Wear, Watch, Want #113: The Cooked Tin Sandal Edition
Wear: Teva Original Universal Sandal
Well, the Pacific Northwest Spirit has fully possessed me, because I now own hiking sandals. I mean, these Tevas aren’t strictly hiking sandals, but I specifically shopped for hiking sandals, so that’s what they are. Plus, here in Seattle it’s downright popular to dress like you’re about to go hiking when you are, in fact, going out for bagels or whatever. I bought these bad boys to wear on long walks (i.e. “hikes”) when it was too hot to wear gym shoes. They’re like walking on air. Another bonus, and this may be specific to me but OH WELL, is that they don’t dig into my feet and give me little feet fat rolls. I initially bought another pair of hiking sandals, and I put them on at home on a day when my feet were a bit swollen (a regular occurrence for me) and to get the sandals tight enough to stay on I had to have them digging into my feet like an overstuffed sausage. With these Tevas I can very simply adjust the two velcro straps to suit my feet that day, without losing any stability or security in the fit. AND they cost HALF the amount of the first pair I bought and returned.
Watch: Bon Appétit on YouTube
First of all, let me say that I do not read Bon Appétit Magazine. But I have followed their Twitter account for a long time, because it’s an amazingly well run account, especially when compared to just about any corporate Twitter. Then, perhaps because of the Twitter follow, I started to be recommended some Bon Appétit YouTube videos, and almost immediately became my favorite show. The channel focuses on a handful of Bon Appétit staff who work in the test kitchen. Each of them has their own series, focusing on their own interested and skills.
Claire does Gourmet Makes, in which she tries to create a gourmet version of popular snack foods like Doritos, Twizzlers, Cheez-Its, and Starbursts. She always gets frustrated and it’s wild because what she’s doing is mind blowingly creative and skillful and just SO COOL.
Chris is a super taster, and he has a series where he is blindfolded and tastes a dish created by a famous chef. He then has to recreate the dish based on his observations and is graded on how close he gets. There are only two episodes of this one so far, but I want there to be one hundred. It is so fascinating, particularly for me, a person who cannot discern any tastes. SIDENOTE: I cannot tell if something is sweet or salty or whatever. When I was a kid we did a thing in school where we tasted things and had to say “this is bitter” etc, and I had NO IDEA what everyone was talking about. I have never met another person who has this experience but if you do, please contact me. I know there must be others like me. Also, this is not a sad thing. It’s fine! I have heard that coffee is bitter and I know that ice cream is sweet but when people say “This soup is salty” or “Carrots are sweet” I don’t get it. It’s FINE.
Despite my weird tasting disorder, I continue to love the Bon Appétit YouTube channel. All the test kitchen chefs came together for this series where they made the perfect pizza. Each one was assigned an aspect of the pizza - sauce, dough, cheese, etc - and had to come up with the PERFECT version of that thing. Then they all came together and combined the perfect ingredients to create the perfect pizza. It’s so compelling, comforting, and fun, it’s HOURS of entertainment, and it’s all FREE. And i only described three series! There’s It’s Alive, about fermentation, and Back-to-Back Chef where a celebrity follows only vocal cooking directions. And there are also just videos of chefs showing you how to make a recipe! And they put out multiple videos a week! I mean, Bon Appétit, your team is really killing it.
Want: Metal Muffin Tin
Today I attempted to make a banana muffin recipe, and it did NOT go to plan. There were multiple factors, but I think maybe one of the issues was that I was using a silicone muffin tin. Listen, I LOVE my silicone muffin tin. I’ve raved about it before, but maybe some recipes need that metal to conduct heat and help with the baking process. I got rid of my metal one because I loved the slilicone one so much, but now I’m thinking I may need both. Luckily for me (and you) Target”s Made by Design brand has fantastic essentials, like this $5 muffin tin, for super low prices. It’s like Ikea, but it won’t take four hours and destroy your relationship.
