Tea cred, mystery rice and ratchet thinking

This picture of today's breakfast, rice with apricots, cup of tea, presents a challenge to my tea cred and a cooking mystery.

The tea is fine, made with good leaves, boiling water, in a pot. Last night. 

I get so tired of getting up and making breakfast tea that I'm treating it like coffee, making ahead, reheating when I need a cup. 

Not as good as fresh brewed, but acceptable before I get my eyes open. But I expect to have my membership in Posh Tea Fanciers revoked any time now.

The rice is a bit crunchy, despite being simmered for several hours last evening, then refrigerated overnight.  

I think the mixture of milk and water may have dramatically slowed down the cooking process. Or something.  

I usually cook  rice in water then add the milk and continue cooking. Maybe I'll resume that approach. If anyone knowledgeable about food chemistry can explain, please do. 

And here's one of those reports of "scientific" findings that could be funny if it were less annoying and likely to be believed. Probably by people unused to looking at the premise then considering winding it back to see if it's backwards reasoning.  Ratcheting is what I call that where you can't turn it back on itself.

They don't indicate who did the studies, graduate students? Undergraduate social work majors? Or how big was the sample and where drawn? Ten of the writer's friends? A dorm floor?

Because I think you can certainly reverse both propositions to claim that people who are easily distracted tend to have messy desks. And that people who make healthy choices may tend to keep their workspace organized and neat. 

There's also a school of thought that says out of clutter come great ideas. That a totally tidy house is a preparation for death.

I'm just sayin'. This is coming from a maker with many interests, who, between projects is neat, the better to start up again. But in mid-flow, the best word would be welter.

Anyway that's where I am, after no walking because of days of rain, now threatening ice. Possibly a little stir crazy.

Bear with me!

Red plum alert, raspberries too

The black plums having all gone into jam, I can now attend to the red plums which have been ripening on the counter.

I made one of those Melissa Clark Figgy Demerera Snacking Cake deals. No figs, no Demerera sugar, but that's fine.

It occurs to me that my Inner Me needs four workspaces to make a simple cake.

The instructions

One lot of ingredients

The plums

The buttered, floured, tray.

But I do get plenty of steps in, whipping back and forth.

And I get a cake organized with red plums.

And sampled, with a cup of tea. 

I have ordered another supply of tea, this time Scottish Breakfast, in honor of Glaswegian Handsome Partner whose 89th birthday is tomorrow. He stopped ten years short but who's counting.

And I have this year's raspberries, so expensive but I'm worth it, in the freezer for some purpose TBA. Three pints. Picked by the farm yesterday a few hours before I froze them.

It's a short season, just a few days now, more in September when they bear again.

If you have ideas other than jam,  please let me know.