Mary
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kilerkki.bsky.social
Mary
@kilerkki.bsky.social
200 followers 110 following 1.6K posts
I read voraciously, write occasionally, and take a lot of photos of food and cats. Queer, married, she/her. 🇨🇦
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kilerkki.bsky.social
Our boy Paladin is extremely loving, which ALMOST makes up for his complete refusal to let us cook or eat in peace. I made miso brown butter rice krispy treats tonight and had to remove him from the counter upwards of a dozen times.
A grey cat wearing a blue plaid bow tie stands on top of the cutting board on a kitchen counter where no cats should be, about to make a grab for a block of butter being sliced. He was removed from the counter before he succeeded.
November 22, 2025 at 3:52 AM
kilerkki.bsky.social
I hoped Where Winds Meet was going to let me play this badass baby-carrying dude, but it turns out he and his white-haired boyfriend are only around for the prologue, so here’s my girl Shuozhen. Serious, good-hearted, ambitious but a little naïve.

So far this game is overwhelming but beautiful!
A dark-cloaked man with an intent, serious, bloody face carries a baby cradled against his chest as he stalks menacingly through lightning-lit rain A young woman in hanfu stands on a riverbank at sunset.
November 20, 2025 at 2:07 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Finished The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini on the morning I leave Florence, after walking last night through the Loggia dei Lanzi to bid goodbye to his Perseus. Now to reread Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Spirit Ring, in which she calls Cellini “that wonderful egotistical monster.” Exactly right.
Detail view of bronze sculpture Perseus With the Head of Medusa, by Benvenuto Cellini More distant view of Perseus, showing the statue in full with the crumpled bronze body of Medusa below and the beginnings of the marble plinth Bronze bust of Benvenuto Cellini on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence Statue of Benvenuto Cellini in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
November 17, 2025 at 10:58 AM
kilerkki.bsky.social
The wire-cut spaghetti used a super cool tool like a guitar box (maybe just visible here?) and was served in a sauce made from olive oil, garlic, dried red chilis, dill, basil, lime (zest and juice), plus lots of Pecorino cheese. Absolutely stunning.
Wire-cut spaghetti loosely gathered and dusted with semolina. Beyond are bowls of semolina, wooden rolling pins, and a couple wooden shapes strung with thin wires A black bowl of pasta: wire-cut spaghetti with dill and basil in a garlic, chili, and olive oil sauce
November 15, 2025 at 6:32 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
We used the pasta dough to make pappardelle, wire-cut spaghetti, & filled cappelletti.

Filling first: ricotta, salt, pepper, lemon zest, olive oil, grated Grana Padano. Just a bit of filing for each circle of dough! Shape in a half-moon, seal the ends. Serve in brown butter sauce w/ more cheese.
Rolling pin on a wooden table above 9 circles of cut pasta with a dollop of ricotta filling on each Close up of a golden circle of pasta dough with a dollop of ricotta filling Shaped cappelletti pasta. They look like little wontons but don’t tell that to an Italian chef. Cappelletti pasta in brown butter sauce with grated grana padano on top.
November 15, 2025 at 6:28 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
The ragù was served with our knife-cut pappardelle. It was AMAZING. You could use any tough muscle meat here—Florentines love wild boar or duck. The one vegetarian in our group got her own special tomato & herb sauce.
Folded pasta ready to be cut into pappardelle A coil of stacked strips of pappardelle Pappardelle with beef shank ragù Pappardelle with beef shank ragù
November 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Chef started off making a ragù—searing bone-in beef shanks in olive oil, adding a bundle of fresh herbs, then the sofrito, tomato paste (never fresh tomatoes bc they’re too acidic!), butter, red wine, & water. Simmer (lidded) at least 90 minutes, then remove bones & excess fat and shred the meat.
Chef demonstrating how to cut the edges of bone-in beef shanks so the meat sears exempt Bone-in beef shank and herbs searing in a pot Chef mincing carrots, red onion, celery for sofrito Carrots, celery, red onions minced for sofrito. Bowl of red tomato paste and pat of butter nearby
November 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
As the crowning glory of our Florence trip we booked a pasta making class! A charming small group of fellow foodies, a skilled & funny teacher, three types of pasta and three sauces. This was an absolute delight.
Two eggs sit in a pile of 00 flour on a long wooden table, with a fork and red bench scraper just beyond Freshly made pasta tangles in semolina flour on a wooden table, with bowls of semolina, rolling pins, and wire cutters beyond
November 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
More Things What We Ate

Pizza with porchetta, saffron burrata, mozzarella, lemon peel, basil.

