ATTENTION JULY FILERS!

[Thee_Rak 0]

Okay all this talk of weddings has gotten me hungry

Do any of you out there, my friends whom I do not know, like to cook? Personally I love it. A few lifetimes ago I actually used to do it for a living. I started in a neighborhood pizza joint when I was in 9th grade and then when I dropped out of university and moved to San Francisco I got into fine dining.

So anyway now I live in Kansas City, MO and we have some really REALLY good meat here!!!

Yesterday I decided to make up a nice meal and went to my favorite butcher for a pork shoulder.

Having lived in the Florida Keys some years ago I developed a taste for Cuban food so...

Sour orange marinated roast pork

• trim the pork (or don't if you think pork fat rules!!), crosshatch the fat (or the skin if you can find it with skin on)

• rub with 1 BULB chopped garlic, a nice size chunk of chopped ginger, salt & pepper

• put in a big zip top bag

• juice 6 oranges & 6 limes- pour over the meat

• zip it up while you press all the air out, put it in a big mixing bowl

Now would be a good time to soak the black beans too 'cause that quick way sucks.

• marinate in the fridge overnight, turn over in the a.m. and put back in the fridge while you are at work

• after work... take the pork out and reserve all the marinade

• pre-heat oven to 375 or so

• put the pork on a roasting rack in a roasting pan fat side up (you might want to line the bottom of the pan with foil)

• pack brown sugar over the top of the pork

• cover the pan with foil (try not to rest it on top of the pork)

Cook like this for 1 hour while you prep for the...

Black beans & rice

• Finely chop 1 big onion & 1 green bell pepper (set aside till later)

• put the beans (with the soaking liquid) in whatever pot you cook beans in... you do cook beans don't you?

• put the beans in a nice big deep pot and add enough water to cover by 2"

• drop in 2 bay leaves

• boil for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until they are nearly soft (you're gonna cook 'um some more... hang on)

Time to have a quick look at the pork to make sure everything is okay -- take the thing out of the oven would you... don't try to peak while it's in the hot oven... oh and do close the oven door while you peak at the pork. Everything look okay? Fine, put the foil back on and pop it back in the oven. Turn the oven down to 275. What!!! You've not heard about "low and slow"... if it doesn't look nice and juicy in the bottom of the pan pour in about a cup of water NOT ON THE MEAT... just into the bottom of the pan.

• okay, get a nice big sauté pan hot with 2 T of olive oil (save your EVOO for sopping up with good bread, balsamic vinegar & cracked black pepper)

• add some butter to the oil and when it's all nice and hot sauté up the onion and bell pepper for about 3 or 4 min's

• take 1 cup of the beans (no liquid) and add them to the onion/pepper stuff

• mash 'um up real good

• add this all back to the beans and let 'um cook for like another 45 min's or an hour until they are as soft as you like them

You've been seasoning this all along with salt and pepper right?

Okay now the pork has been cooking for like 2 1/2 hours and the neighbors are starting to knock at the door 'cause somethin' smells good.

Remember that left over marinade... okay strain it into a nice heavy bottom sauce pan and bring it up to a boil now turn it down to med. You're going to reduce it by about half. Hang on a tick... how much did you have to start with? Only 1 cup?? That will never do. Juice a few more oranges and open up the fridge 'cause I'll bet you've got some half full bottles of sweet & sour or spicy mango marinade / dipping sauce in there don't 'cha? Toss um in there till you've got 2 cups you know that stuff doesn't keep forever.

While that's getting thick it's time to check on the pork again. It should be lookin' all juicy and getting a nice color to it. Okay leave the foil off from here on out... slowly pour some of that marinade from the pot all over the pork. I said SLOWLY and I said SOME... you're not giving it a bath you're basting it for chrisake!! Go easy on that stuff.

You should make some rice now... in a pot heat 2 T oil, finely chop a shallot and toss in the pot, toss in 1 1/2 cups of rice and stir to coat. Cook for 2 or 3 min's then pour in 2 3/4 cups water, bring it up to a boil then turn it down and cover until the water is absorbed and the rice is done. Chop up some cilantro and mix it into the rice

Right so baste it every 15 min's or so until the inside temp is up around 150 degrees. You're kidding me... you don't have a meat thermometer

[big sigh] fine... it's been 4 hours, take the thing out already it's done. Take the meat on the rack and set it aside lightly covered with foil (you might want to put it on a plate or something... it's gonna drip).

Now you're gonna make the yummy good sauce... see all that fat and cooked up basting juice in the bottom of your roasting pan... no, that's not a "mess" that's nectar of the gods!!! Since you put foil in the bottom of your roasting pan it's not a burnt on crust like the top of a lava flow right? Okay, pour that all into the sauce pan with the rest of thickened up marinade/basting juice. Cook it donw a bit if it's not think enough. Strain it into a squeezy bottle.

