The resulting waffles were light in density, and crispy on the outside. I froze the leftovers, which are a great replacement for store-bought ones.

Previously frozen waffle, reheated in toaster oven, then topped with choco-hazelnut spread. Yum.

This batch made 18 waffles, in the non-Belgian style: 25 cells instead of 16 for more surface area! I have a Chef’s Choice WafflePro 852 maker, so the settings mentioned below are based on that model.

Yessss, the flour and starter measurements are approximate. I usually adjust the dry and wet ingredients after the overnight rising and the addition of eggs: Add a bit more flour, or lessen or increase the amount of water with the baking soda, until the batter is not too thin or too thick.

You can keep leftover batter in the fridge, but we used up the entire batch, and froze the uneaten waffles—after allowing them to cool to room temperature. Because they are so light, and not at all cake-like, use a low setting when reheating the waffles in a toaster or toaster oven, otherwise they’ll burn or get too hard.

Ingredients

• 4 3/8 ounces (125 grams) whole wheat pastry flour (next time perhaps try all whole wheat pastry?)
• 4 3/8 ounces (125 grams) white pastry flour
• 2 to 3 ounces (50 to 60 grams) bread flour
• 2 to 3 ounces (50 to 60 grams) sourdough yeast starter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups warm milk (100º to 110ºF degrees)
• 1 stick (4 ounces, 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted (100º to 110ºF degrees)
• (next day) 2 eggs
• (next day) 1/4 teaspoon baking soda mixed in about 1/4 cup water
• (next day) canola oil, as a spray or to be applied with pastry brush

Method

1. Whisk together all the flours, sugar, and salt in a large bowl (I use a glass one with a handy pouring spout, removable lid, and handle).
2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and slowly mix in the the milk, followed by the melted butter. There might be a few lumps of flour, but a whisk usually takes care of most of them. The rest tend to disappear overnight, too.
3. Cover tightly (just in case the batter reaches the top; you don’t want any oozing out) and leave on the counter overnight, for at least 8 hours. Don’t be surprised if the batter starts to smell like a rich beer; it will still end up tasting like waffles in the end!
4. Next day (morning, usually), get the waffle griddle warmed up. For my electrical model, I set it at the highest setting, 6, while I finish the batter.
5. Completely whisk in the two eggs. Dissolve the baking soda in water, then whisk that into the batter, which might become slightly bubbly.
6. Lightly spray waffle maker with canola oil. With my waffle maker, each waffle took about 1/3 cup of batter. Cover and bake on setting 5 for 4 minutes. Might need to toss the first batch (or, don’t photograph them , which might appear too pale or too gummy, like crêpes. Might not need to spray again for the entire batch, but keep the oil handy, just in case the waffles start to stick. Reheat the waffle maker at the highest setting between batches.
7. Serve warm, with butter, maple syrup, jams, fruit curds, chopped fruit, powdered sugar, chocolate-nut spread, etc. I have not yet tried savory waffles with eggs, tomatoes, or bacon. Maybe one of these days.

I prefer the VoiceOver method, but both work fine on iPhone and iPad in iOS 6.

Using VoiceOver

Via a helpful comment in the TUAW article. This is particularly useful for reading continuously, like for longer pieces.

1. In the iOS Settings app, go to General > scroll down and select Accessibility > scroll down to and select the Triple-click Home section.
2. Under “Triple-click the Home Button for:” select VoiceOver.
3. Go into iBooks, and open an ebook. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in pagination (“Book”) or scrolling mode.
4. Go to a page containing text.
5. Triple-click the Home Button, which turns on VoiceOver; you should hear, “VoiceOver on…”
6. Tap on some text; this will read aloud the selected line.
7. To continue reading, do a 2-finger swipe downwards.
8. To pause reading, tap on a line of text—or, anywhere in the current page. Note that the selected line will be read aloud, but then VoiceOver will pause.

Using the Selection menu

This is more useful for reading aloud a selection, rather than continuous reading.

1. In the iOS Settings app, go to General > scroll down and select Accessibility > Under the Vision section, turn on Speak Selection.
2. Go into iBooks, and make sure that scroll mode is on. That setting is under aA > Themes > Scroll.
3. Double-tap to select a word; this will bring up the selection menu.
4. Drag the right-hand selection handle (line-with-a-dot-at-bottom) to select what you want read aloud.
5. In the Selection menu, tap Speak—you might need to tap the right arrow to display this option.
6. The text will be read aloud until the end of the selection is reached.

Cake

• 6 ounces (1 1/2 cubes) unsalted butter
• zest of 1 orange
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar, 2 to 4 tablespoons of which is vanilla sugar
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 ounces white or whole wheat pastry flour, or a mix
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Syrup

Mix the following in a small glass jug.

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice; the fruit used for zest should be enough
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier liqueur
• 1 teaspoon sugar, if the juice isn’t sweet enough

Ganache

I used Guittard’s 61% (cocao solids) semisweet chocolate. First I zap the cream in the microwave until scalding (30 to 60 seconds on high, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t foam over), then whisk in the chocolate. The heat nicely melts the chocolate without burning it. Best to wait for the ganache to reach room temperature—you don’t want it too liquidy that it’d all run down to the bottom of the cake.

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Method

1. Grease and sugar a round 9-inch springform cake pan, with its bottom lined with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325ºF degrees (I used the convection bake setting). Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl, and set aside.
2. Melt and make brown butter. Stir in orange zest. Set aside to cool and infuse.
3. Whip eggs, sugars and salt until pale yellow, foamy and ribbony. I used the high setting with the whisk attachment on my stand mixer for about 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Fold in flour mixture, followed by the brown butter-orange mixture. You can use a balloon whisk for this, or, gently cheating like I did, continue using the whisk on the stand mixer to gently incorporate the ingredients. For the latter, I do that until things are mostly mixed, then finish incorporating everything by hand with the balloon whisk. I found that sometimes with this combination method I’m less likely to overbeat the ingredients with the balloon whisk. YMMV!
5. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown, and when a skewer comes out clean—without wet, uncooked batter.
6. While cake bakes, prepare the orange syrup and ganache. When the cake is done, gently pour the syrup over cake while still warm in the pan. Set aside to cool until at least room temperature before applying the ganache. Remove the cake from the pan, and pour the still liquid (room temperature) ganache over it. Mmmm.

For easier list jumping:

• Comics
• Longer fiction
• Shorter fiction: Warning, it’s a very long list!
• Art monographs
• Non-fiction
• Unfinished books and comics

Comics

As various series wrapped up, most notably xxxHolic and Castle Waiting (sob), new ones were happily discovered. Some of these have NSFW online content, so I’ve noted those as such. In addition, because most of these are independent comics, some of the ongoing ones have erratic updates as some creators work on them part-time.

ABe, Yoshitoshi. I am an Alien. I have a Question.

Bennett, Diana “Shazzbaa.” Runewriters (ongoing).

Bieser, Scott and Zeke.Quantum Vibe (ongoing). Occasionally NSFW.

Bitner, Emy. Trying Human (ongoing). Occasionally NSFW.

Burns, Charles. X’ed Out and The Hive; first two volumes of a trilogy. NSFW.

Cairns, Jon. Alpha Flag (ongoing).

Chmiel, Marjee and Lanz, Sandra. Luci’s Let Down. Buy a copy here.