Pizza with blue cheese, Tuscan pancetta, mozzarella, pistachio.

Dark chocolate and stracciatella gelato.

Tuscan cream and “holiday chocolate” (with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and orange) gelato.
Pizza with porchetta, saffron burrata, mozzarella, lemon peel, basil. Pizza with blue cheese, Tuscan pancetta, mozzarella, pistachio. Dark chocolate and stracciatella gelato. Tuscan cream and “holiday chocolate” (with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and orange) gelato
November 15, 2025 at 5:53 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
The Mercato Sant’Ambrogio (pretend I didn’t misspell it in alt text above.) We got the best oranges of my life here & also tried Florence’s famous lambredotto, which is…NOT the best sandwich of my life. But we also got freshly harvested olive oil and Pecorino Romano cheese aged in walnut leaves.
An amazing stall specializing in pulses and grains, also selling olive oils, spices, spreads, etc. A meat stall with prosciuttos hanging from the ceiling and many local Florentine ladies lining up A cheese and prosciutto stall where the stall owner is slicing very thin prosciutto with a very sharp knife A lambredotto sandwich, with filling made from the fourth stomach of a cow, stewed and chopped up. If you like offal you may like this sandwich. If you don’t, just enjoy the smell and let other people eat it. If you’re like me, order it for 5euros and satisfy your curiosity which is more important than your stomach anyway
November 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
How ‘bout some churches?

The facade of Santa Croce

The central nave of Santissima Annunziata (go see this one, it’s GLORIOUS)

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) at night

The inside of the Duomo, looming up into the dome
The facade of Santa Croce, in tricolored marble against a cloudy sky The central nave of Santissima Annunziata, brilliantly glittering with lights, gold, silver, frescos, and paintings The facade of the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore at night, brilliantly lit, with the bulk of the dome hiding behind Looking up into the Duomo’s dome, with its brilliantly painted ceiling
November 15, 2025 at 5:38 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Since we saw one cloister with bells ringing, let’s see another. This is San Lorenzo, just outside the entrance to the Laurentian Library.
November 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Momentary break for the peaceful second cloister of Santa Croce as the noon bell rings
November 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Speaking of Santa Croce, we saw tombs!!

Machiavelli
Dante
Michelangelo
Galileo
Tomb of Machiavelli in Santa Croce Tomb of Dante in Santa Croce Tomb of Michelangelo in Santa Croce Tomb of Galileo in Santa Croce
November 15, 2025 at 4:57 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
A few other statues I’ve seen and liked (staying with the SFW ones so Bluesky stops having fits over artistic nudes)

