About That Lasagna

This is a sweet dessert historical dessert lasagna using a sweet spice mix (powder deuce) and walnuts made with fresh egg-free pasta which uses grape must as a leavening.

Pasted from MS Word, so there may be issues in the formatting.

It was rather well received: 

Lenten Sweet Lasanas (Lasagna)

I am using leavened pasta.  See Liber de Coquina ubi diuersitates ciborum docentur, (A Book About Cooking):[1]

I — 10. De lasanis : ad lasanas, accipe pastam fermentatam et fac tortellum ita tenuem sicut poteris. Deinde, diuide eum per partes quadratas ad quantitatem trium digitorum. Postea, habeas aquam bullientem salsatam, et pone ibi ad coquendum predictas lasanas. Et quando erunt fortiter decocte, accipe caseum grattatum.

Et si uolueris, potes simul ponere bonas species puluerizatas, et pulueriza cum istis super cissorium. Postea, fac desuper unum lectum de lasanis et iterum pulueriza; et desuper, alium lectum, et pulueriza : et sic fac usque cissorium uel scutella sit plena. Postea, comede cum uno punctorio ligneo accipiendo.

This translates[2] to: (emphasis mine)

I — 10. Take leavened dough and make a sheet as thin as possible. Then, cut it into squares the size of three fingers. Then, cook the said lasanae in boiling salted water. When they are well cooked, take some grated cheese.

If you want, add good, ground spices and dust them on a cutting board. Then, place a layer of lasanae and dust again; and then, another layer, and dust; and continue in this way until the table or plate is full. Then, eat them with a wooden stick.

I will to use leavened pasta for a Lenten recipe to account for the lack of eggs.  It's presence is for dough flavor and conditioning, and not for actual leavening.

The basis for my recipe is from Anonimo Veneziano’s Libro di cucina/Libro per cuoco.[3]  It is a recipe for Lent, and is a sweet dish, suitable for dessert.

Se tu voy fare lansagne de quaressima, toy le lasagne e mitile a coxere, e toli noxe monde e ben pesta e maxenate, e miti entro le lasagne, e guardale dal fumo; e quando vano a tavola, menestra e polverizage de le specie, del zucharo.

Translation was by Helewyse de Birkestad,[4] OL  (MKA Louise Smithson):

If you want to make lasagne in lent, take the lasagne (wide pasta noodles) and put them to cook (in water and salt).  Take peeled walnuts and beat and grind them well.  Put them between the lasagna (in layers), and guard from smoke (while reheating).  And when they go to the table dress them with a dusting of spices and with sugar.

Normally for fresh pasta, I would use eggs, but during lent at this period as the consumption of meat, fowl, eggs, and milk products were forbidden, hence the walnuts, sugar, and olive oil.

In addition to the ground walnuts in between the layers, I am adding chopped, "Wet," walnuts and sugar syrup to the top of the lasagna.

I am using powder douce (see Appendix A) as the spice mix.  It is mentioned in the recipe for Loseyns in The Forme of Cury. Then I am baking in a pan to allow the flavors to meld and for the syrup to infuse the dish.

Ingredients:

Quantity
2 cup	Flour, general purpose or 00 flour
2 cup	Flour, Semolina
2 cup	Fermenting grape juice, room temperature
	Additional flour, Semolina
	Olive oil
2 cup	Active (fermenting) grape juice or sourdough.  (I am using juice, see Appendix B)
1 cup	Ground walnuts
	Powder Douce (See Appendix A)
1 tsp	Salt (optional)
	Granulated or powdered sugar, can be white, brown, etc.
1½-2 cups	Chopped walnuts

Preparation of the pasta:

