Instagram Stories 2/25-2/26, Meteorological is Hard to Say and a Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Here’s the Stories I posted on 2/25/23 and 2/26/23 along with a compilation video of me attempting to say the word “meteorological” whilst standing alongside the Washougal River in the midst of a rather surprising snow storm. In the 2/25 post, the game of poker is my focus while the 2/26 post discusses cooking and how I approach creating recipes.

2/25/2023

What a stunning day today was. I took the fancy camera (not fancy) out with the tripod to tinker with exposure (do not be alarmed, I did not expose anything lol) as the sun set. I haven't pulled the photos yet but hopefully I got some decent shots. The snow presents a unique light set up.

Who knew the word meteorological could be so difficult to pronounce? I surely didn't. I thought I was a decent speaker of words but holy shit meteorological had me twisted up. I was legit trying to say it long after I quit recording myself. Yuuup, just a guy walking around muttering meteorological in the snow. Totally normal lol.

I don't recall if I've talked about poker here in the past.

Let's assume I haven't for my memory's sake. If there's a game I could ever recommend you teach yourself and then your kids, it's poker. Specifically Texas hold 'em.

Miss me with the "gambling bad" takes. Every moment of our lives is a gamble. Learning to manage probabilities and understanding their impact on outcomes is a key to living a fulfilling life I believe.

Poker is a great way to learn how to calculate probabilities and execute a strategy based upon incomplete information. You also learn how to leverage aggression AND how too much aggression can get you in trouble. The Goldilocks approach to aggression translates to both poker and life. The game also teaches you to never underestimate your opponent or in life, another person. Like in poker and life, sometimes luck is with you and sometimes it isn't, but you can learn to fade the dips and ride the waves without getting too high or low. That', combined with acknowledging you can't control everything, will help navigate life on their terms. Risk is a value proposition and poker helps us understand where we can find value and what we're willing to risk to get it.

Poker is a great game to learn and teach your kids.

2/26/2023

I'm not kidding that apple crisp was incredible. I've never made one before so I read numerous recipes and created my own version because no good cook can leave well enough alone. All the recipes felt lacking and skimpy based on the vision I had for the crisp. Yeah, that's probably overthinking but I knew what I wanted, a caramel-esque filling that balances the tart of the Granny Smith apples I was using. It all goes back to my favorite dessert of all time, the deconstructed apple pie at Feast. My crisp was nowhere near as good, but it scratched the itch I had and was damn good.

I've built a lot of awesome recipes over the years. It's not hard once you understand the basics of flavors but more importantly, you need to be curious about what you can do with the flavors. It took me over two years to perfect my flagship bbq sauce. I tested batch after batch until I found what I really liked AND a taste that would stand out but not overwhelm the true star, the meat the sauce is going on. I wanted the sauce to work well with numerous meats and enhance the meat and showcase the work that goes into good bbq. And to think the flagship sauce may be my third best sauce, depending on who's eating it. The triple berry I call Dead Berry, because it features Dead Guy Ale, may be my favorite. I haven't made it forever because it's a legit pain in the ass. May need to change that soon.

I know cooking can be daunting for many folks, especially if we're serving it to others. We can get into our own heads and overthink it. Cooking is like life, we're going to get burned but that doesn't mean we can stop eating. You are the biggest winner when you cook because you can make what you want. And if it turns out crappy, make it again or throw it away, never to be eaten again. The best part of cooking is that there's no rules (unless you're baking, follow the damn rules if you're baking), push the limits, get nuts with your experimentation. I think that's why I enjoy cooking so much, I can push boundaries and it usually works out well. And teach your kids to cook, they'll thank you someday. I hope haha.

Creating recipes and cooking are very fulfilling

This was the first apple crisp, gluten free of course, I’ve ever baked. It was outrageously good.

Last but not least, here’s the video of me attempting to say meteorological. Need to have some fun with this stuff!

I tried to say the word meteorological in the snow with little success.