Journal

2022 - Week 47 Cooking

I got my plan ready, started ticking off boxes. Looking forward to the efforts this week and having family over. The anxiety (?) or edge depression, or mix of both I’ve been feeling has cooled off quite a bit as I have my plan in place and have a whole week of using a different part of my brain ahead of me. I’ve turned off my work calendars and am ready to just have to work on the physical and planning and a bit of math.

Every time I do something like this, my respect grows for those who work in the restaurant industry on making meals that are quite fantastic many nights a week and they don’t have months to plan for every week.

Easy cooking week ahead cause…lots of other work to do.

  • French Toast (Using leftover Challah)

  • Ham Steak and Scrambled Eggs

  • Brats

2022 - Week 46 Cooking Results

Tingly Brown Butter Pumpkin Noodles

I had a number of the tingly noodles left, so much so the last time I ordered noodles, it didn’t include them. I used dried sage, shredded parm (the good kind), and this came together pretty quick. Good quick tasty meal.

Meatloaf: Reloaded

I made this a couple of years ago. And I agree with myself that this feels like a mole, I hand formed the love this time, as I may have added a bit to much in the way of breadcrumbs. I added a bit of water to soften them up a bit and over all it turned out pretty well. I made mashed potatoes and I added some mushroom garum to it as an attempt to see if it a. add some savory notes (it did) and b. wasn’t to altering over all to turn off family (it didn’t). So I may adjust it up a bit (from 1 tablespoon to 1.5 per batch). Anyways good things. Felt good to make a dinner that required some effort, as opposed to what I’ve been doing recently.

Southern Ham and Bean Soup

Does it need the dark brown sugar? I guess? It could probably go without it but I suppose it adds something. Maybe just a bit of molasses? Anyways, Good soup, forgot to add the green beans at the end.

Taco Salad

Crooked Gap Chorizo, taco fixins, good things.

Ham & Eggs English muffins

Free (thanks work!) ham, eggs and english muffins.

Brats

Some of the last I have from Lucky George. I miss those Large Black Pigs.

2022 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Tuesday

    • Carrots bought at Iowa Food Coop Tuesday, Prepped Tuesday Night??

    • Celery bought Sunday, prepped Tuesday Morning'

    • Cornichons w/ Cheese and Meat Board, Wednesday

    • Plastic Containers

  • Cheese and Meat Board (Cheese Shop) pickup Wednesday

    • Fridge Space

  • Crackers, variety - Sunday

Bread

  • Whipped Honey Butter

    • Buy butter on Sunday, Can do this Sunday

    • Plastic Container needed

  • Lefse - Bought

    • Buy Sunday

  • Rolls

    • La Mie Wednesday

    • Was going to make my own, will experiment over the year

Mains

  • Fresh Greens Salad

    • Thursday

    • Fridge Space

  • Confit Turkey Theighs (Delayed), timing with turkey doesn’t work out

  • Sous Vide Turkey Brest with Crispy Skin

    • Pick up Turkey / Grade A at Noon

    • Break down Turkey on Tuesday Afternoon / evening

      • save giblets, etc for Gravey, store thighs drumsticks for Confit for later

    • Bind Turkey Breasts Tuesday

    • Rest in Fridge in sealed bag Tuesday

    • Sous Vide Day off

    • Skin: Wednesday

  • Turkey Gravy

    • Wednesday

    • Roasting Pan

    • re-warm day of, req: 3 qt sauce pan

  • Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes (the Classic)

    • Peel Potatoes on Tuesday Morning

    • Prep Other Parts Tuesday Morning (cheese garlic, etc)

    • Requires: Large Pot, Small sauce pan 1.5 qt

  • Spicy Sweet Potato and Bacon Casserole

    • Do steps 1 & 2 (Monday)

    • Finish Day of

    • requries 13x9 Baking Dish

  • Spicy Cornbread Stuffing with Red Peppers, Chipotle Chiles, and Andouille Sausage

    • Seems out of context to current Menu, still want to make

  • Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (Classic)

    • Green Onion Sausage acquired today (Crooked Gap)

    • Use Lasagna pan (thanks Linda!)

    • Corn Bread Monday

    • 35-40m at 400F

Desserts

  • Double Apple Bread Pudding

    • Acquired and weighed Friday

    • Challah Cut on Saturday

    • Bake Bread cubes Saturday

    • Make Sugar Cube Covering

    • Use soon to be aquired 13x9 glass baking dish that I could’ve sworn Shannon had (arrives 11/16)

    • Final Prep day off

    • Bake when stuffing comes out of oven

    • Pull out to cool during dinner

  • Skillet Apple Crisp (not enough pans)

  • Pumpkin Cheese Cake (Picked up Wednesday)

Mental Health, an update

I occasionally talk about my depression, but, it’s time to be public about it, and my struggles.

I’ve been therapy for years, initially a couple of times a week, then weekly, monthly, now every other month.

I have been on an anti-depressant of varying strengths for longer (initially prescribed by my PCP, then upped with a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner or two, whom I see every so often).

My depression (Recurrent MDD) generally expresses itself as anger, mostly at myself, but it also boils enough to splatter on to others. To combine that with anxiety, also can be helpful in my chosen career, but can be overwhelming at times.

I know that I set routines to try to keep my brain in general check. 6 days a week I make sure I get some sort of exercise, I read books about the issues, I listen to Depresh Mode with John Moe, and Before that The Hilarious World of Depression. I try to make sure I go to bed at a regular time, wake up at a regular time, not intake to much caffeine.

Sometimes, I do need just extra time. In the past month I have taken a couple of days where I specifically have planed to do nothing. No video games, no TV, just resting, maybe some music. These sort of help bring me back down to a normal where I can try to look and understand what’s going on. But then again I don’t always get it.

Recently I stated openly to my co-workers, some of whom I had talked individually about it, and they were open, accepting and understanding, which I am grateful for.

I will perhaps write more, as I have time to write about how things can feel, battles, speculation, and probable genetic components.

I will first like to thank someone who helped me, when she had her own struggles, and just opened my mind to the fact that perhaps, this was the case for me as well, more then 20 years ago, when I was trying to manage my mental health between a ever changing balance of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and cannabinoids, not that I told her that. I think somewhere between the first and second years of college? So thanks K.

Written Saturday - Monday.

2022 - Week 45 Cooking Result

Hot honey Beer Braised Chicken with Butternut Squash

I got invited to a facebook group full of, apparently people that buy a lot of Momofuku products, where this recipe was shared a bit early. But by the time I got around to making it, it was up on their website. That being said, I really do like their hot honey. It has that chili crunch flavor softened by the honey sweetness which will make it far more acceptable for my dear wise. I did take the time to get some pumpkin ale and go from there. It was a a nice weeknight meal. I ate the leftovers for lunch.

Chicken And Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes

Is it bad that I a when ever I see the word “chowder” I inherently think about the Simpson’s episode where the french waiter argues about it? Anyways, It made quite a bit more then I was expecting, but after having soup for lunch days afterwards, It definitely gets a thumbs up.

Brats

Good as always.

Beecher’s Mac & Cheese (saw at CostCo, one of my brothers works for a sister company)

It’s pretty good. Are there things you can miss when not cooked in a cast iron pan? Or being able to adjust the seasoning exactly how you like? Sure, but for a low effort meal? Not to shabby, and pretty damn good.

Pancakes

Used the rest of the buttermilk, waste not, Good things.

2022 - Week 44 Cooking Results

Spaghetti Squash with Red Sauce

Baked the Squash, made a simple red sauce with Italian sausage over low heat to allow the flavors to all come together. Turned out pretty good.

Hot honey Beer Braised Chicken with Butternut Squash (experimental)

I had forgotten this was on the list, and was kind of set on pizza, so delayed. And between the time that I put this on my “things to do” they formalized and published the recipe.

Chicken And Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes

I didn’t buy the corn muffin mix (swaps documents, adds to grocery list), so Delayed!

Smokin Mac N Cheese (With Pumpkin)

This took a bit of time to get done, I admit I wasn’t actually working at a quick pace. I made some adjustments. Added Jalapeño powder, instead of cayenne, because I didn’t have any. I also added a can of pumpkin puree, which made it a bit more liquid than the recipe would normally be, but even so, it came together well. I adjusted a couple of other things up a bit as well. Turned out pretty good, a little heat and complexity.

Brats

Good as always.

I bought a few pie pumpkins. I prepped the pumpkins on the Sunday. One of them didn’t look quite right, and after a bit of googling, found out that it probably wasn’t good, so I tossed it. I ended up with about 2.6 pounds. Not enough to make 3 loaves or 6 smaller loaves, so I ended up just making 4 mini loaves. Since our team lead, who has been out for a bit, was coming down to possibly receive and award, I figured I’d make some mini loaves to pass out at the event. We, under her guidance and development, won the award, which was pretty cool. I wasn’t aware that there were other people at our company, that were up for awards too. Anyways, it was nice to do some baking, pass them out and see my team lead again. I baked the chocolate chunk pumpkin bread on Wednesday night so it would be under 24 hours between baking and delivery. I am happy that our team is allowed to be innovative, and are trusted with things that can be so important. As a side note, while baking, I finished off the existing Vanilla, Flour, and Sugar, but I was aware they were low, so I was able to just swap to the next one I had.

John Waters: False Negative - Englert Theater - 10/30/2022

We made a night of it, joining the Mattas’ for dinner then walking over to the Englert to see the show. The last time Shannon and I saw him speak it was initially at the Des Moines Art Center, but then it outgrew their space and got moved to Hoyt Sherman. This was Warhol & Waters: Fame & Filth on 10/14/2014.

This was a bit different as this wasn’t remembering the stories of that time frame, but more of what’s going on now or the recent past, with his life sprinkled in. This was followed by a Q & A with number of varied questions from the audience, including the recent debacle in Cedar Rapids.