February 15

Website update, sleepless nights, and Taiwanese chili crisp

Last night I made plans to bake these Sourdough Salted Miso Baguettes from Aran Goyoaga’s The Art of Gluten-Free Bread.

However the sourdough starter looked a little lethargic this morning so I re-fed it and pivoted, choosing to bake something different in the meantime using the sourdough discard. I picked Aran’s Sourdough Molasses Cookies with Chocolate Chunks. It was a very good pivot.

I was feeling a bit run down and tired last week (possibly fighting off a cold from my son) and had a strong craving for congee. I made a batch with lots of ginger and garlic and topped it with some Taiwanese goodness from Yun Hai in Brooklyn. My Yun Hai faves:

Mala Sichuan Chili Crisp / Cilantro Chili Crisp / Amber River Soy Sauce / Miso Soy Paste / Vat Bottom Soy Sauce (and get the soy sauce pour spouts)…

I added a new “Movement Videos” page on my website where I’ll be adding all of the workout videos that I make for my clients. I have a lot of ideas and a lot to add but you can check it out in its current state on the Movement Videos link on the website or by clicking “Movement Videos” at the top of my substack homepage.

When I’m working on a creative project like my website or client programming, my brain tends to swirl with a lot of threads. I keep a notepad by my bedside so when an idea wakes me up at 3am I can manually “download” my thoughts, but something that also helps me are Bach Homeopathic Flower Remedies.

White Chestnut is indicated for those who have repetitive, unwanted thoughts. It helps calm the mind and brings thoughts under control. White Chestnut is particularly helpful to slow down racing thoughts in order to be able to fall asleep.

Bach also makes a Rescue Remedy for sleep but the one I’ve been committed to for the last few years is this Les Fleurs de Bach Sleep Elixer…

I really love this recent nugget from James Clear:

“In the modern world, it is easy to feel like a passenger: reacting to notifications, responding to demands, consuming whatever you happen to drive past on your screen.

But joy is found in being the driver. It’s the act of looking at the raw material of your circumstances — your time, your energy, your relationships, your skills — and seeing what you can make from it.

It is the act of creating the life you want (in big and small ways) that makes you feel alive and imbues life with extra meaning. The fact that you can hold a vision in your mind and then, however imperfectly, bend reality a few degrees in that direction.”

Have a great week. xx

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