Foody thread

Missed the first 15 minutes of extra time because I was making poppadoms, which I have never done before. Hope they turn out better than my naan breads, which are always very tasty but invariably more resemble pita.

Wifey had a meltdown yesterday as the pizza oven was too high and the dough didn’t cook the way she wanted. I thought it was fine (add a bit of Giardiniera ) and the slices were still solid. I’m lucky that when it comes to food, she is a perfectionist. Although since she is going through menopause she seems to be psychotic over small imperfections. Which means I am fucked.

Anyway, she was crying and I was watching the Super Bowl eating slightly singed pizza. Seemed alright to me. Does that make me a bad husband?

Chicago: Afraid of Americans.

Good luck with that. Mrs Charlie was menopausal for 20+ years.

I had that in Wales last year. I will not be making that mistake again.

Apparently it was a staple of poor Welsh costal communities. They died in droves, probably out of choice if that was the alternative.

You have a point

My brother in law has about 25 acres of land, mostly wooded. This year he decided to tap a couple of maples and he gave me a few gallons of sap, so I'm in the process of making my own maple syrup.

I may be attaining peak Canadian right now.

Aye. I've been living in the country for three years now, and increasingly find myself increasingly enjoying growing and making things. Bit worrying.

There’s a gardening thread somewhere just waiting for you.

Maple syrup update: poured a gallon of maple water into a large pot, put it on a gentle boil, let it bubble away happily in the kitchen all evening issuing lovely smells. As the water level got lower I started checking more regularly.

2:40 - maple water
2:50 - maple water
3:00 - maple water
3:05 - maple water
3:10 - maple water
3:12 - bonfire toffee

Having a second attempt this evening.

Further maple syrup update: batch 2 was a success, but I didn't filter it and while the hippies like their food things raw and unfiltered, it displeases me to have a cloudy bottle full of niter. Attempted to filter it but it was too thick to pass through a fine enough mesh.

Batch 3 I cooked about two thirds of the way and then passed it while still very hot through a coffee filter before putting it back in the pot to finish reducing. It's now cooling but looks much cleaner.

Batch 4 is currently boiling and I'm going to filter this one twice to see if I can get it clearer still.