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Coping in the Time of Covid-19 - New and Improved!

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  • Sprouted beans or seeds for fresh greens. Takes a few days but is quick and easy,. You can do a mix.
  • I'm hoping to replace flour when the delivery arrives in three weeks time, still have a little GF and GF ingredients like arrowroot and potato flour! I will end up experimenting.

    By the way, if you're using Jack Monroe's site, most of her income has dried up with no talks or meetings and Jamie Oliver got the Channel 4 recipes-in-hard-times gig starting this week - to much irritation because he copies her recipes and doesn't give credit (yes, I can prove that assertion). Might be nice to add a bit to the tip jar or Patreon site.
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    I had fishfingers and frozen peas for dinner - my cheffage levels are not that high.
  • I had curry, a spinach version and a cauliflower, with lime pickle and naan. Both from the veggie box.
  • Sprouted beans or seeds for fresh greens. Takes a few days but is quick and easy,. You can do a mix.
    I picked up a box of dried peas at one of the depleted supermarkets last week, so will be sowing them in a seed tray for fresh peashoots. I also put in an online seed order on Friday, so am hoping to have other seeds to sow in a day or two.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited March 2020
    Having seen an item on Saturday Kitchen about jack-fruit, S. got several cans of it from A*a*on, and it'll be interesting discovering how to use it (I'm sort assuming that as it's tinned, it's already been cooked). I think I can see some curries in our future.

    She's hoping it tastes like pork; I'm rather hoping it tastes like chicken ... :confused:
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    Gonna bet it tastes like the sauce you put on it.
  • From what I have heard, Doublethink is right.
    Make a sauce of whatever type of cuisine you fancy, and add jackfruit to add a meat-like texture. Must ask my vegetarian son & family if they have tried it.

    Mr RoS and I eat a lot of 'vegetarian' meals, but mostly with just vegetables and pulses, if we need that mouth-feel we can still have meat. Never quite understood the point of having 'pretend' meat, although I suppose it is a help for those who are struggling to give up their animal protein.

    What are the nutritional properties of jackfruit?
  • I've eaten and cooked with jackfruit, including a curry at Cambridge Folk Festival. It's not quite so bland as to be flavourless, but it doesn't have a lot of flavour. I did try it straight out of the tin last time I used it in a Thai curry mix. The texture can create pulled pork like effects if that's what you want. Nutritional benefits
  • Jackfruit mmmmmmm. Must see if I have a can.

    Yesterday we had a stirfry--sweet bell peppers, onions, and chicken fajita meat done in butter/soy sauce over rice. It was good, and we're having it for lunch again today.

    Later, well, who knows? Maybe I'll find the energy to do corned beef and cabage.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks for the link, CK!
  • PuzzlerPuzzler Shipmate
    My veg box was delivered late afternoon and looks great- all stuff we normally eat so my husband is happy.
    I reckon I just got on their list in time. They are inundated. The chap said he had been working all day yesterday then was up half the night with his lambs.
  • LatchKeyKidLatchKeyKid Purgatory Host
    At the moment our cooking has changed little. I have a good supply of flour and baked three loaves on Saturday. Normally they last 10 days, but I am already on to the second.

    Our basil has been growing well and so have made about 1.5 litres pesto. The last batch I made with macadamia nuts rather than pine, as I get a years supply at Christmas from a macadamia farmer friend. Last year's drought means that this season's crop is low, so there will not be so much available next Christmas.
  • MaryLouiseMaryLouise Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Stress baking. About to make rosemary focaccias with fresh rosemary from the garden.
  • MiffyMiffy Shipmate
    About to brave the local supermarket. No shopping list needed; milk apart, I’ll just buy whatever is available. Then on my return, I’ll just pop it all into a search engine and stir!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Hostly Oink

    The more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that the title of this thread has been changed to "Coping in the time of Covid19". This was after some discussion upstairs, and was done at @Firenze's suggestion.

    Do please still feel free to talk about FOOD (as we so often do in the Saintly Realm), but don't feel the thread is restricted to matters comestible.

    General coping strategies, support and encouragement - and requests for same - will be welcome, always bearing in mind that giving (or asking for) medical or legal advice makes the Baby Jesus cry.

    Thank you.

    Piglet, AS host
  • For the last 47 years I have without fail drawn up a weekly menu and associated shopping list. Today, in view of all the news about panic buying, I went out simply intending to buy what I could and Ready Steady Cook the resulting ingredients.

    As it is, apart from that old favourite loo rolls*, Lidl had all I could have asked for, and our beloved local butcher was just awaiting a delivery - so we shan't starve.

    It's odd to look out of the windows and see the forests and hills exactly as normal, though.

    *A propos of this, we are blessed with three loos, and by each one stands a stainless steel object like you get in hotels, each holding 4 rolls of loo paper - so we have been immune to the general panic, at least for a while.

    Mrs. S, not having to cook creamed eels or wadded beef just yet
  • Related to nothing illness, a moose tried to climb through a window of a care home here. Perhaps it saw its reflection in the window?