CLAMP. Clover, volumes 1 through 4, and Gate 7, volume 1.

Dalquist, Chloë. Jamie the Trickster (ongoing). Occasionally NSFW

Díaz Canales, Juan. Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows.

Dresden, Kris. I started reading Manya back in the 1990s, but didn’t finish it since it didn’t really work for me. However, I did enjoy her more recent stories She Said and Grace. Occasionally NSFW.

Dresden, Kris. She’s In the Trees, and various short stories.

Flores, Madéleine. Once Upon a 4 O’clock in the Afternoon and Madéleine is Here! (ongoing).

Helmer, D. The Meek.

Henshaw, Julian. The Art of Pho, Requires Flash to view.

Iwaoka, Hisae. Saturn Apartments, volumes 1 through 6 (ongoing).

Knisley, Lucy. Crave This.

Larson, Hope. Mercury.

Lemire, Jeff. Sweet Tooth: Out of the Deep Woods, volume 1.

Meconis, Dylan. Family Man (ongoing).

Meconis, Dylan. Outfoxed, a short story webcomic.

Migdal, Sylvan. Athena Whatley, or, Warp and Weft (ongoing). Sometimes NSFW.

O’Connell, David. Tozo – the Public Servant.

Recipe Comix at Saveur.com.

Rickheit, Hans. Ectopiary (ongoing). Sometimes NSFW.

Rickheit, Hans. The Squirrel Machine. NSFW.

Rosca, Madeline. Hollow Fields, volumes 1 through 3.

Stiffler, A. Chaos Life (ongoing).

Smut Peddler, edited by Spike, Trisha Sebastian, and Johanna Draper Carlson. Oh so definitely NSFW, but so good.

Steve Rodgers’ American Captain (ongoing).

Suburbia, Liz. Sacred Heart (ongoing). Occasionally NSFW.

Takashima, Rica and Koka, Takami. Tokyo Love and Grace and Miki After School.

Telgemeier, Raina. Drama.

Tezuka, Osamu. Princess Knight, volume 1.

Unita, Yumi. Bunny Drop, volumes 1 through 7 (ongoing).

Wall, Heidi and Geneva. Summoned Creature.

Wiedle, J. Helvetica.

Wilgus, Alison. A Stray in the Woods (ongoing).

Wilson, G. Willow. Air: Letters From Lost Countries, volume 1.

Woolfson, Alex and Artifice. Occasionally NSFW.

Yang, Gene Luen. Level Up and Prime Baby.

Yoshizaki, Seimu. Kingyo Used Books, volumes 1 through 4 (ongoing).

Yumi, Kiiro. Library Wars, volumes 1 through 7 (ongoing).

Long Fiction

Carey, Jacqueline. Saints Astray. Not as moving and awesome as the first book, Santa Olivia, but still a good and worthwhile read.

Carriger, Gail. Alexia Tarabotti series: Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, and Timeless.

DiTerlizzi, Tony. A Hero For WondLa, the second book in the WondLa trilogy.

Klein, Rachel. The Moth Diaries.

Jemisin, N.K. The Kingdom of Gods

Lakin-Smith, Kim. Cyber Circus.

McCloskey, Michael. Trilisk Ruins.

Millet, Lydia. The Fires Beneath the Sea.

Oliver, Jana. The Demon Trapper’s Daughter and Retro Demonology.

Pelland, Jennifer. Machine.

Perkins, J.F. Renewal, book 1.

Resnick, Mike. Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future.

Schenk, Bradley W. The Lair of the Clockwork Book.

Taylor, Laini. Days of Blood and Starlight, book 2 of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy.

Yolen, Jane. The Cards of Grief.

Shorter Fiction

Again, due to sheer volume, I’ve limited myself to my favorite shorts of 2012—imagine an for each of these. Many of these are free to read, or listen to, from these online sources:

• Escape Pod
• PodCastle
• Podiobooks.com
• Clarkesworld Magazine
• Lightspeed Magazine and Fantasy Magazine
• Tor.com

Several authors wrote multiple stories I loved—like Hilary Moon Murphy, Ann Leckie, Ken Liu, and more!—so I look forward to reading their other works, perhaps novels, if available.

Abraham, Daniel. “The Curandero and the Swede.”

Ahmed, Saladin. “Iron Eyes and the Watered-Down World.”

Alexa, Camille. “Flaming Marshmallow and Other Deaths.”

Allen, Mike. “An Invitation Via Email.”

Ashby, Madeline. “βoyfriend,” “The Education of Junior Number 12,” “Fitting a New Suit,” “Off-Track Betting.“

Beagle, Peter S. “Barrens Dance,” “The Fable of the Octopus,” and “The Fable of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.”

Bear, Elizabeth. “Love Among the Talus” and “The Something-Dreaming Game.”

Blackwell, J.R. “My Angel Gabriel.”

Bobet, Leah. “Three Days and Nights in Lord Darkdrake’s Hall.”

Bradbury, Ray. “Homecoming.”

Brennan, Marie. “A Heretic By Degrees.”

Brown, John. “Bright Waters.”

Bull, Emma. “De La Tierra.”

Burgis, Stephanie. “Behind the Rules.”

Butler, Pete. “Lust for Learning.”

Cadigan, Pat. “Roadside Rescue.”

Carlson, Jeff. “Pressure.”

Charlton, Blake. “Endosymbiont.”

Chiang, Ted. “Hell Is the Absence of God.”

Chui, Janet and Lundberg, Jason (editors). A Field Guide to Surreal Botany.

Clare, Gwendolyn. “All the Painted Stars” and “Brass Canaries.”

Cooney, C.S.E.. “Household Spirits.”

Copley-Woods, Haddayr. “The Desires of Houses.”

Crosshill, Tom. “Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes.”

Crowley, John. “Snow.”

Dedman, Stephen. “A Single Shadow.”

Dellamonica, A.M. “The Cage.”

DeRego, Jeffrey R. “Union Dues: All That We Leave Behind,” “Union Dues: Tabula Rasa,” “Union Dues: All About the Sponsors,” “Union Dues: The Threnody of Johnny Toruko,” and “Union Dues: The Sum of Its Parts.”

Dermatis, Dayle A. “What Dragons Prefer.”

de Vries, Jetse. “Transcendence Express.”

DiChario, Nick and Resnick, Mike. “The Sweet, Sad Love Song of Fred and Wilma.”

Doctorow, Cory. “Other People’s Money,” “Printcrime,” and “Shannon’s Law.”

Duncan, Andy. “PC030: Grand Guignol.”

Edwards, Sarah L. “The Tinyman and Caroline.”

Ferebe, K.M. “Seven Spells to Sever the Heart.”

Ferenczi, Peter M. “The Womb Factory.”

Foster, Eugie. “The Snow Woman’s Daughter.”

Francisco, Ben. “Tio Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts.”

Frazier, Tony. “Astromonkeys!”

Gaskell, Stephen. “Thargus and Brian.”

Gray, Caspian. “Insect Joy.”

Gregory, Eric. “The Sympathy.”

Goonan, Kathleen Ann. “Electric Rains.”

Gudgel, Andrew. “Nightshift in the Automart.”

Haldeman, Joe. “Four Short Novels.”

Haskell, Merrie. “An Almanac for Alien Invaders,” “Dead Languages” and “Five Rules for Commuting to the Underworld.”

