Things I Love...

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The crunchy texture of salt when sprinkling some on cold leftover alfredo.
 
The crunchy texture of salt when sprinkling some on cold leftover alfredo.
It has to be the right kind of pasta, but cold pasta can be so good. And finishing salt is all kinds of awesome.



Fresh, homemade bread. Fresh, homemade butter.

I've had better bread, but it's honestly getting really good when I make it and I'm only getting better. I haven't had better butter and it's unbelievably easy with a food processor. Like...I'm no "homesteader," but I've found I'm willing to put in some effort when the result is just so crazy good.
 
Duck fat.
I noticed this orange packet of something in my Chinese food a couple weeks back and read the label. It was Duck Sauce. I decided to try it because I've never had it and it was... DISGUSTING.
 
I noticed this orange packet of something in my Chinese food a couple weeks back and read the label. It was Duck Sauce. I decided to try it because I've never had it and it was... DISGUSTING.
:lol:

Yeah, no, that was something else entirely.

Duck fat is the fat from the body of ducks, collected from the abdomen and rendered down in much the same way pork fat is made into lard. It's sort of like chicken fat but oh so very much better and I can't quite explain why.

Duck sauce, even in the best of circumstances, isn't derived from ducks. It's a sweet and sour sauce that may be good with duck and various other things. What you had was probably just high-fructose corn syrup, vinegar, dried chiles and maybe dried ginger.
 
Duck sauce, even in the best of circumstances, isn't derived from ducks. It's a sweet and sour sauce that may be good with duck and various other things. What you had was probably just high-fructose corn syrup, vinegar, dried chiles and maybe dried ginger.
😳

I certainly won't be ducking down to get some anymore. 🤮
 
When off-brand products are better than name-brand.
Usually, I would expect off-brand stuff to be worse and for me, it usually is. However, once in a while I stumble upon some things that actually do it better than their name-brand counterparts and I love it when this happens because it means I am getting a better product for a lower price.

Some examples I could name:
1. I have tried a lot of cookies and cream ice cream over the years from a large variety of brands, but Great Value's is the best I have tried bar none! Not only does it taste better than any other brand I know, but they absolutely cram the ice cream with cookies, more so than any other brand I have tried and it's all in a large, reasonably priced 128 fl oz bucket! The best of its kind in the largest possible package that isn't expensive, what's not to like here? :D

2. Well going on about Great Value again, I have tried several brands of regular peanut butter before and found Great Value has the best peanut butter I have tried. Not sure why I prefer theirs, but it just tastes better than the others, which is great since it's also cheaper!
I am sure I left out some here, but the feeling of getting something better for a smaller price is always a good thing! 👍
 
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When off-brand products are better than name-brand.
Usually, I would expect off-brand stuff to be worse and for me, it usually is. However, once in a while I stumble upon some things that actually do it better than their name-brand counterparts and I love it when this happens because it means I am getting a better product for a lower price.

Some examples I could name:
1. I have tried a lot of cookies and cream ice cream over the years from a large variety of brands, but Great Value's is the best I have tried bar none! Not only does it taste better than any other brand I know, but they absolutely cram the ice cream with cookies, more so than any other brand I have tried and it's all in a large, reasonably priced 128 fl oz bucket! The best of its kind in the largest possible package that isn't expensive, what's not to like here? :D

2. Well going on about Great Value again, I have tried several brands of regular peanut butter before and found Great Value has the best peanut butter I have tried. Not sure why I prefer theirs, but it just tastes better than the others, which is great since it's also cheaper!
I am sure I left out some here, but the feeling of getting something better for a smaller price is always a good thing! 👍
Not so much on the PB. It tends to oil up after a while which gives an off taste whereas jif stays pretty consistent.
 
That happens with the "natural" type peanut butters. The oil separates and the concrete settles. You have to remix it.
Correct, but the natural peanut butters smell and taste so much better. Drawback is that the stirring sloshes oil over the sides of the jar, if you're not extremely careful.
 
I suspect Walmart's house brand is intended to be a cheap alternative to Jif, which is already entirely too sweet, and I'd wager it's even sweeter just because it's cheaper. Fine for peanut butter cookies, but in basically every other application, I'd definitely prefer natural. If I want something sweet, I'm not going to eat peanut butter.

Edit: I got distracted. Homemade bagels, fresh from the oven, still warm after a short rest.
 
