Before and After

Before

Just finished a breakfast of scratch buttermilk pancakes and sous vide bacon, and I have to say we've reached a new breakfast height. The bacon cooked for 17 hours in the sous vide and then Dave finished it by searing it on cast iron. It didn't shrink nearly as much as it does when cooked in a pan--Dave says this is because you don't get the extreme protein bunching that you get during higher heat cooking. You also don't get any carbonization (bcb's). Instead it came out decidedly crisp and chewy at the same time.

While much of the accomplishment was due to my spouse's incomparable cooking, I am modestly pleased at my own contributions to breakfast. I buttered my pancake, then covered it with apple cider syrup (thank you Chris Hyams), topped it with whipped cream, drizzled on more syrup, and liberally garnished it with the bacon in bits. I accompanied it with some Foggie Morning Brekkie tea from T-WE. Oh Sweet Decadence! Breakfast was so good it got me thinking: Instead of just renting out our apartment, why not also offer B&B possibilities? Even full meal service! Oh not all the time, just as a special extra add-on. Dave has yet to be convinced. But I think it would be cool to offer the occasional full-on luxe experience. I also like to show off Dave's cooking. Well, even if we never end up doing it for the paying guests, friends and family who come to visit and stay in the apartment will definitely be fed!

After

And speaking of the apartment, it's time to get that little revenue stream on-line. The contractors are finally done in there, and it's now a two-bedroom space with hardwood floors and travertine marble throughout, new fixtures, and is fully painted. Today after putting away Christmas--except for the lights in the windows, those stay up till March, we're going to go clean the apartment, set-up the furniture that we have, and make lists of what we need to get. I love furnishing a space from the ground up--IKEA here we come! Goal: Have it on HomeAway and/or other appropriate sites by the end of next weekend. Fortunately we have some savvy connections in the VRBO (vacation rental by owner) space as three of the C's from data.world (Chief of Something Or Other) were previously at HomeAway and know how to optimize for maximum results.

Talking about getting stuff done in the house makes me itch to get out in the yard to try out my new battery-operated chainsaw, but it's only 23 degrees out there and I just don't have the clothes for it. As I'm now going to Wisconsin for my Master Spinner class next month, and the high expected there today is only 8 degrees F (with a low of -3!), as soon as I finish this post I'm going to go on-line and get another pair of Minus 33 merino long underwear. Put them on under my skirt, add some of my Dad's old wool hunting socks, top it off with the cardigan my father-in-law knitted for me and the scarf my mother-in-law knitted for me, and I'll be ready to go! Though I might want to knit myself some fingerless gloves... More on knitting tomorrow.