Category Archives: posts by j

biking again

i biked to the mar vista library today via venice blvd. i’m sure my tushie will complain tomorrow since i didn’t acclimate it to the saddle before today’s ride.

  • duration (moving): 25.54 minutes
  • avg spd: 10.4 mph
  • max spd: 18.3 mph
  • distance: 4.5 mi

limoncello 2015

i made so much more zest this year we had to buy a second bottle of 100 proof vodka. although i don’t have the measurements from last year, here they are for 2015:

  • 171.5 oz of lemons
  • 7.8 oz of zest
  • i juiced about 5 cups of lemon juice and made lemon ice cubes

music preferences

i’ve been working my way through our joint CD collection which contains over 400 CDs and i discovered that there are quite a few CDs we have in common (i.e., we purchased individually before we met):

  • 10,000 maniacs mtv unplugged
  • beaches soundtrack
  • bodyguard sountrack
  • chicago greatest hits
  • cranberries no need to argue
  • enya
  • erasure pop
  • la bouche sweet dreams
  • pet shop boys very
  • roxette look sharp!
  • roxette joyride
  • sting ten summoner’s tales
  • titanic soundtrack

n.b., ahhhh 90s music…

pretzels redux

this time we tried a pretzel recipe m discovered on diners, drive ins, and dives.

they were super fluffy, i’m not sure the malt (actually, the malted milk) worked (or didn’t work), the new york times “lye” was seemingly too weak (so i added another 1/8 cup to the second batch), and it took way more than 9 minutes to bake. the first batch i baked for 13 minutes (opening the door several times) and still wasn’t golden brown but was definitely fully cooked. these pretzels aren’t as oily but we also didn’t brush them before baking.

i used the redhead directions for the “lye” but perhaps i should’ve used the nyt directions for the “lye.”

the second batch is in the oven right now. i set the timer for 12 minutes and i’ll try to let them get golden brown without opening the door. at 15 minutes, some of them are golden brown so i’m trying 17 minutes right now. 17 minutes still yielded only medium brown and the outside is harder – no difference otherwise.

surprisingly, alton brown’s pretzel recipe we made previously were better in texture and flavor. we will have to try for a third recipe.

i am trying to channel delicious typography with the patterns on the parchment.

pretzels

m has been wantibng me to make pretzels for years. she’s been wanting me to make a lot of things for many years (sigh). i finally did it! although there’s a much more toxic, complicated way of boiling them in lye, i got away with baking soda and it spit white dust all over the stove and microwave.

pretzel

see the one with liquid pooling in the print? that’s the one m brushed with butter. of course.

pretzel parchment

blogging

i am working on a separate website dedicated to my photography and web development. i’ve thought long and hard about which photos i want to feature and how i want to feature them, which topics i want to discuss, and how much i want to reveal on social media. this blog is virtually nonexistent by web definitions. the other one, not so much, eventually.

it took me 3 full days to decide on a minimalist wordpress theme that forgets itself enough to focus on the content and allow intuitive interaction with said content. i have a plan for photos: storytelling ones on the homepage, collections of other interesting ones, and whatever i want in blog posts. to add to that, i am tweeting (mostly about food but also about graphics, web dev, and typography) and i am posting photos to instagram that aren’t on the website at all. photo tweets can be of any quality or subject. photos on instagram have to be of moderate quality or be nostalgic or tell a story. i am ignoring facebook altogether. at work, i used to disseminate content automatically from blog posts to twitter and facebook, but it always bothered me that if i was truly following these sources, i would only find repetition and blah. so my goal is not necessarily to blog/tweet/post often but to blog/tweet/post meaningfully. (and still maintain a modicum of privacy if such a thing is possible.)

if you’ve followed someone like maria popova, you’ll know that real blogging takes time – lots of time. on this site, i spout whatever i want without much regard, but well-crafted words require thought, preparation, and drafts. at first, i was a little worried i wouldn’t have enough content, but i know that’s unfounded. my goal is not to tweet five times a minute or blog three times a day. my goal is simple: share relevant, curated content on a regular basis. if i were to follow me, i would like to discover a wide variety of images and ideas that form a cohesive whole. ok, now go forth and create!

date night: status kuo

we first saw this restaurant in january (of course i sent a photo to kl) so when the BBE popped up for chicken, gravy, and brussels sprouts, i nabbed it. we nearly missed the window but we remembered to go just 1 day before the promo expired. we also forgot to feed the parking meter but, fortunately, no ticket so luck was on our side all night. m’s favorite was the squash (even though she wanted the chinese broccoli) but then it became the gravy and then it became the salad. the yuzu garlic bread, not so much.

i’m trying to get back into the groove of taking photos in public. sorry about the awkwardly focused mac & cheese. it was my favorite dish so i will blame it on wanting to get to the eating.