Orc's Desire -- Pork belly braised with Chrysanthemum coronarium

Our Valentine's Day dinner turned out to be great -- both in taste and in terms of ease of cooking. The main dish was done mostly by a slow cooker, while both of us were at work.

The pork belly turned out tender, and the crackling very crispy. I simply could not find a single thing to complain about.

Planning for Valentine's Day

I'm not really good at planning. Valentine's Day is tomorrow and I have NO gifts prepared. In fact, I am going to a play by myself at 4p.m. while D is going to stay at work till at least 5. But but but, I'm not such a bad girl friend at all, as I have spent some time planning for a perfect Valentine's Day dinner...for nerds like us.

The No Fail No Knead Homemade Bread

I love bread, especially when it is freshly out of the oven. Nothing opens up my appetite more than the aroma of a newly baked loaf.  In France, I had the luxury of living close to a neighborhood boulangerie, from which I'd pick up a small baguette on the way home almost every single day.

Perhaps because it was so readily available, bread has been one of the things that I never even bothered to learn how to make. Years later, it came back to bite me. After our local bread place went out of business last year, I found myself in despair. When I really crave for a fresh loaf, I have nowhere to turn! Even worse, I cannot make a good loaf by myself! The horror!