Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Necessity is the mother of garbage
We’re staying in temporary housing while we wait for this house deal to go through escrow. It’s a good-sized apartment, about 1000 square feet, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room/dining room, kitchen with a gas range and granite counter tops, and a washer and dryer. Oh, and it’s furnished, too! Everything we could ask for (and now, with INTERNET!)
But the kitchen is a bit lean. I had to buy a cutting board today, and I have so far resisted the temptation to buy a decent butcher knife since we own two (at least) (but they’re both packed). I’ve had to restock the kitchen with staples, which I never seem to do in a logical fashion.
So . . . I wanted to make that rhubarb crisp dessert I told you about the other week (click on the food category if you missed it), this time with peaches and nectarines and rhubarb. But I forgot that I needed corn starch. Worse, the recipe calls for flour, and I only had oatmeal. And matzo meal. So I used matzo meal instead of flour*, and I left out the corn starch; I reduced the water to 1/2 cup and crossed my fingers.
I had the usual thought at this point. Maybe I’ve discovered a new recipe! Maybe everyone will talk about my amazing matzo meal fruit crisp!
I took the first taste, and I didn’t think it was bad at all. Nothing incredible. Not a recipe that will go viral. So I gave some to Karen and Jake, and soon realized that I had failed to take into account The Matzo Effect: if you’re Jewish, everything tastes better with matzo. That’s just the way it is. But it only works if you’re Jewish.
Two big fehs from Karen and Jake. They both tasted a spoonful, and both had strawberry ice cream for dessert.
I can’t quite bring myself to throw it out. I like it, but I shouldn’t eat this stuff — I’m kind of dieting. And exercising. But I’m still fat. Fat! FAT.
Fat.
D.
*Turns out I had indeed bought flour, but put it in the freezer to keep it fresh . . . and then forgot about it. I’d outsmarted myself.
Diet tip #1 – peaches and nectarines are best as is, as long as they are actually ripe.
True, but I also need to cook for the wife & son, who are not dieting. If we were all overweight, it would make cooking much simpler.
I’m getting fat again too. Lost a lot of weight and it’s all creeping back on with so little effort. It’s all because the gym closed down.
Since I can’t inspire my lazy ass, let me try bellowing at you. Come on! Run, doug, RUN Or at least walk.
I love it when I outsmart myself which is often.
May I ask why you are closing the comments so quickly, Dr. Walnut. I am always late getting around and by the time I am ready to comment, BOOM – closed to me, the slow one. Is this some hacker phobia?
Kate: oh, I’m working at it. Pretty hard, actually. But it’s not peeling off as quickly as it has in the past.
Driver: yes, it’s the hacker issue. I’ll try expanding it to a longer time before lockout, but I want to back everything up first. Which means probably nothing will change until this weekend.