also, it's nutritious and has a subtle mustard kick to it, similar to mustard greens but considerably less strong.

South Western Soup

2009-12-22T18:07:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

64 oz of soup broth (vegetable, chicken, etc)
16 oz of Pico De Gallo (refrigerated section of grocery)
Cilantro - large handful including stem, chopped up fine.
2 Haas Avocados
1 lb of cut up chicken breast
2 cloves minced garlic.
Optional - 2 or 3 tbs of minced chive.

Instructions:
Season chicken with salt/pepper or a seasoning salt you like and saute with garlic in a little oil so chicken is partially cooked, approximately 5 minutes at medium heat. In a large pot, add chicken, soup broth, pico de gallo, finely chopped cilantro and bring to a boil and then lower to simmer and serve. Add large chunks of cut up avocado when serving. Soup is good atop brown rice or quinoa. For stronger cilantro taste, reserve half for after soup has cooled.

Quinoa

2009-12-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

I've not been able to locate a more nutritious rice like substitute than Quinoa (KEEN-wah) .

Quinoa isn't a grain but is a relative of green leafy vegetables such as spinach/chard; it's a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids.

Mix in soups or stews, alone with a little butter on top, with vegetables, for breakfast with maple syrup/cinnamon or fresh fruit or fruit juice mixed in or substitute broth for water for different flavor.

Four pound bags at Costco are approx $8; it can also be purchased in organic food stores but seek the white variety of quinoa.

Instructions: using 2 cups of liquid per cup of quinoa, combine liquid and quinoa in saucepan, bring to boil, lower heat and simmer, coverered, until quinoa is tender but still chewy and white spiral-like threads appear around each grain, about 15 minutes. For a different flavor, toast quinoa in a dry skillet a few minutes before cooking but stir continuously to prevent burning.

Note: Quinoa is not sticky like rice so it's not a good substitute say if you're trying to make healthy sushi - stick to brown rice instead.

Black Eyed Peas Salad

2009-12-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

Prep Time: 10 minutes

>22 ounces of cooked black-eyed peas or two eleven ounce boxes of Melissa's Blackeyed peas in organic section of grocery store.
>4 tbs of finely chopped chives
>2 tbs of cilantro leaves
>4 tbs of finely chopped carrot
>Optional: Salt and Pepper and/or Lime Juice.

Instructions: Mix all ingredients. Add optional ingredients for taste. Refrigerate over night to let flavors meld. Serve over cooked quinoa or brown rice.

Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)

2009-08-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

INGREDIENTS:

1 very dark green unripe papaya. Should NOT be hollow sounding when tapped. Large enough for 12 oz of shreds.

1 Large carrot - enough to shred 4 oz.

A few leaves of cilantro, shredded.

Garnish with some roasted salted peanuts or cashews, a few semi cooked fresh green beans, just a little finely sliced scallion or chives, some small cooked shrimp, a few halved cherry tomatoes, some sliced chilis, etc.

For nice presentation, plate over fresh clean Romaine lettuce leaves.

Dressing

¼ cup fish sauce or light soy sauce

¼ cup or more of lime juice

¼ cup sugar

Note: This makes more dressing then is needed for the pound of papaya/carrot. You don't want your ingredients drowning in the dressing. OJ Brand Som Tum powdered instant dressing in packets is worth checking out.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the thick outer green papaya skin off first. Then use a papaya shredder to finely shred the papaya and the carrot and combine in a large bowl. Add cilantro, tomatoes, and any other optional ingredients.

2. Prepare dressing, combine fish sauce, vinegar, water and soy sauce in a bowl. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. When ready to serve and not any time before, spoon dressing over salad and toss through using chopsticks. Don’t drown the salad in the dressing. Also don’t toss the ingredients too much. Just give it a light toss or two with chopsticks and it will be finished.

3. Spoon papaya salad onto lettuce leaves or plate, top with chilli slices, peanuts, tomatoes, etc.

On Shredding Papayas: You can locate an appropriate shredder online - google the words "papaya shredder"; optionally visit your local Asian grocery store and ask them to order you one if they don't have anything in stock. The harder to locate orange shredder (aka Kom-Kom Miracle Zig Zag Knife) creates the thinnest hair like shreds which are the best in my opinion; the blue handled (aka Kiwi Pro-Slice) which is easier to locate online produces medium sized shreds which are still acceptable. I don't know anything about the light green looking mandolin - never tried a mandolin like this for shredding papaya but I vouch by the other two shredders. With the Kiwi, it’s a up-down motion and the Kom Kom has more a side-to-side motion. The Kom Kom is just a bit pricier but it has several added functions - peeler, corer and carver – all in one. Don't try a regular vegetable peeler to shred the papaya - it's the wrong tool.

You can shred your papaya, soak in cold water for about 10 minutes and then ziplock bag and refrigerate and it will last several days to a week; the combination of refrigeration and cold water bath make the papaya more crunchy.