Hobson, M.K. “God Juice” and “The Hag Queen’s Curse.”

Hoffman, Nina Kiriki. “Ghost Hedgehog.”

Jemisin, N.K. “Cloud Dragon Skies,” “The Narcomancer,” “Red Riding Hood’s Child,” and “Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, In the City Under the Still Waters.”

Jia, Xia. “A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight.”

Johnson, Alaya Dawn. “Shard Of Glass.”

Johnson, Kij. “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change.”

Kaftan, Vylar. “Christmas Wedding,” “Fulgurite” and “The Sighted Watchmaker.”

Kehrli, Keffy R.M. “Advertising at the End of the World.”

Kenyon, Kay. “The Acid Test” and “The Last Wave.”

Kiernan, Caitlin R. “Ode to Katan Amano.”

Kirtley, David Barr. “Beauty” and “Blood of Virgins.”

Klages, Ellen. “House of Seven Librarians.”

Klaver, Christian. “The Right Kind of Town.”

Kling, Jim. “Semi-Autonomous, Or For Whom the Warranty Tolls.”

Kloster, Gary. “From Their Paws, We Shall Inherit.”

Kosmatka, Ted. “N-words.”

Kowal, Mary Robinette. “Chrysalis” and “Jaiden’s Weaver.”

Kress, Nancy. “Margin of Error” and “Nano Comes to Clifford Falls.”

Kritzer, Naomi. “Honest Man.”

Lake, Jay. “The Angle of My Dreams” and “On the Human Plan.”

Laidlaw, Marc. “Sleepy Joe.”

Leckie, Ann. “The Nalendar,” Marsh Gods.”

Lee, Tanith. “Rapunzel.”

Levine, David D. “The Last McDougal’s,” “Wind From a Dying Star,” and “Written on the Wind.”

Liu, Ken. “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species,” “The Five Elements of the Heart Mind,” “State Change.”

Ludwigsen, Will. “The Speed of Dreams.”

Lyon, Richard K. “Standards.”

MacFarlane, Alex Dally. “The Notebook of My Favourite Skin-Trees.”

Martens, Paul E. “The Color of a Brontosaurus.”

Martin, George R.R. “The Way of Cross and Dragon.”

McAllister, Bruce. “Kin.”

McCarron, Meghan. “I’ll Give In.”

McDonald, Sandra. “The Fireman’s Fairy.”

McHugh, Ian. “Requiem In D-minor (For Prions, Whale and Burning Bush).”

McHugh, Maureen. “Ancestor Money.”

McIntosh, Will. “Friction.”

Merriam, Joanne. “Little Ambushes.”

Monette, Sarah. “Blue Lace Agate” and “A Light In Troy.”

Murphy, Hilary Moon. “The Grand Cheat,” and “Nine-fingered Maria.”

Nazarian, Vera. “Three Names of the Hidden God” and “The Witch Who Made Adjustments.”

Ness, Mari. “And the Hollow Space Inside.”

Nix, Garth. “Sir Hereward and Mr. Fitz Go to War Again” and Across the Wall: A Tale of Abhorsen and Other Stories.

Pelland, Jennifer. “The Ghosts of New York.”

Phillips, Holly. “The Small Door.”

Pratt, Tim. “Another End of Empire,” “Captain Fantasy and the Secret Masters”, “Impossible Dreams,” “Incubus,” “Komodo,” “Origin Story,” and “Unexpected Outcomes.”

Prineas, Sarah. “Dragon Hunt” and “Illuminated Dragon.”

Rambo, Cat. “Angry Rose’s Lament,” “In Order to Conserve,” and “Kalakkak’s Cousins.”

Resnick, Mike. “The Boy Who Yelled Dragon,” “Distant Replay,” and “Travels With My Cats.”

Rosenbaum, Benjamin. “Start the Clock,” “The House Beyond Your Sky.”

Rosenblum, Mary. “My She.”

Rotundo, “Matthew. “Fuel.”

Rountree, Josh. “Gone Daddy Gone.”

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. “Elites” and “Results.”

Salaam, Kiini Ibura. “Debris.”

Samatar, Sofia. “Honey Bear.”

Scholes, Ken. “Summer in Paris, Light from the Sky.”

Schwartz, David. “Bedtime Stories for Alien Children.”

Shaw, Heather. “Little Match Girl” and “Mountain Man.”

Shawl, Nisi. “Down In The Flood.”

Sherman, Delia. “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche” and “Wizard’s Apprentice.”

Simner, Janni Lee. “Alien Promises” and “Raising Jenny.”

Skillingstead, Jack. “Bean There.”

Sloan, Robin. “Mr. Penumbra’s Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store.”

Snyder, Lucy A. “Faery Cats Cutest Killers.”

Sparrow, Katherine. “Hello I Love You” and “Pirate Solutions.”

Stanton, Sarah. “The Switch.”

Stone, Eric James. “Rejiggering the Thingamajig.”

Strock, Ian Randal. “Get Me to the Job On Time.”

Stross, Charles. “Rogue Farm.”

Sulway, Nike. “Her Lover’s Golden Hair.”

Swirsky, Rachel. “Skyscrapers.”

Thomas, Benjamin. “Rainmaker.”

Tidhar, Lavie. “The Secret Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

Tolbert, Jeremiah. “This, My Body.”

Valente, Catherynne M. “Fade to White” and “A Hole to China.”

Valentine, Genevieve. “Advection.”

VanderMeer, Jeff. “Secret Life.”

van Eekhout, Greg. “Change,” and “Chinatown.”

Vaughn, Carrie. “Astrophilia.”

Van Allsburg, Chris (editor). The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell the Tales.

Weinstein, Jacob Sager. “Eugene.”

Wentworth, K.D. “Hallah Iron-Thighs and the Change of Life.”

Wheeler, Ramona Louise. “Blink. Don’t Blink.”

Wittman, Jason. “On Bookstores, Burners, and Origami.”

Zangwill, Israel. “The Queen’s Triplets.”

Art monographs

Dempsey, Amy. Destination Art.

Ihara, Miyoko. Misao the Big Mama and Fukunaru the Cat.

Non-fiction

Arellano, Gustavo. Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.

Bhide, Monica. The Everything Indian Cookbook: 300 Tantalizing Recipes–From Sizzling Tandoori Chicken to Fiery Lamb Vindaloo and Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors For the Contemporary Kitchen.

Boyce, Kim. Good to the Grain: Baking With Whole-grain Flours.

Carroll, Rikki. Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses (3rd edition).

Chernila, Alana. The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making.

Farnham, Jody and Druart, Marc. The Joy of Cheesemaking.

Gollner, Adam. The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession.

Karlin, Mary. Artisan Cheese Making at Home.

Katz, Sandor Ellix. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

Krissoff, Liana. Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors For the Modern Pantry.

Lahlou, Mourad. Mourad: New Moroccan.

Malouf, Greg & Lucy. Moorish.

Nguyen, Luke. Indochine.

Nguyen, Pauline, Nguyen, Luke and Jensen, Mark. Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart.

Ong, Pichet and Ko, Genevieve. The Sweet Spot : Asian-inspired Desserts.

Ottolenghi, Yotam and Tamimi, Sami. Jerusalem.

Peltre, Béatrice. La Tartine Gourmande. French-inspired, gluten-free recipes, based on the food blog.

Reader’s Digest. New Complete Guide to Sewing.

