Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
What I ate last week. Ranked #182 in food podcasts in Mexico according to an email I just got.
NEWS & UPDATES
One year anniversary
Food memory: Andrew Lauren productions, yogurt, 11 Madison park, rolling cigarettes, glass of scotch in the afternoons, first shake shack live cam
Only eating cake for safety
Blue bell lava cake, black raspberry
Tavern pizza is actually insane to make; cure in fridge or on counter which I can’t fathom with cats; I guess that’s one way to dock the dough
Taco Bell is being federally investigated for their role in the cyclospora outbreak but it’s actually Taylor farms whose branding I’ve always hated. Off brand sheets from bed bath beyond
https://health.yahoo.com/conditions/infectious/parasites/article/fda-says-positive-cyclospora-test-on-taylor-farms-lettuce-was-an-error-the-multistate-sickness-outbreak-continues-170436265.html
Recipes vary, but generally: Norwegian meatballs, known locally as kjøttkaker, are larger, oval-shaped patties made from a mix of ground beef and pork, bound with potato starch rather than breadcrumbs. They are heavily spiced with warming notes of nutmeg, ginger, and allspice, fried in butter, and served in a rich brown gravy (brun saus). [1, 2,
The Meat: A combination of ground beef and ground pork provides the ideal fat content and flavor. [1]
The Binder: Instead of breadcrumbs or oats, authentic kjøttkaker use potato starch (or cornstarch) mixed with milk or water, giving them an incredibly tender texture. [1]
The Spices: Warm seasonings like ground nutmeg, ginger, and allspice are staples, along with grated onion, salt, and pepper. [1, 2]
The Cooking Method: The mixture is shaped into oval patties or large balls and pan-seared in butter until deeply browned, then simmered in a dark, flour-and-butter-based brown gravy.
SCENTS
Trudon Revolution
Official description: https://trudon.com/us_en/revolution-perfume-100ml.html
Elemi: Elemi is a pale yellow, fragrant resin that yields a bright, citrusy, and peppery aroma with a crisp, pine-like freshness and a warm, balsamic, incense-like undertone.
Angelica is a unique botanical scent known for its earthy, herbaceous, and musky qualities. Derived from the roots and seeds of the Angelica archangelica plant, it offers a vibrant green, woody aroma with subtle, peppery undertones and acts as a natural fixative in perfumery
My blind review: spicy winter lodge, snow, collectible teddy bears, there’s a fire somewhere, my dad’s closet, being on a ski trip, getting into a stranger’s car, burning rubber, mouthwash. Smelling like your dad is kind of a day-ruiner.
INTERNET
90 Day: gabe keeps raw ground beef in a trash can full of water
Wikipedia (debut)
Wurstsalat (worst salad): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurstsalat
I have the Wurstsalat wikipedia page open on my browser and I sit and refresh it every day awaiting updates
Google Maps
Restaurant blurred for privacy https://maps.app.goo.gl/GxgDUJeKTJAw1ufD9?g_st=ic
https://maps.app.goo.gl/mw7tFCpy7sFRgmqFA?g_st=ic
Photo of a salad in quotes; salad bar creation from a salad bar that I assume had some lettuce in the core but was otherwise a giant dome of croutons and bacon bits with three ramekins of dressing; marked safe from cyclospora
TikTok
Harris teeter patio; apparently the bar is bumping at six forks at 5pm on a Friday; lowews has beer https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Gtcbrd/
Wildman’s pizza accepts pythons as payment https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8GnYL7h/
Italian rum cake https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8tYXp2w/
More cooking on alcohol https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8GnQM35/
Capital one cafe in Durham https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8GnreqK/
Green perpetual stew https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8GEqDKW/
Hairspray wine https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8GocwJu/
Purple hull pea jelly https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8tRvUQW/
Kathleen Meisenger went live making ladyfingers for a cherry tiramisu which is pretty much ideal content but it’s like hours. She piped them out in one giant squiggle to fill a sheet tray and then cut to size which is smart. Like why bother piping individual fingers and having to use multiple sheet trays. Taking fucking forever though. A couple hours later I checked back in and she tore the squiggles into individual strips and made a freeform tiramisu
Magnolia in Chicago shut down. This was the first cake recipe I made circa 2005 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8G3v3rP/
July 13, 2026 (Monday)
7am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
9am: Leftover pork hamburger steaks in gravy.
10:30am: A slice of buttermilk coffee cake, made at home.
2:30pm: Milton’s salt and pepper crackers with chive and shallot Boursin.
5:30pm: Ponzu chicken with cabbage and chives over basmati rice, made at home.
7pm: A slice of coffee cake.
