Wholesome AF, what a deal!

Broke as fuck this week, made a quick cheap chili that was actually pretty good. Moving out at the end of the month, so trying to use up as many ingredients as I can.

Ground beef (12$ for 3lbs)

Chicken stock (4$)

Red kidney beans (3$)

Pickled Jalapeños (3$)

Canned tomatoes!

Cumin!

Dried guajillo and ancho peppers!

! for ingredients already in the pantry (I forgot to pickup an onion/garlic at the store but the dish turned out okay)

Prep was pleasantly simple for this one pot meal, as most ingredients were canned. Removed seeds and stems from dried chilis, toasted them dry in dutch oven, blended them with stock to create a chili flavor base. Brown ground beef, use the fat to toast spices (cumin, salt, pepper). Other spices that would work well here are paprika, garlic powder, and allspice. My spice cabinet got decimated by roaches though, so I’m stuck with the basics.

Add diced onions, garlic, and tomato paste at this point if have it. Having none of the above, I went in with my can of diced tomatoes, the beans, the jalapeños, the remaining stock, and the chili flavor base. Stir well and let simmer for a minimum of 15 minutes. Enjoy the chili in a bowl, topped with cheese (if its in your budget and you’re lactose tolerant), or over rice, or with bread, or with tortilla chips. Makes approx. 8 servings for an average of ~3$/serving.

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I recently watched my friend beat stephen’s sausage roll, a game that I have not been able to beat in 10 years. That game is bonkers hard. My arbitrary guess is that the number of people who have beaten the game is under 5,000. If anyone is looking for a puzzle game that will make your brain hurt, that is the game for you.

I’ll have to check it out! Sounds intriguing!

Have always been curious about the filters for Aeropress, my brother owns one and it’s a tank, though the disposable filters seem annoying to refill and deal with. Are they proprietary, or is it pretty easy to find replacement filters from 3rd parties for cheap? Worried about what VC money taking over Aeropress means — it’d be like if Patagonia got sold to Blackrock.

Just wanted to chime in and thank you for following through on this! It was a wonderful little reason to sit down and write, something I haven’t done in months. In love with the ethos of “bad writing”. Let’s just get some words out there!

I learned from the best: Anton Ego, Pete Wells, Anthony Bourdain. Every column is a story, complete with heroes and villains, intrigue and gossip. The food? The food is just an excuse.

When Verguenza opened in New York, I was sent to cover it. The young prodigy, Sterling Rivera, had just left a stint at the celebrated Farmhouse Inn after a spectacular conflagration with the head chef. Sources say the argument centered around the restaurant’s famed Gorgonzola Mac. Rivera is reported to have thrown a carbon steel skillet clear across the kitchen, screaming that his genius was being wasted on “shit Kraft casserole”. The new restaurant was supposed to be a statement by the critically acclaimed youngster – proof that he could revolutionize the world of fine dining with a global, no-holds-barred approach.

The only meal available at Verguenza is a four-course, prix fixe dinner. The courses change nightly, depending on the seasonality of rutabaga, the availability of jamon iberico pata negra, and, most importantly, the temperament of the chef. In the restaurant, the guest is never handed a menu. They are simply promised “a delightful surprise”. Rumors abound among chefs about Rivera’s legendary commitment to perfection. It is said that if salad is served as a course, the chef at the grill station was likely fired that night. The chefs I’ve spoken to describe an intense, militant culture to Rivera’s kitchen. They say that no one lists Verguenza on their resume unless they stay for more than a year. Leaving before then means only one thing: you were lacking.

I can happily report that none of the dishes served to me were salad. In fact, the menu was remarkably creative, and lived up to its billing. Rivera himself came out from the kitchen to introduce the meal. In his words, the meal was a “voyage across continents and worlds, inspired by the work of Salvador Dali, the absurd made mundane”. The first course was a hamachi ceviche cured with yuzu and citron foam. It left a delightfully zippy taste that quickly faded into effervescence. Next came a lightly chilled soup described as pumpkin gazpacho. It perfectly prepared the palate for the main course, a seared filet of alligator served on a bed of peppery spring greens. Finally, the biggest surprise of the meal was final course: candied ants. Several of the diners recoiled when presented with the crystalline nugget meant to evoke arthropods trapped in amber. Four actually walked out of the restaurant. However, for those brave enough to partake, this dessert was a singularly spectacular treat. I can only hope that this dessert makes a return to the menu soon, though based on the chef’s penchant for switching things up, the odds are slim. I left the restaurant with high hopes for the future of fine dining. Rivera, at least, is not content leaving things to the status quo.