JoNorvelleWalker

Batch 25: 90g blanched Spanish almonds 90g apricot kernels 350g water 280g sugar 30ml Wray & Nephew Overproof 30ml orange flower water Same as batch 24. Batch 24 was probably my best batch yet. Orgeat foam is cook's treat.

I made a batch of Momofuku ranch to go with the fourth dinner from a lovely sous vide pork loin. Brussels' sprouts and sweet potato on the side. Milk and oatmeal-walnut cookies to finish.

...and a few non-food related details.

I have been reading Don't Worry, Just Cook. As almost promised there is a section "Things Not Worth Worrying About". These include 15 year old ketchup, the 5-second rule, and salted butter. However Stern adds there are still things about which she worries: "...worst of all, cooking naked." My feeling is a lovely apron can be ruined forever, whereas skin eventually grows back.

Yes, but when you get there do you remember what you went there for?

As some may know I rely on our county old person para-transport service to get to work most days. Today the driver related that a client he takes once a week to Shoprite to buy groceries and bottled water explained her tap water was contaminated with arsenic, so she does not use it. I know where the woman lives, and I know her water supply is the same as mine. Test results by law are published and arsenic is not a problem. The driver asked her about taking showers and she replied she does not. The driver told me he is requesting a dump truck from the county so that she can ride in back.

How does this compare with the A4 Box?

I'm sitting here enjoying my nightly bowl of California almonds, but for almond milk I use Spanish almonds and Turkish apricot kernels. @Susanwusan I'm not sure what is "not expensive" in your kitchen budget but for my almond milk I use a Blendtec blender and a Kuvings juicer. Together (about $2000) they were more than expensive for my limited circumstances, but the results are worth it. By now I have more than paid for the cost of the Kuvings juicer in the savings of not having to buy commercial orgeat or almond milk. This weekend's project is another batch of orgeat: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/52996-orgeat/

The library came through. I now have Don't Worry, Just Cook at home but I haven't started reading.

I realized I was using my large Cuisinart only for occasional pasta dough. The Cuisinart was not earning its counter space, and has since been banished to the bedroom. I downsized to a Breville All in One: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) and have not looked back. The Breville makes perfectly fine pasta dough. Unexpectedly the Breville makes remarkable mashed potatoes. The disadvantage of the Breville is I have no space to store it. Each day when I wake up I move it to my bed. When I go to sleep I carry it back to the dinning room table where it lives overnight.

I like peanut butter and I'd sure love to try.

I wouldn't call that "down and dirty"! (Unless, of course, you were referring afterwards to the cook.)

The agricultural link she sent was from the 1800's.

I know no one will believe me, but I haven't tested. Two dozen are patiently waiting for me in the cookie jar. Maybe after dinner. Last time I made these cookies they were suitably crunchy -- as they are supposed to be.

Oatmeal walnut refrigerator cookies.

While I'd probably prefer mine with maple syrup, how do you make it savory?

The yeasts just sit around eating and making babies. I'm the one who does the work. My sous vide French toast turned out OK, though the final texture was more like a pancake. If I had to choose I think I'd have preferred conventional French toast that has more texture. However a clear advantage of the sous vide method is that the slices are Pasteurized and can be saved in the refrigerator until needed. I shall trademark Instant Pain Perdu (TM).

My labor is not worth much but a loaf of bread is a day's work.

Names matter. As I'm sure I've related previously, a Chinese friend introduced me to instant ramen in the 1960's. I wanted to buy some instant ramen for myself. He wrote out the name for me. I took the train to Philadelphia and went to the shop in Chinatown. The young Chinese woman behind the counter said: "I'm sorry I don't read Chinese." To this day I can't recall if I eventually got the stuff or not.

Sorry, Anna, I didn't mean to make my cookie terminology confusing.

It may not count as breakfast when served after sunset, but I made sous vide French toast today from almost the last of my week old boule. The recipe is from this site: https://stefangourmet.com/2014/09/30/french-toast-sous-vide/ I omitted the cinnamon and served with maple syrup.

Technically I must grant those examples count, at least the chocolate truffle cookies, although I should have been more clear. I was asking about the type of cookie in which the dough is rolled into a log and chilled, then sliced and baked without further manipulation.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/147371-i-hate-slice-and-bake-cookies-any-hints-for-avoiding-fissures-in-the-logs-of-dough/?do=findComment&comment=2236017

I noticed that neither The Cookie Bible nor Rose's Christmas Cookies includes a recipe for refrigerator cookies. Am I missing something? (Or is @Anna N right?)

As @TdeV said: "When you post a large image, eGullet will display the image at a smaller size. However, for those viewers who are interested, they can enlarge the image to see all the fine details."