Wok is reminder of college

There aren't many things left from my college days in Missoula. The green LeMans was sold in 1981. The clothes -- including the Griz shirts -- wore out and were tossed. I have some college books downstairs that are covered with dust. The only "used and useful" item appears to be a Chinese wok I bought for stir-fry.

I probably bought it about the time I was going to graduate. One of the things I learned to make at college was beef and broccoli stir fry. Compared to everything else that I ate at college, the stir-fry seemed to be the best for me.

Remember, I ate bags of salted nut rolls while I wrote my senior paper over spring break. I didn't dare leave the house or my typewriter so I learned to survive on salted nut rolls.

Popcorn was also another favorite of mine. The late 1970s was when air-popped popcorn makers came out. They were wonderful, but alas, my air popper died in the 1990s. In fact, we just bought a new one last week as Scott and his mom were making popcorn balls and the popcorn was supposed to be air popped so it wasn't greasy.

Tonight, we're having stir fry. I still don't have a recipe so every time we have it, it's a little different. For instance, tonight we're having cubed steak instead of sirloin. I'm not sure why, but that's what Belinda has thawing and I'm sure it will work.

We also have broccoli, bean sprouts, green pepper and onions. I doubt we have water chestnuts or bamboo shoots. I like these but I can't remember to buy them, because they are in canned goods, and I try to buy everything fresh.

There have been some other changes over the years. Belinda doesn't like ginger, so there's no sense in putting any fresh ginger root in there, which I did when I was in college. Also, the soy sauce is now low sodium because my heart has slowed down some and I retain water if I eat too much salt. Actually, I would probably retain water even if I ate no salt, but I would retain more if I had the regular soy sauce.

Still, stir fry is a pretty healthy meal, just as it was 30 years ago. And the wok looks like it did when I bought it. It wasn't pretty then and it hasn't gotten any better looking.

So, now that it looks like the wok will probably outlast me, I may have to consider giving it to someone when I die. Anybody else know how to make stir-fry?

By the way, I've decided that with my blood pressure already sky high, there's no reason for me to write any more about Obama-nomics. I think you already know how I feel...but if there's anyone who doesn't, I'd be glad to fire off another round..but I'll have to take a couple of pills before I do. Otherwise I might explode and someone would get my wok sooner than I want them to.