Ooopsie Crackers - Testing

I sometimes make mistakes. This time I was making one of my Commons breads, and I forgot to add the yeast. I could tell because 24hrs later, still no bubbles. This is a potential save.

1 - This is really good! I need to even out my rolling, and a full recipe of the bread dough makes a lot!!! I made a half recipe but used the same amount of flour as for a full recipe, so there's that. The dough is still very sticky but putting down a lot of flour when rolling seems to work. I lightly brushed with olive oil and sprinkled on salt and it was good stuff!

Yeast-less dough base

120 (maybe 240?) g flour

30 g olive oil or melted butter

2–4 g salt (to taste)

1. Mix everything until cohesive. You want a firmer dough than the flatbread — not sticky.
2. Allow the dough to rest 20–30 minutes, which helps with rolling. 
3. Divide into 2–3 pieces and roll each piece very thin, as thin as possible (1–2 mm), almost translucent.
4. Prick all over with a fork.
5. Optional toppings: flaky salt, sesame seeds, cracked pepper, herbs
6. Bake 355°F for 12–18 minutes depending on thickness. Rotate tray halfway to ensure even baking.
7. Cool fully - be patient, they crisp up as they cool.

What to expect:

Snappy, lightly sour crackers with a deep, almost cultured flavour.

Tangy Skillet Flatbreads (naan-ish) - Testing

1 - Still not fully satisfied. The warm bread was still too doughy (I think I need to make it even thinner) and it had a very floral taste. I'll see what it's like when it's cold.

Commons Bread recipe (your choice) WITHOUT the yeast and AFTER it has sat for 12-24 hours.

Add:

3–5 g instant yeast (¾–1¼ tsp) (optional but recommended)

60–100 g all-purpose flour (for structure)

10–15 g oil or melted butter (optional, for softness)

OPTIONAL - herbs of your choice, fresh or dry

1. Sprinkle yeast over your dough, mix well.
2. Add 60 g flour first, mix, then add more only if still very loose.
3. You’re aiming for a soft, slightly tacky dough, not sticky batter.
4. Cover and rest 45–60 minutes. It won’t double — just a bit of puff is enough.
5. Turn onto a floured surface.
6. Divide into 8–10 pieces (~90–110 g each).
7. To shape, gently flatten and roll thin (3–5 mm).
8. Don’t overwork — the dough will be a bit relaxed/fragile.
9. In a hot dry pan (cast iron ideal), cook 1–2 min per side until bubbles form, and brown spots appear.
10. To finish, brush with butter or oil and sprinkle with salt and or herbs

Cook’s Spread - Untested

Made using spent aromatics for things like braising (see Langue de porc braisée au vin rouge). Use as a pâté.

Your poached onion, carrot, celery (well-drained)

1–2 tbsp butter or bacon fat (or a mix)

1–2 tsp mustard or a splash of vinegar

Salt (careful if the braise was already seasoned)

Black pepper

Optional lift:

garlic (fresh or from the dish)

chopped parsley

a tiny splash of red wine

1. Drain well
2. Press out excess liquid—this matters or it’ll be watery.
3. Chop or mash
4. Rough chop for a coarse texture
5. Or mash for something closer to a spread
6. Warm gently with fat
7. Heat butter or bacon fat, add veg, cook 3–5 minutes
8. → this step brings back aroma and richness
9. Season + brighten
10. Add mustard or vinegar
11. Taste → adjust salt/pepper
12. Finish
13. Stir in herbs if using
14. Serve warm or room temp

What it becomes (texture spectrum)

Chunky → side dish / spoonable accompaniment

Smooth → spread / toast topping

Looser → almost a rustic sauce

Recipe Name Ideas (choose your vibe)

Old-world / French countryside feel

Potager Cook’s Paste

Peasant Mirepoix Spread

After-Pot Vegetable Pâté

Kitchen Hearth Relish

Second Pot Paste

Butcher’s table / nose-to-tail energy

Butcher’s Aromatic Mash

Tongue-Pot Relish

Charcutier’s Vegetable Paste

Stockpot Spread

Simple / modern / accessible

Savory Veg Spread

Rustic Veg Mash

Kitchen Scrap Spread (honest and kind of great)

Deep Flavour Veg Paste

Homemade Roots Divino Bianco - Untested

Homemade Roots Divino Bianco (NA Vermouth) A crisp, herbal non-alcoholic white vermouth inspired by ancient Greek herbal remedies — lemon, thyme, rosemary, and a gentle bitterness from wormwood.