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The unconditional love of a doggo or two.

Getting up to go to the bathroom or make the bed...or whatever...and hearing the pitter-patter of paws on the floor as they follow to see where you're going and, once they know where you've gone, hearing the pitter-patter of paws on the floor as they go back to where they were.
 
Cats, especially their mittens.

Watching videos of pandas playing and goofing around.

Kissing a woman for the first time, especially the anticipation when you're guessing if it's going to happen or not.

Playing and listening to drums. Especially when it gets really brainy such as when Vinnie Colaiuta plays a solo.

Reading a solid philosophical argument or listening to a passionate lecture. For instance on the latter, I could listen to Robert Sapolsky all day.
 
Engine on boost. I’m not a “hoonigan” or anything. My current commuter Hilux has a turbo diesel, and it’s mostly lame until it gets to that sweet spot around 3-4K RPM and then the lag disappears and it makes all kinds of cool sounds and the throttle becomes sensitive. It’s not fast but it is fun.
 
Engine on boost. I’m not a “hoonigan” or anything. My current commuter Hilux has a turbo diesel, and it’s mostly lame until it gets to that sweet spot around 3-4K RPM and then the lag disappears and it makes all kinds of cool sounds and the throttle becomes sensitive. It’s not fast but it is fun.
Turbos are great especially on older vehicles with lag, it's the same on my old 2004 Xsara diesel, nothing until 1500 rpm then it gets going, ace.
 
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Turbos are great especially on older vehicles with lag, it's the same on my old 2004 Xsara diesel, nothing until 1500 rpm then it gets going, ace.
Yea, the Hilux just lags all the way up to the sweet spot. It’s not economically worth keeping it on boost until about 100kph/ 60MPH, but when I get the opportunity to merge keeping it spooled turns the throttle into a light speed pedal lol.

The only downside is running cold from the off on an early morning commute. Takes a few miles to get warm being a diesel.

No blow-off valve (stock motor) so no chu-chu, but the torque is intoxicating. I’m torn between hypermiling and an Italian tune up most days of the week. Luckily I’ve got my baby in the passenger seat which keeps me within the speed limit.

Otherwise it’s waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting… turbo… good clip… oh **** we’re limit.

Nice to be able to float shift/ double clutch to turn a mediocre commute into something more fun.

Now if I could only turbo my Midnight Runner..,
 
Yea, the Hilux just lags all the way up to the sweet spot. It’s not economically worth keeping it on boost until about 100kph/ 60MPH, but when I get the opportunity to merge keeping it spooled turns the throttle into a light speed pedal lol.

The only downside is running cold from the off on an early morning commute. Takes a few miles to get warm being a diesel.

No blow-off valve (stock motor) so no chu-chu, but the torque is intoxicating. I’m torn between hypermiling and an Italian tune up most days of the week. Luckily I’ve got my baby in the passenger seat which keeps me within the speed limit.

Otherwise it’s waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting… turbo… good clip… oh **** we’re limit.

Nice to be able to float shift/ double clutch to turn a mediocre commute into something more fun.

Now if I could only turbo my Midnight Runner..,
Yeah my engine takes ages to warm up too. Mine is a solid old 2litre so has a load of torque, and yes intoxicating it is.. :)
 
Yeah my engine takes ages to warm up too.
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I enjoy seeing the mood lighten up in corporate/retail settings. When at work or a store, people always seem to improve their mood when someone brings in a toddler or pet (that doesn't cause trouble of course). I do wish some work places allowed to have their own work place pet of sorts to improve morale. Seems to be a common thing at Subaru dealerships where they have their own dog as a sort of mascot going around the showroom.
 
I enjoy seeing the mood lighten up in corporate/retail settings. When at work or a store, people always seem to improve their mood when someone brings in a toddler or pet (that doesn't cause trouble of course). I do wish some work places allowed to have their own work place pet of sorts to improve morale. Seems to be a common thing at Subaru dealerships where they have their own dog as a sort of mascot going around the showroom.
At my work, there are a few Animal Care classrooms we have to wipe down for Covid cleaning and one of them has an Axel Waddle. I don't know what it's there for but I love going into that classroom and seeing it just hanging out
 
Waking up early but not needing to be at work until 9am.
Waking up early and then going back to bed. :)

The only downside is I went back to bed to rest a muscle injury, but that time in the sack has worked wonders.
 
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