Sass, Lorna. Whole Grains: Every Day, Every Way.

Slater, Nigel. Tender and Ripe.

Taylor, A.G. and Joudrey, D.N. Organization of Information, 3rd edition.

Vinton, Sherri Brooks. Put ‘em Up! A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling.

Virant, Paul. The Preservation Kitchen: The Craft of Making and Cooking with Pickles, Preserves, and Aigre-doux.

Weinberger, David. Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Order.

Unfinished

Including ongoing webcomics I started but didn’t continue reading. Again, NSFW online items denoted.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition

Baca, Murtha (editor). Introduction to Metadata.

Bane, Jason, et al. Carpe Chaos.

Black, Holly and Castellucci, Cecil. Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd.

Brittin, Helen. The Food and Culture Around the World Handbook.

Brubaker, Jason. reMIND.

Connolly, Harry. Child of Fire.

Cook, Katie. Gronk.

D.G., Gigi. Cucumber Quest.

Desai, Anita. The Artist of Disappearance: Three Novellas.

Diaz, Aaron. Dresden Codak.

Dougan, Jim.Sam & Lilah.

Farnham, Jody and Druart, Marc. The Joy of Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Making, and Eating Fine Cheese.

Fink, Jess. Chester 5000 XYV. NSFW.

Foglio, Phil and Kaja. Agatha H. and the Airship City.

Frye, Eliza. Death and Regalia.

Gillman, Melanie. Smbitten. Unfinished because the creator hasn’t posted the final pages, alas! (As of this writing.)

Goldman, Dan. Red Light Properties.

Horne, Emily and Comeau, Joey. A Softer World.

Kelly, Kevin et al. Silver Cord.

Kesel, Karl. Section Zero.

MacAvoy, R.A. Death and Resurrection.

Mann, Thomas. The Oxford Guide to Library Research, 3rd edition.

McGee, Harold. Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes.

McWilliams, Margaret. Food Around the World: A Cultural Perspective.

Medlej, Joumana. Malaak: Angel of Peace

Migdal, Sylvan. Curvy. NSFW.

Rowntree, Winston. Subnormality.

Speck, Maria. Ancient Grains for Modern Meals: Mediterranean Whole Grain Recipes for Barley, Farro, Kamut, Polenta, Wheat Berries and More.

Spike. Templar, Arizona.

Stevens, R. Diesel Sweeties.

Summers, A.K. Pregnant Butch.

Turner, James. Rex Libris: I, librarian, volume 1.

Walker, Tom. S.S. Myra. NSFW.

What do I use this in? As with the lemon-ginger one, mostly cooking. Great with cooked fruit and sauces needing a fruity sweetness.

Apricot brandy, assembled for steeping.

The resulting taste was good! A bit strong on the orange and brandy side, so perhaps next time I’ll use vodka instead (or a 50%ish mix with brandy), or omit the orange and/or vanilla sugar. Pardon the mix of metric and American-imperial measurements—metric became involved with the liquor (always in metric) and the nice glass jar I got from the store (all from France, hence metric).

Ingredients

1. 8 to 10 ounces fresh apricots, including seeds from half of the fruits, quartered
2. zest and juice of 1 orange; I peeled the zest off the orange in wide bands, rather than grated
3. 2 ounces vanilla sugar
4. 4 1/2 ounces sugar
5. 500ml (just over 2 cups) Napoleon brandy

Method

Put the ingredients in a 1-liter glass jar. Allow to sit for at least 3 months, preferably more. Stir midway through the steeping period. As mentioned, my batch took about 4 months. Test after 3 months; if it’s not flavorful enough, check again in another 3 to 6 weeks. Filter out solids, and decant into a 750ml bottle (European fruit sodas with rubber flip-tops are nicely reusable). I store the liqueur in the refrigerator since its cloudiness might otherwise reduce shelf life at room temperature.

Yeah, this curd looks pretty much like the Meyer lemon one.

Similar to the Meyer lemon curd recipe, but adjusted for the limes’ higher acidity.

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 cups sugar
• 5 extra large or 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 to 4 tablespoons lime zest (about 9 limes’ worth)
• 3/4 cup lime juice, with pulp if possible (from the same number of limes)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chopped into 1 tablespoon chunks
• 1 inch ginger root, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slices
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1. As with the lemon curd recipe, sterilization doesn’t occur, so get your equipment ready. Wash the jars, lids, strainer and large measuring jug, then put them in a 225ºF degree oven for about 30 minutes before starting to cook (which will help dry them off, too). When you’re ready for the next step, turn off the oven so they won’t be too hot to touch when you need them.
2. Limes are more stubborn about yielding their juice, so I had a three-step process, done after zesting: (a) roll each lime to soften it; (b) cut in half, hand or tong-squeeze juice into measuring cup; and (c) ream each lime half with a citrus juicer. Because Bearss are seedless, I also added the pulp to the juice.
3. Put all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed, acid-resistant saucepan.
4. Stir frequently over medium low heat with a whisk. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens into a custardy consistency. You’ll need some patience, as this takes about 10 to 15 minutes, from the time all the butter melts. You want to aim for a custard temperature of 150ºF to 160ºF degrees (65ºC to 71ºC). Then again, once it looks really thick and custardy, take it off the heat as soon as possible.
5. Pour the curd through the strainer into the large jug. Transfer to the jars, then cap them off. Allow to cool at room temperature, then store in the refrigerator. Yields around 3 1/2 cups.

But the big question for me is often how? Just what are examples of best practices? Or, more realistically, what choices do we have during the process of a team-based class project? I kept asking those questions while going through Dr. Haycock’s talk.

And I’m soon going be assigned to a group in my first full course this session. Tomorrow! Hooboy. How will that go?

I recently attended a web conference where peer mentors shared their war stories and advice. I had several moments of jaw-dropping empathy, at being aghast of real world, academic (near) catastrophes — such as fellow students, people they depended upon, disappearing without notice.

However, I left the meeting with some excellent tips, namely on ground rules to establish for teamwork:

• Ask everyone: What are your grade expectations?
• Schedule mechanics: How often/when should we meet together? How much warning to give if you’re unable to attend?
• How would we resolve conflicts? At what point do we involve the instructor?
• When a change is needed to the project, when will agreement go by majority decision versus consensus? When do we (or a given person) need to let go of a pet idea/issue/etc., in order for the project (and team) to move on?
• Ask about everyone’s preferred modes of communications: email, instant messaging, audio and/or video contact. Not to be disregarded is also being aware of which tools people feel uncomfortable using.
• Which tools to use? Google Docs, MS Office, wiki, email, or a mixture? How to coordinate file changed done by more than one person?
• Who will edit which sections? Who will research which components? Who will write or draw up which parts? Who will lead? Who will present what? Who will act as a liaison to another group or resource? When should roles change?

And the possible responses to these? That they could, will differ from person to person, and from group to group. It could make the project challenging, sure, but I hope not a process with acute or prolonged frustration!

I reused a 750ml flip-top bottle that contained French soda bought at Whole Foods. The yield was approximately more than 500ml. The liqueur infused for 55 days; next time I’ll probably infuse it for 40 to 45 days, as the liquid became cloudy and difficult to filter to clarity. Instead, just let the bottle stand undisturbed for a few days for most bits to settle. Tasted nice!

