I like figuring out how things work, but I habitually find myself asking, what’s the reason why they work the way they do?
So I look under the hood. I take things apart. I experiment. Sometimes I get it wrong.
Eventually, I get pretty good at putting things back together. Once it makes sense, I test, adjust, and see if I can make it better.
Make it make sense.
Recent Work
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Twenty Years, Apparently
Twenty years, a ridiculous pile of drafts, and I’m still doing this.
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How I Make the Chaos Make Sense
I have an idea, I document it, and then it disappears into the dark hole that is my Notes app. So I finally tried to make the chaos make sense.
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Lacto-Fermented Pickles, Batch #2: Problem Solved. Problem Relocated.
Batch #1 was insipid. Naturally, I made Batch #2. New jars, a new process, some improvised fermentation engineering—and one fuzzy little problem. Apparently making better pickles means figuring out new ways to fuck them up first.
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Papa’s Knife
After making passata with an old cook and his cheap paring knife, I came home and realized something: despite owning a roll of expensive professional knives, the one I actually use cost me nothing.
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Batch #1: Lacto Pickles — 5/10. Did I Screw Them Up, or Do I Just Not Like Lacto-Fermented Pickles?
My first batch of lacto-fermented pickles worked. Probably. The bigger question is whether I actually like lacto-fermented pickles.