Fried Plantains

These are those big banana lookin' things you see in the produce section but they aren't exactly bananas. Pick a couple ripe ones (they'll look like over ripe bananas) a bit of yellow left and a lot of black but not all soft. Cut the ends off... wait till you get them home would you... cut the ends off and slit the peal with a knife. Skin 'um. Now cut them on the bias (that means kind of like a long diagonal). Sauté them in a big heavy pan with lots of butter until they are golden brown and yummy. You can add some sugar if you like.

Serve it up...

[Jason-Sasha 1]

F*$kin' Awesome, dude! Thanks. Looks really good. All of it!

[Jeraly 4]

Am going to forward this to my OH so he can try it out over there sometime... or cook for me when I move over there

PS - Projected date now showing 7th Dec...

Edited September 5, 2007 by Jeraly

[Arrta 1]

Hey all - I am sorry if this is a "repost" but I just checked my case online at USCIS and the CSC has changed it's processing times now. They are no longer processing "files with a receipt date of February 13th"

now the processing times are listed as "6 months"

Now, again this is CSC, not VSC or whatever the others are - it would be useful info for anyone who filed in July and also is filing for a spouse in a country known for long processing times - apparently Russia is lately, grrr! (I have read here that places like Cuba take alot less time).

Anyway, carry on folks

Best wishes to all

VSC has changed too. No longer do we know if they are processing "X date" it just says "6 months"

I see this as a step backwards as now we don't know what month they are on and they could be blowing smoke as to the real times.

Anyway.. no touches since 8/13 when they cashed my check. Maybe I'll have another touch on 9/13 lol its my birthday and I'm scared.. Turning 30..

Edited September 5, 2007 by Arrta

[weedebz 0]

mmmmmmm that sounds so good Thee Rak. I love plantains. I usually make butter caramel to pour over them. I love cooking and I'll try making anything. My speciality is lasagne or bacon wrapped chicken breasts stuffed with haggis!

[AtlantiCat 0]

Yes, I love to cook, as well! Since I have no fiance to cook for at the moment, I cook for just myself and my cats, who seem to enjoy my leftover chicken bits and the giblets. My specialty is a salsa that will beat the pants off of any store or restaurant salsa on the planet. Good food is it's own reward.

[Mags 112]

Just a note to members here, please remember to edit out your case numbers if you're posting any USCIS correspondence!

[Jeraly 4]

I feel rubbish now - I am so not a cook - I can cook and I will cook but I am not that inventive - I can just follow recipes really well I much prefer something quick and simple, to be cooked for or to go out ;D

Now what would be good is to share a bunch of recipes that take no longer than say 20 minutes to prepare and cook (total) that are say... no more than 600 cals?! Am on a diet so I look sexy in my wedding dress ;D

[michellemilitza 1]

I feel rubbish now - I am so not a cook - I can cook and I will cook but I am not that inventive - I can just follow recipes really well I much prefer something quick and simple, to be cooked for or to go out ;D

Now what would be good is to share a bunch of recipes that take no longer than say 20 minutes to prepare and cook (total) that are say... no more than 600 cals?! Am on a diet so I look sexy in my wedding dress ;D

Try the kellogs special K diet, my fiance tried it and he lost 7 lbs in two weeks. I'm trying it soon too to see if I lose anything

[lisalu100 0]

mmmm, I've had tilapia thai green curry followed by brownie and ice cread tonight, and I STILL fancy that pork dish! Will have to save that recipe, FI loves pork! Thanks!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Am going to forward this to my OH so he can try it out over there sometime... or cook for me when I move over there

PS - Projected date now showing 7th Dec...

Oh sad. My projected date got moved back to the end of Dec. as well. Looks like the rush to beat the fees makes for longer waiting.

[Bill y Bella 0]

Am going to forward this to my OH so he can try it out over there sometime... or cook for me when I move over there

PS - Projected date now showing 7th Dec...

Oh sad. My projected date got moved back to the end of Dec. as well. Looks like the rush to beat the fees makes for longer waiting.

I am confused. Why does your signature timeline mention a K3 and a K1?

[Jason-Sasha 1]

When you apply for the K3 visa, you have to submit a I-129f and an I-130.

[Bill y Bella 0]

When you apply for the K3 visa, you have to submit a I-129f and an I-130.

I know, but that still does not explain why they are talking about a K1. I don't claim to be an expert but I think that a K1 visa is for a fiance/e, not a spouse. If they are married I think they file a I-129F for a K3, not a K1.

Am I wrong?

[*julez* 124]

When you apply for the K3 visa, you have to submit a I-129f and an I-130.

I know, but that still does not explain why they are talking about a K1. I don't claim to be an expert but I think that a K1 visa is for a fiance/e, not a spouse. If they are married I think they file a I-129F for a K3, not a K1.

Am I wrong?

No, Bill, you are right. You file an I129-f in conjunction with the I-130 for the K3, but it doen't mean you have filed for a K1 in addition to a K3. They have simply filed for a K3, but might be a little confused in terminology use since the I129f is so strongly associated with the K1.