The concept behind Cloud Atlas made for a much better movie than book, IMHO.
Having the same actor play the same part in each time made following the plot easier, at least for me. The book was a bit of a slog at times and following each characterization was confusing.
Plus some of the casting in the movie was really good. Jim Brodbent in particular, I thought, delivered a spectacularly good performance.
Spaghetti is not my favorite either, but if the pasta you're using is not holding onto the sauce, then try a "bronze die cut" brand.
The brand I use and have had good luck with is Delallo.
But I completely agree with you, pasta that has a smooth exterior is useless. Since the whole point of it is to be a vehicle for the sauce.
Level 1: Can put something edible on the table, but lacks experience or does not practice enough. People may or may not want to eat it.
Example: Cooks ribs at high heat with a cheap jarred sauce.
Level 2: Capable of putting edible food on the table consistently, but still not a lot of experience.
Example: Has learned that reducing the heat on the ribs makes them come out slightly better, but still not smoking them and still using a cheap jarred sauce.
Level 3. First level of competency. Cooks often enough to have the experience to put decent food on the table, still uses some jarred sauces, higher quality ones, and the like, but starting to make their own too.
Example: Cooks ribs low and slow, but may not quite yet know what the 3,2,1 method is, but realizes that some wood chips along with temperature control makes for a better product.
Level 4: Competent cook. Cooks many times a week has a broad experience with a variety of cooking techniques. Mostly makes their own; spice mixes, sauces, gravies and the like.
Example: Not only is capable of using the 3,2,1 method for ribs, but knows that is not the only method. Is quite capable of making either fall off the bone ribs or competition worthy ribs with a delightful chew. Able to control not only temperature, but the amount of smoke on the meat.
Level 5: Professional cook, maybe even a chef. Quite capable of putting food on a table that people would pay a lot of money for.
Example: Quite capable of producing competition winning ribs using their own spice mix, sauce, and cooking method.
Veggie Pasta, serves 2:
6oz Fusilli or similar pasta 4oz Fresh Mozzarella cut into bite sized pieces, or buy the pearl sized version. 1.5 cups your favorite tomato sauce. I make a maranara for it, but you can use store bought if you want. 1 red onion diced 2 med carrots diced 1 celery stalk diced 4oz bacon chopped Parmesan Regianno for serving. (Not the crap in the green can, get the real stuff.)
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander.
Cook bacon in a skillet to desired doneness, save a tablespoon or so of the grease after cooking. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Sample bacon to make sure it's OK.
In now empty skillet add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook till all veggies are softened. Sample bacon to make sure it's OK.
Add sauce and reserved bacon to skillet to the veggies. Be sure to sample bacon before adding back to the skillet, to make sure it's OK. Once the sauce is heated, add the pasta and fresh mozzarella to sauce and veggies. Once warmed through divide between two plates. Serve with the Parmesan at the table.
I make this dish for my wife and I several times a month. It's about 30 minutes from getting everything out to cut, to putting it on the table depending on your knife skills.
Maui: Pixel 8 Pro
The polymerized coating on cast iron is stripped almost immediately with anything acidic. It's basic chemistry.
Put some fat in the pan... You mean exactly what I do with my stainless steel?
Also cooking the way you describe builds up carbon, which is carcinogenic.
What needs to die is the emotional attachment people have to a technology that has its place, just not for every day cooking.
My grill Pan and Dutch ovens are cast iron. But they are Enameled making them a lot more useful. ,
I have a carbon steel wok and even have a wok grate for my stove. While I do some Chinese cooking, I've found that on an American stove it doesn't really have any advantages.
I'm sure if I cooked more Chinese cuisine it would be a different story.
Cooking has been a hobby of mine for decades now. I have gone through a lot of phases in cooking, especially early on.
I have used cast iron, carbon steel, stainless steel, and a dubious flirtation with all aluminum.
16 years on now and this is what I reach for 100% of the time:
Skillet/sautee: cladded stainless. Both standard side and high sided.
Dutch Oven: Enameled cast iron.
Pots Pans: Cladded stainless steel. For smaller 1qt to 2qt I like All Clads D5 for its heat retention. Larger than that I like the D3 for its lighter weight
Grill Pan: cast iron. Hate the excessive weight though
Non-stick: Ceramic coated aluminum. What ever Americas Test Kitchen recommends that year. I consider these disposable items. I stopped using TEFLON a long time ago.
I used cast iron skillets for several years. I found them to be finicky. Heat retention was stupidly high and that's not always a good thing. Excessively heavy and god forbid you attempt any sort of tomato based sauce or anything acidic for that matter. Circumstances forced me to use stainless steel and I just found it matches my needs in a kitchen much better than cast iron. It gets used, it gets cleaned and I put it away. No having to have the vaginal juices of a thousand virgins on hand to make sure it doesn't destroy the next egg I try to cook.
I consider cast iron skillets like safety razors. They had their day, but continue on because of a dedicated set of die hard users. Nothing wrong with that, just not my thing.
The above goes for carbon steel as well, although it usually isn't nearly as heavy.
Kids are wonderfully resilient for the most part.
They should not have to be that resilient though.
Who ever owns that gun, should be absolutely crucified and thrown in jail as accessory to murder. Apparently the girl, who was the same age as my youngest, had a long history of suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
There are too many morons that own guns and they really need to start paying the price for being morons. You want a gun? Fine, for the first time in your life UNFUCK yourself and spend some time thinking about the responsibility of owning a weapon. The 2nd amendment also say "well regulated militia". Maybe gun owners should be mandated to join a militia where a Marine drill Sergent instructs them the ins and outs of gun safety in that way only the Marines can do.
Fellow Madisonian here.
I'm very happy that your daughter is home and safe with you tonight.
My kids go to Middleton HS. Even so, today was a very scary day.
The last time I spoke with my Paternal Grandmother was her 103rd birthday. She died about 2 months later.
She had completely lost her short term memory, but was otherwise still cognizant and her long term memory was perfectly intact. She was born in 1901 and died in 2004, so she saw a LOT of history. Three of her sons fought in World War 2 and one did not come back. She saw aviation go from sticks and canvas biplanes to jets.
So that is what I asked her about. Things that happened in her life in the distant past and if her mind started following a string of memories, I shut up and just listened. There are things I know about my family that I doubt my Dad, who died this past February, even knew.
Ka'Dargo in "Farscape Peacekeeper War". They were on their way for Moya to pick them up. The worst of the fighting was over and BAM.
At least he went out as a warrior.