I'm getting really sick of websites that make me sign in with one of my other accounts in order to leave a comment. Especially when, as with this latest attempt on Typepad they can't seem to do it right. So maybe I can use that as an opportunity to do more here. ¹

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We spent a wonderful weekend at Ravello, on the Amalfi coast, gorgeous despite rain on and off all day Saturday. Among the delights, one of the best menu manglings ever.

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The Committee on Food Security is meeting in Rome this week. I'm pretty sure nobody there is thinking about instant noodles. Perhaps they should be.

Because ...

Last year, about 100 billion packets and cups were sold, according to the World Instant Noodles Association—about 14 servings per person.

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If you put anything metal in a microwave, sparks fly and it may blow up. That's a truth the whole world knows. Or is it? In the comments to the podcast on microwaved bread, Peter Hertzmann elaborates:

It’s not wise to put small pieces of metal in a microwave, such as the twist-tie on a plastic bag. Large pieces are another issue. I’ve been putting large stainless-steel bowls in my microwave ever since I worked in a restaurant in Switzerland in 2002 where we regularly warmed items in 2-liter metal bowls. The metal actually acts as a reflector, reflecting radiant energy from the magnetron tube into the food in the bowl.

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Decided to get out of my baking bread comfort zone a couple of weeks ago to make some ciabatta. It was difficult work, but ultimately worthwhile, and in pursuit of my goal to maintain a record of my other online activities here, I'm linking to sourdough ciabatta.

This also raises the question of what to do about plurals of foreign words. It drives me a teeny bit nuts when movie characters, and ordinary people, ask for "a biscotti" or "a panini". So should I maintain my pedantic persona and refer to ciabatte when I'm talking about several ciabattas?