A Tale of Two Tartares

2009-08-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

If you prefer restaurant style spicy tuna, recipe #2. If you prefer your tuna slightly cooked on outside, "ceviche" style, recipe #1. Prep time is 20 minutes.

#1 Lime Tuna Tartare.
3 tbs of grape seed or xtra virgin olive oil
zest/juice of two small limes or one large lime
1 tsp of soy sauce
1 - 2 tsps extremely finely minced jalepeno (no seeds)
common ingredients (from below)

Note: This is a recipe you'll either love or you don't because the lime and not the tuna takes center stage; if it tastes too much like lime, next time cut back on the amount of juice/zest and/or leave the recipe the same but add a tsp or two of honey and possibly adda a few pinches of salt to counteract the lime taste.

#2 Spicy Tuna Tartare (this is my favorite)
1 oz of masago (orange cappelin fish roe)
1 tbs of finely chopped shallot or red onion
2 large heaping tbs of mayo
4 tsps. of honey
1.5 tsp dark asian sesame oil (NO more or it will overwhelm)
1/2 tsp of soy sauce
1 small squirt of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (add more if you want HOT)
(optional) 1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds
common ingredients (from below)

Common Ingredients:
1 pound of sashimi grade tuna (yellow-fin, ahi, etc) cut into 1/8 - 1/4 inch cubes
1 to 2 level tbs of finely sliced scallion or chives
1 tsp of wasabi paste or (1/2 tsp wasabi powder mixed with 1/2 tsp water)
1/4 tsp of ground black or white pepper

Instructions: Thoroughly mix all ingredients (with the exception of the tuna) so everything mixes together. Add tuna last to the mixed ingredients and stir a few more times. You may need to add some salt or more soy sauce to taste.

Return to fridge for several hours prior to serving so flavors meld. Try to serve as close to room temp as possible. Serve with crackers, poppadom, kettle cooked potato chips, dutch rusk, etc.

Optional Avocado Accompaniment
3 Haas Avocados
3 Roma Tomato, or One Large Ripe tomato
Optional (1/2 peeled seeded cucumber)
Juice from one lime
3/4 tsp of salt and pepper
Garnish: Cilantro

Instructions: Cube avocado, cucumber and tomato into 1/4 inch cubes removing as much tomato/cucumber seed and veggie liquid as possible. Thoroughly cover ingredients with lime juice and gently fold all ingredients once or twice to preserve shape. Refrigerate tightly covered to avoid browning.

Recommendations: Tuna MUST be sashimi grade (suitable for eating raw) - request pieces that are completely or as much as possible VOID of the stringy white connective tissue (semi-concentric white lines in tuna) - because that white stringy connective tissue MUST be manually removed which is time consuming and the white strings must be discarded. Cut tuna against (cross) grain for best results.

For an "old school" tower presentation: clean/hollow (no lids) soup can; lightly oil inside of can with grape seed or x-tra virgin olive oil. Set hollowed can on wax paper, fill half way with avocado mixture, the other half with tuna mixture, top with cilantro, or other garnish. When ready to serve, place can and wax-paper on plate, remove wax paper, and gently lift can.

Tom Yum Now!

2009-08-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Yield: approx two quarts soup.
Effort: approx 20 - 30 mins.

Ingredients: Four (4) oz of sliced: mushrooms, snow-peas, carrots and grape tomatoes; eight (8) oz sliced okra (freezer section of grocery). Handful of sliced chives or scallion. Two (2) instant Tom Yum Packets.

Optional Ingredients: Low Sodium Vegetable/Chicken stock (see recommendations section). Eight (8) oz cut up chicken, firm tofu or shelled shrimp; eight (8) oz baby corn, two small round Thai eggplants cut up, cilantro leaves, cooked rice or quinoa.

Instructions: Prepare all ingredients and soup per manufacturer's instructions on soup packet. If using meat/shrimp, add to soup before boil, bring soup to boil for three to five minutes to properly cook meat. Afterward, set burner on low and wait at least five minutes for soup to cool down and add remaining vegetables with the exception of the sliced grape tomatoes. Cook on low another 5 - 10 minutes and serve. Just before serving, add sliced grape tomatoes to soup and offer cooked rice or quinoa, cilantro leaves, fish sauce, sliced limes on side.

Recommendations: The soup packet instructions recommend water. Consider replacing the water w/an equal amount of low-sodium vegetable/chicken stock. Re: Tom Yum soup packets, we tried Lobo, and OJ brand; I liked OJ brand more, however, the wife liked Lobo better and Lobo's suitable for vegetarians.

Deconstructed Kari Mee Recipe (from Penang Malaysian Restaurant)

2008-12-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

Penang's Kari mee soup - coconut curry laksa soup was one of my favorites living in Atlanta. What follows is a recipe that is very close to Maeve O'Meara's (SBS Food Safari Australia) Malaysian Cheater's Laksa but with a few changes to more closely resemble the soup I remember:

Recipe is in three parts as follows:

Part 1 – The Spice Paste: 4-5 shallots -OR- 1 small red onion -OR- 1 small white onion chopped, 5 or 6 cloves of chopped garlic, one thumb size piece ginger, skin removed and chopped; Also 1 fresh red chili -OR- one small small squeeze of tabasco or Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce; Also 1 heaping tbsp dried prawns (shrimp) - available at any ethnic grocery store; and ½ cup water. Blend all ingredients for a minute or so into a thick paste.

Part 2 – The Broth: Approx 1/2 pound of shrimp the larger the better peeled and shells reserved; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 3.5 ounces (approx 7 tbs) of Por Kwan laksa paste; 1 quart of chicken stock; 1 can (roughly 14 oz) of coconut milk -OR- coconut cream (better); a few splashes of fish sauce or soy sauce and/or salt to taste; also juice from one lime and one tsp. of sugar. To finish the broth you'll need a few pinches of ground Cinnamon or Garam Masala. Note: this makes a mild tasting broth; if you like it stronger, add 2 - 3 more ounces of laksa paste and use only about 3/4 of a can of coconut milk. DON'T attempt this recipe with low-fat coconut milk. It's too thin and it won't work.

Part 3 – Optional Components: (to be added just before soup is served): Cooked Shrimp, Cooked rice vermicelli noodles and cooked chinese Egg noodles, Shredded cooked chicken, Fresh Bean Sprouts, Diced Scallions, Coriander leaves (cilantro), Deep fried shallots (from can), Fresh lime wedges; Fishballs (for real laksa fans).

DIRECTIONS

1. Process in blender, spice paste ingredients until it forms a smooth paste. Set aside.

2. Shell prawns and reserve meat. Heat oil in a large pot and fry prawns shells for about 1 minute until they turn red then remove from pan using slotted spoon keeping flavored oil. Add spice paste to prawn flavoured oil and fry for a minute or two more before adding the laksa paste. Fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes more and pour in the chicken stock. Add fish sauce.

3. Bring the pot’s contents to the boil and then let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add coconut milk. It's always good to allow time to simmer for the flavours to come out. Add fish balls and fried tofu (cut tofu squares in half). Add Sugar, and Salt to taste. Squeeze in the lime. Add a few pinches of Garam Masala or Cinnamon to finish and stir well. Taste and repeat adding more Cinnamon or Garam Masala to taste.

4. Blanch rice and egg noodles in boiling water and then when they’re finished, cook the prawns in the same water; when prawns are cooked transfer noodles (both types) including one or two prawns to serving bowls. Pour the broth into the serving bowls; garnish with shredded chicken, prawns and bean sprouts. Also garnish with the spring onions,coriander leaves and fried shallots. Squeeze in the lime before eating.

See Video Here

Notes:

Double or quadruple the recipe above.

Penang restaurant pours soup over a large bowl containing about four or five ounces of egg noodles, two - three ounces of rice vermicelli; top off with fried shallots (from can), fresh bean sprouts, finely sliced scallions, coriander leaves and your choice of tofu (fried tofu puffs cut in half with cooking scissors), cooked shredded chicken, or cooked shrimp, etc. Garnish with lime wedges, sliced chili's etc.

I will add photos when I have more time.

Dishwasher Fun

2008-12-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

Our dishwasher (Kenmore model 665 16022 665.16022402) wouldn't drain. Consumer Reports said it was the best machine you could buy. Water kept accumulating; Sears claimed faulty board. Repair cost $400. Pressing "cancel wash" button didn't work; you could hear the drain pump turn on but it didn't do anything.

I turned off electricity to the dishwasher and garbage disposal; manually siphoned out as much standing water as I could from the inside of the washer into a bucket - nasty. Removed the metal kick plate, positioned cookie pan to capture any remaining water that would leak out when disconnecting the red rubber check-valve from the water pump. The check valve on this one is a red rubber elbow clamped to the drain pump; a pair of pliers will easily unclasp it.

The check valve was OK (didn't feel any gunk blocking it). So I checked where the washer's drain hose connects to our garbage disposal - sure enough, plugged up. Using a coat hanger, I removed the gunk in a way that it wouldn't go back down further back into the hose. Reconnected everything and saved approx $400 in approx 15 minutes.

I like Sears Appliance folks; the answer I got motivated me to save $400 I can squander with reckless abandon elsewhere like the stock market.

Syd and Nat

2008-12-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

Sydney and Nathalie at Hampton Park in Charleston near the Citadel. A good place for photographs - plenty of live oaks, flora, fountains, etc.

Real Hip-Hop for Kids

2008-12-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

On our way back from Tennessee, we stopped at Asheville NC and caught Secret Agent 23 Skidoo at BeleChere . There were loads of kids and adults enjoying the music. His daughter Saki was on stage belting it out. My wife got a signed CD and the kids really enjoy listening to it. His MySpace page and videos are worth a look - video "Gotta Be Me" worth a look by clicking here.

Pomplamoose

2008-12-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Nataly Dawn (real name Natalie Knutsen) unearthed Summer 2008; her solo and better Pomplamoose work is worth the listen - check out the "favorite things video" here