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Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXIV

Pecan Tarts I still haven’t found The Joy of Cooking, which contains “my” award-winning pecan pie recipe. So, off to the Intertubes I went. William’s Sonoma had a tasty-sounding maple syrup pecan pie, so that’s what I used: 1 rolled-out round basic pie dough2 cups pure maple syrup2 eggs, lightly beaten1/4 cup firmly packed light orContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXIV”

Pumpkin Fest

Rapid City has one. Who knew? We were mostly interested in the Pumpkin Chucking – accomplished via trebuchet. There were six contending teams. Four from the School of Mines, one from Spearfish High School, and one from a Middle School. The biggest surprise: The high school (blue one) and middle school (bare lumber one toContinue reading “Pumpkin Fest”

Leftovers

Last night, we ate upstairs for the first time because the grill ran out of gas and we decided to broil the steak in the little new oven, which worked great – and I baked bread in it, today, which worked OK. Not the point of this post. There was no cutlery upstairs. I decidedContinue reading “Leftovers”

Building a Desk

I want a large desk that fits the room. So, I decided to build one. This has been an interesting process. Drafting has not been involved. I think I may have lost my T-square in the move; I don’t remember packing it. I decided on “corner” so that I can stick my feet out underneathContinue reading “Building a Desk”

Serendipity

The original plan for the kitchen windows was to have the countertop be the sills and the cabinet bottoms be the on-top sill (transom? lintel? whatever). Due to the way the cabinet tops and sizes came together, the plan for the top didn’t work (or would have looked very strange). So, there’s a gap. It’sContinue reading “Serendipity”

Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXIII

Macarons Attempt the second (see attempt the first) turned out much better. Following the established format, first the recipe: 2 egg whites1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar3/4 cup (70g) almond flour3/4 cup (90g) powdered sugar1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powdersaltcream and chocolate for the ganache (very small quantities) Beat the egg whites until fluffy, then beat inContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXIII”

Refinishing

Marketing people are lying liars. I know, news flash from centuries ago. Nonetheless, the color on the outside of the QUART can of stain is not anything like the result. It’s much, much darker – almost black/ebony. I’m going to throw it in the trash out of spite. You don’t want that stuff in yourContinue reading “Refinishing”

Office Chairs

Vintage from left to right: 1992, 2002, and 2022. Apparently, I’ve gotten taller. I don’t remember what the first one cost, but it was expensive to me when I bought it, so let’s go with $150. The middle, Aeron chair was a going away present (thanks, Yuriy and Anna), but listed for $800 at theContinue reading “Office Chairs”

Washing Dishes

It’s been years since I’ve had a working dishwasher. I’m finding it very handy. When your stuff is in boxes in a garage for a year, it gets dirty. Sending load after load through the automatic dish washer beats the heck out of washing everything by hand. Some notes on the experience. It’s a babyContinue reading “Washing Dishes”

Learning 2 Bake from Scratch XXXII

Macarons I saw Adam Ragusea’s simple (and very funny) macaron recipe and thought I’d give it a try. I did it wrong. I got the egg whites whipping, then dumped in everything else, not just the sugar. They’re awful. So no pictures or details until I make a second attempt.