In all his years of practice, the vet says he’s never seen a dog climb on a chair and sit in front of his desk like this.
Byron goes to the vet
Month: September 2023
Life with a very cuddly dog
And now that the weather is turning cooler, he’s spending most of the night in bed with us rather than just saying hi and bye and splatting on the floor, as he’s been doing over the summer. Boy is a bed hog.
Red hot pointy stabby thing
Prepped the pin holes, heat treated (skating file tested!) and oven-normalised. Next steps: cleanup and final grinds.
[recipe] Rosemary olive bread
360g all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
1.5 cup mixed green & black olives
375ml warm water
1 large shallot
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
coarse sea salt
Place flour, kosher salt, sugar and yeast into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the flour mixture. Slice olives and
place in the well. Pour warm water into the well and stir until a rough, shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk and bubbly, 6 to 8 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Finely chop shallot. Chop until you have 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and turn the dough out onto it.
Sprinkle the dough with the shallot and rosemary. Fold the dough over onto itself 4 times to incorporate the add ins.
Flip the dough over and quickly shape into a round ball. Cover with a towel and let rise until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
About 30 minutes before the dough is ready, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and remove any racks above it. Place a large Dutch oven and its lid on the rack and heat the oven to 450F/220C.
Remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Use the parchment paper as a sling and carefully transfer the loaf, still on the parchment, into the Dutch oven. If desired, slash or cut the top of the dough with kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Cover the Dutch oven, place it back in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is browned and firm to tap, about 15 minutes more.
Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and use the parchment paper to transfer the bread to a wire rack. Cool at least 15 minutes before slicing the bread.
The many faces of Byron
[recipe] Shoyu chicken
1 cup water
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger
4 medium scallions
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Cooked white rice, preferably short grain, for serving
Place water, soy sauce), brown sugar, mirin, and black pepper in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Meanwhile, prepare the following, adding each to the pot as you complete it: Smash a 3-inch piece of ginger with the flat side of a knife. Halve 4 medium scallions.
Add 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to the pot skin-side down in an even layer (they can overlap). Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Uncover and flip the chicken thighs so that they are skin-side up, arranging them into a single layer. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a simmer so that the sauce bubbles between but not up and over the pieces of chicken. Simmer uncovered until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes more.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Spoon off any fat from the surface of the sauce. Serve the chicken and sauce with cooked white rice.
[recipe] Penne alla vodka
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
250ml vodka
2 (large 790g) cans peeled plum tomatoes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp fresh oregano
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
Serve with cooked Penne and grated cheese
Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.
Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 2 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1. 5 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Blend with immersion blender until smooth.
Add 2 tbsp fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.
Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan or other hard grated Italian cheese.
[recipe] Sucre à la crème
1 tbsp unsalted butter
500ml heavy/35% cream
500ml maple syrup
100h granulated sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
Flaky salt (optional)
Coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and line the buttered pan with a parchment paper sling that hangs over two sides of the pan by 2 inches.
Place all ingredients (except salt) in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
Cook without stirring over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches 110C or the soft ball stage, 30 to 35 minutes.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to 55C (do not stir), 25 to 35 minutes. Once cooled, remove the thermometer and stir with a wooden spoon just until the syrup loses its shine, thickens, and lightens in color, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the fudge mixture to the parchment-lined pan. Do not scrape the sides of the pan clean. Spread into an even layer, sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired, and cool to room temperature, 3 to 4 hours. Cut into 25 squares
[recipe] Pouding Chômeur
Sauce
310 ml heavy/35% cream
250 ml maple syrup
55 g brown sugar
Cake
115 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
85 g sugar
60 ml canola oil
2.5 ml vanilla
1 egg
90 ml milk
Sauce
With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°Cm
In a small pot, bring all of the ingredients to a boil while whisking. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Cake
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, vanilla and egg with an electric mixer. With the machine running on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk. Spread the batter out in an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan. Delicately pour the sauce over the cake.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.
What wifey does to cheer me up
Love my wife (and my dog)