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Gazpacho, Brocolli Risotto, Arugula Fruit Salad

By Lionina - 1:48 AM
Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Sungold Tomato Gazpacho is a relatively simple recipe which makes the taste of fresh produce really sing. The prep relies on good nice knife skills, a Vita-mix blender and chinois. We had to make do with painfully careful dicing, an immersion blender, and a basic strainer with wooden pestle. But it came out just fine! Sungold Tomato Gazpacho1 cup...

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Green Bean Potato Salad

By Lionina - 12:35 PM
From Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Cookbook, this salad is seasonal and refreshing! It is also the most time consuming salad ever but worth it. Green Bean Potato Salad 1.5 lbs green beans (hericots verts are recommended but my grocery had a fresh stock of blue lake which need to be cooked a tiny bit longer) 1 lb fingerling potatoes (chef recommends 1 inch...

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Pain de Mie, Bean and Escarole Soup

By Lionina - 4:53 PM
I admit it. I was scared. Bread is living! It has a mind of its own! I can't control nature. But with Julia Child's recipe for Pan de Mie, I must be in good hands right? Armed with a food processor and prepared by multiple meticulous readings through the Escoffier format recipe, I battled a monstrous dough for an afternoon. Into the non-Pullman...

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Garlic Chive Pesto with Pasta and Brocolli, Roasted Romesco, Almond Crusted Fish

By Lionina - 12:01 PM
Garlic Chive Pesto 1 bunch garlic chives(1/2 cup or more) 2 green onions 1 cup parsley 2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup parmesan 3/4 cup walnuts, whole extra-virgin olive oil (1/2 cup or more) salt  pepper Blitz everything in the food processor, drizzling in olive oil until desired consistency!  Done. Roasted Romesco Sauce 2 large red bell pepper 2 cloves garlic 1 cup almonds,...

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On the Steel Breeze - Alastair Reynolds

By Lionina - 5:50 PM
On the Steel Breeze resolves its central narratives through lengthy dialogues and redundant expositions that are punctuated with action set pieces and not much else. While there is plenty of world to explore and morally suspect tech to engage with, the author is mostly concerned with human concepts of fragmented selves, forgiveness, etc in a post-cloud world. Somehow, collective humanism ends up coming off...

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Knights of Sidonia

By Lionina - 2:22 PM
All the hallmarks are there; existential angst, post apocalyptic space battles, and hegemonic conspiracy in a nicely directed Netflix-driven take from the beautifully detailed Knights of Sidonia manga. All the hallmarks are there; existential angst, post apocalyptic space battles, and hegemonic conspiracy in a nicely directed Netflix-driven take from the beautifully detailed Knights of Sidonia manga. ...

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Almond Farina Shortbread

By Lionina - 11:31 AM
Almond Farina Shortbread 1/2 cup butter (or clarified butter) 1/2 cup powdered sugar (try granulated sugar) 1 cup all purpose flour (can substitute wheat/AP flour, or 1/4 cup almond flour, or 2 tbsp chickpea flour) 1/2 cup farina (cream of wheat) 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp ground cardamom (or 3 fresh ground seeds) 1/4 tsp baking soda *1 tbsp yogurt (if needed to...

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Fantasy Masterworks

By Lionina - 12:19 AM
Less well known to me than the SF Masterworks list... The Book of the New Sun, Volume 1: Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe Time and the Gods - Lord Dunsany The Worm Ouroboros - E.R. Eddison Tales of the Dying Earth - Jack Vance Little, Big - John Crowley The Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny Viriconium - M. John Harrison The...

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Blueberry Yogurt Mousse

By Lionina - 6:58 PM
mousse: 1/2 cup yogurt 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp almond extract 2/3 cup heavy cream 1 tsp lemon juice 2 tbsp water or other juice 1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin *nilla wafer "crust" sauce: 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp lemon juice (or other citrus, zest optional) about 1 cup blueberries 2 tbsp rum (kirsch, or nice thick liqueur) Mix together yogurt, sugar,...

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Pepper Lunch at home

By Lionina - 11:30 AM
Butter sauce butter soy sauce oyster sauce garlic honey onion  cornstarch  water salt ...

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By Lionina - 10:18 PM
Rob Brydon: Do you think we just have the same conversation in every restaurant? Steve Coogan: Um, yeah, of course we do, we're bound to. Rob Brydon: We are essentially having the same conversation every place we go to. Steve Coogan: We start out being a bit awkward with each other, have a little bit of wine, exchange a few frivolities... Rob Brydon:...

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