Country Wok

I wanted to show a unique cooking tool that a friend of mine lets us use when we are doing the park and camp method in the outdoors.  The picture above is of a plow disc that purchased before the disc hole in the center was stamped.  The handles have also been added so you can adjust the outdoor wok on the open fire. 

http://www.maverickfab.net/default.html

The above video is of a company that has taken the cowboy cooker wok to a new level.  From what I have seen most people use turkey fryers (That is what we use) but in the above video they use charcoal in this wild looking propane barrel cap that has been converted and fitted with a hand crank on the side that adjusts the unit up and down depending on your heat need.

These outdoor woks have many names, looks, and sizes but one thing you need to always look for is that they are made from a "plow disk."  That is very important because there are the stir fry woks that restaurant supply companies sell that look the same and are the same size. The huge difference is that they are made of thin steel or plate style steel and you need a completely different style of heat source for those.  Next time you are at one of those asian infusion style restaurants look at their woks and how their heat source works.  It is totally different than campout cookers and charcoal.  The plow disk is heavy gauge steel that helps with retaining the heat.  You can see from the picture above how ours has alot of heat in the center, then a nother ring around that then the third ring of where you would warm the breads.  This is where the heat levels are and you use those areas to cook different types of foods.  To tie these cowboy woks and diabetes together you have to be carefull with what you cook.  Now these things are great for veggies but, they make great fajitas, tacos, and anything you can put in a flour tortilla.  That mixed in with using oils you get great fresh foods but be carefull of the calories and carbs that come with these foods.  Just like asian cuisine you have to be warry of what is in the suce.  I have to limit my intake when we break out the cowboy wok on campouts because of all the carbs, oils, and fatty meats.  I am looking to getting one of these for my personal use and when that happens or if you use one and have some healthy suggestions please let me know!  It always seems that when camping with friends the diabetic loses out when it comes to the menu, and that is why I practice portion control.

In the end if you ever camp with groups of people or are looking for something different to cook on, these outdoor woks are awesome.  I have never seen one item that has wowed so many people so fast.  When the wok comes out we all gather around and everyone helps out cutting foods, stirring the wok, and prepping the sides.  These outdoor woks bring everyone together and give a different element to your camping experience.  I think my friend started camping with us three years ago and now everyone either has purchased an outdoor wok, made an outdoor wok, or wants an outdoor wok. 

New Soul

Last month I had posted about how my favorite burgundy work shoes had holes in the soles.  Since I was not in the woods last weekend,  dropping off my shoes at RJ's Boot, Shoe, and Saddle repair was on the top of my list of things to do.

Shoe repair is one of those old world professions that seem to either come or be going with time.  These professions would include Tailors, Jewelers, and Metal Recyclers.   Growing up as a kid in Bethany Oklahoma a suburb of Oklahoma City there were three shoe repair places within walking distance of my house.  My father had the same four pairs of dress shoes my entire life until he retired.  He would take them in to get repaired and re-soled every three years or so.  With men's dress shoes fashions have changed little and slowly, and a classic pair of oxfords will look good now or a hundred years from now.

Times change, and with that change what you get are new materials, cheaper products, and a change in culture.  The ebb and flow of certain professions starts with new materials.  With dress shoes they originally had leather soles and leather tops.  Now you can get a faux leather shoe that lasts longer than leather and costs half as much with the same look.  Then rubber and glues advanced and dress shoes can have no leather and minimal stitching.  Once these new materials start out they are expensive but, prices come down in time once they are widely used.  As products come down in price with technology and materials they go from cherished rarities to disposable commodities.  This change in product alters the landscape of service.  Before I moved to Texas in 2001 I could not tell you wear the nearest shoe repair shop was located.  As times change and people want the classics they start to appreciate hand made products that can be serviced, so the shoe repair place comes back as the market place settles into a new norm of repairable shoes and disposable shoes.

