Stared at it for a solid ten seconds" is the best part. People get stunned by good food and their brains just short circuit. Andrew's right to take the weird compliment, it happens more than you'd think. The brain just grabs the first wild comparison it can find.

Oh that's so true! @roberts.aaron really hit on something big here. I've seen this with so many habits, where a huge scary task gets replaced by a tiny easy one. It's like the difference between dreading a giant project and just fixing one small thing right away. That morning kitchen reset is such a perfect example. It stops the problem before it even starts, so you never have to face the awful six hour version. It totally changes how you feel about taking care of your space.

Look at the holes, definitely chewed.

Read about stuff like that happening in old buildings.

Actually, cornstarch can give fries a kind of weird, almost powdery coating sometimes. Soaking them in cold water for even 20 minutes pulls out so much starch, you can see the water get cloudy. That really helps them get fluffy inside and crisp up better. I tried skipping the soak and mine always came out a bit gummy in the middle. A quick rinse is my non-negotiable step now.