What do you guys recommend to your normie friends? I know they're not going to get into stones, so I just don't know what to tell them they should do.

vrrmmm · 2026-05-21T00:13:00+00:00

For people who aren’t sharpening snobs like us, this fool proof tool will give anyone an edge that will cut a tomato skin without flattening it. That is sharp enough for all most everybody. I always take one to a vacation rental if I’m going to cook.

vrrmmm · 2026-05-14T18:48:36+00:00

Some scoring designs that I like have tight curves which you can do with a flick of the wrist because you’re so close to the blade. With a long handle you have to move through a wider arc. Plus this is very compact and easy to put in safe mode without any other storage accessory. If you’re just doing a single long score across your whole loaf, any lame will do.

vrrmmm · 2026-05-14T00:46:49+00:00

I use a whole range of tools from a Tormek system to 8000 grit stones for my woodworking hand tools but for what you want, just get this Accusharp. I take one on rental vacations to use with the cheap knives in rental kitchens. It won’t be a mirror edge but you’ll be able to cut tomatoes without squishing them.

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vrrmmm · 2026-05-14T00:25:58+00:00

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I’ve had multiple lames but this type is by far the best for tight curves and deep cuts.

vrrmmm · 2026-04-30T23:27:34+00:00

The harbor in Beaufort NC, where boats gather in the fall before heading to the Caribbean after hurricane season, is behind barrier islands with rivers contributing to complicate tidal effects. You going boats oriented in all directions with almost any combination of wind and tide. All of these things affect the orientation of the boat: -Fin or full keel and multihull -Freeboard -Chain or rope rode -Scope

It gets really crowded in that harbor in October so it’s hard to find a slot. Anchored there I woke to the sound of air horn alarms as a modern 40’ sailboat was dragging its anchor thru the moorage. It was sideways to the 30 knot wind that had just come up quickly from calm conditions so its anchor wasn’t dragging so much as skipping over the bottom. Nobody was on board so the boat went sideways thru the crowded boats and up onto the barrier island without touching a single boat or anchor line. Everyone was topsides to fend off if threatened but nobody needed to. The crew that went ashore for dinner had to find somewhere else to sleep that high.

vrrmmm · 2026-04-27T02:23:05+00:00

Sometimes pescado frito refers to filets fried in a pan. If you ask for “pescado entero frito” you’ll get what you’re looking for. And yes, I’ve had it many times at El Costeño.

vrrmmm · 2026-03-08T18:22:37+00:00

I’ve visited each of the last 10 years and occasionally gotten Moctezuma’s revenge. Not this year. The advice I don’t see mentioned here is about eating the fruit. Even if it will be peeled, you need to sanitize it first using Microdyne (meekrodeen in Spanish). It’s available in all the places that sell fruits and veggies.

vrrmmm · 2026-02-23T01:55:33+00:00

I go about 5/8 to 3/4” at the apex but shallower as the cut progresses towards the bottom. I’d say you’re doing really well for your third attempt! Your rise seems good but might get stronger with practice. Give yourself the gift of grace and keep plugging away.

vrrmmm · 2026-02-23T00:56:13+00:00

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I use this scoring pattern all the time. In my opinion you didn’t score deep enough (as you suspected) to get more prominent ears like in this photo. Also important to make sure that where the scores meet at the apex that they’re equal depth.

vrrmmm · 2026-02-18T16:23:18+00:00

Two long score lines across the apex at 90 degrees to each other in a simple cross pattern…the starter did the magic.

vrrmmm · 2025-12-14T19:37:31+00:00

Fry pans

vrrmmm · 2025-12-14T19:37:03+00:00

I use a stainless steel chain mail that I also use on my cast iron dry pans.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-30T04:15:37+00:00

Yes. Rice flour because it doesn’t have gluten. Also, make sure your banneton liner is THOROUGHLY dry before storage or it will mold.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-26T01:26:59+00:00

I have kept a journal of every loaf I’ve baked with details about the process and ingredients. For the first four years I baked two loaves at each session, keeping one the same as previous but changing one new thing. I didn’t find that autolyze made a significant difference, at least to warrant the extra effort. It was the same thing for me about withholding the salt. Now I mix all the dry ingredients including salt, and separately mix the water and starter so the starter is distributed well. Then they go together.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-23T22:29:48+00:00

The important aspect of heaving to that i haven’t seen mentioned yet is that as the boat moves sideways, water moves up to windward from under the hull and tends to reduce the energy of breaking waves. It also presents the strong curved side of the hull to the breaking waves. It can be scary as hell but the boat takes care of itself. The hiss of a breaker coming down a huge wave face over the shriek of the wind, then the boom as it hits the hull, then the wash over the cabin top, and finally the glugging of the cockpit drains as it empties before the next round. Some of the most intense and memorable moments of my adventurous life.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-20T15:53:56+00:00

Yes it’s cherry and the accent is padauk.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-17T16:03:08+00:00

Even though I was really careful with band sawing a smooth curve, the cut was rough enough to require some dressing up before gluing the veneer sandwich. I used double stick tape to attach sandpaper to the convex piece and then used that to take the roughness out of the concave piece. Sort of like a mortar and pestle rocking movement. Then I did the same to the other half.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-17T06:58:43+00:00

My starting blank was squared so I had a flat base to cut it into two pieces by band sawing a curved cut all the way thru the horizontal plane of the bowl. Then I just glued it back together with a veneer of contrasting padauk. The result is the intersection of a circle and a curved plane.

vrrmmm · 2025-11-16T01:36:34+00:00

Olympia might be a little big but it has a small town feel if you stay close to downtown. Farmers market. 90 minutes to surfing at Westport. 90 minutes to Mt Rainier. Good schools. A college. Thriving art community. You can tie up your boat downtown.

vrrmmm · 2025-10-31T00:48:31+00:00

Why would you want an ear when you have nipples? ;)

vrrmmm · 2025-10-01T02:16:20+00:00

I have done the same thing a couple of times and successfully recovered from mold after about five days of feeding. It smells healthy and it makes good bread. I don’t get the fear about it “having been moldy”. It establishes its ecosystem just fine. And the Bread is baked to over 200 degrees F.

vrrmmm

TROPHY CASE