1. Mix the 2 cups of both flours thoroughly in a large bowl along with 1 tsp salt.
2. Make a mountain out of flour mixture and create a deep well in the center, then add 1½  cups of the grape juice and 1 Tbsp of olive oil into the well and whisk the juice and oil gently with a fork, gradually incorporating flour. When mixture becomes too thick to mix with a fork, begin kneading with your hands until the dough comes together.  Add additional water or juice as needed.
3. Knead dough until it is smooth and supple, 8 to 12 minutes. Form into a smooth ball, and  place in bowl covered in a damp cloth let sit in a bowl covered with a damp towel for 2 hours.  Knead the dough again to remove as much of the leavening as possible.  Allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 (1-2 hours is better) minutes or in the refrigerator over night. (preferred)
4. Roll out to desired thickness (I do about 1/16 of an inch) and cut into 2 inch (3 finger) wide strips.  You can dock the dough with a fork.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add sufficient salt so that it tastes like the ocean, then add the noodles, cooking until tender yet firm to the bite.  This will probably be 5-7 minutes.
6. Remove from water store so that they do not stick together. (Hanger, parchment paper, etc.)

Preparation of the lasagna:

1. Mix ground walnuts and Powder Douce to taste, add water to make a paste similar to peanut butter.
2. Oil a baking pan. (I will also be lining the pan with parchment paper)
3. Put a layer of noodles into the pan, and then spread a thin (About the thickness of peanut butter on a peanut butter sandwich) layer of the walnut spice mixture.  Finish with a layer of noodles on top.
4. Add a dusting of the Powder Douce the top layer of noodles.
5. Spread wet walnut glaze evenly over the top of the lasagna.
6. Cook at 350-400°F (175-205°C) for ½ hour covered, and then uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. After the lasagna has cooled, cut into squares and skewer with toothpicks.

Preparation of wet walnuts:

1. Take 2 cups sugar of your choice and 1 cup water, and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add the chopped walnuts and boil for at least 10 minutes stirring regularly. 

Appendix A.                 Spice Mixes

I could not find any detailed documentation for these spice mixes.

This is unsurprising.  This mix would be generally known by cooks, and so in a recipe, it would just be called out as if it were a single ingredient.

It is likely that it may have varied from cook to cook as well.

Powder Fort

I am using the following spice recipe from Dishably.[5]

The spice is strong (hence fort) and peppery mix.

Ingredients:

Quantity
¼ C	Powdered Ginger (or use fresh grated ginger at a 4:1 fresh:ground ratio)
¼ C	Long Pepper, Ground
¼ C	Cinnamon (Ceylon preferred),Ground
1½ tsp	Cloves, ground
¼ C	Black pepper, ground
1 tsp	Cubeb
1 tsp	Grains of paradise

 

Powder Douce

Powder Douce (Sweet in Latin) is a milder and sweeter mix, and much like Powder Fort, documentation of the spice is sparse.

I am using the spice recipe from Edouard Halidai (MKA Daniel Myers) Medieval Cookery:[6]

Quantity
3 Tbsp	Powdered Ginger (or use fresh grated ginger at a 4:1 fresh:ground ratio)
4 (2) Tbsp	Sugar (Whatever type you favor, I am using dark brown sugar)
1½ Tbsp	Cinnamon (Ceylon preferred, adjust for different cinnamon varieties),Ground
¼ (1) tsp	Cloves, ground
1 tsp	Nutmeg, ground

 

The numbers in parenthesis are the original recipe.

When I tried out the spice mix, I found that the clove was overpowering, and it needed to be sweeter.

Appendix B.                  Grape Pomace, Must, Juice, and Lees

For my recipes, I am calling crushed grapes, "Must," calling the cloudy fluid pressed from crushed grapes, "Juice," and, pulp and skins remaining after pressing "Pomace."

Organic grapes have active wild yeast on their skins, and so can be used as leavening, like sourdough. 

For modern grapes, particularly non-organic table grapes, it is likely that fermentation would not start on its own, as the yeast has been removed through washing and chemicals.

As such, after crushing, I added a small quantity of yeast (I had an already open packet in the refrigerator) to the crushed grapes, which was set out at room temperature until activity was observed.

In addition to creating yeast flavors, fermentation of the must extracts tannins and color from the grape skins.

For the purpose of any of the included recipes, you can stop here.

From this point forward, I will be discussing the ambiguity of the terms, "Must," and, "Pomace."

These terms are used in a number of different ways depending on region, type of wine, etc.