Juno and Two Peacocks by Ammannati

The Christ Child Poking His Mother in the Eye (okay it’s Torrigiani Madonna by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo)
Dante Monument outside Santa Croce
Sculpture of Juno sitting on a plinth and holding a (missing) lightning bolt, with two peacocks beside her Close up of Juno holding a (missing) lightning bolt Sculpture in relief showing a tired-looking Madonna with her baby poking her face or maybe wiping away tears. Anyone who’s held a toddler knows. Monument to Dante outside Santa Croce
November 15, 2025 at 4:57 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
But my ACTUAL fave is Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus With the Head of Medusa, bc 1) I’ve been working my way thru his autobiography & my boy Cellini is ALL PROBLEMS & proud of it; and 2) the climax of Bujold’s THE SPIRIT RING is inspired by the creation of this statue. Also Medusa bleeds when it rains…
Monumental bronze statue of Perseus With the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini Monumental bronze statue of Perseus With the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini Back view of Perseus With the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini Back view of Perseus With the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini
November 15, 2025 at 4:41 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
I also like Donatello’s Saint George, who looks a little overawed by what he’s done.
Donatello’s Saint George, a marble sculpture standing in an enormous niche, with the depiction of his dragon slaying in relief below Close up of St George’s head and torso. He looks into the distance like a troubled but still noble hero
November 15, 2025 at 4:35 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Michelangelo’s David is unsurprisingly my favourite. The anatomy!! The expression!
A closeup of the head and torso of Michelangelo’s David, seen from below A closeup of the back of Michelangelo’s David, seen from below A closeup of the right leg, hand, and backside of Michelangelo’s David, seen from below A closeup of the head and torso of Michelangelo’s David, seen from below
November 15, 2025 at 4:35 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
One morning we went to the Gallerie dell’Accademie and saw Michelangelo’s David; another afternoon we went to the Bargello Museum and saw Donatello’s Davids (plural) and Verocchio’s. Amazingly varied interpretations. Everyone has their favourite headcanon for this guy…
Michelangelo’s David, a towering marble sculpture Donatello’s bronze David, the first life-size freestanding nude bronze statue ever made since classical antiquity Donatello’s first marble David, from 1409, still showing Gothic/medieval influences Verocchio’s bronze David cc 1466-1469: says the plaque, “here David is a young man with a proud and spirited expression, satisfied with his victory, as elegant as a page boy.”
November 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
We’ve been seeing & doing & eating so much here in Florence that it’s hard to keep up and even harder to catch up, so this will not be a chronological accounting of event but more of an impressionistic gesture at a whole.
An orange tree growing in a plaza in front of tall stuccoed houses A great glowing pile of mandarin oranges, priced 2 1/2 euros per kilo, at Sant’Ambroglio market An orange tree growing in the courtyard of the Laurentian Library at San Lorenzo, with the cloisters beyond and the dome of the Medici Chapel visible above A dark-haired woman standing in a green-shuttered window looking out onto a courtyard where an olive tree grows; she is looking above the courtyard at the red-tiled roofs and the blue sky
November 15, 2025 at 4:18 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
Wow, @meowbrey.bsky.social got MUCH better photos of the steak and gelato
A ribeye steak cut open, showing the medium rare interior A close up of a cup of gelato with a waffle crisp
November 12, 2025 at 9:10 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
One last view for the evening: overlooking the city at dusk from the Piazzale Michelangelo, a terrace made from the 14th century city walls. The Duomo, the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, and Santa Croce are all visible beyond the north bank of the Arno.
A view of Florence in the moments after sunset, focused on the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio A view of Florence in the moment after sunset, showing the Arno river and the Ponte Vecchio, pointing towards the Palazzo Vecchio Another view of Florence as the sky darkens towards sunset, with the Zefferelli Belvedere in the foreground A last view of Florence as the sky darkens after sunset and the city lights come up
November 12, 2025 at 9:02 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
((And this morning’s AMAZING breakfast at our hotel. I’m already looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.))
A generous buffet spread at a hotel, breakfast bar, showing homemade yogurt with many toppings; plates of fruit, cheese, and meat; baskets of pastries, and fruit; bread and a toaster; hot dishes with eggs, sausage, and potatoes; hardboiled eggs; and more you can’t even see. The display of cured meats and cheeses at a hotel breakfast buffet. Options include prosciutto, salami, mortadella, ham, smoked provolone, Gouda, and a bowl of fresh buffalo mozzarella. A display of juice carafes at a hotel breakfast buffe. Options include orange juice, strawberry juice, and multivitamin juice. On the other side, are glass carafes of milk and a tray of teas. A plate of delicious foods chosen from the hotel breakfast buffet. Includes a chocolate cornetto, a prosciutto rose, scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, an apple strudel, a fresh plum, sliced provolone, buffalo mozzarella, and salami
November 12, 2025 at 8:58 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
(Forgot yesterday’s dinner, which was @meowbrey.bsky.social’s introduction to papparadelle in wild boar ragù, and a first time for both of us for pici pasta with black cabbage and pecorino. Also a salad I forgot to photograph.)
A view of a table at a little street side osteria. The table is set with white plates, cutlery, glasses of water, a glass of red wine, a basket of bread, and bottles of oil and vinegar. A white bowl of wide flat papperadelle pasta, tossed with thick chunks of wild boar sauce. A white bowl of pici pasta, which looks like really thick spaghetti, in a dark green sauce covered with shredded white cheese
November 12, 2025 at 8:53 PM
kilerkki.bsky.social
For dinner we shared a pasta carbonara (my first!) and a 500g Florentine “bistecca” (ribeye steak, NOT the 1,2 kg Tomahawk). We mopped up the sauce with the plain-flavored Florentine white bread, and I also had my first Aperol Spritz.
An oval plate with a medium size portion of pasta pasta, and a carbonara sauce with guanciale. The lighting is very yellow. A ribeye steak served on an oval plate all by itself, no trimmings or nothing. None are needed.
November 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM