Yesterday Dwight picked up Shiitake and (new to us) Trumpet mushrooms at the farmers market. Tonight I’ll put them in a risotto. Many suggest not washing mushrooms, but I prefer to run them through a bowl of water, then dry them. Shiitake stems are full of umami, but sadly they’re tough and stringy, so they… Continue reading Mushrooms: My Two Cents’ Worth
Category: Home Living
Old Dell, New Tricks
Our 14-year-old Dell was slowing down, so I gave it a new lease on life today by dual-booting Windows 10 and Linux (Ubuntu). Running Linux, it’s blazingly fast and handles almost everything Dwight and I need. Total outlay: $0.00 + too much of my time.
Fast-Forward to Fireworks
Aquatennial fireworks from our balcony capped off an evening of Olympic action. We’ve splashed out $15 for NBC’s (proud as a…) Peacock service for commercial-free on-demand access to every event. Paris is 7 hours ahead, so we can fast-forward through the boring bits.
Our Saturday Ritual
It’s Sausage Saturday, which means sausage and cabbage on the barbecue, a movie, and ice cream in the intermission. Tonight’s picks: The Kids Are All Right, pausing for this excellent cashew-milk-based ice cream.
Amazon Algorithm Fail
It’s Amazon Prime Day. The first two items on offer “just for Tom” were dog poop bags and skimpy women’s panties. Neither item has ever been on my Christmas wishlist, nor Dwight’s for that matter. My one purchase will arrive Thursday: a 5-pack of COVID tests–we’re running low. I can now go outside and engage… Continue reading Amazon Algorithm Fail
Run, Toto, Run!*
A morning thunderstorm coincided with a reminder in my calendar to clean the air and water filters in our Japanese toilets. We’ve had our TOTOs over five years, now, and they’ve worked flawlessly. We had an early issue with reduced water flow due to construction sand in the water, but the filter did its job.… Continue reading Run, Toto, Run!*
Sunday Dinner: Some Assembly Required
Feeling a bit lazy today, reduced Sunday dinner to an assembly operation. I like to cook bean dishes a day ahead as they improve by standing. Ingredients include ham shank and hot-soaked beans from the freezer, and fresh mirepoix (ready cut up from Trader’s). I’ll sweat the mirepoix and freeze half for another time. Rice… Continue reading Sunday Dinner: Some Assembly Required
Sunday Roast
Tonight: wild salmon from Alaska on a cedar plank on the barbecue. Snap peas and new potatoes from the local farmers market. Parsley to go with the potatoes, ultra-local, from our balcony.
Simple Sunday Routine
Bedtime, looked out at the route of our regular Sunday morning walk: up one side of the river, back on the other. Sunday afternoon I read on the couch, occasionally glancing outside at the swollen river. Dinner was cooked on the barbecue: chicken and sweet potato. In the evening, we blocked the view to watch… Continue reading Simple Sunday Routine
Sniffles and Snail Mail
We’re both a little subpar with colds, thankfully not COVID. Peeped in a shoebox and realized it contained six weeks of snail mail I hadn’t reviewed since returning from my travels in early April. Nothing required my attention, so everything went to recycling, some via the shredder. At least I did something useful today!