Grapes are harvested and then crushed, bursting the grapes and creating a mash, which contains juice, pulp, stems, and seeds.  (This is usually called must)

For white wines, this is often (but not always) pressed almost immediately, extracting what is often called grape juice, but sometimes called must, which is distinct from the grape juice that you find in the store, which is filtered.

Neither the white wine grape juice nor the pulp remaining (pomace) have experienced significant fermentation at this step.

In red wines, initial fermentation is allowed to occur in the crushed, which extracts color from the skins of the grapes, giving red wine its color.

After 5-7 days,the juice which is pressed out (typically at about 3-5% ABV) is called either must or juice.  The remains of the pulp and skins are called pomace.

Both the must and the pomace contain active yeast cultures as well.

When must is used as a leavening agent, it can refer to either the fermenting juice or must.  The latter use seems to be primarily (at least in Roman cookery) used for making millet cakes that were intended to be used as a shelf stable leavening agent.[7]

Lees are the sediment that accumulates at the bottom of a brewing vessel after they have done their job, and it is sometimes also used to make brandy.

There are some wines that are allowed to age before racking to allow the lees to create different flavor profiles.

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[1] https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/tx/mul2-lib.htm?set_language=en

[2] https://historicalitaliancooking.home.blog/english/recipes/medieval-lasagna-with-walnuts-a-lenten-recipe/

[3] https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/tx/frati.htm

[4] https://www.medievalcookery.com/helewyse/libro.html

[5] https://delishably.com/grains/Lasagna-The-Easy-Recipe

[6] https://medievalcookery.com/recipes/douce.html

[7] https://tavolamediterranea.com/2017/09/01/baking-bread-romans-part-pliny-elders-leaven-starter-pasta-madre-levain/

 

Great Split Pea Soup, Lousy Toothpick Dispensers

If you have taken California's coastal highway, and not had some of Pea Soup Andersen's split pea soup, you are a fool.

It's excellent soup.

That being said, be careful with the toothpicks.  I have been ribbed about this for over 4 decades. 

In any case, here is the recipe.  It's vegetarian, but you can order it with ham.

If you wanted to keep kosher, you could add pastrami.

Andersen's Split Pea Soup

Vintage recipe for Andersen's Split Pea Soup from Andersen's Restaurant in Buellton, California. Family recipe. Vegan, Gluten Free.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: soup recipe

Kosher Key: Parve

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 236kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups green split peas
• 1 rib celery, coarsely chopped (single piece from a stalk)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled into very small pieces
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Sort the peas in a mesh strainer, removing any stones or impurities. Rinse them clean.
• Combine the peas, celery, carrot, onion, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne in a soup pot and cover with 2 quarts (8 cups) of water.
• Bring the pot to a boil. Keep at a high simmer for 20 minutes.
• Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the mixture cook for another 25-30 minutes till the peas are completely tender. Towards the end of cooking, add the seasoned salt, then add salt and pepper to taste. I use about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Use less if you're sodium-sensitive.
• Process the pea mixture through a food mill or a fine mesh sieve. A food mill will create the smoothest, creamiest texture.
• Process the pea mixture until all of the liquid is pushed through, and only pulp remains.
• A creamy soup will result.
• Bring the soup to a quick boil once more on the stovetop, then remove from heat immediately. If the soup seems too thick, add some hot water to thin it out to the desired consistency.
• Serve hot. I like to garnish the soup with a few breadcrumbs. Omit them to keep the soup gluten free and vegan. Keep leftover soup in a sealed tupperware. When the soup is chilled, it will solidify. Adding a little water and stirring as you reheat will help the soup to heat up more smoothly.

Notes

You will also need: Soup pot. mesh strainer, food mill

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 16g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 720mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1825IU | Vitamin C: 3.4mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 3mg

 

Anyone Know of Any Good Recipes for Groundhog?

It's Groundhog Day………

After hearing that pretty much all of the rodent pests predicted a late spring, I want to roast Punxsutawney Phil and the rest of his ilk on a spit.

In other Groundhog Day news, this being of the Harold Ramis/Bill Murray version, I have another Epstein post that I am working on.

It's Groundhog Day………

Oh crap. 