Ingredients

• 1 pound Meyer lemons, about 5 fruits, depending on their size
• 2 ounces peeled and roughly chopped ginger root
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups vodka; used Ketel One, available at Trader Joe’s
• 3 1/2 ounces vanilla sugar
• 4 ounces sugar

Method

1. Zest the lemons; I used a vegetable peeler instead of a microplane to make wide strips of zest. Keep those lemons, though, for the syrup in step 3. Place the zest and ginger root in a clean, 1 pint (or bigger) jar.
2. Fill jar with vodka, cap off. Set aside to infuse, undisturbed in a cool, dark place like a pantry closet. Test every 1 or 2 weeks until desired strength is reached.
3. Make the syrup ahead of time: Squeeze the juice from the lemons into a measuring jug and keep about 1/2 cup juice.
4. Place the lemon juice and vanilla and granulated sugars in a small sauce pan. Dissolve over low heat, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool to the touch, and store in covered container in the fridge until the next step.
5. When the ginger+lemon+vodka infusion has reached your desired strength, pour through a fine strainer into a large glass or ceramic bowl. Stir in as much or as little of the vanilla+lemon syrup as desired; I used all of it, fwiw. Then pour the liqueur into a bottle — I used a couple layers of cheesecloth lining a funnel — for storage until ready to use.

Actually, a more appropriate phrase would be attending graduate school online, because attending emphasizes how this will be an interactive process — not merely a collection of essays or exam forms to submit.

The Technical

Web browsers, RSS feeds and readers, social networking sites: easy peasy. Customizing and maintaining server software, keeping my computer up to date and running smoothly: sometimes a bit more challenging, but still quite doable.

Getting back to regularly using office software which I’ve barely touched for nearly a decade? Yowch! “But, it should be easy for you, you’ve worked on computers often enough.” Yes, but different kinds of tools can appear…formidable. They have changed so much that I might get dizzy.

Wait, there’s my comfort zone, the Internet. Out there (out here, really) are tutorials with screenshots and, even better, videos showing how to use new or nearly-forgotten applications. Suddenly, these tools are no longer quite as daunting. Soon, I’m both practicing and producing assignments. A hitch comes up? Ask on in my course forum, or send the instructor or a fellow student an email. Repeat the process: Look for help or information, practice, create, ask, keep learning, doing, and breathing.

The Social (and Psychological)

I’m lucky to have worked with many brilliant people — people who I look forward to working with in the future, people who I continue to remain in contact with, because I value not just their skills, but also their opinions and input. Sadly, there have been the bad experiences: The project that would never die, or never have a proper birth; managers or colleagues who refused to listen, or were all but absent.

Such experiences, bad or good (or in between), are possibilities in graduate school, especially where interaction is both highly regarded and necessary. As in face-to-face life, so in virtual life: It is still a reality to deal with. But how effectively, not just to pass that class, or get that degree, but also how to be worthwhile?

It’s easy for me to maintain a calendar and stick to deadlines. I’m a fiendish list-maker. I tend to make an early start on educational or work-oriented tasks. I’m rarely late for meetings or appointments. I’m unafraid to ask questions or look things up.

Listening to Enid Irwin and Dr. Ken Haycock’s talks on teamwork made me look at the mirror: What comes easy to me? Where do I need improvement, and what am I averse to? Again, how in the world can I effectively participate in (not to mention enjoy, at least sometimes) a group project?

I can be quite the chatterbox in small groups. But what do I avoid? Having to lead; I’m inclined towards working independently, so I shudder at having to herd cats. I loathe being micromanaged, so I cringe at expressing micromanaging behavior. Not really pertaining to groups directly, but related to returning to school: I find the creation process intimidating. Sure, I can become very productive when I notice something to add, remove, or in some way modify. But the concept of starting from scratch always gives me the heebie-jeebies. Suddenly I feel my early-starting, prone-to-organizing self begin to waver in the face of imminent writer’s(*) block. ([*]Substitute artist, cook, or engineer here — or, even manager or teacher.)

Then I remind myself that modification and amending can themselves be acts of creativity. Then the idea of working on a team, where each person has different abilities, strengths and, yes, weaknesses, suddenly fills me with a bit more hope and eagerness. The “hide behind others” habit is not what I mean, even though a group can indeed buffer the stress. But when I don’t verbalize, I lurk. To lurk is to listen, to read, to learn from others, and to reflect, then contribute and refine a project.

So I oscillate, back and forth, between activity and quiescence. On the surface this might appear as meandering and hovering, but really it’s my pattern for how I often tackle complex projects. On a team, would this drive you (or me) crazy? Not necessarily. We would ask each other: “What do you think?” or “How would you approach this-and-that?” So the dialog begins, and continues, until things are addressed, dissected, assembled, and created.

Haycock described of the four phases of teamwork: forming, storming, norming, and performing. They are great observations on the evolution of team behavior. Though I’d like to add that in reality some of those phases might necessitate repetition. Perhaps that’s a projection of my aforementioned oscillation — as a process of cyclical refinement.

Moreover, as Irwin’s talk reminded me, mistakes will happen. But that’s okay: Graduate school includes education, which includes stumbles and bumbles, remember? Mistakes, like typos, are almost never indelible — to paraphrase our instructor, Cindy Runnels. It’s often easier to avoid or correct errors when working together, as an integrated team of individuals.

I want to document the first point because it has made a great impact on my relation with things edible and crusty. Many grateful thank-yous to the brilliantly creative and innovative Morrisa S. for showing me this tip.

Method

1. I start out with my vodka pastry dough recipe. Note that it’s enough for 2 very generous tart or pie crusts, about 13 to 14 ounces each, so to get ready I have two 1-gallon freezer-safe plastic zip bags handy.
2. Also note in the picture below that I tend to make my doughs on the wet side. So, I also have some extra pastry flour (whole wheat or white) on hand. This is basically the recipe in step 4, right before splitting it into two portions.



3. But before splitting it half, I stick the bowl of dough in the refrigerator to relax and firm up, about 30 to 60 minutes. This helps to counter my tendency towards wet doughs by reducing stickiness and the chance of gluten formation.
4. Put half the dough in each zip bag — having a scale will be handy for this. Then put a couple tablespoons of flour in each bag, and roll the dough lump about so that it’s more or less coated. If the dough seems too hard to roll out, thwack it a few times with the rolling pin as you would to soften butter — but just enough to make it rollable, not too much to make it too soft or warm.



5. Close up the zip most of the way. With a rolling pin, flatten out the dough so that it ends up about 1/8 inch thick. It’s okay whether the shape becomes rectangular or circular, as long as the thickness ends up more or less uniform. If the dough becomes too warm or squishy, you can add a little bit more flour — but putting it back in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes to firm up again would be best.



6. When you’ve finished rolling out the dough evenly, completely close the zip bag. Rolling out to each edge of the bag will also help reduce trapped air gaps. Let rest and firm up in the fridge for another 30 to 60 minutes before using or storing in the freezer. If using from a frozen state, let the pastry dough soften a bit for about an hour or so — still mostly rigid but not so brittle as to easily break apart when molded inside or on top of your dish.
7. When ready to use with your favorite tart or pie recipe, first open up the zip bag and cut along its side edges. Trim to desired shape with scissors or a knife, then apply to tart or pie pan.

