Vivi says we look like candy canes. 😆
World Cup lets goooooooooo!
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Sam and I are ready for USA vs Paraguay 1 comment on -
Got a flat tire yesterday, and now I’m in the special hell that is the Costco cafe (can you call it that?) waiting for a tire repair. I’m a walk-in, so I was told it could be a “multi-hour” wait. They weren’t lying. I’m working along with a sad group of guys with backpacks and laptops like me intermixed with screaming kids and flabbergasted moms. I do like Costco, but I’d rather be somewhere else.
Here’s where I’ve been sitting for nearly 4 hours. 
Trying not to make the spare work too hard 
The puncture -
Bedroom mural
Vivian and I got a summer project brewing to paint a mural on our bedroom wall.
I’ve drawn some line art so we can paint/draw some different patterns and determine what to do.
Currently one idea around flowers like this.
Screenshot And I did this tree theme concept today.
Excited to work on this over the next couple months.
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Jalapeño update
Jalapeño fever is in full effect. Got at least a dozen going and almost another dozen flowers coming out as well. The crop is looking strong.
I started looking into how to know when they are ready to pick and also that you can leave them on a little longer to get more heat or pick them early for a milder pepper.
The spicier the better I think but we’ll have to do some experimenting.
Also, right next to the jalapeño is the tomato which has grown a foot and a half at least in the last 2 weeks.
First crops in NC coming along nicely. 😊
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Expensive pillows
I’ve kind of been indifferent about pillows up to this point. I mean, I only really notice a pillow when it’s BAD. Too soft or lumpy, or overfull and hard. But after years of replacing cheapish pillows from Target and TJ Max every year or two because they lose, well, the ability to be comfortable for her, my wife Kav decided to invest in some nice pillows. This means pillows that cost a lot of money. At least as far as pillows go and what I feel like is a typical range.
But, as the adage goes, you get what you pay for, and this seems to apply to pillows as well.
The ones she got are actually made by Prana (I thought they only made clothes?), and they are ADJUSTABLE.
They are pretty plump by default, definitely too much for me, but the cool thing is that you can take out filling to suit your plumpness preferences.
Amazing.
So after taking a short nap today and feeling like my neck was being pushed up too much, I took out about four full handfuls of filling, and it feels just about right now.
I’ve never “adjusted” my pillow before today, so this felt like a moment. Kind of a ridiculously privileged and silly moment. But still.
You spend a lot of your life sleeping, so spending a bit of money isn’t so silly when you think about the return on investment of a good night’s sleep. That’s what I’ll tell myself.
I’m a spoiled pillow brat now I guess.
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Lentil-Mushroom Burgers
I’ve tried a lot of vegetarian burger recipes, and this is one of the best. Feel free to freestyle a bit as you always should. I added some chili flakes, turmeric, and a little Franks Hot Sauce to my latest batch. (I also didn’t make homemade bread crumbs but will do sometime as I bet that would be 🔥)
Source
Eat & Run (pages 25–26)
Makes
A dozen 4-inch diameter burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried green lentils (2 1/4 cups cooked)
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/4 cups finely chopped onion, divided
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 2 cups fine bread crumbs (see Note)
- 1/2 cup ground flax seed (flax seed meal)
- 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups destemmed, finely chopped kale, spinach, or winter greens
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Directions
- In a small pot, bring the lentils, water, parsley, 1 garlic clove, and 1/4 cup of the onion to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 35 to 40 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the lentils are soft.
- While the lentils are cooking, combine the walnuts, bread crumbs, and flax seed in a bowl. Add the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and paprika and mix well.
- Sauté the remaining onion, remaining garlic, the mushrooms, and greens in the oil for 8 to 10 minutes, then set aside.
- Remove the lentils from the heat, add the vinegar and mustard, and mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon to a thick paste.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the lentils, sautéed veggies, and bread crumb mixture, and mix well. Cool in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes or more.
- Using your hands, form burger patties to your desired size and place on waxed paper. Lightly fry in a seasoned skillet, broil, or grill until lightly browned and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
Storage
Extra uncooked patties can be frozen on wax paper in plastic bags or wrapped individually in aluminum foil.
Note (bread crumbs)
To make the bread crumbs, you’ll need about half of a loaf of day-old bread (the book suggests Ezekiel 4:9). Slice the bread, then tear or cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces and chop in a food processor for 1 to 2 minutes, until a fine crumb results. The walnuts can also be chopped in the food processor with the bread.
My notes
I like to add turmeric, chili flakes, and a little Franks Hot Sauce in the mix. Also, if things are a little dry, add a beaten egg (or two) or a couple of tablespoons of aqua fava.
Mix of oyster, trumpet, shiitake 
Smaller is better 
Storing them in fours because that seems right? 
Packed for the freezer -
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Friday off
I got the oil changed in the car and went to Costco today (exciting!!!). It’s actually one of my favorite places to shop as far as “big box” retailers or major grocery chains go. The reason? Product curation. That may sound strange considering how much stuff is in their store, but category by category, there aren’t that many options, which is GREAT. And you can bet that if they do have something in a given category, it might not be the best, but it’s pretty good. In the Amazon/Wayfair age we’ve been in with boatloads of crap, I love the simplicity of just either taking it or leaving it at Costco.
Side note: Why don’t they carry halloumi?!?!
There’s certainly better places I could spend my money, but sometimes I just need a break from decisions.
Of course, a lot of stuff at Costco IS excessive in quantity, and I thought about this recent thing I read about Drano (via Gar’s Tips & Tools newsletter, which is awesome):
Years ago, a plumber told me to never follow the directions on a bottle of Drano (where it suggests pouring as much as a half the bottle into your clog). “That’s marketing hype to get you to waste your money,” he told me. “Just use about a shot-glass worth at a time. Then a kettle of boiling water. And repeat as needed until the drain clears.”
I’ve been doing it that way ever since. A small amount of drain cleaner. Wait 20 minutes. Then pour of a kettle of hot water. Repeat. In my experience, it has worked most every time on the usual suspects: bathroom hair, sink sludge, and kitchen grease slowdown.
The logic, as he explained it, is simple. Most clogs aren’t epic blockages. They’re small, localized buildups. You don’t need half a bottle of caustic chemicals sitting in your drain trap. A small dose often begins the breakdown. The hot water helps move things along. Less chemical, less waste.
Another thing that made me smile today was this blog post from a couple of years back:
Those pics of Vivian and Sam are crazy.
Finally, this is probably ironic that I’m putting this in here with the Costco reference above, but I’m doing it anyway because we have to hope, and The Wayfinders is a remarkable book.
“Before she died, anthropologist Margaret Mead spoke of her singular fear that, as we drift toward a more homogenous world, we are laying the foundations of a blandly amorphous and singularly generic modern culture that will have no rivals. The entire imagination of humanity, she feared, might be confined within the limits of a single intellectual and spiritual modality. Her nightmare was the possibility that we might wake up one day and not even remember what had been lost.” (Wade Davis, The Wayfinders)