    Article with short video here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/moose-breaks-into-sask-care-home-1.5507553

    Many were distracted from other things. And maybe some shippies will be too.
  • Jackfruit is a weird thing, it looks like tuna.
    I’ve been making split pea dahl and turning the leftovers into soup with stock the next day. Husband is making a lot of bread as we now have him and two teenage boys to feed for lunch (I live on omelettes usually). Although we have a lot of staples (we usually buy giant bags of rice and chapatti flour) we were rather caught out on things for lunch as we suddenly had to quarantine ourselves. Luckily I have a small veg and meat box already on order and milk and eggs delivered by the milkman.
    My quarantine finishes on a Thursday if I am well enough but I probably won’t have the energy to go further than the corner shop.
  • bassobasso Shipmate
    I did notice the title change, Piglet. What I thought was, "have I been misreading it all this time?"
    Good change -- thanks to you and Firenze.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I went into the garden determined to suck up The Healing Power of Nature. Murdered a few infant dandelions and got earache from the cold and wind.
  • We're still in winter. Snowing today. Another 6-8 weeks for us. But reading about dandelions: the flowers are quite tasty of gently fried with a bit of garlic. They taste like morrel mushrooms. A bit more chewy.

    The leaves in spring, I generally get some from the lawn when available, eating for breakfast. They are not bitter unless they don't get enough water.

    We went to fully organic in our yard and garden. And I've a book with good pictures. There are quite a few weed foods now that we eat.

    Thanks for discussing dandelions. It's given me happy anticipation and good distraction to think about.
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    I’ve been working from home for basically the first time, so still adjusting - this is my second day, I now have sorted the ergonomics (decent chair, laptop at right height n angle, separate mouse n keyboard) and paid attention to the need for breaks it was no less weird - but less physically unpleasant.

    Arranged to have a morning call with my colleague which was good - but I feel very, and literally, dislocated. It’s hard to concentrate and I am trying not to beat myself up about that too much, I’ll settle and it will get easier I think.
  • Working from home and thankfully having a better time of it than Doublethink. (Sorry for your pains!) Got screens set up (it's the sort of job where I am jockeying multiple documents and applications, so two screens are essential). These are attached to the work laptop, and I have my own laptop off to the side for when things get slow and I want to post here. My "office" is one of the kids' old bedrooms and my "desk" is a door I got at a second hand shop laid across two filing cabinets. (the hole for the handle makes a great place for the cords to pass through!). The heights are about right.

    My only real annoyance is the heat. This bedroom is in the basement and up against a dirt-facing concrete wall, and the opposite side of the room shares a wall with an unheated space. Basically none of the walls face a heated space, I guess. So if I don't have the space heater on it rapidly loses heat, but if I have the heater on it gets too hot. I'm a human thermostat.

    Thankfully it has a nice little south-facing window so I get sun when there's sun to be got (it's still Seattle in March).

    My work group has an always-open-and-running chat space, so if I need help it's immediately to hand. Which is good because this is only my second day on the actual job (I had classroom training in the preceding weeks but this week is my first handling live work). Zoinks!
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    I am good with IT.

    I’m AV person at Church.

    Thus my phone has been ringing off the hook from non-techy friends trying to get on Skype/Zoom etc.

    I don’t mind at all, but I’m exhausted!
  • Zoom works well. 40 min limit unless paid if it's a meeting with more than their participant. Jitsi works just as well, without cost send without limitations, but not as intuitive. Small business so Jitsi is better because of cost in uncertain times.
  • I'm going to get a laptop tomorrow to WFH, once it has had the VPN client set up but I have been warned it is the ancient and slow one. Now we have told everyone the clinics are cancelled we might as well get on with some reports and policies that have been put on the back burner for a while. I'll need to pop into the office to sort it out but the patient car park barriers are up so staff can also use them, so I can take the car rather than having to get the tram.

    I have been experimenting with using more pulses to bulk out things like sausage dishes. I'm also needing to think now what cooking jobs I can give Dragonlet 1 to get him engaged, and help his fine motor skills into the bargain. So tonight he has cut up a spring onion with scissors and mashed up 4 sausages to all go in a pasta sauce. (We have pasta, it is just all macaroni of some description!)
  • DormouseDormouse Shipmate
    Zoom works well. 40 min limit unless paid if it's a meeting with more than their participant. Jitsi works just as well, without cost send without limitations, but not as intuitive. Small business so Jitsi is better because of cost in uncertain times.