Sadly, I have yet to find anything remotely like French fromage blanc here in the US. Everything sold in tubs in the refrigerated section is quite expensive and incomprehensibly SALTY. Then I found and purchased cultures from the New England Cheesemaking Company — which sat in the freezer for, uh, years. I finally made some last month. The recipe calls for 1 gallon of milk, and yow! I was overwhelmed with about 10 cups of whey and 6 cups of fromage blanc. (This was after letting it strain for roughly 4ish hours.) Although I’m glad the culture has a very long life in the freezer, I really need to figure out how to accurately divide the tiny packet of powder for a more practical yield.

Fromage blanc is great on cereal, as well as mixed with fruits and a touch of honey. I’m sure it’d be great as a ricotta and cream cheese substitute in cheesecakes and pasta dishes, too, although I haven’t tried it out yet. But I did make ice cream with it. It’s sort of but not quite like frozen yogurt. Like eating it fresh, comparisons to yogurt (less tart, more cheese-like flavor), ricotta (smoother and creamier) and cream cheese (ditto, yet still different) just don’t quite compare. Try making fromage blanc yourself, as it’s cheaper (and tastier, not to mention more sanely not salty) than buying in the store; Cheesemaking.com’s page is a great resource. But, of course, if in France, you MUST eat it! It’s as common as yogurt here or there!

The recipe calls for honey, where I used a light-flavored one such as sage or blackberry honey. I might try out other flavor variants, such as vanilla simple syrup or other infused (but non-alcoholic) syrups, just to see how they work in a frozen state with fromage blanc. Hm, perhaps elderflower cordial, or passion fruit if enough sugar is added?

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup honey, give or take a tablespoon, depending on its sweetness and flavor
• a pinch of salt
• 12 ounces fromage blanc (made from 2% milk)

Method

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, stir together the cream, honey and salt. Zap it on medium-high for about 2 minutes, pausing to stir every minute, until the honey has dissolved. You could also do this in a sauce pan on the stove, if you prefer.
2. Whisk in the fromage blanc until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
3. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker per the manufacturer’s instructions. Because there’s less fat and more water than typical ice cream, it might take a bit longer than regular ice cream, e.g., for me about 25 minutes.

Bonus drink

Put 1 or 2 scoops of honey fromage blanc ice cream into a tall glass. Add, if you want, 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of rose water. Pour in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of seltzer or mineral water, and stir. It’s a cross between a float and a sweet lassi. Great on a hot day, or for washing down spicy foods.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound limes, about 5 to 8 limes depending on their size, basically enough for roughly 1/4 to 1/3 cup of juice and 2 to 3 tablespoons of zest
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons spearmint leaves, chiffonade or finely torn

Method

1. Zest and juice the limes in separate containers. Put the zest in the same bowl for the next step.
2. Place all the ingredients except the lime juice and mint into a microwave-safe bowl. Zap it on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, pausing to stir every minute. You could also do this in a sauce pan on the stove, but this is quicker and save cleaning additional dishes.
3. Whisk in the mint and lime juice. Continue to whisk until all liquids are well incorporated, e.g., no lumps of sweetened condensed milk remaining.
4. Cover and chill to infuse overnight in the fridge.
5. Filter the cream mixture a through a fine strainer, then churn in an ice cream maker per its instructions.

Sigh. If only WordPress would include comment preview as part of the default build — like most other modern blogging platforms such as Moveable Type and LiveJournal! It’d be one less fiddly bit to administer. (This has been a long-running issue I’ve had for, uh, years.)

Uh, still working on that kheer recipe…one of these days.

Feel free to change around the amounts and types of dried fruits. The following is what I had on hand at the time, and made for a good sweet-tart balance.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dates, pitted
• 1/2 cup figs
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup boozy sugar syrup — a simple syrup with brandy, in my case
• 2/3 cup water

Method

1. Chop up the dried fruits in roughly the same size, no more than 1/4 inch or so thick.
2. Combine everything in a sauce pot. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, until the fruits plump up and the liquid has turned into a thick sauce — about 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.
3. Serve as an accessory — the compote is rather rich by itself — warm, cold or at room temperature. Freeze leftovers, if any remain.

Adapted from Nibb’lous and About.com.

This calls for non-alcoholic elderflower cordial, such as Belvoir or Bottle Green. Do avoid alcoholic elderflower infusions like St.-Germain (tasty, though, as it is), because the alcohol will lower the freezing point of the custard, and prevent the proper firming up needed in ice cream.

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup elderflower cordial (non-alcoholic)

Method

1. Put both creams, milk and sugar into a sauce pan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat.
2. To temper the egg yolks, slowly pour in a ladle or two of the hot cream mixture, mixing quickly with a whisk.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan. Turn on the heat to low. Whisk until it becomes a custard: Test by either temperature (170ºF to 175ºF degrees) or spoon method (coats spoon and a line drawn through doesn’t droop).
4. Remove from heat, pour the custard through a fine strainer into a large bowl (to remove any accidentally scrambled egg , then whisk in the elderflower cordial.
5. Chill covered in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or until the custard reaches at least 38ºF.
6. Prepare following the instructions for your ice cream maker. It usually takes 20 to 25 minutes to churn in an electric maker. Keep an eye on it near the end to avoid overbeating it, otherwise it’ll taste too much like butter and be granular and greasy.
7. Before serving, scoop the ice cream into a storage container, then put it in the freezer for an hour or two to firm up.

Before I crammed in two more lemons.

Suggestions for use: Minced and tossed into stews or sautés, sections placed inside the cavities of roasted poultry, puréed in dips like hummus, mashed into a marinade or dressing or sauce, etc.! I don’t know their shelf-life in the fridge, but I’ve been fine using a nearly 2-year-old jar of preserved lemons. (Although they do get somewhat mooshy in texture over time, but still useable and flavorful.)

This is enough for one 1-pint jar. I typically reuse a (cleaned!) glass jar and lid that had formerly stored 24 ounces (by weight) of honey.

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 (11 to 15 ounces) Meyer lemons
• plenty of fine sea salt, not flaked, preferably not iodized
• 1 bay leaf, cut into 2 or 3 pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns, black or green
• 2 to 3 inches of cinnamon stick, broken into roughly 1 inch pieces
• 1 star anise, broken into its component arms; or, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon whole aniseed
• (optional) a few slices of ginger
• (optional) 1 black cardamom pod
• (optional) 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, quartered
• freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

Method

1. Clean the Meyer lemons, and trim off any blemishes. I usually slice off a small bit from the stem and pointed ends of each lemon, too.
2. Cut four longitudinal slices into each lemon, almost but not quartering them. You want the center of the lemon to keep the fruit together, and the slices will maximize the surface area exposed to the salt, juice and spices.
3. Pour about a 1/8 inch of salt into the jar. Add a piece of bay leaf and a third of the spices. Cram in as many lemons to roughly fill a third of the jar.
4. Repeat until lemons fill nearly the top of the jar. Pour in another 1/4 inch or so of salt. Fill the jar with lemon juice until the fruits are covered with liquid. You might need to gently jiggle the jar every so often to get the juice (and salt) to fill it up; see the photo below for an example.
5. Cap off and store in the refrigerator. Allow to cure for at least 3 weeks, preferably at least 1 month, before using; shake about once a month to distribute, er, mix up the salt and spices. You can use the entire lemon —zest, pith and pulp— but be sure to remove any seeds or errant stems, and to thoroughly rinse away excess salt under running water. The preserved lemons will still remain quite salty, yet subtly flavored with whatever spices added; I typically wouldn’t need to add any more salt to a dish I’d use them in.

