Feline Follies

Twas brillig and the slivy toves ... words that might be apt before a hiatus. one of this blog's goals is introducing a Holistic software development protocol. i could upload a medium-size example of an application that illustrates the protocol's benefits, but want to present a smaller example. unforunately, that project needs a restart. so this is another post about food . General store old movies introduced me to the department store's precursor. i was lucky to live near one in a Portuguese neighborhood. one day, i saw spools of cotton seine twine casually displayed in a shopping cart. (nobody used shopping carts there; the store was too small.) the smallest spool was quite large, but i bought it anyway because its quality was so high (four-stage construction). ...

Mom claimed her pickled cabbage was Chinese. the rest of my family was skeptical; another possible source for her recipe was the wife of one of my father's colleagues. years later, my mother acknowledged that she had served us kimchi. if i had to guess, it was Baek (white) kimchi. in those days, Asian ingredients were less available here so the recipe may have been an adaptation. in any case, it is much easier to make than the kind we usually see. Deconstructed brine how do we determine the amount of salt? in my opinion, we should ignore the weight of the vegetables. this approach works because brine creates an environment that favors lactobacilli. salt is not the agent per se; it is an enabler. in this case, we amplify its effect by deconstructing the brine, ...

Nécessité fait loi. i was about to mangle Hamlet's soliloquy (slings and arrows of micromanagement?) when i found this :-) with so many ostensibly peaceable people at war, it's easy to imagine being in a situation where killing someone might be the best option. after all, sometimes there are no good choices. whether you are willing is one question. which is better is another. i'm sure i've been characterized as results-oriented at some point, and i certainly have broken rules. now i self identify as process-oriented, partly because i think it's possible to be both, mostly because a mindful focus on processes can lead to better results. metrics are situational, i.e. better is in the eye of the beholder. in my kitchen, using less water is important because i wasted so much. this shift towa...

Instability and uncertainty are on the upswing (quoting Chinese Premier Li Qiang via The Taipei Times ). other publications quoted him differently, so i infer that there is no official translation of Li's words. China's complaints about disruptions to normalcy seem ironic when juxtaposed with its Belt and Road Initiative. on the other hand, people love to complain and there is more conflict than usual these days. with the possible exception of catharsis, most complaints have no effect. grief is real, but it shouldn't be extended. at some point, we should look forward to tomorrow's jam. it won't be good, but it will be better than the jam we cannot have today. Instant sauce i have a vivid memory of licking the last traces of raspberry coulis off...

Grind, steep, filter ... regardless of extraction technique, all three steps are necessary. my interest in grinders might have peaked when i bought an old KitchenAid grinder to discover how well it worked. it was quite primitive and fell short of Hobart's usual standard. i have also owned grinders made by Braun, Bunn, Geska, and Gaggia, have used others, e.g. Zassenhaus, and read countless reviews. they can be useless. Grind in my opinion, Mazzer's Super Jolly is the gold standard. it isn't their best, and i doubt that Mazzer is the best grinder manufacturer. on the other hand, gold isn't the most precious metal. the Super Jolly's burrs are larger than the ones most people use for paper-filtered coffee, and its motor is powerful enough to turn them without hesitation. Yes, Virginia, size...

Classic recipes born in poverty can be revised to take advantage of things we take for granted. in particular, many dishes traditionally cooked in one pot benefit from separation. on the other hand, we should respect timeless combinations of flavors and textures. ain't nothing like the real thing. Pork off cuts are authentic because this was a slave's dish, but i prefer bacon. ham hocks can taste a bit coarse and deboning them is a chore. i always have salt pork on hand, but it would require rinsing. in general, do not buy packaged bacon unless it's deeply discounted and reasonably lean. packaged ends/pieces can be easier to use and always cost less than slices. when a butcher displays the lean end of a slab, buy all of it. for this dish, i want bite-sized piec...