The Murder My Wife Pottage

 Last Night, Sharon ⃰  had a class where they were serving dinner. it's a Jewish thing, so I was just making dinner for Nat and me.

Given my wife's significant allergy to mushrooms, and a potentially life-threatening allergy to barley, I made mushroom and barley soup.  

If I don't have to cook for her, I can make something that she wouldn't eat anyway 

Actually, I got the proportions wrong, so it was more of a mushroom and barley pottage.

I added asafoetida to hot oil and stirred it for about 30 seconds, then I added chopped onions and grilled them until they were slightly brown, then added canned mushrooms and grilled them, and then added the liquid from the mushroom cans, a box of vegetarian chicken broth, some soy sauce, some nori, some vinegar, and a bag of pearl barley.

It turned out pretty good, and it was very hearty. 

Going Down the Rabbit Hole

For me, it commonly involves historical recipes.

I'm looking up something, and suddenly I have spent over three hours looking up a Renaissance era Lenten (no meat, eggs, cheese, or butter at that point in history during Lent) lasagna recipe containing walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and other spices.

It's called, "Monk's Head."

Other folks are obsessing about civil rights violations, jackbooted thugs kidnapping people of the street, and billionaire pedophile sex rings, and I'm doing old recipes.

I am the dullest mother f$#@er on the planet.

The Best Recipe for Tasty Instant Ramen

 Just add a 25 hour fast immediately before consumption.

That is all. 

Busy Night

For a good reason.

I had two firsts:

• My first homemade fresh pasta.
• My first spaghetti carbonara.

It went pretty well, though it took about 3 hours, what with me learning the ways of working pasta and the pasta machine.  (The one with the hand crank)

Also, it's turkey bacon and turkey pastrami, and vegan Parmesan because using ham or mixing cheese and meat in my wife's kitchen, (I just cook there, but she sets the rules) would result in acute lead poisoning, because it would treif up the dishes.

She would not shoot me, she would implant the bullets manually if I used traditional ingredients.

Recipes:

Fresh Semolina and Egg Pasta

Ingredients
•    1 cups all-purpose flour
•    1 cups semolina flour
•    1 pinch salt
•    3 large eggs
•    1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions

1. Sift all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Make a mountain out of flour mixture on a clean surface; create a deep well in the center. Break eggs into the well and add olive oil. Whisk eggs very gently with a fork, gradually incorporating flour from the sides of the well. When mixture becomes too thick to mix with a fork, begin kneading with your hands. 
   
   
2. Knead dough until it is smooth and supple, 8 to 12 minutes, Dust dough and work surface with semolina as needed to keep dough from becoming sticky. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap; allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
   
   
3. Roll out dough with a pasta machine or a rolling pin to desired thickness. Cut into your favorite style of noodle or stuff with your favorite filling to make ravioli. 
   
   
4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in the boiling water until tender yet firm to the bite, 1 to 3 minutes (or longer depending on thickness). Drain immediately and toss with your favorite sauce. 

Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb spaghetti
• 3 eggs large
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano freshly grated
• 5 slices turkey bacon diced
• salt
• ground black pepper
• olive oil
• scallion

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Once ready, drain the pasta and save a bit of water in reserve.
   
   
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and Pecorino Romano. Season with a pinch of salt and a generous amount of ground black pepper. Mix well.
   
   
3. Heat a skillet over medium to medium high heat. Cook turkey bacon with olive oil until brown and crispy, and add in scallion towards the end. Set aside and reduce the heat to low.
    
4. Quickly, while the skillet is still hot, stir the pasta + egg mixture and toss until spaghetti is coated. 
   
   
5. Toss the pasta consistently so you don't scramble the eggs. Add in a bit of reserved pasta water (if necessary) until desired consistency is reached.
   
   
6. Stir in the turkey bacon and scallion. Top off with more cheese and serve.

 

It's Thursday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mixed employment numbers this week, initial claims up 9,000, and continuing claims fell by 37,000 to 1.87 million.

This was over the Thanksgiving week, and the 4-day weekend makes for more statistical noise.

We should get more information tomorrow with the monthly jobs report:

Applications for US unemployment benefits rose to the highest in a month during a week that included the Thanksgiving holiday.

