CUISINE

I like a bowl of Crunchy Nut Flakes at night, cold milk, cup of tea, large dollop of honey, Mmmmm

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/englands-first-crisp-sandwich-shop-6159659

Something to go with me Yorkshire puddings. YUM YUM.

enh. I like the idea of crisps being through on something juicy like a hamburger, but these often seem to have little more than a slice of ham.

This is cute, mainly because of her.



I am again left banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why wholesome young women would validate the scourge of guys who wear baseball caps backwards by dating them, but that's off topic.

From Lena Headey:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu04mc2BgeQ/

So Popeye's came out with a chicken sandwich, and the video reviews are out.  And they're all adorable.

Jump to 11 minutes, teenage girls are all natural youtubers:


Dudes aren't usually adorable, but this guy is off the charts adorable:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/guns-drawn-us-over-chicken-sandwich-sensation-173807143.html

Not sure why I'm so fascinated by this.

Watch the video, ignore the article. Great chemistry in their tasting couples, especially as they get more tipsy.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/expensive-bottles-wine-really-taste-010004254.html

I liked cuddly bearded guy

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/world/europe/france-bakery-closures.html

The picture of the baguette vending machine is like a stab to the heart.

I feel like there should be an alcohol appreciation thread, but I couldn't find one so I'll post it here.

I made some cider last month with our old hand-powered-press. Some friends of mine work at a hemp farm that leases an orchard but doesn't make use of the fruit, so I took my pickup truck over there and filled the bed. It was late in the season and the fruit had a lot of sugar. Good for the yeast, I assume.

They found a home-brewing shop in San Jose and brought back some carboys and various other bits and ingredients. Here's the cider freshly poured into the fermenting containers:



It bubbled happily for a couple weeks, and then last night I bottled it. This is my first time ever brewing, and I'm sure there were things I missed, and steps that I cut out, but from the tastes I snuck while bottling it seems pretty good. (Note how clear it is compared to when first pressed). I didn't have the tool for testing its alcohol content, but my friends who made theirs in much the same manner said they were getting a little over 8%, which is a good number I feel for cider.



Anyway, perhaps I'll do more in the future and try to get better at it. Cheers!

"I didn't have the tool for testing its alcohol content"

Forest my lad, when it comes to brewing, just consider yourself your own laboratory.

That's pretty cool.  There's a number of professional cideries around here, but I feel they haven't reached the heights of when I first tasted hard cider as a teenager, and rarely have as much variety and refinement  as beer.   I feel you'll do better and get more satisfaction making it with your friends.

Angry Orchard is nearby - they have some nice variety, but the best thing is the treehouse you can go up and tipple in.

That tree house looks great. I have a book of tree-houses and have always enjoyed the variety you find in their shapes and situations.

Do you mean Angry Orchard like the brand you can find in stores? I'm not a fan. Their cider is too sweet.

This is my go-to right now because it's easy to pick up on my way to game night or whatever, but I've had better cider at some of those trendy tap-rooms or whatever you call them here in town or over the hill.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of Angry Orchard, but they do have far more variety at the cidery than you find distributed. I prefer something with more of a bite, which I suppose some of your stuff up there may have.

But I do love their treehouse. And it attracts nice wildlife.

Bloody get off your phones!

That's what I call breakfast. The worrying thing is i could actually eat all that.

The scroll on the hamburger was crucial.

To me the mushrooms make that breakfast sing.

Goodness, I'm hungry now!

It fell to my lot to bring dessert this Christmas. Yesterday I tried making Tiramisu for the first time. And today I shall make a back-up Lemon Meringue Pie (my specialty) in case the Tiramisu is wonky, and bake some thumb-print cookies (the kind with jelly in the middle). And maybe oatmeal raisin, not sure yet. My sister is coming home for it and she has some cookie ideas as well.

The main course on Christmas will be lasagna actually. Tiramisu has a similar structure, so that should be fun. I also just learned that it wasn't some kind of Japanese sushi or something, and I've been curious about making it.

What's your Christmas food tradition?

"wonky" Tiramisu.

A well done tiramisu is magical. It's all in the balance between coffee, cream, and sweet. Nobody would object if you threw in a hint of chocolate.

Lasagna I think is a great holiday dish. I know some vegetarians who go out for Ethiopean food every Thanksgiving.

Ah, Ethiopian! My great-uncle raised his family over in Ethiopia. I met him and his wife for the first time last year: quite the kindest person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He showed me his library, which contained some books in Amharic.

The recipe I followed had me sprinkle cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu. I ended up spreading most of my slice over snicker-doodle cookies. It is an excellent pairing, would recommend.

Still makes me smile at all the gracious Christian people going to church, being as holy & helpful as they can whilst tutting & frowning at people with green hair, Doc Martin boots & piercings. The 1st lot truly believe Christmas is for them & Christmas for the 2nd lot is booze & fags. I told one sweet old dear at the bus stop how truly Pagan Christmas is, sacrificing animals, bringing in Holly etc & she looked at me as if I ( me sweety darling ) were the Devil incarnate !! They wont have it you know. Now, all I see around me is grab, grab & even more grab. The greed, if used for other people, is understandable. your first thought is for your family & loved ones. The Grinch was right, too much commercialism now.