Ingredients (makes ~600ml, ~12 servings of 50ml)

• 500ml dealcoholized white wine (dry, neutral — e.g. Leitz or Ariel)
• 100ml water
• 60g sugar
• 30ml fresh lemon juice
• 3 strips lemon zest (no pith)
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp dried wormwood (artemisia absinthium)
• ½ tsp dried gentian root
• ½ tsp dried oregano

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Method

1. Make the simple syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar fully dissolves — you'll see the liquid go from slightly cloudy to completely clear (2–4 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool completely before using.

Note: Dissolving sugar in warm water rather than adding it cold ensures even distribution and prevents graininess in the finished vermouth. The syrup must be fully cooled before combining with the wine, or it will slightly cook off the more delicate aromatic compounds.

2. Infuse the botanicals. In a clean glass jar, combine the dealcoholized wine with the lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, wormwood, gentian, and oregano. Seal and leave to infuse at room temperature. Taste every 30 minutes. The infusion is ready when it is pleasantly herbal and lightly bitter — usually 1 to 2 hours. Stop as soon as it tastes right to you; do not push further.

Note: Wormwood (artemisia absinthium) and gentian root are both intensely bitter due to sesquiterpene lactones and iridoid glycosides respectively. These compounds extract quickly in liquid — far faster than, say, vanilla or citrus peel. This is why tasting every 30 minutes is the real instruction here, not the time range.

Note: The lemon zest releases limonene and other aromatic oils from its surface cells almost immediately. The white pith beneath contains naringin, which is harsh and astringent — this is why zest strips with no pith are specified.

3. Strain. Once the flavor is where you want it, pour the infusion through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean bottle or jar. Press the herbs gently to extract the last of the liquid, then discard the solids.

4. Finish and adjust. Stir in the cooled simple syrup and lemon juice. Taste carefully and adjust: more lemon juice if it needs brightness, a little more syrup if the bitterness is too sharp, a splash more wine if it feels too concentrated. The target balance is lightly sweet, gently sour, and pleasantly bitter — none of the three should dominate.

Note: The lemon juice serves two roles here: flavour (brightness, citrus lift) and chemistry. The citric acid lowers the pH slightly, which helps preserve the aromatic compounds and extends shelf life without any alcohol to act as a preservative.

5. Bottle and chill. Pour into a sealed bottle and refrigerate immediately. Ready to use straight away. Keeps for up to 2 weeks — after which the more delicate aromatics begin to fade.

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LHSS Score

Category	Weight	Score	Weighted	Notes
Greens / Cruciferous / Bitters	25%	6 / 10	1.50	Wormwood, rosemary, and thyme are bitter and phytonutrient-rich, but this is a condiment — a 50ml serving delivers only trace amounts of plant material. Scored for the bitter botanical presence, not volume.
Alliums	15%	0 / 10	0.00	None.
Pulses + Fibre	20%	0 / 10	0.00	None. This is a flavouring agent, not a fibre source.
Fat Quality	15%	10 / 10	1.50	Zero fat of any kind.
Dairy Density	10%	10 / 10	1.00	No dairy.
Salt Load	5%	10 / 10	0.50	No added salt whatsoever.
Spice / Phytonutrients	10%	9 / 10	0.90	Thyme, rosemary, oregano, wormwood, gentian, lemon zest — a genuinely rich botanical profile. Wormwood and gentian in particular are among the most potent bitter digestive herbs used historically.
LHSS TOTAL	100%	5.40 / 10		Scored honestly as a condiment/aperitif, not a meal component. The score reflects what a 50ml serving actually delivers — trace botanicals, no fibre, no alliums, no pulses. Within its category (flavouring agent / drink base), it is excellent: zero fat, zero dairy, zero salt, and a strong phytonutrient profile.