Initial claims increased by 9,000 to 224,000 in the week ended Nov. 30. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 215,000 applications.

The four-week moving average, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, edged up to 218,250.

………

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, dropped to 1.87 million in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

Also, imports fell last month, about 12% from the month before.

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

A Correction

Seems Appropriate

On July 3, 2016, a made a post including my recipes for Cornish (Devonian) pasties.

While I stand by my savory pasties, I just realized that I had left out sugar for my apple and blackberry sweet pasties.

I was looking the recipe up for baking an apple pie (multiply quantities by 3 for a 9 inch deep dish pie crust).

I apologize for my error.

Light Posting for a While

I am working on historical recipes for Trial By Fire & Lochmere Arrow (Take 2).

It's, "Take 2," because last year's event was canceled due to a hurricane hitting the area.

Gotta love anthropogenic climate change.

A Bit of Culinary Success

This is another attempt at my somewhat failed attempt to cook in clay from 2 weeks back.

Last night, I tried the recipe again, this time in an oven with parchment paper and aluminum foil instead of clay, and it turned out well, though I had to put it back in the oven when it was originally undercooked.

Basically, it's a roulade of lamb, and finely chopped allium, and beets.

It turned out quite nice, though the stuffing put out a lot of water when cooking.

I did it with lamb this time, and it is clear that the ancient Babylonians knew how to cook lamb.

The Joys of Asian Markets

So, I've been hitting Asian markets looking for lotus leaves, (more on this eventually) and I visited the Great Wall Supermarket, and buzzed past the fish section, and they had Halibut steaks for $9.99/pound.

I haven't had Halibut in about 55 years, when I lived in Alaska.

I've considered getting Halibut before, but this is the first time I've seen it for less than $25.00/pound.

I removed the bones, rather ineptly, the fish ended up in small pieces, and I grilled it in butter, garlic, pepper and other spices.

Ugly, but it was a good eat.

My First Command Performance

I was roasting some Charlie Bane (Cauliflower) tonight, and made a dressing to toss it in before baking.

I had Sharon* take a taste,and she said something to the effect of, "You are going to post this."

It's not exactly easy, as there is no recipe, I just threw this together, but here is what I did.

Make a dressing by combining:

• Equal parts olive oil and sesame oil.  (100% sesame oil would overpower the cauliflower)
• Add a roughly equal amount of balsamic vinegar.
• Add some powdered mustard.  (It serves as an emulsifier for the dressing)
• Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a bit of chili powder, and a pinch of cinnamon.
  

Mix with a fork or whisk until it comes together, then toss the cauliflower (pieces of the size you want, not the whole head) and shake off the excess.  (Charlie Bane is structured like a sponge, and you don't want to over power it)

Cook at a low temperature until it reaches your desired tenderness, and then crank it to 450 for ab out 15 minutes to caramelize it a bit, or not.

Take out of oven and eat.

Done.

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Light Posting Tonight

I am working on making a 393 year old recipe for chocolate.  (See below)

I am actually using only 6 cups of water, because I will be adding an equal portion (actually 1.5 liters) of rum (Mount Gay Eclipse Rum, of course) to make a cordial.

It is my first cordial, and I will be entering it into the Storvik Novice Tournament this weekend.

I actually first made the recipe in 2007.  It is from a recipe contained in a 1631 Spanish treatise which was translated into English in 1652 titled, in English anyway, Chocolate, an Indian Drinke.

It should end up about 40 proof and the interplay of the chocolate and the pepper and the rum should be interesting.

I had considered making two versions, one boiled, and one where the ingredients just steeped, but I would need a few weeks for the latter.

I did not grind as finely as I did the last time, I used a mortar and pestle instead of a coffee grinder, but as opposed to 15 minutes on the burner (though it is getting that), it will also have 4 days sitting in a mixture of 40 proof alcohol, which should finish the extraction.

Recipe for the non alcoholic version follows:

Light Posting Tonight

I spent most of the evening bottling some apple cider that I brewed.

It's the first time that I have brewed something in almost 40 years, and the first (1 of 3 bottles) time that I have ever attempted to brew a sparkling drink.  (The mead that I did previously was all still.)

