Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Nesting, Waiting, and Experiments in Not Cooking

And the countdown continues with barely eight days to go as I type. I waver between ignoring the  24 news cycle, and occasionally falling into the the black hole that is the news of the day online. I alternate between being thrilled that the end of the eight days are coming up, and appalled by what we are learning about planned attacks, the military and on it goes. To anyone who has wondered why the military (not the guard) can generally not be called up because of hurricanes, riots or other issues, well this is one of the examples. 

So for now I'm staying in my nest. I'm going out daily for my walks of between twenty minutes and an hour, and doing the occasional trunk only pickup. Other than that life is mainly in my apartment or on my patio. For the moment I am holding off even on the weekly drive until life resets a bit. 

Thanks to a freezing Sunday and football playoffs of all different kinds I got more crafting done in three days than usual. So very tired of ALWAYS seeing Alabama up there, by the way.

Before

After

Some progress made


  Quilt squares were seamed together, and the knitting advanced a fair bit  as I got in many sedentary hours in front of quality TV.  I started pulling down the Christmas mess but then today I needed to make a run to Target for bins. I stored everything in my basement in Colorado in boxes. Texas is a different climate and I have outdoor storage so everything now will slowly go into plastic boxes with fitted lids. In my effort to return to the sustainable goals I listed last year (and which dropped by the wayside due to no thrift shops, an excessive use of wipes and other stuff) I also purchased a set of re zip seal-able and reusable storage bags. 



Today I begin my second step in my experiment of eating well and not cooking. Honestly, I am in admiration of those who cook well and like to cook. I know the general wisdom is that if you like to eat well you want to cook it yourself. To that I say, ya, not so much. Admittedly I have been spoiled by a chef husband who cooked every meal except for the occasional weeknight disaster made by yours truly, and a son and a brother who got the cooking gene I missed (I just got the eating gourmet food, I can count the things I will not eat on one hand gene). 



Back to the experiment at hand, today's trial was from Home Chef. Not one of the meals that comes with everything and you chop and prep, but rather one of the meals that comes in an oven pan and you just add the protein which comes separately and toppings if there are any. Strictly zapping or oven heating would be in better for little ole me, but I'll take the healthy option as long as it comes with minimal work. Tonight I had something called fondue chicken and root vegetables with  garlic butter sauce. My only effort was pulling the prepared pan out of the oven once the veggies were cooked, throwing on the chicken cutlets and adding the mayo and shredded cheese on top. I neglected to take a good photo, tomorrow I will try to remember.

I gotta say, the meal was very "white", especially since I had pears instead of a salad with my meal. Not that it was any less tasty or complete, just that cheese topped chicken with potatoes and carrots and pears let to a white rather than colorful mix. And what was root vegetables was, from my perspective, really carrots and potatoes-there might have been a turnip in there somewhere. For ten bucks ($19.99 for two, two person meals) the price cannot be beat, the effort was minimal and I have another meal left. After two weeks though, the price goes up to at least double what this week's two meals and next weeks will cost me. More than reasonable for what I got, but whether I'll do this every week is unlikely-and besides, I want to try the other oven ready and heat and eat meal options as well.

Tomorrow's meal is pork mini meat loaves with greenbeans. I am not looking forward to putting my hands on raw ground pork. Next week I'm experimenting with blue cheese and bacon pork chops with green beans and baby tomatoes and  basil parmesan chicken and mixed fresh vegetables. Then it will be time to try something else.

As an aside, I prefer to have no trash rather than recycling, but everything in the box was recyclable and re-usable including the ice pack. It was not delivered through the mail but through a company that specializes is food and meal kit delivery.

I've started three books and not been able to get into them for whatever reason, so it's time for me to go back to the Fantastic Fiction website or another and see what's new that I want to read. On the other hand, I have subscribed to MHZ through Amazon Prime and am binging through French,  German and Nordic cop shows at an alarming rate. I so need to update the TV list above, as well as keep better track of my reading this year. If nothing else I have the next book for my anti racism book group, a book called Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman.

Daughter remains the same-not better but not worse. I still await my turn on the vaccine list and am actually on two waiting lists. Son in law is taking daughter to Fredricksburt, Texas for her birthday in February (as essential employees they will be fully innocculated but still doing all the social distancing stuff), which will be a nice break for her. I also expect to continue to mask and isolate once I have gotten my two shots, although I will feel a little better and more free.

Whenever that happy event happens

18 comments:

  1. Your handiwork is beautiful. Hope your daughter gets better soon.

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    1. Me too. I'm hoping by the end of the week she'll be recuperating.

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  2. We tried Green Chef fir awhile. It was great food and recipes but a lot of work, so we eventually stopped. Neither of us like to cook, but since we have to, we have a bevy of simple meals that are easy to prep and delicious. No doubt, if I didn’t have the food issues I do, we’d be eating hamburgers, hotdogs, and grilled cheese most of the time.

    Great crafting! I need to get back to crocheting.

    Sean
    Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com

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  3. Yea, I don't want any of theined that require cooking. This on really only required adding the meat to the oven pan as it was stored separately. I will mainly stick to heat and eats from now on.

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  4. Hope your daughter feels better. I'm tired of cooking this week, so I think I'll corral up my son & husband to cook at least one meal each. :-)

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  5. Nice to have the review on the meals. I like to cook well enough that I can't see doing it for me, but it might be a nice birthday gift for my sons. They all like to cook but are much busier than I am and you know what they say about time and money.

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    1. Yea, if you like cooking and you have the time, you would not need this

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  6. It will be interesting to see which companies' meals you like the best!

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  7. Absolutely must continue to mask and distance. The vaccine is not a panacea. Dr Fauci and the epidemiology team will keep us all advised!

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    1. No, but I have no doubt it will make me feel safer and more secure on some level.

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  8. Here's hoping your daughter recovers quickly. Your quilt blocks are lovely! I have the talent to sew in a straight line.

    For now I don't mind cooking but I wouldn't mind using one of the fresh meals companies just for the variety of recipes. I tend to get into a rut with the stuff I make.

    Fingers crossed you get your vaccine soon. I agree we'll still need to mask up and keep our distance at least until an adequate number of folks are vaccinated. Take care, stay well!

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    1. Yea, I am getting a bit impatient. And yes they seem to have a variety of recipes for sure.

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  9. At one time my husband was interested in becoming a personal chef. They meet with you, talk about what you like to eat, any special dietary needs, etc. Then you sign up for a certain number of meals. They come to your home with their own cookware, make everything and either refrigerate it or freeze it with instructions for reheating. And they clean up! If you had somewhere to go while they cook, you could even do it during the pandemic. Anyway, just an idea. Maybe Google personal chefs in your area.

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    1. This is something I have considered doing. Perhaps not right now during the pandemic, but yea, something similar.

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  10. Good movement on the crafty side. I can honestly say that I have managed to get more crafts done during this lockdown than ever before.

    God bless.

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  11. Wear gloves if you must handle raw pork. I would just wash my hands or use a fork. Enjoy your meal experiments.

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!