Like peas in a pod

A recent article in The Observer claimed that women were happiest when engaged in high-flow activities: those tasks that are sufficiently challenging to be completely absorbing but that aren't beyond our capabilities. (I'm not quite sure if or why it might be different for men, and the article didn't enlighten me, annoyingly.) For me, sudoku fits that bill, as does cooking. PJ is still astounded that I can happily spend time making bread, watching it rise, punching it down, watching it rise again, shaping it into loaves, watching it rise, baking it and misting it several times with water (think The Exorcist) and still claim that it's a no-fuss recipe. In total, though, it's just 10 minutes of my time, albeit spread out over several hours (or, in the case of sourdough, several days) and with a usually tasty end result. I, on the other hand, find it dfficult to understand his willingness to spend several consecutive hours trying to install a piece of networking equipment -- which often involves testing various wall/device interface scenarios, and then filling and repainting the resulting holes. Each to their own.

The results of yesterday's high-flow endeavours:

Lemon polenta cookies. The dough was easy; the absorbing part was piping it into s shapes. I finally got to break in my new piping kit. Fun!



Homemade pasta: Easy once you know how, and incredibly satisfying to produce. And it tastes fantastic. We had this with a chilled creme anglais and 3 varieties of legume, courtesy of this recipe. The sauce did little for me on its own, but poured over the warm pasta and beans? Bliss!



Fresh beans. I like to think of myself as a well-rounded cook, but I've never cooked with either broad beans or these capuciners before. Broad beans taste nicer, but these purple pods were gorgeous to look at. And shelling and peeling the beans was an enjoyably Zen task. Om!