Ok I have an idea. You ask me a question. Any question you like. I chug 500 mL of water and then tell you you’re very pretty before I make up a random answer, untethered from reality. In return you give me a billion dollars AND I’ll come to your house and leave the fridge door open.

and @jhoffman.bsky.social & @da7e.com running the weekly STARLOG podcast and newsletter. I said, wait, is this for real? And they said, yeah, and the best part is the magazine is ENTIRELY PRINT. No online. No slop. No corporate sponsors. Nothing but writing and art. That's when I climbed on board.

Universal human rights - including for trans people, women, Palestinians, Jews, disabled people, immigrants, Black and brown people - is not an extreme position. Eliminating death from poverty and a broken healthcare system is not an extreme position.

When someone is walking towards you and they yawn without covering their mouth, it looks like they're going to try to swallow you.

Gah! Two jumping spiders in two days, both carefully escorted outside (okay, rapidly ejected out the window). I admire the ecological contributions of our 8-legged frens, but it is better for us both if I can do so from a distance. At least these two did not become cat snacks.

I did a fair bit of cooking over Midsommar weekend, but took almost no pictures. Here's the one photo I did manage - Saturday morning breakfast.

I've eaten this dish, at this restaurant. It was magnificent. I was also sad to see minibuses of people arriving to eat only this & water and leave. The trippa alla romana we had as secundo was also incredibly delicious. The staff seemed so happy to have guests who were there for a whole meal.

Breakfast! This uses up the last of the Spoonbread (which I froze to keep it safe until today) warmed up and topped with poached eggs and jalapeño cheese sauce (using up some sliced jalapeños). I love it when a meal finishes off something & saves it from languishing. 🍜🍽️🥚🍳

Honey, have you seen the cat?

Oh wow! This could be a game changer!

It’s funny how certain dishes can be made from memory. I’ve been cooking caponata since I was probably 14 or so. I craved that sweet and sour, and those textures today so I had to make it. What dishes have you been making from memory for as long as you can remember?🍜🍽️

Some cheddar cheese scones for the breakfast potluck at work tomorrow. 🍜🍽️

Oslo Pride video 🥹 🏳️‍🌈 #Pride #LoveIsLove

Comfort food dinner tonight. 🍜🍽️

I failed at clothing shopping today, but at least I had some princess cake this evening.

This reminds me that I need to make a pot of tea and some scones, and settle in for a re-read.

I once answered this question with "Sipping wine in the south of France." I still got the job. 3 years later I breezed into the CEO's office, reminded him of that first convo and announced "Good news! I'm 2 years ahead of schedule" as I quit to travel around Europe.

Tip to my fellow queer adjacent folks. You don't need to buy merch for pride. Just be an unholy banshee when people say shady/bigoted shit in your presence. It looks good, works for any sized body, and can be used year round.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I would MUCH rather have some rambling back story about an online blog recipe than the current trend toward 10 or so sections of miscellaneous advice before getting to the recipe.

Dutch Baby du jour. I'm not saying I'll never get tired of these, but it ain't happening anytime soon. This one has prosciutto cotto, white cheddar, and chives. The golden yellow colour is purely from the eggs (well, and maillard intensification). 🍜🍽️

This little weirdo ❤️

You don't have to prep the whole meal for lunches. You can just cook up a base layer of rice/couscous etc. so you can quickly turn it into a meal based on leftovers, or a substantial salad if you have a stocked crisper. Also, hard-cooked eggs last for days in fridge - good snacks or meal add-ins.

the thing with AI and writing is that the problem with writing was never that you didn't have enough words.

if you are someone who makes anything, anything at all, with your own real brain and hands, I respect you so so much and am begging you to keep doing it.

It's called fashion. Look it up.

The River Mease was dying - polluted, degraded, forgotten. 13 years later and 17km has been restored. Rare fish back. Wetland birds back. 100+ farmers brought on board. It just won the UK River Prize. Proof that patient, community-led work can bring a river back from the dead.

Okay, but Grandma's going to be a bit upset you used ALL her best tablecloths for this. 👗

the most incredible news

Spotted fungi I've never seen here before in the park today. 🍄🍄‍🟫

What is it in a cat's brain that when they see you cleaning the litter box they immediately need to hop in and get busy? 😽 📥

This is a cat check point: relinquish your most recent cat picture on your phone.

everything, you useless, illiterate hole in the ground

I don't have a grill, but I do have a grill pan, and it makes for a pretty tasty pork souvlaki situation. 🍽️🍜

True. One Weird Trick that women love.

Once again it’s IDAHOBIT - International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia and Transphobia, and I’d like to take a moment to explore what it looks like to be an ally. 1. Educate yourself. Read about what it means to be queer in all of its glorious rainbow forms. 1/

One hour into an on-camera dance rehearsal, and has my eyeliner budged even a fraction? No, no it has not. 💄👁️

I know, I know, another dutch baby. But they are just so satisfying to make! 🥹 We usually top ours before it goes in the oven, usually with cheese and other savoury things, but this is the beauty base zero version, which will be dressed with fruit preserves at the table. 🍜🍽️

Spring chicken stew with ramson-flecked drop dumplings and asparagus. There's a dry Riesling broth, fistfuls of tiny green peas, and both fresh thyme and tarragon. 🍽️🍜

Two spots are available for my 3-day Pastel workshop in my studio in San Jose, California, this June (5-7). Please visit my website, icuong.com/workshops, for more information and registration. See some of you soon! (For European fans, I'm coming to Rome in July. Contact me if you are interested!)

Seems legit

Iggy's birthday is today! He's 8. He's not a lapcat. This is how he likes to share couch space, doing slow acrobatics against a human, or lying on a wide pant leg, where available. 🐱🎂

Stone cold truth

This is Lazlo the gargoyle enjoying the sunset. Lazlo has been watching over us for 30 years now. We couldn't ask for a better protector.

I DO NOT WANT TO 'CHAT WITH MY FILES'

Even if you can't come to any of these events, please share them! Independent bookstores are sticking their necks out to bring me to these cities, and I want them rewarded with high attendance and lots of book sales. Help me do nice things for booksellers!! They deserve it!!

Tostadas for dinner tonight. 🍜🍽️🌮

Just Zeus being Zeus. 💜

I launched an indie webcomic hosting platform several months ago that offered a free and a $4/mo paid plan. This was purely to cover the cost of the infrastructure. But in seeing it grow, I'm no longer worried about the cost. So yeah Webcomic Studio is now free. webcomic.studio

📣 Hey people of Bluesky! I have a lovely archaeogastronomical podcast going on and if you'd like to listen check it out here 👇 Choose any of the ~230 episodes exploring our past food & traditions the world over with my many expert guests! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... #podcast #food #history

First orzo and chickpea salad of the year. I love this stuff so much. Perfect side dish for many things, but also amazing on its own.