Hi. I am OK!  Also, the thing I find myself coming here the most for is, invariably, this:  +++ baked risotto. 3 tbsp olive oil 3 shallots, or one small red onion, finely chopped 1 cup Arborio rice pinch crumbled saffron threads 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 4 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped, or 1 tbsp or so dried sage, maybe a little more up to 1 tsp salt, depending on saltiness of your broth 1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper up to 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano (can also use pecorino romano sometimes) chop ..read more

Friday morning. I walk in at 08:06 and it's already clear that things have gone wrong before anyone else has even been here today. Our main large supplier delivers late Thursday night, usually around 22:00 (+/- an hour) but somehow cannot tell us in advance when they are unable to deliver part of our order. Their website only started to feature photos of their products two months ago (it's 2023), it used to just basically be a spreadsheet with a Submit button, so you'd have to select things like "15107 ACTIE Aard Vitabella Vastk Aardappel 1kg", click Submit and hope for the best.  Anyway ..read more

Yeah. Jotting this here because I can't find it online anywhere.  The idea is that I've been baking with aromatics a lot lately, and these two Paula Wolfert variations seem like an interesting thing to add to a cake in place of "2 tbsp rum" or other alcohol. You can also flip the proportions of orange blossom water and Armagnac. +++ basque aromatic mixture. 2 tbsp orange blossom water 2 tbsp anisette (not pastis) 2 tbsp dark rum 50 ml Armagnac 1 tsp almond extract 1 strip lemon peel Combine.  ..read more

3 large aubergines (1.2kg) some neutral oil coarse salt 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1 long red chilli, very finely chopped 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated zest of one lemon 1/2 cup toasted coconut 2 tbsp tomato paste 2 tbsp tamarind paste 1 tbsp soft brown sugar, or more to taste 1 tsp ground cumin ¾ tsp ground turmeric 100g delicious peanuts, either pre-roasted and salted or you-roasted and salted 100g crunchy peanut butter water to thin salt and sugar and lemon juice to taste Fried onions Fresh herbs – a handful each of mint, coriander and dill, all chopped Steamed rice an ..read more

PRUNE’S PICKLED TOMATOES actual recipe 400-500g cherry tomatoes, halved 2 scallions, greens and whites, sliced diagonally 1 green chile, chopped ½ cup white vinegar ⅙ cup brown sugar 2 tsp flaky salt 1 tbsp thinly sliced ginger 1 tbsp thinly sliced garlic 2 tsp mustard seeds 2 tsp black peppercorns 2 tsp ground cumin 1 bay leaf 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric ½ cup blended oil (50/50 canola/olive) In a pickling jar combine tomatoes, scallions, and chile. In stainless steel saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil, add brown sugar and salt and cook until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a ..read more

These things go together.  +++ OttolenghiCaramelized Garlic Tart Cognac Pears with Fennel and Hazelnut Anna JonesMushroom/Rice/Chestnut Roast Roast Potatoes MiscCarrot Osso Buco Rodekool Aardappel puree Spruitjes Endive/Blue Cheese/Walnut/Honey/Mustard ..read more

 Merry new year. Starting experimental protocol today, hand hurting.  1) 400mg magnesium citrate internally 2) 50 micrograms Vitamine D (2000 IU/IE) internally 3) 3mg Boron internally.  4) 5 drops Mg oil topically 5) 5 drops primrose oil topically ..read more

 Putting this here in the absence of anywhere else good to put it.  +++ I'll write an intro to this in a bit, for now I just need to write down amounts and manufacturers so I can place an order for all this shit.  1) Vitamin D3 supplement, 4000IU.  2) Boron, topical.  3) Primrose oil, topical.  4) Magnesium, internal because external can cause irritation, which is the last thing my hands need. 5) DMSO?  ..read more

 Not much has changed about the actually being on a plane part of flying. Boarding seemed faster due to a revolutionary new "five rows at a time instead of ten" technique. You could still only understand/hear half the announcements. It's still impossible to figure out how to get your futuristic Entertainment Screen out of your armrest. Cabin crew come by less frequently, and talk less because nobody can hear or understand anybody else.  There is still no room to do anything at all except pray for a wormhole or some other non-lethal deus ex machina escape mechanism. I guess I'm going ..read more

My deep cynicism about this blog and about blogging in general will be placed on pause for the next 30 days as I attempt to document what must certainly be an especially unique moment in time, as if all moments in time aren't unique: in the middle of a global pandemic, the general dissolution of capitalist illusions, and the beginning of the climate change endgame, I'm irresponsibly taking a pollution-spewing commercial flight from one of the "hottest" Delta variant hotspots in Europe to one of the, get ready for this, "hottest" places in America. See that, hot/hot? It's like riding a bike.&nb ..read more