Five lemons crammed in, and topped with gobs of salt and lemon juice. I just managed to tighten the lid on afterwards.

• Some quick advice
• The good: Hearty recommendations
• The bad and the ugly: Avoid these companies

(*)As mentioned in earlier posts on the topic, work on a home is never truly finished. But projects do wrap up, and we’re sure glad to have an excellent modern kitchen, plus another bathroom, among other things!

First things first: some advice on remodeling

Three key things we learned:

1. Get as detailed a bid as possible.
2. Know what you want, to the highest detail as you can muster.
3. Keep track of stuff. Really. By calendar and email, at the least.

A detailed bid is the proposed contract. It becomes a legal document, but that does not mean it’s completely set in stone. Things do change; use the contract as a guideline, as its existence is to guide and help both you and the contractor. We found that contractors really appreciate it when you know what want and can clearly express it, e.g., “We’d prefer plywood in our cabinets if it’s within our budget. We also like Shaker-style woodwork.”

A detailed contract is important. It should look like a highly informative technical specification, which it is in a way, but with prices. A complex contract similar to our Grand Remodel should include information on dimensions (including any diagrams and/or blueprints to follow), tradework needed (plumbing, roofing, etc.), rooms affected, materials, and even make and model of appliances and fixtures, if you have an idea of what you want.

One item I’ll mention is specificity regarding site clean up at end of each work day. Our contract stated “sweep clean” which we found out literally meant sweeping with a broom. This sounds okay at first glance, but in hindsight we should have specified “vacuum clean,” as sweeping involved stirring up a lot of dust (bad if you have any allergy or breathing issues), as well as the mere sweeping small debris like wires and nails in between and down beneath the subfloor. That’s right, we now need to wear some armor when we want to go into the crawl space. It’s pretty much the contractor version of sweeping dust mice under the rug or bed.

Nevertheless, it is realistic that you won’t know precisely what you want in every situation, and that you could change your mind on some aspects of the project. Because of this, the contract should clearly explain the contractor’s change order policy. Change will happen, whether it’s a different oven model or relocation of a door. Not all change orders would or should incur penalties, such as swapping similarly priced tile or a different color of paint — but they might if your decision occurs at the last moment, or with the discovery of previously unknown house defects.

Do research where you can, as early as you can manage. Search the web, make use of your local library. Scour trade shops for ideas; e.g., see my fixture and vendor suggestions below. For example, here are several of the books I had suggested.

Knowing what you want will give you a more realistic budget in the contract. The less you know, the more likely a contractor will bid the cheapest possible materials, appliances or fixtures. Speaking of budgeting, use your favorite spreadsheet and break out costs for various sections of the contract, including trade, materials, appliances and fixtures. Keep track of them, too. We found that going 20% to 30% over an initial budget was within our comfort zone. And the cost will almost always end up higher, whether due to changes (“Oh, I want that tile instead”) or adaptations (“Looks like we need higher grade drywall in this room to satisfy state fire code and energy requirements”).

Of course, also do research on the recommendations you get from friends, family or colleagues. Compare what you see Angie’s List, or yes, even Yelp. Become suspicious if the recommendation comes from company-sponsored sites like Diamond Certified: double-check if such a company is well-rated elsewhere at more consumer-oriented sources like Angie’s List. Also, don’t wholeheartedly take in recommendations along the lines of “My sibling can do that work” or “My neighbor is a contractor who’ll do that.” Make sure their recommendations are actually for work completed, balanced with reviews from neutral parties. Besides, how comfortable would you feel living next to a neighbor who botched up a project on your time, home and money?

Finally, keep a detailed calendar of the project. Enter in projected dates and lengths of time for completion — then add or edit what actually occurred, as you would with the budgetary spreadsheet. It’s good not just for comparison, but gives you and the contractor a better idea as to scheduling. Google Calendar works, and is handy if the contractor is willing to use it. Otherwise, keep a local calendar of goings on. Most importantly, keep track of communications. We used email, and it not only helped us keep track of things for ourselves, but also kept contractors in the loop and, in some cases, honest.

Yay, recommendations!

We loved our cabinet maker and solar panel installer. They were thorough, knowledgable, easy to work with and friendly.

• California Casework (408.979.9091) for cabinetry. Owner Cliff Scott is great to work with, as are his employees at the shop and onsite. Coordinated well with the general contractor. Great advice, and awesome, thorough and timely work. Advice addendum: We learned from both Cliff and some friends (thanks again, Anita!) that instead of installing rollout drawers inside of undercounter cabinets, just install pot drawers there instead. Much more stable, easier to use, and more space efficient!
• Cobalt Power Systems (650.938.9574) for photovoltaic roof system. Owner Mark Byington originally trained as an engineer, and was great at patiently explaining, documenting and projecting our solar electric needs. We got a beautiful SunPower system, and his office handled all the rebate/utility paperwork, with minimal effort on our part. Also coordinated very well the general contractor and roofers. His employees, licensed electricians, did the installation. Advice we learned: Be wary of solar installers who subcontract out their work; a friend of ours learned the hard way how such people can become unaccountable when bad things occur, like defective panels causing fires (ouch!).
• C&S Carpet and Flooring. They did a great job installing Marmoleum Click in the kitchen. They were friendly and patient when the general contractor failed to properly level the subfloor, and in the end successfully installed the flooring we wanted. Unfortunately, it’s unclear if they’re still in business as their website appears down.
• Tile & Grout King (408.930.8453). They didn’t do the original installation of the tile work, but they sealed the new tile and restored (i.e., cleaned out and replaced) the moldy grout from a previous installation. We’ve had them back again earlier this year, to replace failing caulk in the shower stall and apply caulk-grout between the kitchen’s tile backsplash and quartzite counter.

Give them your business, if you need similar projects done. In addition, here are some vendors of fixtures and appliances we recommend:

• University Electric, Santa Clara (800.675.7569) carry mid- and high-range appliances. With the exception of our refrigerator, we got all our new appliances from them. Note: They’ll deliver large items, but they won’t install them, so you’ll need a contractor or handyperson, or be willing to DIY.
• The Tile Shop, San José (408.436.8877) and other locations. Excellent source of tiles, nice showrooms with helpful people, and they can offer free samples of some of their materials.
• Build.com family of stores including FaucetDirect.com and LightingDirect.com. Great online resource for fixtures of all sorts (plumbing, lighting, ventilation, ceiling fans, handle sets, cabinetry hardware, etc.) at good prices.
• Saratoga Plumbing Supply. Bathroom, sink and faucet fixtures galore! Very helpful people, too. They’ll deliver, but not sure if they do installation.
• Cornelia’s, like Saratoga Plumbing Supply, has many bathroom and water-oriented fixtures to look at. They also have some handle set and cabinetry hardware to look at. Not sure if they offer delivery or installation.
• MyKnobs.com, for sheer variety of cabinetry hardware choices.
• For cabinet door designs, there are many choices available from two California-based companies, CalDoor (a.k.a. California Door Corporation) and Dutchman Doors.
• For choices in moldings, so you can escape the default Colonial trim overused in the last couple decades, check out the catalog at Kelleher.
• Looking for a new or matching exterior or interior door? Check out catalogs at TrūStile, T.M. Cobb, Jeld-Wen, or Simpson.

