Lockdown Projects

[Brazen]

I have less time working from home than normally, thanks to work impinging more on my free time, and often having to do a few things on Fridays, too (my day off).

This; work is impinging on my leisure time (and vivid Covid nightmares) more than ever. Trying to get fitter again (C25K, Zoom workouts with PT next-door neighbour). But no time for reading stockpiled books, making art, decorating or spring-cleaning the flat.

I have zero intention of taking up baking or crochet.

[Savonarola]

Still working, but I have some additional free time.  My plan is to finish up the Duolingo Spanish course and put a serious dent in the reverse (English for Spanish speakers.)  Strangely, my ultimate goal is to read Don Quixote in Spanish; but that's a long way away.  I plan to at least get through some of the Boom first.

I've also been putting up food.  So far I've made pickled eggs , a specialty of my college town of Houghton, Michigan.  (I'm guessing because of the Cornish influence in the region.    Pasties (the meat pie, not the nipple coverings) are also a specialty of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.)

Back at work and I didn't finish Duolingo Spanish (I did make some progress and got up at least to level 2 on all the lessons.)  They've expanded the Spanish tree a couple times since I started (several years ago.)  There are a number of lessons now which teach some European Spanish like the vosotros form or "Coger."  It's pretty incomplete, though; it's always "Felicidades" never "Enhorabuena" or "Jugo" rather than "Zumo" or "Bien" rather than "Vale."

I also started on "La Sombra del Viento" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

I did make several iterations of pickled eggs as well as tomato sauce, pepper sauce, salsa, pho broth, Texas style chili, Cincinnati style chili and white chili.  My wife made me stop after I completely filled up our chest freezer. 

How did everyone else do with their lock down projects?

[PDH]

How did everyone else do with their lock down projects?

I was never in lock down, but I did manage to pack on weight - so the worst of all worlds.

[Sheilbh]

So in lockdown 3 - I've decided on a new project

Going to build a database of my cookbooks

I love cooking so have literally shelves of cookbooks which I do use semi-regularly. But I'm thinking of moving more to getting a regular veg box and obviously want to avoid multiple runs to the shops for extra ingrediences. So want to develope some way to input ingredients and work out some dishes especially when the eccentric veg arrives (kohlrabi? ).

[Threviel]

I'm sure it's been done, but I've never found it done well. A business idea of mine has been to build something similar, but linked to online recipes. And then some clever algorithm to generate weekly shopping lists where all products on the weekly shopping list can be used in recipes for the week. Then the customer also adds in whatever breakfast-food and snacks and cleaning stuff that they usually buy and you get a complete shopping list that can be ordered at a local shop. And if I find a recipe I want to make it can be input to the algorithm and the shopping list and extra recipes build around the stuff in the requested recipe.

The services I've seen doing similar has not been complete, they almost always lack the extra stuff besides dinner that a household needs, like coffee and soft drinks or toothpaste and whatever. And they aren't individual.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah so I think my intention is to just have ingredient lists and page references to my various books.

The idea was prompted because whenever I subscribe to veg box I always have too much food waste. This is because I have my sort of go-to repertoire that I know and cook regularly. Then, despite all my books, I'll use them say once a week to cook something special/interesting but that's normally based on what I fancy rather than what's in the veg box.

So my theory is if I build this list of recipes that just list the recipe name, ingredients, page reference then when I get a veg box I can basically tick off the veg I get each week and then have a list of options. Hopefully it'll get rid of my food waste issues and also force me out of my standard go to repertoire.

In theory

[garbon]

I've been slowly making a Google drive folder with individual pages of typed up recipes and then modifying them as needed to suit our tastes (like adding bell pepper to a Thai red curry recipe).

Good shout on then using a search function to bring up those using a particular ingredient.

[Sheilbh]

It has begun. This will be a large project

[Sheilbh]

Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!

Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck?

[garbon]

Yeah we abandoned that after too much variation of random veg. Just felt a lot wastage or unappetising meals.

[Josquius]

Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!

Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck?

My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.

[Sheilbh]

My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.

I only know one way of cooking padron peppers - like I think that's the only thing you can do with them. I think I'll do some seafood pasta with the fennel - maybe

[garbon]

Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!

Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck?

My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.

[Maladict]

Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!

Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck?

My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.

And if all else fails, smother with cheese.

[Josquius]

Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!

Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck?

My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.

And if all else fails, smother with cheese.

Youve been chatting to my girlfriend.