StephanieL

I look at what Wilfrid's reading, and I'm almost embarrassed to say that I've been reading mostly food books. Now I'm on Tasting Beer, 2nd Edition: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink by Randy Mosher. Lots of wonky beer brewing information.

And they ran 26-page articles. By John McPhee.

A number of years ago, I was in NOLA on business and the night before I was supposed to go home I dropped my wallet in a taxi. I was freaking out, because while I could cancel all my credit cards I knew they wouldn't let me on the plane back home without my ID. Thank goodness an honest person gave my wallet to the cab driver, and since he and I had been chatting about New York he remembered where he'd dropped me off and returned my wallet to me.

He was only 50 when he made Cocoon?? https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/wilford-brimley-cocoon-and-natural-actor-dies-at-85/2546529/

This woman lives down in Fremont, apparently in a regular residential neighborhood like ours but in an older house. N said she keeps ducks too. The eggs are beautiful--some have those pale blue shells. A few are going into the custard N is making tonight.

Classic moules marinieres, with just-baked bread (we had to cut into it while it was still warm), with a South African sauvignon blanc to drink that had been used in the broth. Assorted cheeses to start; ice cream for dessert. Tonight's dinner is going to be a stew with green beans, potatoes, and lamb shoulder that the local butcher graciously cut into pieces so that N could have the chunks with the bones that she wanted. We'll have one of the Lagunitas brews to drink, either 12th of Never or Lil' Sumpin' Hazy, and I've been told there will be lemon custard for dessert. A new food hall just opened in the town next door, run by the people who run the Alameda Marketplace with some of the same stores, including Baron's Meats and Poultry. They also carry seafood, so we got both the mussels and lamb from them. If you have the scratch, you can buy a side of dry-aged Niman Ranch beef: about 40 lb. of meat at $14.99/lb. They'll then keep it in the case and cut off steaks for you as you need them.

Sourdough beer bread (using Anchor Steam) is being made as we speak. There's also cinnamon-raisin bread in the future tomorrow or Monday.

N is on a local gardening group on Facebook. She arranged a pickup of manure from someone who keeps chickens, and the woman is throwing in a dozen fresh eggs for free.

The 171-year-old Tadich Grill, the oldest restaurant in SF and certainly one of the oldest in the country, is indefinitely closed until indoor dining is fully allowed again, having run out of money (including their loan) and unable to sustain themselves with takeout. There's no room on the sidewalk by them for outdoor dining, and since they're in the heart of the Financial District basically no foot traffic either. They're determined to reopen when they can. I'm really, really hoping they do.

Having a good old Manhattan as I write this: 1 1/2 oz. Old Forester rye, 3/4 oz. Cinzano, and a few drops of Regan's Orange Bitters, shaken with ice. We had takeout Chinese that was tasty but contained more fried food than we thought we were getting (plus sublime egg tarts), so I thought I needed something to take the edge off this congealed feeling.

N is now making oleosaccharum for cocktails

My attitude is that if one can afford it, there's a middle ground between eating factory-farmed meat (thus perpetuating those horrible practices) and going vegetarian/vegan. Eat less meat, and make sure what you do buy has been raised well. Same goes for fish, if one mostly eats shellfish and smaller, more plentiful fish like sardines.

I had to read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in 8th or 9th grade, and still have the copy which I read from time to time. Haven't yet gotten all the way through the movie.

I was just thinking the same thing--I remember when you first got them, thinking that the names were so funny.

South African-style lasagna, one of N's childhood memories. You use ground beef, lots of vegetables (including broccoli and cauliflower, and sometimes mushrooms), and a white sauce in between the noodle layers, then put shredded Cheddar cheese all over the top. It's definitely not the Italian-American variety. I get the comfort food aspect of it. One of my favorite baked casseroles growing up involves the combination of ground beef, spaghetti cooked past al dente, and canned mushrooms and those Le Sueur peas. I could (and can) eat tons of it. And it would lose something if you tried to fancy it up.