Dec
3
2009
For some time now I wanted to try sprouting seeds in a (hemp) bag and when I found some on Ebay, I ordered them. I soaked some seeds (quinoa, lentils, sunflower and broccoli) and put them in the bags today. They should sprout soon.
I like the idea of sprouting bags. You soak the seeds for a few hours or overnight, and you soak the bag. Then you place the seeds into the wet bag and let that drip for a bit. After a few minutes or so it’ll stop and you can hang it wherever you like. I kept mine over the sink, to make sure it doesn’t drip all over the floor.
Will make more photos in a few days. :)
Nov
26
2009
I’ve tried a few gluten-free options this week, including a pre-made gluten-free bread. It doesn’t taste much like wheat-bread and it crumbs easily without having that spongey texture — somewhat like a loaf cake — but it works as a base to spread something (peanutbutter, creame cheese) on and it gave me no issues. Success!
Today I also tried some quinoa with grilled shiitakes and that didn’t go so well. I thought the quinoa did not work for me, however, on testing, it turns out the shiitake caused the problems. When I checked the date it had passed its sell by date for some time already, oops. The rest of the quinoa went well, so I’ll call it success too, hurray!
I found out it helps a lot if I keep on snacking / eating all day long. It prevents those moments I feel blown up because I ate too much. This makes it clear to me I have to stick to eating small meals, because my body can’t handle the bigger once — unlike some other people in my family.
Some time after surgery I went to see a dietician and she told me to eat at least 150 gram potatoes, 200 grams of veggies and a good chunk of meat (100-150 gram) for dinner. This qualifies as a normal meal, for people with a stomach. This will never ever fit into me during a normal dinnertime. Apart from the amount, the time I need to eat has changed too. It takes longer. I could technically eat the above meal in around 2 hours or so. I don’t like that, I don’t want to spend more than 30 minutes on each meal, unless I go out to eat with friends. I want to have time away from food too :)
Nov
26
2009
At around 1.5 years after surgery I still haven’t got the hang of that eating thing. This annoys me.
And when something annoys me, I go fix it.
So, the food-plan! I’ve probably said it before and tried it before, but I’ll just do it all again, because one of these days it’ll stick.
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Jul
5
2009
After harvesting a bunch of tomatoes and basil I made a tasty salad with mozzarella cheese and some mild peppers (from a jar, yes). It tasted great!
As a dressing I used a simple balsamic vinegar / olive oil mix.
Jun
15
2009
I got a pretty good harvest today, thanks to the sweet pepper-plant I bought. I harvested two of those small peppers, one small cucumber and three little tomatoes (I grow mostly small varieties because the plants usually also stay smaller).
What started out as a way to keep the sun out in the summer has turned into this contest with myself, seeing how much of my own food I can grow on my own balcony. No need to blame the recession here, I enjoy doing this ;)
I have watched tons of movies on Youtube and read websites about growing your own food and the more I watch the more I realise I could still grow more!
I have this feeling people start to look at me oddly, as if I’ve gone crazy… I haven’t, really ;)
Apr
26
2009
[Updated: 2009-12-11: I no longer recommend Shopper, as of version 5.0. This paid app started to display ads and other cluttering info. See my newer post for more info ]
I generally make a shopping list when I go out buying groceries (about once per week). I used to go nearly every oter day, and spent money on food I hoped I could eat (but usually couldn’t) which turned into one big waste pile which didn’t feel good, money and waste wise.
I put myself on a ‘shopping list diet’ basically, not buying anything that’s not on the list. I check the pantry and the fridge before I go out and note what I need to buy. I read somewhere that if it wasn’t important enough to put on your list while checking pantry and fridge, it’s certainly not important enough to buy in the store just because you see it.
I do stray from this a bit, sometimes, when in the store I remember I need to buy dog-cookies (not in my pantry, so I don’t see that I need too) or better, when they’re on sale. I want to have a good enough stash of dog-food and treats for my dog. So occasionally I will stray from the list a bit, however, in general, the list really works. I have basically cut my grocery spending by at least 40% (yes, I did overspent horribly on groceries for a while).
For my shopping list making I’ve used Shopper for iPhone since September last year (and I admit I’ve strayed from the list a lot until last month, nothing to do with the program). I love the way it works, though I have flirted with other programs in the meantime. See, what I missed was the option to set the price based on store (to see where I could get the best deal). Realising today I had never e-mailed them to tell them that, I went to the website and found an entire page about Shopper v3 with all the functions I missed.
Now I can’t wait for it to come out. I’m sure I’ll love it. I love Shopper v2 for its simplicity already. Can only get better… ;)
Mar
31
2009
As most people know, I love my little plastic containers for food storage.
I have bumped into a huge problem though:
They taste like soap. And I don’t mean a little. I can smell it on them, and if I put food in it it’ll taste like dishwasher-soap. It tastes horribly. I’ve experimented somewhat and found out that if I soak them in very hot water with vinegar and then handwash them, it goes away.
Guess I’m not tossing them in the dishwasher anymore, urgh.
I don’t mind handwashing them, and luckily, it only happens to plastic, not my glasses or plates or cutlery.
Mar
24
2009
I came up with a random casserole recipe by just tossing stuff together. I have tons of cans with food from my compulsive food-buying so I just mixed what I thought would work (my cans are mostly 1 person portions):
- 1 small can of brown lentils
- 1 small can of baked beans in tomato-sauce
- half a courgette (zucchini I believe you weird USians call it)
- about 200 grams of baked mushrooms (a leftover, baked in butter and garlic salt, tasty!)
- 1 small can of cream of mushroom soup (at least, I think you call it that, I’d just call it ‘creamy mushroom soup’)
- two handfuls of grated cheese (ah well, cup, handfuls, who needs exact science!)
I mixed everything together apart from the cheese, put it into oven-dishes, and topped it with cheese. My cans contained about 200 grams of lentils / beans (about 7 US-oz). The soup was a one-person portion, around 230ml / 7.5oz. I don’t think the exact amount really matters, the general idea / proportion counts more. I think replacing either the lentils or beans with ground beef/pork will also work pretty well (I want to try a tofu version some time soon).
I just love courgette and mushroom…
I did forget to season it with pepper and salt and herbs, but it tasted pretty good just like this, probably thanks to the soup being already seasoned. I liked the mixture of creamy soup and tomato sauce.
I put it in my toaster-oven for about half an hour on 400°F / 200°C, but it’s a toaster-oven, so YMMV.
I ate a tasty portion, put another in my bento for tomorrows lunch and have two portions left for later in the week / freezer. Normally this would make two portions I think. Or maybe one and a half.
My first attempt to cook from my pantry has turned out pretty well. Very pleased :D
Now I have to think of something to cook with my forgotten-but-stil-ok small sweet peppers…
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