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Can you the fix the audio on a VHS tape my sister recorded?

Q: Hi there Chris. My name is Justine. I have a question about a home video that I have on VHS format. My sister in-law has a birthday coming up and I thought I could try to do something for her. She took her video camera ( I am not sure what kind, but I can find out ) with her when she went to visit the set of her favorite T.V. show and got loads of behind the scenes stuff, but unfortunately she didn't know much about film or anything of that nature so the sound is pretty bad. She was pretty crushed when she got back home, transfered the film to VHS, and took it to my house to show me. The whole experience was nothing but, 'What are they saying?'. Here is my question. For her birthday ( June ) I would like to see if I can enhance the sound enough that we can hear what the actors are saying. Unfortantly the tape is mostly outdoors so that might be a problam, but I am not looking for perfect sound here. Just enough to understand the dialogue and make my sister very happy. Is there any possible way?
Thanks, Justine

A: Hmmmmm... I think it would be very difficult to enhance the sound. It might be possible to boost certain parts of the soundtrack, but everything on it would be louder, you wouldn't be able to hear dialogue or comments made by people.

The problem is that the microphone on the camera is specifically designed to pick up everything around it, so things closest to the microphone will be louder than anything far away, no matter what you do. Sorry that I couldn't give you happier news.

Chris

Q: Chris, I'm looking for a unique dish to try for my vegan (no meat or dairy) friends. They're great cooks, and I would like to impress them with something they haven't tried before.

A: This is a unique and very tasty dish which uses tempeh, which is made out of fermented soybeans.

Coconut-Crusted Tempeh
2 (8-oz.) pkgs. tempeh, cut crosswise into 12 thin strips
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger (1 oz.)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. salt
4 pieces star anise
14-oz. can lite coconut milk
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbs. kudzu (health-food stores), dissolved in 2 Tbs. cold water

 

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In large Dutch oven, arrange tempeh slices with ginger, garlic, basil,
3/4 teaspoon salt and star anise.

3. In small bowl, combine coconut milk and broth and pour over tempeh. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes (lower heat if cooking too rapidly).

4. Meanwhile, prepare coconut breading: In medium bowl, combine coconut flakes, bread crumbs, sesame seeds and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss to mix.

5. With slotted spoon, transfer tempeh to plate. (There should be at least 1 cup cooking liquid left in pot. If not, add more broth or water to equal 1 cup liquid.) Strain tempeh cooking liquid, discard solids and return to pan.

6. Dissolve kudzu completely in water. Whisk kudzu mixture into strained cooking liquid and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Pour thickened liquid into shallow bowl.

7. Dip tempeh slices first in kudzu mixture and then in coconut breading, turning to coat. Arrange breaded tempeh on prepared baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Turn and bake another 10 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes, then serve.

NOTE: When cutting tempeh, hold your knife at a 45° angle to get more surface area per slice. Serve hot over a sauté of bok choy accompanied by a spicy peanut dipping sauce.

Serves 4