Notes from the kitchen

Writing

4 pieces on where the calories actually hide

What came out of building the books. Mostly things that surprised me, and the working behind the numbers.

Why I cost every recipe to the gram

25 August 2026

Years of being handed a number and told to make it taste like dinner. Where the Authentic-ish method comes from, and why every other lightened cookbook leaves the cost out.

How every number in these books is computed

21 August 2026

No estimated calories. Every figure comes from the recipe ingredient list matched against USDA FoodData Central and McCance and Widdowson, and the book prints the row used.