    I'm using Jitsi for my online lessons. Really easy to connect and simple enough for a techno idiot to use.
  • Graven ImageGraven Image Shipmate
    edited March 2020
    Just used our local store's seniors only oder by phone. Worked wonderfully well. You call clerk who gets a grocery cart and walks through the store picking up your items. " Yes Mrs Image we have 3 kinds of carrots, do you want organic, baby, or loose large?" I was able to buy two loaves of bread as they just had a delivery, I was ready to be thankful for what ever I could get if any but as Mr Image and I like different brands of bread so I bought both. Then they ring up your purchase and use your debit card to pay. When they had finished I drove 5 minutes from my home, parked in special space, phoned them from my car and they put purchase in my trunk. The one funny part was when I included a bottle of wine in my order, because it was a technical deliver purchase to my car by state law they had to check my ID for my age. At 81 I found that a bit of a throw back thrill. As I know the clerk we both had a good laugh. As weekly shopping often leaves me very sore and tired for the day this was wonderful, I almost don't want us to go back to normal.
  • Penny SPenny S Shipmate
    Sounds like a good idea - wish we had it.
  • CameronCameron Shipmate
    A Covid mental health video aimed at everyone - worth a look I think.

  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Since fresh veg is more of an effort to come by, I am conscientiously using rather than chucking.

    Today was lettuce soup. Pleasant enough even if the colour brought to mind Fungus the Bogeyman.
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited March 2020
    Last night we had a sort of kedgeree. I fried onions, added spices, then added chopped kale. I then coated and fried the rice in the same pan and added stock, then flaked cod. Baked for half hour, then made four holes and broke an egg in each, back in oven for a few minutes.
    Easy to skip the fish or add red lentils instead.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    My mum used to make lettuce soup; I think she adapted it from a recipe for watercress soup, watercress not being something readily available in 1970s Orkney. I suppose it must have lacked the pepperiness of the original, but IIRC it was rather good.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    We’ve never thrown veg away - always made soup.

    Frozen veg is just as good, if not better, than fresh.
  • Boogie wrote: »
    Frozen veg is just as good, if not better, than fresh.

    Last time I looked there was even less of that about than of fresh.
  • To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, people are asked to stay at home, and couples who don't live together are asked not to see each other. I just had an email spam from Groupon. The subject was "Missing your favorite cock..."

    It turned out to be cocktail abbreviated, which I'm sure disappoints some of you.
  • And Emily Dickinson is writing poems on scraps of paper again -- just not toilet paper.
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    Sprouted beans or seeds for fresh greens. Takes a few days but is quick and easy,. You can do a mix.

    Those dried peas you get for making mushy peas work well for this, we have discovered.
  • MaryLouiseMaryLouise Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    More stress baking ahead and I'm wondering if I should make a sourdough starter. I once mastered a No-Knead baking technique while my partner had pneumonia and it helped me stay busy.
  • MaryLouiseMaryLouise Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    And Emily Dickinson is writing poems on scraps of paper again -- just not toilet paper.

    More of the Gorgeous Nothings?
  • I used to mix any and all of moong beans, chick peas, green lentils, alfalfa and mustard seeds. The seeds/beans need to be whole, not split. Start a batch in an old (brown) jar covered with muslin or a square from old (washed) tights 2-3 days before I needed it by presoaking everything overnight. You only need a thin layer across the bottom of the jar. Drain, rinse and leave damp with the jar on its side in a dark warm place. Rinse two or three times a day to water (which is why muslin). Make sure the seeds are away from the cover before leaving. Start eating in a few days when the shoots grow. I used to live very rural with no garden and two buses a week, only one I could catch around work. I did this to eat fresh greens all year around cheaply.

    Last night's discovery was a pear and ginger dessert - the pear needed eating as it had gone soft at the stalk. Chop the edible bits of pear and stew in butter with brown sugar and crystallised ginger. I didn't bother peeling it. I'm sure cream or yoghurt would have been a nice addition but they weren't available.
  • We bought one of Lidl's bargain boxes for £1.50 and it included plums and peaches. Aware that they were not in the first flush of youth, I baked the peaches in an orange juice and brown sugar syrup with star anise and cinnamon sticks, and made a plum and almond upside-down cake.

    We had the peaches for pudding last night (with ice cream) and I've cut the cake up to freeze in portions - just hope that works!

    Mrs. S, who now has two cauliflowers and a head of broccoli to deal with!
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    I haven’t been emotional about all this at all, even ‘tho I’m separated form my family and missing them. I’ve been stoical and practical about it all.

    Today I walked into town to the chemist to pick up my prescription. The town is very quiet indeed. But I saw five ambulances with sirens and lights blaring, all at top speed.

    I wept.
  • A recent discovery is roasted cauliflower leaves. We aye them for supper. And I'm making cauliflower and butternut squash curry with coconut and lentils.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    We're planning on cauliflower cheese for supper; although I always thought I hated it, it's S's favourite thing, so I'm going to give it a go. My antipathy may have come from having it overcooked when I was little, or possibly from the fact that D. really hated it, but I'm prepared to give it a second chance.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Trick is to microwave (or boil) the cauliflower until it's just done. And then put enormous amounts of strong cheddar in the sauce. And a spoonful of Dijon mustard. And top with breadcrumbs, finely diced bacon and even more cheese.

    With any luck, you'll hardly notice the cauliflower.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    Use plenty of black pepper too.
  • @Boogie that sounds really hard.
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