Avoid these companies, really.

It’s sad to say, but sometimes one needs to go through a bad experience to avoid it again. But first, when it comes to issues and disputes with other people, I encourage you to be as civil and concise as possible with whom you work. Try to stick to facts and events, rather than gossip or hearsay. Things went badly at times, but I believe that keeping a level head when dealing with difficult situations really helped get things done, however slowly or aggravating.

In spite of impressing us (a great design, within our budget, friendly first impressions) and getting the contract, we would NEVER recommend the general contractor we had, Critchfield Construction; they also have a sister company Los Gatos Remodeler.

Why? The short list:

1. They created a Google calendar, which was great, and kept it up to date — until the last few months when things really slowed down. Then they stopped updating the calendar, stopped responding to our emails in a timely fashion, and then suddenly deleted the calendar. Then they moved to an in-house calendar system which held the data on their sister site, including messages, rather than previously allowing us direct email.
2. Their designer, Nickolas Sosa, while helpful as an interior designer, was a dreadful project manager. For example, there were times he requested for payments that either we had originally bargained down (tracked in email), or for work not performed or completed. When we pointed these out to him (e.g., including previous emails, citing details in the contract), the response was “Sorry, this is not negotiable.” Excuse me? A sign of very poor business integrity, indeed.
3. The contract had a penalty clause whereby they’d pay us for additional time they took to complete our project. They requested a change order to extend the period to avoid the penalty, despite the fact that most of the delays were their fault, and threatened to stop work if we didn’t sign to agree to such a change order. Er, breach of contract?
4. Messy demolition resulting in broken bits of glass that we’ll continue to pick out of the yard over the course of our lives here. We’ve had windows replaced in the past, so we know that windows can be removed without shattering them into many bits throughout our property.
5. Very slow to haul away large piles of debris.
6. Example A of avoidable mistakes: Installed the shower pan incorrectly. This confused so many subcontractors (the plumber, drywall installers, shower installers as well as the tile installer), that it caused yet more delays.
7. Example B of avoidable mistakes: Not leveling the kitchen subfloor, a requirement for the material we chose, even after several inquiries. The flooring installer showed up with the materials he had ordered for us, but had to leave because the subfloor had NOT BEEN FIXED. He was frustrated to the point where he asked us whether or not he was supposed to do the work. (We told him yes, and once again repeated the cycle of requesting the subfloor work from Critchfield and rescheduling the floor subcontractor.)
8. Bad-mouthing other contractors. We asked about going with a different roofer, and they “advised” us not to use them because of apparent issues with not having a valid license, and supposedly being in and out of business. We checked the records at the Contractors State Licensing Board, and found that the roofer had valid licenses and bonding. In addition, we had excellent references from both Angie’s List and friends who worked with them — contrary to what the people at Critchfield claimed. Spreading rumors and lies is downright unprofessional.
9. The owner Ricky Critchfield never visited our site — until we needed to resolve points (2) and (3). Then he came over, and we negotiated: he honored what was agreed upon over email, didn’t delay construction any further, and gave us some credit for the time-over-projected-schedule. But wow, to have to wait that long (the project was 85% to 90% done at that point) to actually show up at our house merely exhibited where his priorities were not.

The delays, the lack of communication, and avoidable errors not only upset us, but also upset some of the subcontractors. Poor communication is poor business, for all businesses and clients involved.

Not all the subcontractors Critchfield hired were bad, but some were particularly horrid. To these companies we also say, avoid like the plague:

• Thomas Electrical, Morgan Hill. Our electrical plans were detailed, but their work was shoddy, and we lost count of the times we had to email or call to see when they’d return to finish a task. They were also very sloppy, often leaving a mess (wires, drywall bits, etc.) wherever they worked.
• Drywall Art, San José. Horribly, sloppy work. We wanted to match the crows’ feet texture of our wall. One worker showed me an early example in the bathroom, and I said, “This is perfect; that’s what we want on the rest of the walls.” I thought that would suffice. Instead, large sections of the hallway, entryway and back room look like Cthulhu had a seizure and vomited. Even though drywall work is messy work, they were particularly bad, neglecting to place dropcloths, and trodding drywall dust and mud over the new floors.
• The stucco work by men hired by Critchfield failed to match the existing stucco style. They also dumped excess concrete into holes in our garden, rather than hauling it off.
• The handymen Critchfield hired utterly failed to install the oven. Simon ended up doing that himself.

As seen in the picture below, leftovers of this soup freeze and defrost just fine.

Because the vegetables get whizzed up in the end, you don’t need to be terribly accurate with their preparation. The following are just guidelines so that the pieces aren’t so thick they end up taking too long to cook, or cook unevenly.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds onions, chopped roughly into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch thick discs
• 1/2 pound sweet potato (about 1 medium tuber), peeled and chopped into roughly 3/4 inch pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly sliced and lightly crushed
• salt, as needed; I used Maldon smoked flakes
• 1 heaping tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 heaping teaspoons ground coriander seed
• 1 quart rich chicken stock, preferably unsalted
• 1 pint or more of hot water, as needed
• freshly ground pepper
• (optional) crème fraîche, or heavy cream

Method

1. Caramelize onions in the butter and olive oil over medium heat, with a generous pinch of salt, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, macerate the garlic with another pinch of salt.
2. Stir in the cumin and coriander. When the spices become fragrant, stir in the carrots, sweet potato and garlic.
3. Add the chicken stock, and about 1 pint of water, enough so that the veg are covered. Simmer gently, covered, over low heat until the carrots and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Skim off any large amounts of foamy scum that may form on the surface of the soup during this time.
4. Purée the soup with an immersion blender, or similar tool. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and water.
5. Add cream to garnish each serving, if desired.

As an aside, my friend Lisa M. has said that quick-pickling cauliflower (raw, no additional cooking, either!) works out nicely. I should try that. Maybe I’ll work myself up to cabbage one of these days. But for now, here’s what I did with the red onions.

Quick pickle for red onions

Follow a recipe similar to this one, except:

• Have 2 one-pint jars clean, dry and ready. I tend to reuse 1 1/2 pound honey jars for this.
• Vinegar mix I used last time; I zapped the ingredients in the microwave until the solids dissolved and liquids started to simmer:
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup distilled vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon smoked Maldon salt
• 2 8-ounce (1/2 pound each) red onions: I cut them into 1/4-inch wide quarter strips, which might be visible in the photo of the jars above.
• Spice combo of Your Choice. Last time I had used the following, halving the amount between the two jars:
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 10 whole allspice
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 3-4 inches of cinnamon stick
  • 2 dried guajillo chiles, stem and seeds removed
  • 1 1/2 inches of ginger root, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices; they’re the yellowish chunks near the bottom of the jars in the photo above.
• During curing period, periodically push the onions down with a big spoon so they “remain” submerged. Easier said than done, perhaps, but it’ll help cure the onion pieces at the top of the jar.
• Cure at least overnight for winter onions, which are pretty sharp. Best to wait a couple days, I feel, before tucking in; sweeter onions might not need as long. Not sure about longevity, because the two of us ate two jars’ worth in about three or so weeks. I imagine they could last longer, but really…?
• Haven’t tried with yellow or white onions, yet. The red ones give such a nice pink-maroon shade!