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Tag: food

29apr26

Published April 29, 2026 by Warren Ellis

Accessions:

Somehow missed this one on release. Showed up on a Kindle sale.

HOUSE OF DAY, HOUSE OF NIGHT, Olga Tokarczuk (UK) (US+)

PREVIOUSLY:

And I was given a late birthday present:

THE NOMA GUIDE TO BUILDING FLAVOUR, Rene Redzepi etc (UK) (US+)

PREVIOUSLY:

OPERATIONS: I need to finish a piece today, but my mind seems to be wandering towards a couple of new project requests I’ve received.
STATUS: 8hrs 26m sleep, finally clearing the sleep deficit. The wind is BOOMING out there.
READING: finished THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN, Giuliano da Empoli (UK) (US+) last night, back into HERE WHERE WE LIVE IS OUR COUNTRY, Molly Crabapple (UK) (US+)
LAST WATCHED: ARMAGEDDON was on last night and I always have to sit and watch at least the start, for the camera moves. The camera is always pushing in, in that first sequence, hurtling towards the scene.

MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.

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THE NOMA GUIDE TO FERMENTATION, Rene Redzepi & David Zilber

Published January 12, 2026 by Warren Ellis

As mentioned earlier today. I got this for Xmas some years back – I have always loved Rene Redzepi’s books, I once spent a year carrying his journal around.

NOMA recipes – I love them for how complex and insane they often are. But the chapters in here on basic fermentation are so simple and clear and free of faff that it’s kind of shocking. And the sheer breadth of things they have learned to pickle and ferment is staggering. I am determined to try fermented raspberries this summer.

I pulled this out of a cupboard because this is the year we work to eliminate as many UPFs as possible from our diet. But I have to tell you, this is just a fun read, like all Redzepi’s books. I will never in my life get to eat at Noma, but I love having these books.

THE NOMA GUIDE TO FERMENTATION (UK) (US+)

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NINE BELLS clothes hangers

Published December 16, 2025 by Warren Ellis

So I just took delivery of twenty clothes hangers.

A couple of years ago, I had to make some dietary changes due to having entered the “age-related food intolerances” era of life. Basically, my genetic heritage says that I am nearly dead, and therefore my body believes I no longer need to digest lactose or gluten properly and should instead be preparing to leave the village and die in a ditch in the wilderness so as not to be a further burden on the community.

(The real hack here was buying a stack of unbreakable bowls that I can just throw leaves and protein and nuts into and stir with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We refer to these as “the sadness bowls” in our house, as in “yes, I am having a sadness bowl for my lunch again.” These bowls are also for the berries, almonds and honey I have for breakfast.)

(Also worth noting that I made a few further adjustments after reading ULTRA PROCESSED PEOPLE)

Said dietary changes have led to me losing around four inches off my waist over a couple of years, which I wasn’t expecting. This was a good excuse to buy new clothes, as I love clothes. I am, however, bad at throwing clothes out, and there’s a voice in the back of my head that demands Cornish pasties and thinks that one day a perfect gluten intolerance tablet will be invented that will allow me to go face down in a six foot pile of them so I should probably keep the baggy jeans.

Therefore I now own more clothes than I have since my thirties. So many more, in fact, that I’ve had to order a lot of clothes hangars, each one of which will have to hang three garments as I tend to buy clothes as capsules, a few of which capsules have a matching shoe so oh shit I just realised I need a shoe rack too.

Accidental weight loss turns out to be expensive and somehow also space-consuming.

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morning computer dem bones

Published April 14, 2025 by Warren Ellis

Cindy Ji Hye Kim.

More than 100 years after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, new interpretations of the burial are still emerging. A recent article published in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology proposes that a set of seemingly plain, functional objects are in fact a key part of the complex rituals which would ensure the transformation and regeneration of the young king in the afterlife.

Philippe Starck designs a funeral urn:

I’ve been invited to a private dining experience in Kennington where I’ll be served several dishes made exclusively from roadkill. Petr Davydtchenko, a Russian performance artist, and Michelin star chef Masayoshi Haraguch are hosting the dinner. 
I arrive an hour before the other guests to chat with Petr. Me and Petr speak about the reasoning behind his practice. Starting in 2016, he decided to move to the south of France, detach from society, and learn how to be completely self-sufficient. He mentions evading capitalism and embracing brutality. Every morning he would wake with the sun and cycle for thirty kilometers looking for roadkill. Donkeys. Badgers. Deer. Pheasants. Rats. Then there’s the animals we’re all a bit more fond of. Cats and dogs. Sad to think about, but still a natural part of life.

Probably not useful, actually:

The best way to prepare a fox is to leave its body in a running stream for 24 hours, this will tenderize the meat, making it softer and easier to eat. For some reason, this feels like incredibly useful information and something I’ll probably tell my kids. 

morning computer: some useful things first thing in the day.

My free weekly newsletter is at https://orbitaloperations.beehiiv.com/

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Published January 19, 2025 by Warren Ellis

Pan fried venison haunch steak (3 mins either side on 8 then rested in a warm oven for ten minutes), mulled wine sauce (made in the frying pan with 2 tsp red wine and thyme jelly and 1 tsp apple balsamic vinegar), turned down to 6 for 5 mins, mounted whey butter and turned up to 7 for 2 mins), truffled mashed potato. I try to cook more in the winter.

(Hey it’s my notebook I can use it to remember what I like)

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Published September 5, 2024 by Warren Ellis

Black cherry ice cream: plant cream, black cherry jam from Tipton’s, date syrup. Excellent.
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Published August 3, 2024 by Warren Ellis

Almond ice cream: almond cream, plant milk, 2tsp organic almond extract, 3tsp date syrup, perfect
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Published August 1, 2024 by Warren Ellis

Should last til new year. using organic herbs because my thyme and chives got eaten by slugs

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Published July 26, 2024 by Warren Ellis

Cinnamon honey ice cream: 250ml oat cream, 100ml oat milk, 2 dessert spoons cinnamon infused honey, blitz. Maybe another half spoon of honey? But honestly very good. Transfer to kitchen notebook later. I can do anything with this machine, it seems
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