Food, Flour, Feet and Facial care? First time commenting, but I’ll bite:
I’d love to hear how you’re using your flours. I stopped buying commodity flour a couple of years ago, and have been experimenting with flours from all over the US. It looks like maybe Azure’s mill is similar to the one they use at Sunrise Flour Mill in MN?
I’ve otherwise been baking with stone-milled flours from a tremendous variety of wheat strains, growers and millers, with my favorites coming from Barton Springs Mill. Their flours are very finely milled, making them easy to use in any old bread or pastry application without making adjustments or really doing any thinking at all. Claire Saffitz recently toured Barton Springs (in Texas) and I hope she (and others like you!) spread the word about … well, flour -- beyond the white, wheat and all-purpose that comes out of roller mills.
I love your char siu skewers and have made them a few times already this summer served atop cold rice noodles, the VWK nuoc cham recipe [which I love – describing it as starting out as limeade was a revelation (and made me realize I should be juicing citrus for ades in the summer YUM)], lots of herbs and more crunchy cold vegetables tossed in. Cold noodles are exactly what I crave in hot weather! I’ve started chilling my (big entrée-sized) salad bowls before serving, too, so everything stays cold coming out of my 80-degree kitchen.
Your pedicure comments cracked me up as I recently moved from the west to the Midwest (Seattle to Cleveland, OH and then to the Hampton Roads region of VA) and couldn’t find a Viet nail salon. Feeling rather at sea, I did my own pedis during those years. Here in Virginia, I have a number of Viet nail salons available to me but can’t find a decent restaurant meal (with very few exceptions.) Thus, someone else does my nails but I do my own cooking.
As to skincare, I’m about your age, post-menopausal (my skin went through its most dramatic changes thus far in my 40s.) My best tip is to move somewhere humid with no winter. Barring that, my current routine is:
Daytime: a combination of: Some By Mi Galactomyces Vitamin C toner, Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water, I’m From Ginseng Serum, Beauty of Joseon Calming serum, Swanicoco Fermentation Snail Emulsion, Stratia Liquid Gold.
Nighttime: Naturium Tranexamic Topical Acid 5% or one of their C sera, Some By Mi Yuja Niacin Toner, Dr Jart Ceramidin Liquid, Mara Universal Face Oil mixed into either: Dewytree Ultra Vitalizing Snail Essence, Blithe Crystal Iceplant Pressed Serum, or Rose Inc Hydration Replenish Plumping Gel.
Cleanser is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil, Eye Cream is Etude House Soon Jung Cica Balm, Occlusive is Farmacy Honey Halo ceramide moisturizer, sunscreen is Thank You Farmer SPF 50 Light Sun Essence.
My mature skin is dry but I live in a humid climate so they’re on the lighter-weight side. Not recommending any particular routine, but these are all products I use and enjoy. Oh, and due to my own skin sensitivities, they’re dimethicone- and lauryl/sulfate-free. Most are re-purchases from stores like Soko Glam, iHerb, amazon, YesStyle, Sephora.
Thanks for your dedication and the great conversations. I look forward to the next dispatch. Pardon my tl;dr. Brevity is not my strong suit.
Yes, Azure Mill uses a Unifine mill like Sunrise Farms. I went with Azure because they are closer to me and have a semi-truck mode of free delivery that's relatively sustainable. I got their white and red bread flours, pastry flour and rice flour; plus whole grain sorghum and blue barley. It's a quirky and very wholesome family-run operation.
The bread flour makes life-giving bread for us. It tastes good and makes us feel satisfied and good. I don't mean to sound woo-woo but it's oddly true. I've been wanting to sourcing true whole wheat and the Unifine method ensures that the wheat berry stays intact. I wondered if the bread would taste weird but I add a little olive oil and agave/honey to the dough. This kind of whole grain flour will never have the kind of airy crumb that artisan breads have but we enjoy the flavor a lot. My starters are kinda there and kinda not and because I bake with this sort of complete wheat, I add a little yeast for good measure.
I've not done much with the pastry flour. I love sorghum and occasionally mix it in with my brown jasmine. Ditto for the purple barley. Can't get enough fiber, right???
I bet your Viet food would be deemed mighty delicious by the Viet nail salon ladies. Bring in some of those skewers and you may get mani-pedis for free!
When we were in Southeast Asia, both Rory and I felt like our skin was at a spa. I still used my products but my skin looked so much better.
The foot zester is handy for in between sandings? We have next to zilch in terms of Viet restaurants in Santa Cruz. So, I cook and clean up after myself.
The world of Korean skin care products is completely confusing for me. I was using a snail cream long ago but didn't know if it did anything for me. Thanks for sharing your routine. I'm like using 3 or 4 products in my morning and night routines nowadays. It's been a while since I've poked around Soko Glam so I appreciate the reminder. It's a fun site to noodle around it!
I'm thrilled that you decided to comment for the first time. Hopefully this won't be the last time we get to communicate!
Thanks for the summer suggestions, Andrea! You asked for skin tips: I’m doing an IG Live tomorrow at 2:30 with Jan Marini of Jan Marini Skin Research, and she’s going to be talking about post-menopausal skin! My IG site is sereno_sante if you’re interested.
Thank you for sharing the rice article and the chicken tikka recipe. The other day my husband said “Since we have leftover rice in the fridge…” I said “NOT LEFTOVER, I have a plan!” and I made a fantastic pork laab inspired fried rice.
I’ve never been big on primping or beauty routines. My makeup is a dusting of mineral foundation and tinted lip balm. If it wasn’t for TJ HABA products I’d have zero game. 😂 I really like the spf 15 face moisturizer and recently fell in love with the vitamin C & glycolic acid body butter. It’s especially great on feet. 😉
Leftover rice is a godsend. Great idea for fried rice. What did you do?
Vitamin C -- when you the right kind and dosage, can be great for your skin. Body Shop's camu camu stuff works for me but for a spell, it turned my skin strawberry red. I once tried a Vitamin C line that made me peel like a lizard. No bueno!
For the rice I cooked up 8 oz of ground pork (I try to keep portioned and flattened bags in the freezer so it defrosts quickly), added rice and a blend of fish sauce/chili flakes/sugar/lime juice, after it crisped up a bit tossed it with lots of basil/cilantro/mint/red onions and sprinkled toasted rice powder over. I want to make it again just telling you about it.
It was probably close to room temp by the time I cleaned up and sat down to eat with Rose. Steve and Josie probably heated it up when they got home (still delicious but not as good).
Food, Flour, Feet and Facial care? First time commenting, but I’ll bite:
I’d love to hear how you’re using your flours. I stopped buying commodity flour a couple of years ago, and have been experimenting with flours from all over the US. It looks like maybe Azure’s mill is similar to the one they use at Sunrise Flour Mill in MN?
I’ve otherwise been baking with stone-milled flours from a tremendous variety of wheat strains, growers and millers, with my favorites coming from Barton Springs Mill. Their flours are very finely milled, making them easy to use in any old bread or pastry application without making adjustments or really doing any thinking at all. Claire Saffitz recently toured Barton Springs (in Texas) and I hope she (and others like you!) spread the word about … well, flour -- beyond the white, wheat and all-purpose that comes out of roller mills.
I love your char siu skewers and have made them a few times already this summer served atop cold rice noodles, the VWK nuoc cham recipe [which I love – describing it as starting out as limeade was a revelation (and made me realize I should be juicing citrus for ades in the summer YUM)], lots of herbs and more crunchy cold vegetables tossed in. Cold noodles are exactly what I crave in hot weather! I’ve started chilling my (big entrée-sized) salad bowls before serving, too, so everything stays cold coming out of my 80-degree kitchen.
Your pedicure comments cracked me up as I recently moved from the west to the Midwest (Seattle to Cleveland, OH and then to the Hampton Roads region of VA) and couldn’t find a Viet nail salon. Feeling rather at sea, I did my own pedis during those years. Here in Virginia, I have a number of Viet nail salons available to me but can’t find a decent restaurant meal (with very few exceptions.) Thus, someone else does my nails but I do my own cooking.
As to skincare, I’m about your age, post-menopausal (my skin went through its most dramatic changes thus far in my 40s.) My best tip is to move somewhere humid with no winter. Barring that, my current routine is:
Daytime: a combination of: Some By Mi Galactomyces Vitamin C toner, Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water, I’m From Ginseng Serum, Beauty of Joseon Calming serum, Swanicoco Fermentation Snail Emulsion, Stratia Liquid Gold.
Nighttime: Naturium Tranexamic Topical Acid 5% or one of their C sera, Some By Mi Yuja Niacin Toner, Dr Jart Ceramidin Liquid, Mara Universal Face Oil mixed into either: Dewytree Ultra Vitalizing Snail Essence, Blithe Crystal Iceplant Pressed Serum, or Rose Inc Hydration Replenish Plumping Gel.
Cleanser is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil, Eye Cream is Etude House Soon Jung Cica Balm, Occlusive is Farmacy Honey Halo ceramide moisturizer, sunscreen is Thank You Farmer SPF 50 Light Sun Essence.
My mature skin is dry but I live in a humid climate so they’re on the lighter-weight side. Not recommending any particular routine, but these are all products I use and enjoy. Oh, and due to my own skin sensitivities, they’re dimethicone- and lauryl/sulfate-free. Most are re-purchases from stores like Soko Glam, iHerb, amazon, YesStyle, Sephora.
Thanks for your dedication and the great conversations. I look forward to the next dispatch. Pardon my tl;dr. Brevity is not my strong suit.
Krista
Krista -- this is incredible. Wow.
Yes, Azure Mill uses a Unifine mill like Sunrise Farms. I went with Azure because they are closer to me and have a semi-truck mode of free delivery that's relatively sustainable. I got their white and red bread flours, pastry flour and rice flour; plus whole grain sorghum and blue barley. It's a quirky and very wholesome family-run operation.
The bread flour makes life-giving bread for us. It tastes good and makes us feel satisfied and good. I don't mean to sound woo-woo but it's oddly true. I've been wanting to sourcing true whole wheat and the Unifine method ensures that the wheat berry stays intact. I wondered if the bread would taste weird but I add a little olive oil and agave/honey to the dough. This kind of whole grain flour will never have the kind of airy crumb that artisan breads have but we enjoy the flavor a lot. My starters are kinda there and kinda not and because I bake with this sort of complete wheat, I add a little yeast for good measure.
I've not done much with the pastry flour. I love sorghum and occasionally mix it in with my brown jasmine. Ditto for the purple barley. Can't get enough fiber, right???
I bet your Viet food would be deemed mighty delicious by the Viet nail salon ladies. Bring in some of those skewers and you may get mani-pedis for free!
When we were in Southeast Asia, both Rory and I felt like our skin was at a spa. I still used my products but my skin looked so much better.
The foot zester is handy for in between sandings? We have next to zilch in terms of Viet restaurants in Santa Cruz. So, I cook and clean up after myself.
The world of Korean skin care products is completely confusing for me. I was using a snail cream long ago but didn't know if it did anything for me. Thanks for sharing your routine. I'm like using 3 or 4 products in my morning and night routines nowadays. It's been a while since I've poked around Soko Glam so I appreciate the reminder. It's a fun site to noodle around it!
I'm thrilled that you decided to comment for the first time. Hopefully this won't be the last time we get to communicate!
Thanks for the summer suggestions, Andrea! You asked for skin tips: I’m doing an IG Live tomorrow at 2:30 with Jan Marini of Jan Marini Skin Research, and she’s going to be talking about post-menopausal skin! My IG site is sereno_sante if you’re interested.
Hi Maia! Thanks for this! Perfect. I'll try to hop on today. Thanks for your IG handle too!
Thanks for all the good tips, Andrea. I'm off to the pediatrician, I mean the pedicurist.
Heheheh -- hope your feet are baby butt soft now!
Yay on the pedicure! Your toes’ color is similar to my self-manicure. It’s mango season in Hawaii - heaven!
You self-icure too?! I was eyeing a yellow by Essie that's mango-ish! Who makes the color you use?
Yes. Pro pedicure but self manicure. Sally Hansen Orchid-ing Aside over Ski Bunny. 🤣Pedi is Opi Princesses Rule.
Whoever gets to name nail polish colors has the best job! Thanks.
Thank you for sharing the rice article and the chicken tikka recipe. The other day my husband said “Since we have leftover rice in the fridge…” I said “NOT LEFTOVER, I have a plan!” and I made a fantastic pork laab inspired fried rice.
I’ve never been big on primping or beauty routines. My makeup is a dusting of mineral foundation and tinted lip balm. If it wasn’t for TJ HABA products I’d have zero game. 😂 I really like the spf 15 face moisturizer and recently fell in love with the vitamin C & glycolic acid body butter. It’s especially great on feet. 😉
Leftover rice is a godsend. Great idea for fried rice. What did you do?
Vitamin C -- when you the right kind and dosage, can be great for your skin. Body Shop's camu camu stuff works for me but for a spell, it turned my skin strawberry red. I once tried a Vitamin C line that made me peel like a lizard. No bueno!
For the rice I cooked up 8 oz of ground pork (I try to keep portioned and flattened bags in the freezer so it defrosts quickly), added rice and a blend of fish sauce/chili flakes/sugar/lime juice, after it crisped up a bit tossed it with lots of basil/cilantro/mint/red onions and sprinkled toasted rice powder over. I want to make it again just telling you about it.
Sounds good. You ate that at room temp?
It was probably close to room temp by the time I cleaned up and sat down to eat with Rose. Steve and Josie probably heated it up when they got home (still delicious but not as good).