Whenever I manage to make a pie that doesn't gloop out all over the plate I feel like I just won the Bake Off.

Happy Pi Day!

Dinner is served.

Chicken leek and mushroom pie, with my no fail pie crust.

I really, really love decorating pie.

The Expanse plus knitting is a perfect way to spend this rainy Monday night.

Ooooo baby, future me is going to be so in love with present me. A little gift for the me of another day.

Made three total, one was dinner tonight and then these two for the freezer.

Plan for today:

Bake sourdough bagels
Bake blueberry muffins
Crush some leca and get it soaking in root enhancer for shiso seed planting
Get the zipper installed in the commission bag, stretch goal is to baste the bag together to check fit
Coop power wash simulator

Yeah, that's a damn good day.

Freezing some Doubletree Hilton cookies for a rainy day :D Apparently they released the original recipe a few years ago.

Chocolate, oat and walnut.

I really love my souper cubes.

Not bad for a first time. But we'll see how they look after rising, and baking.

These are kaiser rolls, shaped in the traditional way from a long rope that is knotted and tucked into itself.

Looking forward to a very chill day here today.

Making gumbo with fixins (fresh French bread and potato salad and rice).

Also planning to make some kaiser rolls for the first time, including doing the traditional knot braid shaping. We'll see how that goes!

But first... Latte.

Snow storm here today in the Valley. Glad I started some sourdough bagels last night. A house made warm by the oven and filled with the smell of fresh baking bread is a great way to spend a cold snowy day!

If I can shake this headache I might go in for some knitting.

In the face of horrors... Homemade sourdough bagels

Faced with the oncoming disaster being one person feels inadequate. But I am not one person - I am a part of a community. A community that starts in my home, my hearth.

I will bake and cook the favorite foods of my loved ones. So they will also know they are not one person. This will fuel and strengthen them so they can go out and let others know they are not one person.

In the face of horrors, bagels.

So, tonight's dinner has been affectionately coined the "three pasta circus" by my Person. Lol.

I make a batch of fresh pasta noodles. Then dish three bowls of it with various sauces
- pesto and shrimp
- shrimp alfredo
- beef marinara

It's easier than it sounds as the sauces are all made ahead of time. My marinara is defrosting now. The pesto is homemade and also defrosting. And the alfredo is jarred.

In 2025 I resolve to be more of a problem to those who deserve it. And a greater source of safety, joy, and comfort for those who deserve that.

There aren't a lot of things I carry with me from my family that bring me joy. And I often wind up pondering the other things this time of year.
But this year I'm focusing on the life I'm building, with people I adore, not the one I escaped from.
Kroketten seem a perfect Hanukkah treat too, so double win :D

I'm absolutely drowning in delicious stock. Lol.

This is about a third of the total stock I made. Filled 8 x 1 cup souper cubes and 4 x 2 cup souper cubes.

I might need to freeze some in takeout containers for friends...

Spent nearly all of today in the kitchen and I'm super sore but happy with what I've accomplished.

My friend will be getting:

* zuppa toscana
* butternut squash ravioli
* lasagna
* caesar salad (with homemade croutons)
* french bread

Hopefully they enjoy!

There is a very special magic that is cooking eggs over easy in a perfectly seasoned cast iron pan.

Where they flip and release from the iron with no sticking. And it's just beautiful.