Ponzu chicken with mirin instead of alcohol – better sweet flavor more like mall chicken
Coffee Cake (versus crumb cake)
Slightly healthier breakfast option versus crumb
Pancake Princess tested strange recipes; boy who bakes – i like his visuals but his coffee cake had more of a crumb which didn’t seem like a fair comparison and also included espresso powder which I never have on hand
https://www.thepancakeprincess.com/best-coffee-cake-bake-off/
https://www.apt2bbakingco.com/home/coffee-coffee-cake-from-one-tin-bakes
King arthur versus NYT; NYT cake had so much more butter if you did a 1:1 based on a stick of butter instead of the typical flour measurement
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/our-favorite-sour-cream-coffee-cake-recipe
Subbed buttermilk for the sour cream
Reduced sugar in cake by 20-30g and added to topping with additional pecans and salt; love the french butter crumb cake by entenmann’s which is saltier
Baked for 43 minutes or until thermometer registered 205; Light and fluffy
Good; would add more salt and butter next time, or use sour cream for richness / more fat; the cake itself doesn’t have any flavor: the vanilla and cinnamon are in the crumble
https://www.bostoncoffeecake.com/product/original_cinnamon_walnut_coffee_cake/coffee_cakes_and_minis
July 14, 2026 (Tuesday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
9am: A slice of coffee cake.
1:30pm: Milton’s salt and pepper crackers with chive and shallot Boursin.
2:30pm: Blue Bell vanilla and Jeni’s darkest chocolate ice creams.
6pm: Pork fried rice, made at home.
This coffee cake would be great with blueberries. When driving in southern NC last weekend I drove past a no-spray PYO blueberries sign and yelled at Brian to wake the hell up and figure out where the blueberry farm was but he failed me.
Graza mayonnaise is horrendous. Tastes like lipstick, natural gummies, something synthetic. Now I know why it was on sale. Thank god I also got two jars of Duke mayonnaise on sale. Graza mayo, ACV, mustard, sugar, garlic powder, parsley, carrot, onion, Rummo elbow macaroni.
https://www.graza.co/products/original-mayo?srsltid=AfmBOoqdPidXulHIkfCqLGOzWdEkdRHPgplglI1pDUqRDq3S6Yj8SwVc
Advanced hoodsie cup
Making fried rice smelled like eating at a Friendly’s. Old oil.
Pork chops marinated in soy sauce and cornstarch. Scrambled eggs, peas, onion, garlic, sugar, chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, white pepper
White pepper smells like a distant land
I dry season my fried rice from working at Mission Chinese; otherwise it gets wet when you start adding soy and oyster sauce
July 15, 2026 (Wednesday)
7am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
10am: Iced coffee with half & half from Meantime Coffee in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
11:30am: Leftover ponzu chicken and rice at the office.
Cake room: NYT Cooking Page-a-Day calendar recipes for Almond Cake With Saffron and Honey, Bloody Mary Tomato Salad, Roasted Chicken Thighs With Blueberries, Nimbu Pani (Limeade), Skillet Tortellini With Corn and Crispy Rosemary, and Cacio e Pepe Corn on the Cob.
4:30pm: A slice of spinach and feta pizza from Whole Foods, a leftover slice of coffee cake, and a bottle of Health-Ade passionfruit tangerine kombucha.
8pm: Popcorn, made by Brian.
Coffee cake gets better with age like a drakes crumb cake. Asked Brian if he knows what his favorite cake is and he said pie. He’s been eating the coffee cake every day.
Brian made popcorn that tasted like eggs but smelled like pancakes and sweet and sour chicken. Really interesting.
July 16, 2026 (Thursday)
9am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
10:30am: An apricot and a hard boiled egg, made at home.
1pm: Grilled white cheddar on olive oil toasted Whole Foods heritage grain sourdough, made at home, and a bottle of Health-Ade ginger lemon kombucha.
3pm: Jeni’s darkest chocolate ice cream.
6pm: Frozen leftover lasagna.
Started the day off strong, eating whole foods. A whole apricot. A whole egg. Whole bottle of kombucha. If I had a whole cake I would eat that too.
Almost harvested squash blossoms that are growing in my compost but I thought it would be more fun to let them pollinate and see what grows
Jeni’s lemon blueberry parfait tastes like an outshine bar blueberry parfait ice cream tastes like an Outshine bar
Tried to find wildfire smoke news coverage but CNN was instead showing footage of people making pasta in Italy narrated by Stanley Tucci. Breaking news: people in italy are making pasta.
Tasted a coconut bon bon and Brian yelled to immediately throw them all away. They were disgusting. Tasted like sweet wax. Supposedly coconut.
https://shop.nuts.com/products/coconut-bon-bons?variant=67344458645526
July 17, 2026 (Friday)
10am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
11am: Grilled white cheddar on olive oil toasted Whole Foods heritage grain sourdough, made at home.
1pm: A bottle of Health-Ade blood orange, carrot, and ginger kombucha.
3pm: Two apricots.
6pm: A beef quesadilla tray with cheese curds, Cajun fries, and ranch from Cook Out in Oxford, North Carolina.
8pm: Jeni’s salted caramel ice cream.
Can’t remember the last time I had a fresh apricot. They are good. I like when they are firm and a little tart and don’t taste like much. Not too sweet.