Hopefully, I won't blow up a bottle.

One gallon of unfiltered apple juice (UK terminology, called Cider [because of Prohibition] in the US) and two cans of frozen apple juice concentrate, because good unfiltered apple juice is not that sweet.

I already have a second batch going, with some local unfiltered juice as opposed to the Atkins Farms that I used for my first batch.

If you are in the Amherst, MA area, get some of their apple juice.  It is sublime, and largely made from Macintosh apples.

Posted via mobile.

Racked My First Brew in 35 Years

All of my previous brewing has been mead, but this was apple cider, specifically made from a gallon of Atkins Farms apple cider.  (The cloudy kind that Americans call sweet cider, made from 100% apples, no water added,and what the British call apple juice).

Rather interesting is my discovery that there just was not enough sugar in there, so when I did my first racking, I tossed in a couple of cans of organic (one needs to be sure that there are no bacteriacide preservatives that would kill the yeast) apple juice concentrate.

Have not gotten vinegar, and the fermentation has perked up with the addition of the concentrate.

I will be adding cinnamon sticks and ginger in a bit.

The Ultimate Comfort Food

In honor of Sharon's* returning home from Memphis I made my family recipe baked spaghetti and cheese.

It's not high cuisine, and given Sharon's wheat sensitivity, I made a separate batch for her with rice pasta.

It's not particularly healthy, but it is home in a profoundly deep and meaningful way, at least for me, my family, and my brothers.

Recipe:

• 2-½ lbs. Spaghetti
• 2 lbs. American Cheese or Velveeta® (You might be able to substitute with a low moisture mozerella)
  
• 16 oz. Cottage Cheese

You can also add other cheeses, about 8 oz. Cheddar provides a nice flavor, and helps keep it from sticking by rendering fat out when it cooks.  

A bit of fresh mozzarella would probably be good too, though I am less sanguine about Swiss cheese (Emmentaler).

You cook the spaghetti no more than al dente,  and drain it.  You want it barely done or slightly underdone because it will take up moisture from the cheese during the cooking.

Then take the cottage cheese and put it in the pasta pot, and heat gently and melt all the cheese until you have a rather viscous sauce.

A non stick pan works, as does properly seasoned cast iron.

Then don gloves (otherwise, you will be picking cheese from under your finger nails for 3 days), and mix in the pasta until evenly distributed.

Cover the pot, and cook for about 45 minutes at 350°F (175°C), then remove the lid, and raise the temperature to 450° (235°C) and allow everything to crisp up for about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, since it is at a temperature approaching that at the heart of the sun,† then cut up and serve.

You can put sauce on it if you like, but I don't as I prefer the undiluted cheese and pasta explosion.

Unfortunately for my reader(s) this culinary experience has an intensely soporific effect, so I'm done for the night.

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.
^††No, it's not really that hot. Read a f%$#ing thermodynamics book. Better yet, don't. Thermodynamics text books suck.

Time for the Thursday Economic Dump

And we have a fair amount of data beyond initial unemployment claims, initial claims were up 2,000 to 204,000, basically flat, and continuing claims were basically the same, up 12,000 to 1.67 million.

The third update on the 2nd quarter GDP numbers were unchanged at 2.1% , which is good, but not great.

In addition to the above, "Meh," we have home mortgage rates hit a 23 year high, 7.31% the highest rate since December of 2000.

I still think that we are oging to have a hard landing.

The Joys of an Empty Nest

Nat is spending 6 days a week at working at a conference center, and Charlie just started spending about 5 days a week at College Park, where is he working at his bachelors.

What this means is that we can make things that our kids would not eat.

Tonight, it was New England Boiled Dinner.

Nat cannot tolerate red meat, and Charlie hates boiled cabbage, so this sublime dish has been off our family menu.

I made some tonight, and added some things, because even if it comes with a spice packet, it's not enough.

Specifically, in addition to bay leaf, pepper, and possibly pickling spice, adding the now-obscure spice Grains of Paradise and the not-so-obscure spice Juniper berries add a lot to the mix.

It's Friday

Have some medieval Haggis: