Eggs in the Incubator

We're afraid most of Amy's babies are roosters so Mom and I decided to hatch another batch of eggs. I'm also trying to get as many babies out of Abe as I can, because if he keeps going the way he's going, he's going to end up in a soup pot. 
   Anyway, I poured water in the moisture ring and plugged the incubator in to get it calibrated. Over three days we gathered eighteen of the choicest eggs, largish, no poop. Wrote the date on two sides, an 'X' on one, and an 'O' on another side and storing the eggs big end up in an egg carton in a cool room. Which was hard to find, it being summer and all. They went in the incubator on the eleventh and the next day I started turning them three times a day.
   We have a basic still air incubator. It works pretty well and fits about 40 chicken eggs, but you have to buy an automatic egg turner or do it by hand, so far I've been opting for the by hand method.  

  Naturally, five days after the eggs went in some storms blew through and the power went out for four hours. We put a blanket on the incubator, but when the power came back on the thermometer read 82. I'm not sure if any of the eggs are going to hatch, but I'm continuing to turn them and talk to them like I had been. Hopefully we'll have some little chippers come September.


      Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

Shanghai Fried Noodles

As I've mentioned before Mom and I have been looking for recipes using egg noodles. Click here for the link to the post about us making egg noodles: http://batsbizarre.blogspot.com/2013/08/egg-noodles.html

 One of our favorites is my version of Shanghai Fried Noodles. The homemade noodles really make it pop. Mom and I like spicy food, but if you don't simply omit one of the hot sauces and/or the chili  peppers. This is a very customizable recipe, the first two times I made it I used some of the Japanese Eggplants from the garden, but we didn't have any last night so I used broccoli instead. I used the last of the kale, but any leafy vegetable (or snow peas) can work. I used half a chicken breast the first time, the recipe I worked from called for pork, and later on I used left over barbequed pork, so really any protein will work. But if you're using pre-cooked meat you should add it after the vegetables. Without any further ado here is my recipe for Shanghai Fried Noodles.   


                                                        Shanghai Fried Noodles                          serves 2

4 oz. pork cut into strips                                            Sauce:                       
1 teaspoon cornstarch                                              3 Tb. soy sauce
Water, enough to cover the noodles                       1  Tb. sugar
2 cups egg noodles                                                 1 teas.  rice wine or sherry
2 Tb. oil                                                                  1 teas. cornstarch
4 oz. kale                                                                3 Tb.   water
half an large onion                                                 1/2 teas. sesame oil
3  garlic cloves                                                      1 teas. oyster sauce
2 dried red chilies                                                  1 teas. chili bean paste
dash of sesame seeds                                             1 teas. Sichuan sauce
1 medium carrot                                                    dash of sesame seeds
1 medium eggplant                                                Salt and pepper to taste

  Mix your sauce ingredients together in a bowl.  In a large pot bring about 2 cups of water to a boil add noodles and let boil for five minutes. Let sit. Cover pork strips with cornstarch and set aside. Chop your vegetables. Put garlic, onions, chilies, a dash of sesame seeds, and 2 Tb. oil in a pan. Cook on medium heat until garlic turns brown. Add your chicken strips and stir-fry for about two minutes or until cooked. Add the vegetables except for the kale and cook for three minutes. Add kale, noodles and sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens.

Here is a printer friendly version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ekuyZiSZ1S7ONYk144bNcdt8ce0HUBAg2CJArHrl_Hs/edit?usp=sharing


              Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

An F- for AAA

   We needed to run some errands today. I thought it would be a good idea to run into town at get it over with before I wrote today's blog post or got involved in anything else. We went to buy feed, but when I went to start the truck and drive to the loading area it wouldn't start.
  Mom called AAA. She thought the truck's battery was dead, but the operator thought it sounded like something else, and told us a flatbed would be there by 3:15. 3:15 rolled around without a reactor rolling up. Mom called again... The operator had put the address in wrong! But according to the other operator that wasn't the hold up, the driver hadn't arrived at the auto parts store the first person had put in as the destination. At 3:40 he shows up, gives us a jump, because it was the battery just like Mom thought, and the truck starts right up. He didn't have a battery with him so he told us to drive home and call AAA and ask them to send someone out with a battery we could buy for $89. Mom called AAA again and asked how much a battery would cost, they said between 89 and 120, I don't know about any of you but if somebody tells me between two amounts it usually end up being the higher one. We ended up driving to O'reilly's (with the odometer dropping from the speed I was going to zero and all the lights, except for the low battery light, flashing on.) where one of the guys who works there checked to make sure the battery really was dead and replaced it for us. It ended up costing $119 without tax.
 My questions are: has anyone bought a battery from AAA and if so how much did it cost? How long is a typical wait?

                    Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog have a bat-tastic day!   

Spider Web Over Shirt

  Add a little glam to your ghoul with this three-quarter sleeve Halloween over shirt.
  One of my favorite things about this shirt is that I can wear it no matter the weather. If we're having a hot October (which we usually do, unfortunately.) I can slip it over a tank or a tee, or if it's cold that day I can wear a turtleneck and still be rocking the Halloween style. Even better I can change the way it looks by wearing a different color under it. I've already found out that yellow looks little green under it and I look forward to trying more color combinations.
 
My one problem is that in the pictures I look fat. But most pictures do that.   

 The shirt is made out of a sheer 55% nylon 45% metallic fabric that shimmers deep purple with a metallic silver over lay in a repeating spider web pattern.
One size fits most. The bust and hip measure 23 3/4" (60.325cm) when laid flat and 47 1/2" (120.65cm) around. The waist is 22 1/2" (57.15cm) flat and 45" (114.3cm) around.
  The sleeves measure 8" wide (20.32cm) and 10" (25.4cm) from the armpit seam to the end when measured flat. The shirt is 24 1/2" (62.23cm) from top to bottom when measured flat.

  To get an idea of how this will fit you; take a tee shirt that fits you loosely, lay it flat and measure from one side to the other. If it is the same or smaller than the Spider web's measurements than you should be good. If not you will need to special order a custom size.  

  The fabric is labeled dry clean only, and says it may crock (bleed color). But I washed a piece of scrap fabric by hand in cold water and Wool Lite R, and it worked out fine.

 Here is the link to the listing:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/159454912/spider-web-over-shirt?ref=shop_home_active

               This is the last day you can use the coupon code TAXFREE for 5% off any Bats Bizarre purchase over $1.


           Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!