KitchenBeard

Good morning.

A few thoughts as I was cooking today. I also am experimenting with audio. You can hear my narration at the link at the top. I’m still not used to hearing my own voice but I think that will change as I go. kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/sunday?r=a...

My face when I have a breakthrough after being stuck trying to get the 1st chapter of my novel started and it suddenly just falls into place because I went back and simply asked what my main character's day would be like. Ch. 1 started and Ch. 2 & 3 on the horizon.

I’m beginning to think about Thanksgiving. Besides the usual, what do you make that might be a little different?

My boss comes back from vacation tomorrow which means there's an avalanche of emails about to descend on us. Today, in preparation, I am disassociating with House & Garden UK and Lucy Worsley.

Playing with the pesto potato salad idea. Adding more celery than usual. Labneh instead of mayo. A tsp of miso. A can of smoked trout. My ratios need work. The sauce volume overwhelms everything else. Thinking what other veg could fit in. It’s a start.

www.washingtonpost.com/food/2026/10...

Can we just get past the election so I can stop getting texts from candidates on the other side of the country that all seem to start with BREAKING?

I'm genuinely saddened to read this. I spent several years in the 90-00s studying acting here eventually working my way into an invitation only advanced scene study class. It remains a highlight of my life in NY & much of the work I did there made me who I am today. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/r...

Stopped by Bernal Cutlery to get some knives sharpened and picked up a new one while I was there. A workhorse versus a pretty one. Took it for a walk when I got home. A joy to work with something freshly sharp again.

New(ish) photo equip. 2nd hand but still does what I need which is to get me taking pictures on the fly again.

This summer I grew black eyed susans in a pot & they did well until they stopped blooming. I shredded the deadheads & threw the seeds around in the wind. Today, I discovered a wee volunteer growing smack dab in the middle of the yard. I said “Well, hello there you.” & gave it a drink. Little joys

New bifocals. These are going to take some getting used to.

Another 500 word fiction. My Entry into the “Half-a-Grand Flash Fiction Contest Entry” for the "Five Minutes To Midnight: Genre Mash-Up" on Substack. I chose Witch/curse + Family Drama. After the story, follow the link for more info. kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/midnight-c...

I’m beginning a fiction writing project and starting with a series of 500 word short stories. My only parameter is that food needs to be a core element of each story. I’d love your feedback as I go. kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/banana-bread

It’s been over 35 years since I last read this. It’s been popping up in my algorithm lately and I found i couldn’t remember a single word of it. I’ve read two pages so far and I’m enraptured.

Asking myself if i have time tomorrow to make rainbow gem cookies. #gbbobakealong

There’s a new baby in the GBBO opening.

Got my eyes checked and dialated today. I can hear color.

"By that point the work bench is getting full so I take a look at what I have. I know what I need to do now. The voice in my head says “Let’s go.” kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/quick-ench...

I made pulled pork last weekend, and tonight I'm making enchiladas with the leftovers.

kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/my-mothers...

lithub.com/9-to-5-insid...

sfstandard.com/2026/09/21/h... SF could soon let people sell hot food from their homes

I've bought several books from Bonnie. I'm with her on this. evgrieve.com/2026/09/line...

Put 3# pork shoulder in a dry rub. Gonna let it sit overnight. Will pop it in a low oven with my own chix stock in the morning and also get a pot of beans going. Dinner ready by 4.

I haven’t made pulled pork in over a year. Must change that this weekend.

Well, drat. That's no fun. www.them.us/politics/gri...

When was the last time you wanted to get on a bus and take it as far as you could go and then do the same on the next one and then do the same on the next and then do the same on the next one and then do the same on the next one and just keep going and never looking back?

Simsons HAHA voice. sfist.com/2026/09/14/o...

We thought about keeping the lease on the house after she died. After all, it was the closest thing we had to a homestead. Despite all its quirks, we loved it because all it’s odd angles and weird ways were a reflection of the odd weird ways of my family. kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/my-mothers...

I’ve been walking around short tempered and weepy all day. Just on the tipping point of either exploding in anger or bursting into tears. Very unlike me but then I realized what day it is and I cut myself some slack.

Made my 1st recipe out of the Escoffier. Haricot rouge. Didn’t follow it exactly due to it calling for wine but stayed true beyond that. Easily some of the best beans I’ve ever made. Served with bratwurst & rice with parsley and spinach. I’m happily quite full culinaryexplorer.app/r/2156-red-b...

kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/resurfacin...

It kind of sticks in my craw that in the opening credits of "9 to 5" everyone's alarms are going off at 7am and all I think is "Those bitches get to sleep that LATE?"

I collect antique cookbooks & had to come up with a way to protect them from dust, moisture & light. This barrister popped up on Marketplace last week and I bought it last night for a price I could manage so I can store books with intentional care & fret a little less about taking care of them.

What I hadn’t counted on was my middle-aged eyes not being able to see the eye of the needle when trying to load the machine. Like totally unable to see it. The instructor had to reload my machine 4 times for me and I began to feel embarrassed & frustrated. kitchenbeard.substack.com/p/resurfacin...

I may have just spent 4 figures on this one book.

I took a sewing bootcamp class yesterday and came home with all this that I made. And then because I’m a competitive obsessive person I sat up until 11 doing it again with my own fabric on my own sewing machine including an hour trying to thread the fucking thing with late middle aged eyes

My latest acquisition as a reward to myself for getting an A average in the certificate program. The Royal Cookery Book Jules and Alphonse Gouffé 1869

Tomato and nectarine salad with goat cheese, pistachios and a labneh, Meyer lemon and zatar dressing

In January I weighed over 200 pounds. With the new job, I started walking to work most days. Sometimes I walk home too. 45 minutes each way. Today I weighed 185 pounds. The last time I weighed 185 was after several days of food poisoning. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Dinner. New York strip. Cauliflower purée Portobello and leeks. All cooked in plenty of butter. Herbs from the backyard. Decided to pull out the pretty plates because if you’ve got them, use them. Intentionally plated to give my brain something to focus on and quiet some very loud noise.

When a brand changes hands this many times, the name becomes the product and the pan becomes a cost to be managed beneath it: thinner steel here, an offshored handle there, a warranty rewritten by lawyers instead of engineers, and so on… www.worseonpurpose.com/p/your-cookw...

Whole wheat spaghetti cooked down in tomato sauce with pan roasted carrots, onions, walnuts and capers.