Merrybellies

24hrs/48hrs/72hrs/and a bottle of sparkling red wine that made us wonder: why is it both? #pizzapizza https://www.instagram.com/p/B-nIeRDgx8O/?igshid=vcpjn6ez3zhj

🎵finally it happened to me🎵I am finally closer to the crust of my dreams. It still needs some work but this spelt/bread flour combo is a winner! Highly recommended! https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hDf0Igi5L/?igshid=rmo2falf1n7q

Christmas country

Tomorrow we are preparing a proper Cuban pork roast, with home-made mojo. We are letting it sit in it’s Kenji Lopez-Alt bath. I began preparing a country loaf a la tartine when Ana requested Cuban bread so there’s that too. Rice, black beans and yuca. There’s something thrilling about preparing a fuck ton of food when it’s only the two of us and a pretty kitty that was left in our care. Her name is Miska and her dad went to visit his sister in the UK who is celebrating getting divorced with a party. She’s the nicest and most (unexpectedly) emotionally promiscuous cat I’ve ever met. She’s already allowed us to watch her bathe. I hope to remember this Christmas for the rest of my life.

Bomb Shakshouka. Really into the addition of bell peppers here. (at Sweet & Pepper DAYS) https://www.instagram.com/p/B08OCQ4gU74/?igshid=vlcmqafzjc6x

Made some monster Korean toasts for dinner. Added pickled red onion to mine 😎 #toast #bread #koreantoast #milkbread #dinner #breadstsgram #sandwichporn #sandwiches #sandwich #sandwichstagram #pic #picoftheday https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz8X2hKgTED/?igshid=1nqeymq6qpsl1

Tested the Little Epicurean’s milk bread recipe this morning and forgot to halve the butter... so I guess this is now Steph’s butter bread? Slightly Crunchy exterior, fluffy + flaky interior. #bread #milkbread #butterbread #butter https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzp7gKJgQxz/?igshid=g7eyhky87so8

Tesco coming through with that halloumi, just in time for Ana’s last dinner as a 31 year old. #cheese #cheesetagram #food#foodstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/By0krX1AGou/?igshid=wdg5mvf2ckdh

My first brioche buns. The during and after-bake smell are heavenly 👼🏼 #bread #brioche #bake #baking #food #breadstagram #foodstagrammers https://www.instagram.com/p/ByxZbDjgCzm/?igshid=11mg81i3dufap

My current collection of flour. Not pictured are PAN and cake flour. Julia Child worked her puff pastry dough with cake flour, which I’m excited to try. My girlfriend can’t roll her eyes hard enough :)

We tried sushi sandwiches! #sushi #sushisandwich #sandwich #telaviv #israel #tlv #food #foodporn #foodphotography #foodie #foodgasm #foods #foody #foodstagram #foodlover #travel #traveling #travelphotography #picoftheday #pic #pics #foodpics (at סושי בר בזל ברמת השרון - Sushi Bar Bazel) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxud0srAldC/?igshid=1ieq6wj5x5jsm

This combination won me over because between those scrambled eggs and half bagel, there’s a layer of mayo. I never knew that was missing in my life. Then there’s the Israeli salad for good measure- perfect for any time of the day. #benedict #breakfast #bagels #bagel #egg #eggs #avocado #cilantro #breakfastsandwich #food #foods #foodstagram #foodporn #foodphotography #foodie #foodgasm #foody #foodography #foodlover #tlv #telaviv #travel #traveler #travelfood #travels #traveljournal (at Benedict בנדיקט) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxp5Ufug23u/?igshid=sb7sn9wxj5e2

Ana said she felt like she was in Miami eating these so I think I did something right. I’m really glad to have found masarepa in Prague and to have cooked up something from home to make us both so happy on this sunny day. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwR4iEaHdzk/?igshid=bbocdrbc0ogm

I had my first taste of decent Indian food in London. I felt that this was one of the things I had to do while visiting and it did not disappoint. I’m easy to please and most of my glowing compliments are laid in the foundation of a kitchen’s use of potatoes, so this time Gymkhana won me over with their basmati rice. I still see the rice when I wake up and how perfectly it was cooked. How perfectly it tasted with the butter chicken it sits next to in this first picture. I should be raving about butter chicken after all and how empty my life has been without it but perfecting rice is high on my list of priorities! In order: garlic chilli thetcha duck, ginger pindi bhatti murgh tikka, naan and Punjabi chole with sweet potato kulcha.

We enjoyed these amazing little cheese puffs at Elliot’s, across the way from Borough Market. Cheese puffs indeed, these little cheesy clouds would make Queen Liz Lemon proud.

London was pretty cool, after all. . . . .

Update on that Hokkaido Milk toast! I kneaded the sticky dough for 20 minutes until it wasn’t sticky no mo. Although most recipes call for a half hour of kneading. And a heater works as a nice proofer. The best thing I’ve learned over the last 2 weeks, is when working with sticky doughs, don’t add flour all at once; start with 80% and then gradually work in the rest. So handy with Hokkaido.