I’m envious of your willingness to experiment and learn. My mother was such a great cook that it took a long time for me to be willing to try to learn to cook anything. I’ve had a lot of success since I retired and started cooking all my meals, but BAKING!?! It seems like a bridge too far.
Perhaps I just need to start with something simple. Maybe that will be my 2026 goal; learn to bake something simple, acceptably well.
It has been fun. Baking isn’t all that easy for me. I prefer to free hand what I’m making. I made a really good line cook for that, I could just throw stuff together and it’d usually work. Baking? It’s a different skill, and requires me to pay closer attention. Mrs CCU, with her Chem degree should be better at baking, but doesn’t have the patience.
As for the muffins, they turned out really good. Not too sweet, the blueberries and the sourdough shine extremely well. I already fine myself thinking of ways that I can tweek the muffin, a la cranberry orange with some pecans, or similar.
Anyway, yeah, I enjoy the process. I like working with my hands, and solving things. Part of why I like working on bikes too.
I’m smoking a Tri tip today.
We’re in slow cooker/air fryer mode with temps around 115. Yesterday was something of a busy day so we did a dump dinner in the slow cooker. Maybe could be simpler but not sure how
Mexican Chicken
4 chicken thighs
1 jar salsa
1 small bag frozen corn
1 can each black and pinto beans rinsed & drained
1 small can green chile peppers
1 tsp each salt, sugar, cumin, taco seasoning
cook on low until thighs reach 145 degrees, add 1.5 cups orzo & cook until the thighs reach 165 degrees
Looks like an amazingly easy “Bachelor” dish that could be great for campsite travel meals too!
Perfectly simple. I would add corn to go with it, and stay within the “mexican” type of food theme.
First attempt… sourdough discard garlic rolls brushed with butter and sprinkles with rosemary and sea salt. Pretty tasty.
They look tasty.
Thanks. Turned out pretty well, I think.
WOW! Those look great! And you cannot go wrong with a little rosemary 
Wish I was there…
Tomorrow I will be cooking brats and twice baked cheesy potatoes.
Got the brats at Colosimo’s
Breakfast will be omelettes, potatoes O’Brien, and fresh breakfast sausages.
Again, the breakfast sausage is Colosimo’s.
Yes, let he artery clogging commence.
I know that Colosimo’s has a store (or perhaps had a store) in Magna, but for some reason I think I remember that it was their original location.
Am I making this up?
It is their original location, and where I go for sausage. I use the mild Italian for my spaghetti sauce and for my Italian sandwiches. When I was tailgating, the brats were my go to for cooking on the bbq.
Made this last night. It’s my first attempt at making Lu Rou Fan (braised hand-cut pork belly), a Taiwanese favorite. Added hardboiled eggs and deep fried tofu to the braising. Not too bad, but definitely needs work. Ha
Sounds interesting, and sounds like a good reason to make it again.