The world of diabetes is vast and wide.  One of the big areas diabetics deal with is care for their feet.  I had a bone spur back on 1998 on my big toe that caused ulcers on my feet so I know first hand how the right pair of shoes makes the feet.  At that time as well the book  "The Millionaire next door" was hitting the used shelves so I picked up a copy and read it in my spare bathroom time.  There were many points of the book that struck me as life changing and one of them was how he described how people should buy clothes and shoes.  The book talks about how when buying clothes to stick with the classics, not the new trends and buy half as much as you planned on getting and pay twice as much as you planned.  With shoes the book discussed spending 200 dollars or more on top end quality product.  This way you can get them serviced and they will last a lifetime.  I am of course butchering the chapter but if you want to see how it really goes, get the book.  The problem I always had with diabetes and shoes is that when it came time to getting a new pair you had to break them in and that can cause issues with your nasty diabetic feet.  Now with resoling my shoes they look new and are already broke in for me.

Look at how nice my new soles are.  I almost didn't want to wear them they look so good.  This is the fourth sole I have had put on these shoes since 1998 and probably the best looking yet.  Now I have another three to four years before they go back to RJ's.

The burgundy now pops right off the shoe along with the black on the sole and the heel now is a full heal not worn down and cracking.  I love to get new soles on my shoes just like I love to get new tires on my car.  The feeling that they can now go for another 50,000 miles with no worry gives me the warm and fuzzies inside.

Stop your Whining

Today I hear it is supposed to be like don't blog about diabetes day or something like that.  I question what in the world is "no diabetes day?"  When I look at what people are trying to do for this day I think the idea is in the right place just the logo and message is a little confusing.  The idea of no diabetes day encompasses why I blog in the first place.  This blog has its roots from my daily readings of type 1 blogs and in particular one of my favorite blogs http://www.sixuntilme.com/.  One day Kerri had posted  an article on how her wedding dress had a secret insulin pocket and no one knew about it or could see it. Now I love how Kerri writes and her take on type 1 diabetes, the only thing is I am a guy and if you have read any of my posts you can tell I spend alot of time in the outdoors.  So I was sitting there thinking how she gives her personal touch on daily living with diabetes and that got me thinking about my 24 years of camping with diabetes and all the type 1's that I have met through camping and scouts and how I have helped teachothers to be type 1 outdoorsmen.  My head started to turn its wheels about why am I not reading about guy stuff and diabetes?  There are all sorts of blogs that talk about children, teens, adults, runners, and athletes that deal with their diabetes.  There are also blogs of parents or spouses of diabetics and children, these blogs have alot of motivational posts about how families deal with diabetes on a daily basis.  I love reading all of these blogs but none of them seemed to conect with me as a diabetic outdoorsman. Friends at my work came by as I was reading about Kerri's wedding dress and they looked at me and questioned why my lunch period was being spent looking at wedding dresses?  That is when the diabetic camper came to life, my friends told me I needed to share my experiences of an outdoorsman with type 1.  I love to live my life and enjoy it to the fullest and that is what this blog promotes. 

I hope this blog has found those type 1's out there that feel this same way as well.  I don't need to complain about my disease, complain about how much money I spend maintaining my diabetes (don't get me wrong I like to discuss how to save money maintaining), or have a strong passion that has me shaking my fist at the diabetes gods.  This is just a bunch of fun, outdoors, camping, product reviews, and getting into trouble playing life with diabetes. 

So to all those out there that have to take a day off from complaining about diabetes or whining that you have to deal with this, I hope you wait till tomorrow and read this post.  I think the no diabetes day should be more like "What hobbies does your diabetes have," or "What does your diabetes do with you."  Something that emphasises how we are more than diabetics and we each have things to teach one another that allows us to play life with diabetes in the room.  For the rest of us we will enjoy life and share it with diabetes to the best we can.  No need to take a day off when you enjoy life. Lests all post about how we each solve the diabetes rubics cube each day.  Life is too short to whine and complain about how bad anybody has it.  Relax and have some fun!  We are all given challenges in life that are hard, how we deal with those challenges is how we develop character.