Brian really wanted to go to Golden Corral. I’ve never been. We had something similar growing up in CT and my mom wouldn’t let us go. I think it was called the ground round. Anyway all of the Golden Corrals around me are permanently closed. I guess there’s one in south Raleigh still open by where Brian works and it got him all excited.
The more i read the cookout menu the more I learn. did you know that you can get a slice of cheesecake? With any of the milkshake toppings?
July 18, 2026 (Saturday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
12pm: A slice of blueberry crumb cake, made at home.
3:30pm: Spicy mandu, kimchi, soy potato salad, cheesy corn, tonkatsu with pickled white radish and rice, and dak gae jang at Ajumma in Cary, North Carolina.
6pm: Imoto Mame bean cracker mix and a glass of iced tea, made at home.
The Korean restaurant staff offered Brian an apron to wear as a bib while he ate his soup. They didn’t offer one to anyone else. The restaurant was packed. Brian and I used to go to a place in Chicago also called Ahjoomah’s Apron in Chicago and he would always get yukgaejang. Our server was losing her mind that Brian ordered his soup as spicy as possible and ate all of it. It wasn’t that bad. Shin ramen is spicier. Potato salad was great – just super soft potatoes poached in some sort of soy-based sauce with thinly sliced carrots. Cheesy corn was odd at first but then really deeply good but I was confused as to how to eat it. Felt like something that should go on a crostini. Katsu was good; housemade sauce was good but very sweet.
Nagas is goated; so much they can’t fit it all in the buffet. We ran out of time though. Went to the Japanese grocery store and got extra hot golden curry for all our potatoes. Plus curry croquettes
This bean cracker mix – i used to eat a whole bag alone in chicago.
Blueberry coffee cake (no pancake princess reporting)
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/blueberry-buckle-coffee-cake-recipe
Butter is divided between streusel and cake so as not to load on a bunch of butter by adding a streusel
https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/07/blueberry-crumb-cake/
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blueberry-crumb-cake-recipe-1953453
This has a ton of butter; plus sour cream
https://butternutbakeryblog.com/blueberry-sour-cream-coffee-cake/
Who is Butternut? It’s hypocritical for me, a random person on the internet, to question a random person on the internet, but it’s hard to trust someone on the internet when you can’t understand their point of reference in terms of taste. When someone has a background working in a certain bakery or even owning a bakery it’s easier to understand what style or flavor profiles they develop rather than someone who is potentially just harvesting clicks and making recipes that photograph well for instagram. Also I don’t want to say that people who haven’t worked in restaurants can’t cook or bake, or that cooking and baking at home isn’t valid, because it is and it’s very different, but I do think that restaurant work is great training, unless it’s like heating stuff up in a microwave. Author Shwartz never worked in restaurants.
Blueberry Crumb Cake by Dorie Greenspan via NYT Cooking (5 stars, 1800 ratings)
Maybe perfect? Butter divided between topping and cake with a few extra tablespoons added which I think I want. Uses buttermilk! And lemon. Crumbs are somewhere in between a crumb and a streusel and incorporates nuts. Only uses 1/4tsp cinnamon compared to the 2 tsp in the King Arthur coffee cake I made so I will definitely adjust.
Increased cinnamon to 2 teaspoons, divided between cake and crumb; increased salt to almost 2 teaspoons of diamond crystal, also divided between cake and crumb, increased lemon zest to full lemon; used pecans instead of walnuts for crumb
Did a layer of cake batter, then blueberries, then cake batter, then crumb
Full 60 minutes at 350 or until thermometer registered 195-200. The pecans start to catch at this point. It’s good but I like the King Arthur version better. Also need to try at room temp because this slice was hot. Better at room temp but still didn’t love it. The cake has more butter overall but the cake itself has less than the KA cake which I thought could have used more butter. Maybe I’ll try NYT next.
July 19, 2026 (Sunday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
10:30am: Scrambled eggs, fried masquerade potatoes and Red Long of Florence onion with chives, garlic powder, and Chinese chili flakes, and a small slice of blueberry crumb cake, made at home.
2pm: Imoto Mame bean cracker mix.
5pm: Sour yellow curry with long red beans, potatoes, cabbage, and Thai basil over basmati rice, made at home.
6pm: Jeni’s Boston cream pie ice cream.
7pm: Arco orange and lemon filled hard candies.
Ran out of curry but had two small cans of yellow sour curry and sour curry. What’s the difference? Turmeric vs shallots. One is from the south, one more north. Long beans and cabbage are used in home cooking versions which was perfect. Served Brian’s over scallops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaeng_som
Boston cream pie flavor having yellow cake in it makes no sense. Just call it yellow cake
https://jenis.com/products/boston-cream-pie
Tastes like the time I was visiting my sister in chicago for her birthday and my sister’s roommate made a Boston cream pie ice cream cake but she wanted it to be ready before I left for the airport so she assembled it while the cake was still warm and it turned into soup. Hershey’s chocolate syrup. I’d been wanting a vanilla soft serve with chocolate sauce all day and this didn’t help.