(adhd, fina,)

WEDNESDAY

Yesterday i found out my current retirement funds have not been under a model since ... i dunno 2010?... just one was. The smallest one. So, ha, glad i asked. Because the company holding the funds and managing the website don't have any big message that makes it clear "You're in charge" and "We got this." Admittedly, since i thought they were all under models etc, i just did not look on the theory that trying to time the market is not for average folks.

Christine has, however, been paying close attention for a couple of years and has been handling some comparatively smaller (although still big to me who pinches pennies) investments. So we sat together and then talked and... well, i have a much stronger "Let's meet and talk about something i don't know about with lots of details and some stakes attached" muscle because day job, and we tipped into her overwhelm. Also, i understand now a little about ADHD's hyperfocus, and yes, i may have been heading there.

The work day did not go as well as i would have liked, with me never turning the hyperfocus on the thing that needed it.

My sister and i had a brief conversation about ADHD and to do lists. She repeated wisdom she heard that lists are where things go to die. I LIKE my lists.

Five question meme, Q 1 (meme, cooking)

Questions from Oursin

1. Do you have a go-to, never-fail thing to cook?

For potlucks and similar, deviled eggs.

Otherwise, i fail lots. I am getting better at various sheet pan roasts of tofu and veggies. I don't mind cutting up all the veg, and enjoy seasoning them. I've been learning various ways of crisping up the tofu: dredging in corn starch as a minor crust, corn starch, egg, and oil moistened bread crumbs for more crust. Sometimes it's roasted "naked" after marinade. Sometimes i over-crisp everything. AKA burned.

I guess i am getting proficient at quiche. We had some churn as i tried to figure out what was going wrong that Christine did not find them delicious. It turns out she doesn't really like swiss cheese in custardy things; sharp cheddar makes the dish sing for her. However, i can't see sharp cheddar and some of the "mix ins" i had used. Scallops and cheddar seems wrong. I thought mushrooms and swiss was a natural, but not for Christine. I suppose these didn't fail for *me*. I have also upped my crust game. I am now doing a very good job prebaking the crusts which mean i had to quit using the cheapest (store brand) premade pie pastry. The national brand (Pillsbury) is turning out lovely now.

My win at prebaking crusts comes from sandwiching the pastry between two heavyweight aluminum pie pans. I also splurged on precut and preshaped parchment paper. It's GREAT. So pan, parchment round, pastry, parchment, pan. Freeze for at least 30 min if i have time. Bake inverted in the oven for 20 min and work with gravity instead of against. Then take it out, remove the inner pan and parchment (which gets reused, because pennies saved), prick the base a little with a fork, and toast up, about ten minutes. I'm using the plain bake function at 350°F  (176°C) instead of the convection bake because i think it makes a difference. Now, assuming the crust is half decent, you have a lovely flaky crust.

I wish i could go back in time and tell my younger self that prebaking the crust REALLY makes a difference, and it is worth bothering. I am especially thinking of the times i tried making crust from scratch but skipped the prebaking. So many butter rich but bleh soggy crusts.

(Sources, including links to tools via Amazon, here)

More to come, and i am willing to give five questions to the first three who ask for questions.