your hate reads

can't stand the "clove or two of garlic" approach to cooking, imagine making a dish with 0.25 cloves of garlic per person, why bother putting any in at all? also feel annoyed every time I read/hear the phrase "a stir-fry" - you know it's going to have undercooked carrots, overcooked beansprouts, tinned water chestnuts, limp red pepper and taste of absolutely nothing.

but yeah it's also bad writing

when I make some garlic infused oil for pasta I use 2-3 bulbs, cannot take people seriously who talk in units of cloves

a whole bulb in curries at least, sometimes three depending on my supplies

I don't know if my taste buds are knackered from smoking, but I cannot sense the taste of garlic on the 1-2 cloves in a recipe range.

idk i could never be accused of under-seasoning my food but i could see using two cloves to make cabbage because i like the taste of cabbage, and i use 5 or so cloves in curry. but this it not about the garlic quantity it's about sam's ability to stuff every sentence he writes with these annoying and meaningless flourishes.

I always imagine it's these so relaxed, we're-only-throwing-together-a-simple-supper dudes who would be simmering with barely contained fury if you were cooking in their kitchen and chose the wrong salad bowl.

i have fantasized so many times about doing a podcast of his columns where i just read them in the most earnest midwest accent possible.

But if you’ve got a little bit of gas left in your tank? How about putting together the very best charcuterie board (above) for dinner tonight?

emails from certain co-workers

harbl i just shuddered visibly

surely homeopathic use of cloves has some benefit. Keeps fractions of vampires away at least?

BUt I do tend to use one whole bulb in a meal preparation.

I don't think UI have had the chance to work out what a hate read would be, spending too much time reading through part of what I want to read for itself and surrounded by loads of other possible great reads. Do you use a hate read as a palate cleanser or at least resetter?
So you have a baseline to compare good writing to?
I do remember reading a music journalist I cant read and Hilary Mantel in quick juxtaposition and thinking the quality difference was mammoth. But find it odd that anybody would have the time to actively hate read. Would be good to have the time to read everything one would actually want to. is there a level of masochism involved?

I tend to use a whole bulb of garlic at a time as well stevo, it's the key to immortality imo.

That’s not what John Retoul says

I've got the power to weaken the undead knave, just by breathing on him!

apparently when you crush garlic there is a chemical reaction that alters its cellular makeup and makes it very good for your health.