[Sethomas]

I think I posted a long rant a while ago about how confused I was to learn that Vladimir Putin is pronounced as the Québecois dish in Russian and is transliterated into French with like spelling. Until I asked a Russian/Georgian friend, I thought that the French media was making scathing satire with his name.

In accord with the almond trend, I bought some almond butter (and cashew butter, too) with grandiose plans of bagel delights. I finished them both within two weeks with a naked spoon. The local co-op sells it in jars for about $15/lb, but I used their machine in the bulk section to get it for less than half that price WHILE WATCHING IT BE MADE.

As mentioned in my battle scar thread, I've taken to cooking more regularly. What I made last night was a stew based with split red lentils and bits of leg of lamb I'd cut into fine pieces, with the drippings added to the stew for more lamb-y flavor. I tend to throw in random spices and such out of curiosity and ignorance of what actually goes well with what, but I think my liberal inclusion of mustard powder made things interesting.

I'm coming to realize that while I can't follow culinary instructions for shit, I can wing my own creations and create things that look repulsive but taste awesome.

I wanted to eat much of the stew from home-made bread bowls since my bread machine is a prized sentimental possession, but it has failed me numerous times. This time the bread imploded sometime between raising and being fully baked, so it was ugly, dense, and un-bowl-like. It still tasted good, though--lots of fresh chives I diced by hand (with a knife, too, I guess) and tons of sharp cheddar baked in.