LDL note: No meaningful LDL relevance in either direction at a 50ml serving size. The botanical profile — wormwood, gentian, rosemary, thyme — is anti-inflammatory and digestively supportive, which is a mild positive. The sugar content (roughly 5g per 50ml serving) is low and unremarkable. This is a good substitute for an alcoholic aperitif, which would carry far more metabolic cost.

Mogette Plate - Untested

A classic Vendée plate — mogettes in broth, perfumed with salt pork, with sharp greens and bread to soak it all up.

1 recipe Mogette de Vendée

60–80 g salt pork (lard salé / poitrine salée)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Bitter greens for salad (arugula, frisee, etc), or braised greens

Vinaigrette or vinegar, to dress the greens

A modest slice of bread, to serve

1. Make the Mogette de Vendée recipe; keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, place the pork in a small pot and cover with cold water. 
3. Bring just to a boil - look for the moment when you see a full, rolling boil across the surface — vigorous bubbles breaking continuously, then immediately drain and rinse. 
4. Slice the blanched pork thickly — coins or short batons, about 1 to 1.5 cm. Add to the mogettes for the last 20–25 minutes of cooking, letting it gently perfume the broth without dissolving into fat.
5. Prepare the greens. Either dress a bitter green salad simply with vinaigrette, or lightly steam or braise chard, kale, or cabbage and finish with a splash of vinegar. Keep it sharp — this is the counterpoint to the rich, yielding beans.
6. Assemble and serve. Ladle the mogettes into a bowl with plenty of their light broth. Stir in the vinegar. Arrange the pork pieces alongside — not mixed through. Serve the greens on the side with a modest slice of bread for soaking up the broth.

With bread (as specified):

🟢 7.8 / 10 — Solidly within LHSS “green zone”

Without bread:

🟢 8.4 / 10 — Exceptionally liver-gentle

Brownie cocktail - Testing

1 - This is Ben's invention, first made in the drafty cold but beautiful Whalewych farmhouse.

1 and a half parts vodka

1 part crème de cacao

1/4 shot jagermeister

a few drops of coffee bitters

1. Dip the rim of a martini glass in sugar before pouring in the cocktail.

Sweet Celery Pie - Untested

https://www.24heures.ch/rcomment-cuisiner-le-celeri-pour-le-dessert-540471639949

Makes one 26 cm (10-inch) tart

1 kg (2.2 lbs) celery stalks

500 g (2½ cups) sugar + 50 g (¼ cup) extra

1 vanilla pod

200 g (1⅔ cups) plain flour

120 g (½ cup) whipping cream

1 egg yolk

30 g (¼ cup) ground almonds

1 pinch of salt

⅓ cup table cream

⅓ cup milk

1 large egg

1. Slice the celery into ½ cm (¼ inch) rounds.
2. Over medium heat, dissolve the 500 g of sugar in 500 ml (2 cups) of water with the scraped vanilla pod. Once the syrup is boiling, add the celery pieces and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Leave to rest in the syrup for 10 minutes, then drain into a bowl and set the syrup aside (it's lovely used in a fruit salad).
3. For the pastry: Mix the flour with the 50 g of sugar, a pinch of salt and the double cream. Work with your fingertips for about 10 minutes until the mixture reaches a sandy, crumbly texture. Add the ground almonds and mix, then add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring together into a dough.
4. Roll out on a floured surface, line your tart tin, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Prick the base with a fork and cover with baking weights (ceramic beans, chickpeas, or dried beans work well). Blind bake for 30 minutes at 210°C (410°F).
6. Leave to cool, then arrange the candied celery over the base.
7. Whisk together the egg, single cream, milk and 50 ml of the reserved celery syrup. Pour over the tart.
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 190°C (375°F).