weinoo

The age old argument...how much does a cup of flour weigh? I'm trying to restart my bread baking "skills," and doing a little of this, a little of that, afraid I'm gonna hurt myself even just by mixing doughs by hand...it sucks getting old.

Lunch. Today's focaccia attempt, using overnight poolish, baked off around noon after mixing, ferment and proof ...100% KA A/P flour, so light and airy. Close to the focaccia I remember in San Francisco from Liguria Bakery, served up as sandwiches at Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store, on Columbus. Not bad. With vegetable soup.

I may have obscured my answer, which was my reference to using Dawn on veg just like I use it on dishware.

May have already been discussed...

Shrimp w/broccoli in a spicy and sour bean sauce. Over Japanese short-grain brown rice - which happened to be very good (I had no idea!).

I like that people have reading tables!!

And here I thought you'd be mead fan.

Anyone else have cookbooks strewn all about? I haven't taken this many cookbooks down from the shelves in quite a while!

This makes some sense, or just adds to the confusion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/26/dont-panic-about-shopping-getting-delivery-or-accepting-packages/

As @andiesenji mentioned in another thread, some enameled pots are just better quality than others. My 60-year old enameled Descoware has certainly darkened, but it's still intact and not dried out.

What I don't understand about this is that I use dish soap on dishes (doesn't everybody?) and then rinse those off before eating off of them. Why is using dish soap on an apple or a potato and then rinsing it off any different? I do also understand that certain fruits/vegetables are porous, but it's not like I leave the produce sitting in that stuff for hours - my guess is the chemicals sprayed on them have long since been absorbed, and are probably worse for me than rinsed off dish soap. FWIW, with the leafy vegetables I received (broccoli, escarole, etc.), I rinsed them and blanched them all, washed my hands AGAIN, and stored them together in a big container. They'll get even more cooking before eating.

It gets unpretty.

Must've been all that pineapple and ham he was eating 🤣 !

Modernist "everything" (i.e. cuisine, bread) tends to make us all want to make the absolute, 100% best version of everything." Personally, I don't really care if the version I produce is the best possible version produced. I just aim for it to be my best.

I thought it was not great to cut Silpats.

Me too...I totally set up the sanit station tonight, which included ending with me blanching the broccoli and escarole I received. when the doorbell rang, I was ready.

The good thing is I've been washing stuff for years and years.

So what do you all think of this... And to all you epidemiologists, chemists, et al. here on eG, will a quick dunk in boiling water for much of my fresh fruit and veg be a good idea when I get a delivery? I plan on blanching all the green leafy veg I get when it comes into the apartment.

So, for dinner tonight... Let's call it the Ploughwoman's dinner. Vegetable soup, using up most every bit of veg I could before a scheduled delivery (leeks, onions, scallions, parsley, carrots, celery, cabbage, thyme, potatoes, tomatoes) in a light chicken stock. And homemade bread and good butter, with few pieces of cheese I still had lurking from our trip to Paris last month. 'Twas good.

I'm assuming this is the bread series, though. Because I checked the original, and don't see it.

Indeed they do; the classic accompaniment to a pastrami on rye. https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/dr-browns-cel-ray-celery-soda-history.html Ain't bad with gin, either!

Speaking of which, and because I'm so busy cooking, who makes their breads by starting in a non-preheated Dutch and regular oven?

So, after dropping out of school those so many years ago, I decided to return for a go... This is my first attempt. Baked this morning, Forkish's overnight white, with 10% whole wheat flour. I do think I screwed up the hydration, because this dough was sticking to everything and was a pain in the ass to get into the hot-as-hell Dutch oven (which, @Anna N will be happy to know, survived). But it just goes to show how forgiving this stuff is. And then, lunch today... Corned beef tartines on said bread. Potato salad. Quick pickled cukes. Dr. Brown's!

Oh, of course there was...

In the slow cooker for many hours... Vegetables cooked for the last hour or so. Corned beef (it was ok) and cabbage and potatoes, and carrots, and celery. Had I only had green bell pepper. Begat, for lunch today... Corned beef hash, with a few leftover red pepper strips added for color. Sunny side up egg for me. The reason for the egg looking like a half circle, you ask? Significant Eater enjoys her eggs over medium, and this is the half the cook gets. To be honest, I like this hash, with lots and lots of crispy bits and seasoned up, more than I liked the 1st run of corned beef for dinner.