small h

That writing didn't need to age for me. It was gross right out of the gate. Or maybe I was just an eleven-year-old from the future.

Follow the almost money.

The way he wrote about women grossed me out as a pre-teen. But I guess it says something that I have such a clear memory of being grossed out.

I definitely over-bought avocados in anticipation of the Superbowl. Trying to self-correct.

And not a moment too soon.

Probably the same thing that's going on at the Washington Post.

Not gonna show anyone the whole loaves, because I want to preserve the illusion that I know how to bake, so here's a picture of an egg & cheese sandwich made with dense-as-a-black-hole bread that a knife can barely cut through, and also it takes a month to toast.

Okay, thanks. I didn't start the starter, so I'm not sure how it started. It's pretty soupy and very lively.

So what does that mean in grams? My starter weighs about 250g. I just fed it 250g flour & 250g water. How hydrated is that?

Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm pretty sure the starter is 50% hydration. The dough turned out like a rubber ball. Looks like there is panzanella, crostini and strata in my future!

Can someone eyeball this recipe and confirm for me that the hydration is way too low? My poor loaves are like bricks. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/extra-tangy-sourdough-bread-recipe#review-section

Homemade cheese ravioli with a sauce of artichokes, king oyster mushrooms, tomato, sage butter and cream. No complaints about this! Except that my freezer is a little too full of pasta.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8k931j423o My favorite guest on AbFab (among other things, of course)

You have to remember to turn off your psycho magnet. I forget all the time.

And unfortunately not uncommon.

Monkfish with bok choy, and potatoes au gratin. Used up the cream cheese! And the potatoes! Woot!

Dammit, another opportunity squandered.

Passionfruit! Thank you. And I thought the caramel was honey - it’s dark in there.

I was exactly at the corner of the bar, close to the host stand, around 8pm. “You” were on my right. Does this look familiar?

Was that you at the bar, ignoring your tart?

I had a second vesper at the bar after dinner, and the guy next to me ordered that tart and then just let it sit there while he gabbed to his companion. I was seriously considering just snatching a truffle slice, 'cause I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have even noticed.

I really liked the look of the menu, here, and the two dishes I had were very good, as was this briny vesper. I started with this custard, basically a chawanmushi (or a pascaline!) but HOT. Which was surprising. Very good, though, super-creamy and with a generous portion of uni and shrimp, unlike whatever that was at Time & Tide. And the smoked eel dumplings. The wrappers were more al dente than I expected, but the filling was delicate and well-balanced, and the broth was awesome. I considered trying to get some bread for it, but then I just ate it like soup. Maybe you’re supposed to. In the background is my dad’s turbot with clams, which was fine, nothing special. The turbot seemed a bit overdone. For dessert, we had a vin jaune gelato - forgot to take a picture, which I regret, because maybe someone could help me ID what seemed to be pomegranate arils, except they were very pale. I seem to be having a vin jaune-heavy month.

Finally made non-terrible fried rice. Yay.

Hah! I never knew the name of that song.

I don't even want to pay for me.