Generally I just wing it, have been cooking so long I can develop my own recipes for most things. But sometimes I do have to look for tips, and will read recipes for inspiration.

Food:

Bon Appetit

Recipe Tin Eats

Boy who Bakes

Perfect Loaf

Food and Wine

NYT Cooking

Cocktails:

Punch

Imbibe

It is newer, with a terrifying metal dough hook that looks like a sadist’s implement and a 1/2 speed setting. I do sourdough not dry yeast breads, and usually let it run on the slow speed for a couple minutes, rest, then on 2 for about 5 minutes or so, longer if all whole grain. (Then dump into a bowl, rest, stretch, evaluate if it needs another round or two of stretch and rest before bulk rise.) What I like is that or doesn’t struggle at all with that mass of dough. I have run it for over 10 minutes making brioche (it takes time to incorporate the butter) and it stays cool and comfortable.

Dishwasher for us, though the powder detergent suggestion absolutely did not work, big degradation in the results for us, went back to the orange pod things. Too many people and almost never eat out, so much cooking.

When it broke I had to fill a sink with hot soapy water (luckily ours is double) and everyone parked their dishes in there, scrubbed but left the water dirty, poured boiling water in occasionally to keep it warm and at the end of the day drain the water, rinse and dry. It worked and the easiest way I could manage but wasteful compared to dishwasher.

I never had one before living with my husband, and always hated washing dishes. Used to buy paper plates and bowls because with a big family and a job it was just too much, nobody wanted to do so many dishes.

Some things a dishwasher does not clean off the dishes. Avocado, eggs. And it doesn’t work if you let them sit too long. But in general it does a good job and saves time and effort.

I couldn’t stand the bread machine, it was like Schrodinger’s box. Put in measured ingredients. Will it be a brick? Will it be a bread? No idea until you open it.

I have to see the dough, feel the dough, be able to adjust the timing, give it an extra stretch if needed or an extra hour rest or go faster if it’s ready ahead of schedule.

With bread machine, 35% success, ugly bread

Hands and a bowl, and a pan? 95% success (never gets to 100%) and gorgeous bread.

Literal Gadget, the big KitchenAid mixer. I got one that can handle my 2 kilo of sourdough dough, it’s glorious.

MVP? The iron skillets, hands down. If I had to build a kitchen out of fewer than 10 items the medium and oldest one would be first on that list.

Tylenol has never worked for physical pain in my experience, but can’t say I ever tried it for emotional pain. Glad to hear it does something.

I don’t follow pro sports, sometimes watch the college teams or the international gymnastics amateur competitions. Occasionally a soccer (football) match of our not top division but good local team but not often. Just not into watching men play games usually. But stuff like gymnastics and ice skating is so entertaining to watch. Competitive dance too.

There really isn’t any value past entertaining you, right? If it’s not entertaining you anymore, the value is gone.

Oh I guess I forgot rugby. I do not follow it at all but find it fun to watch. And the college used to put the basketball games on their TV channel with all the timeouts, halftime, everything taken out so it was just st gameplay and I always enjoyed those too. So sometimes I do like watching men play games if they are all action and not too long.

Young, Dumb, Young Dumb and Broke.

Dude. If you got into college you aren’t dumb, and the good job may help your mood (as my husband says, money doesn’t buy happiness but sure removes a lot of the stresses and lacks that cause sadness.)

My best wishes to you, and also to that weird vegan who is in a similar situation. I can’t say things will get better but will say things CAN get better.

We had a poster with “nutrition per calorie” and collard greens were at the top, I imagine kale is similar.

But you do need calories too!

I think dal with greens in it is probably the most nutritious. Love soup with meat but beans, greens, and rice feels so good and healthy, and has most of what you need for a day.

If the OP is asking for the most calorie dense soup, I would guess cheddar broccoli or cheddar cauliflower.

The unbrawlah. Any violence ends when you get within a meter or so of the umbrella when open. Not bounces off like a forcefield but like a zone of safety.

Most of my soups are of the Clear Out the Refrigerator variety, so all are inventions in a way, I guess.

But recently made a dal with red lentils, coconut milk, Hong Tsoi, and Berebere and wow it was good.

I do, they just think it’s an unrealistic world, not a bad one. Something that could never happen here.

My dogs are terrible helpers and my husband likes to release them into the yard when I am gardening, “she wants to be with you”. Yeah and fucking pull out the little tree I just planted because she thinks I am playing with her.

We put them away when doing things with small parts or sitting on the floor work, but it’s the gardening that really excites them. No I don’t need you to help me dig a hole, no we aren’t digging there, no I don’t need you to walk across the fresh planted seedlings.

It is frustrating because in general they are well trained and well behaved, sit when asked, wait for me to go through the door, return when called. But let me work in the yard? They get too excited to behave. Absolutely think it’s play and nobody can convince them otherwise.

I don’t put tomatoes in salad or sandwiches (I don’t pick them out if they are in, but don’t affirmatively like them, texture and taste).

Onion and cheese are my non-negotiables in a sandwich. Pickled jalapenos or cucumbers can sub for tomato IMO. Fancy mayo can also be good for adding interest to a sandwich, or compound butter if you prefer.

For a salad, whatever the fuck you want can go in a salad! There is an Italian salad that is just shaved fennel, onion, oranges, and olives. I actually like it but my point is, if that can be a salad anything can. Also - if you like the taste of tomatoes but not the gloppy seed part, you can scoop that out of the tomato slices or just use the outside part and cut out the middle, like you would do with a bell pepper.

How do you feel about sun dried tomatoes?

Never. Once I realize I am dreaming, I can act on my own. I try not to disturb or actively control the dream world though, always want to explore it.

I agree with this.

If I am measuring “for real” I use a scale and grams. Mine can also do ounces & pounds.

If I am measuring in a measuring cup, my kids laugh at me but I crouch down so the liquid is at eye level so that I can see it better. And most things don’t need to be all that exact. The ones that do, convert them to weight measures.

I have 2 at a time, and yes it’s so I can coordinate the scents with perfume.

I’ve been to England and Scotland, and agree with you, this was in the 1980s and their idea of a dangerous neighborhood cracked me right up. London had no areas equivalent to what counted as a dangerous area in my city (though we have made great strides in the US since then in reducing violence, believe it or not. And in my city even more so, we went from so rough to relatively safe).

I don’t think I would have called it free-er though? Safer for sure though, and healthcare so much better.

Savory oatmeal is awesome. I like it with olives & Parmesan and a fried egg.

That punctuation. “Including romantic partners, except children.” WTF?

I am much closer to my husband and kids than to the dogs and cats but feel more responsibility towards the pets, the kids I am growing into adults who take care of themselves, the dogs and cats we care for until they die.