November 2018 archive

Staying Warm

Ah, the good old days. When something broke, we’d call the landlord. Now when something breaks, we realize WE’RE the landlords. On Friday I noticed that the condo was cold. I looked at the thermostat and it said the inside temp was 62°. A little investigation by Julian revealed that the igniter for the gas …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/25/staying-warm/

Today’s Feast

Thanksgiving is time for tradition with a twist. I made the usual cranberry-orange relish. I also made applesauce. Most of the apples were Braeburns, but I tossed in a Pink Lady and a Fuji that were languishing in the fruit drawer. This year’s twist: Later on I’ll roast some delicata squash, using a method I …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/todays-feast/

Otters!

We are thankful to have a home that overlooks a river and a park, particularly at this time of year. The bald eagles are back from summering in the mountains. Mergansers and cormorants also return. The herons, mallards, and Canada geese are here year round, although I’ve yet to see the snow goose that slums …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/otters/

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is still my favorite holiday. While it’s difficult for some to conjure up reasons for gratitude in these times, I’m an optimist. Here is my list for this year: I’m thankful to live in this country. I believe our democracy has the resilience to withstand the current chaos. It’s survived a full-scale Civil War, …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/giving-thanks/

Take a Knee – PLEASE

Preferably my left one. Thursday morning I stood up and the knee locked. I eventually got it loosened up, but it locked up several more times during the day. A reverse house call to our friend Bruce resulted in a tentative diagnosis of a joint mouse, a small bit of cartilage or bone floating around …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/18/take-a-knee-please/

Hard Times for Food Porn

The consolidation of the magazine industry continues, and food publications are not immune. The personality-driven magazines (e.g., Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart) seem to be doing fine, but more general-interest publications are suffering. An acquaintance of mine lost her job at AllRecipes. Last week I was looking at my mail and noticed the headline on the …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/18/hard-times-for-food-porn/

Kitchen Chaos

Some essential item always seems to fail at Casa Sammamish just before we host a get-together. Our first year here, a shelf in the kitchen decided to fail just before the Super Bowl party. This sent a cascade of ceramic and glass flowing to the counter and floor around me. We managed to clean everything …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/18/kitchen-chaos/

Preferred Plonk

You don’t need a high-limit credit card to get good wine these days. Yeah, we saw bottles of vintage 1899 Sauternes in Paris going for five figures, but we’d rather drink wine than invest in it. We rarely spend more than $15 on a bottle. Here are a few recommendations based on our experience. Origins. …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/18/preferred-plonk/

Tiramisu!

“What if she wants to tiramisu?” – Tom Hanks, Sleepless in Seattle Tiramisu is one of Julian’s favorite desserts, along with key lime pie and pecan pie. We’ve made it a couple of times at home. Our earlier attempts got extremely soggy after a day in the fridge. However, we needed to use some mascarpone …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/11/tiramisu/

Semi-Formal

I received an invitation to our chief cardiac surgeon’s retirement party. The appropriate attire was listed as “semi-formal.” So the physicians and operating room staff should show up in dress scrubs? (I’d rarely seen some of them in street clothes in the five years I’ve worked with them.) Since Seattle is a pretty casual town, …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/10/semi-formal/

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