Trainblogging

I am writing from a window seat on an Amtrak train into Chicago. I am going to see some in-laws and a niece and -- best of all -- both of the boys who no longer live in my house. I fear I will burst into tears when I see Joe, but I suppose we'll see. 

While I muster the gumption to dive into the last chronicle of Barsetshire (900-odd pages, and I'm still a little miffed about the end of #5), I am reading Make the Bread, Buy the Butter. I tried to insert a link for you, but dernit, in the process I lost the whole post and had to start over. No links in phone posts, I'm afraid. It's a lot of fun-- good writing about thoughtful cooking. 

The premise of the book is that she's advising the reader about whether it's more sensible to make or buy a whole raft of different foods based on cost, hassle, and taste. I agree with her judgments about taste, but our opinions on the hassle factor often diverge. She deems napoleons too fussy (despite a couple of recipes for other laminated pastries), but she says shucking oysters, even with a butter knife, isn't so bad. 

I myself would roll out a lot of pastry before I would serve oysters on the half shell at home.